Statue of Liberty

About Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, a copper figure of a robed woman holding a torch and a tablet, her feet stepping over a broken chain. It was a gift from France, dedicated in 1886, and the sculptor Frederic Auguste Bartholdi designed the outer shell while Gustave Eiffel worked out the iron framework that holds it up. Over the years the copper weathered from its original reddish-brown to the pale green you see now. For millions of immigrants arriving by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the first thing they saw, which is a big part of why it carries the meaning it does.

You reach the island by ferry, and there's really no other way to get there, so plan the boat into your day rather than treating it as an afterthought. Most visits pair Liberty Island with Ellis Island, the old immigration station a short hop across the water, where the museum tells the story of the people who passed through it. That combination makes for a comfortable half day. There are different levels of access to the statue itself: the grounds around the base, the pedestal, and the crown up inside the figure. Crown access in particular is limited and needs to be arranged well ahead, so if that matters to you, sort it out early.

If getting onto the island isn't your priority, a harbor cruise is the other common way to see the statue. Boats run past it close enough for photos without landing, and evening sunset departures leave from Downtown Manhattan and take in the skyline on the way out. Those cruises usually have both an indoor cabin and an open deck, which helps when the wind off the water picks up. Whichever way you go, dress for the harbor, it's noticeably cooler and breezier out there than on the Manhattan streets, and give yourself buffer time for the security screening and ferry queues, which can be slow in summer.