It's on 1 of my list. Each entry below is what I wrote about it there, with my verdict on that list, the fullest first.
- AddressDeparture: Battery Park, Lower Manhattan
- From my guide, updated April 2026.
Spoiler alert. Most people who have lived in New York for years have never taken the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. I did it for the first time two years ago and felt genuinely embarrassed about waiting as long as I did. The ferry from Battery Park takes about fifteen minutes and seeing the statue up close from the water and then from the island itself is remarkable in a way that seeing it from the ferry as you arrive in the city is not.
Book tickets in advance at nps.gov/stli. The ferry access to the grounds is free but the ferry itself has a fee. If you want to go inside the pedestal or crown, those require separate advance reservations that sell out months ahead. The grounds alone are worth the trip. Do this in summer when the harbor is beautiful and you want to be on a boat anyway. Departure: Battery Park, Lower Manhattan