It rained 3 out of the 9 days I was in New York, so I tried to make the most of the sunny days! Here are some sightseeing things that are worth saving for the sunny, blue-sky days:
- Statue of Liberty
I had seen the Statue of Liberty from afar via the Staten Island Ferry before, but it is much better to see it closeup! The only way to book tickets is through Statue City Cruises. If you can, get tickets to the Statue of Liberty’s crown, which are very limited and can sell out months in advance. I got lucky as there was only one seat left. But even if you’re unable to get tickets, the view from the pedestal is similar and you still get great views of the statue and surrounding New York City skyline.
The Statue’s design is loaded with symbolism. The broken shackles at her feet represent the emancipation of enslaved people and the end of tyranny. The tablet in her left arm represents the law — written on the tablet in Roman numerals is the date of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776. The 7 rays of her crown represent spreading enlightenment and reason throughout the world (the 7 continents). And the torch and flame symbolizes Liberty Enlightening the World. I also thought it was pretty cool how the pedestal was designed to naturally direct your eyes upward, towards the statue. I myself hadn’t even closely looked at the pedestal until I read about that! Everything about the way the statue was designed was perfect. And it gracefully embodies the ideals of freedom, law, and justice that America was founded on.
There are 215 steps or approximately 10 stories to the pedestal per the National Park Service, and another 162 to the crown. The crown was closed during the pandemic but recently opened up again in October 2022. The spiral staircase steps to the crown are quite narrow, but the experience is well worth it.
In addition to the statue herself, there is a free audio tour with stops around Liberty Island and two museums: a small one in the pedestal entrance and a larger one outside. The ferry also takes you past Ellis Island where there is an immigration museum, which I would’ve liked to visit if I had more time. Hence, I would budget at least 4 hours for this trip. The ticket times aren’t strictly enforced and the ferry runs every 20 minutes, but you may not be able to hop on the next ferry if there are many people waiting in line, so I would suggest leaving plenty of buffer time for your trip.
2. Central Park
I spent a half day walking from the northwest corner down to the south end of the rectangular park. On the way down I hit the hot stops: learned about the Seneca Village (African American community that was here before Central Park), Belvedere Castle, Bethesda Fountain, The Mall (promenade where street peddlers sell gifts and trinkets including magnets and photo prints), and Wollman Rink (ice skating). The lake also had a gorgeous view.
3. Brooklyn
If you have a day to spare to branch out from Manhattan, you can spend a perfect day in Brooklyn. If you can, pick a sunny day so you can get the most out of your city views from Brooklyn. Here’s what we did in one day, from about 9:30am to 8pm:
- Matchaful in SoHo: Had the almond butter + jam muffin square with a matcha au lait — the muffin square is small but dense and filling, the matcha drink is not very sweet so made for a healthy and soothing start to the day!
- Pier 17: I actually did this a different day, but it is pretty close to the Brooklyn Bridge and a cute seaport area that I came across kinda randomly. The South Street Seaport Museum is just one room but it’s free and I did a 30-minute tour of the Wavertree ship, the last full-rigged three-masted iron sailing ship in the world that was built in 1885 and used to carry cargo very long distances. During the tour we saw the separate quarters where the crew and the officers stayed, the lower deck where they store all the cargo, and the kitchen where they powered the stove with wood or coal from the cargo. There are also a couple markets in the area: I went to the Fulton Stall Market, a small shop with produce and ready-made items like egg souffle and apple cider. The lady was very friendly and we chatted a little about NYC (she used to be a fashion designer so would travel the world — she told me about how much the city has changed but how she loves it nevertheless). There’s also a larger indoor market across the street with more offerings.
- Brooklyn Bridge: Walked across the bridge and took lots of pictures. It was the longest suspension bridge in the world when it was built between 1867-1883!
DUMBO
- Dumbo (“down under the Manhattan Bridge overpass”): the famous Dumbo-Manhattan Bridge View
- Time Out Market: an indoor market with various cuisines and cute gifts
- Brooklyn Bridge Park / Pebble Beach: great views of the New York Skyline and Brooklyn Bridge
- Lunch: Juliana’s Pizza
WILLIAMSBURG
To get here from Dumbo, take the East River Ferry from Dumbo to North Williamsburg: it’s a short, fun ride with pretty views of the NYC skyline and Williamsburg Bridge. I learned the hard way that you need to purchase a separate ferry ticket before boarding — there are a couple ticket machines at the port. Tickets cost $4 each way. Once there, Marsha Johnson State Park has slightly different views of the New York Skyline.
I loved Williamsburg — it reminded me of a small New England town, with a very different vibe from Manhattan — much quieter but still a smaller-scale downtown.
We then proceeded to do a little food/drink tour — these places are pretty close walking distance to each other:
- Radegast and Biergarten: German restaurant and brewery that was quite crowded and rowdy when we went. Didn’t have time to stay, but checked out the place — it was filled with young people and lots of energy!
- Brooklyn Brewery: Offers select drinks in 5-oz cups so you can try drinks (like pumpkin ale) in small amounts.
- Wythe Hotel: Bar Blondeau on the 6th floor offers great drinks and views of the skyline. We made a reservation, but walk-ins are probably fine too.
- The Meatball Shop: Do-it-yourself meatballs where you can mix-and-match the meatball and the sauce.
- Miracle on Union: If you’re here around Christmas, check out the Christmas popup holiday cocktail bar at Thief. The one in Manhattan (Miracle on 9th St) is a bit out of the way and far from a subway station (reservations were also booked through Christmas and I heard the wait times can be very long), but I was able to go to a similar one in Brooklyn with a less than 30 minute wait around 7pm, and it had wonderfully warm Christmas vibes, with holiday decorations and Christmas music. And they had unique Christmas-themed drinks, including the Jingle Balls Nog, Mulled Wine, and Hot Buttered Rum (yum!).
If you have time, you can also check out the NY Transit Museum — I didn’t have a chance to go but it looks like a cool place to explore the history of NY public transit.
From there, you can take the L train back into the city!
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