Don’t be afraid of the long line at the Battery Park Statue Cruises departure point. With CityPass you already have your ticket and can pass right by it!
This is the perfect time of year to plan a visit to the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island. It’s an American icon and where 12 million people landed in search of the American dream.
Lady Liberty is on the top of everyone's must-see list. If you’ve wanted to see the statue and visit Ellis Island but thought, a) you’d go crazy waiting in lines, or b) you’d settle for a cheesy souvenir-size statue in Times Square, it’s time to try a New York CityPass.
Why? Because there’s nothing like seeing the real Statue of Liberty, and it is meant to be experienced at its full 22-story height. Because more than 40% of Americans can trace their families’ arrival in the U.S. via Ellis Island. You must see both.
CityPass offers two different ways to experience the Statue – you decide which option fits your schedule. You can get a terrific view from the water on a two-hour Circle Line Cruise, as it makes its half-circle around Manhattan, OR you can land on Liberty Island and also visit Ellis Island with Statue Cruises.
Statue Cruises is the official National Park Service concessionaire for the ferries between Battery Park and Liberty & Ellis Islands. There’s a certain protocol to boarding a boat to go to an American national treasure, so here are some CityPass tips to make your trip a breeze:
- When you get to Statue Cruises, don’t be afraid of the long line snaking around Battery Park. You don’t belong in it. With CityPass you already have your ticket. Holding a CityPass allows you to move to a designated entry, marked “Reserve Line,” where you’ll show your CityPass booklet and a staff member will admit you directly to the security screening area. Be assertive! The sign isn’t large; it sits about waist-high atop a post near the white screening tent. If you have trouble spotting it, don’t despair. Keep moving forward and ask the helpful staff! (Note: If you purchased New York CityPass online with a print-at-home voucher, exchange the voucher at the “Prepaid” ticket window, then proceed as described.)
- During summer, the first ferry leaves at 8:30 a.m. Be on it. You’ll really have time – and room – to enjoy yourself on the islands. (Note: Early birds have a crack at getting a Monument Pass to go inside the Statue pedestal and observation deck. That admission is not included in your CityPass; NPS offers a limited number and they go fast. Check at either the regular or prepaid ticket window if you’re interested.)
Ellis Island is one of those National Park experiences that will stay with you forever. Squint and imagine a hundred years ago. The Immigration Museum houses items of the millions who entered a new country: steamer trunks, hat boxes, valises, and what they carried in them.
- There’s a tree with commonly used American words on its branches, explaining their origins as French, German, Italian, Russian, and so on.
- Take a seat on the wooden benches, recreating the experience of waiting to hear your name called from one of the podiums, to be processed as an immigrant.
- Listen to voices describing their first look and tastes – like doughnuts – of America.
- Log on one of the computers and search for your own ancestors.
Don’t worry if you don’t make it to the Statue of Liberty on the Fourth of July. New York CityPass makes it so easy every day of the year.
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