The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are two of the most famous landmarks that are visited by a great number of people in New York each year. Both, in effect, are the main chapters of immigration story in the US. These very symbols of freedom and a new life occasion still offer a deeply impressive view to the past of the nation. The Statue of Liberty is located on Liberty Island in New York Harbor. Ellis Island, the majority of immigrants entered the United States. Now it is a great museum. Take a ferry ride to these two top attractions for a fun and educational afternoon with the family.
We have a handy guide for the visit to the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island immigration museum, that is loaded with discount ways to get in, tips for the visit, other places that you can visit nearby, and a lot more. Keep reading for the travel tips and the best things to see and do at these iconic U.S. landmarks.
Plan Your Visit Before You Go
Visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty can be greatly improved by proper planning. Learn all about the process starting from how to get your tickets and continuing with the security procedures.
Book your tickets in advance
According to the National Park Service, it is very important that you buy the tickets before you go to the park. To purchase tickets for visiting Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, you should go with City Cruises, the only official vendor. In case you buy from an unauthorized seller, you will have to pay extra for the ticket or it will be invalid without you knowing.
When booking, you’ll have several options:
- General Admission: Access to both islands and museums (most widely available)
- Pedestal Access: Limited tickets that allow entry to the statue’s observation deck
- Crown Access: Extremely limited tickets which allow you to climb 162 steps inside the statue
- Ellis Island Hard Hat Tour: A 90-minute guided tour of the Hospital Complex. A majority of crown tickets are usually booked up from 6 to 9 months ahead of time, therefore, early planning is a must.
Know What To Expect At Security
Every visitor without exception will be subjected to a security check of the airport type prior to boarding. Mainly, it involves:
- Take out metal things, such as keys, watches, and electronic devices.
- Without any large packages, suitcases, or carry-on luggage.
- Without any kind of weapons, drones, or harmful items.
- No face masks designed to conceal identity
There are no storage lockers at screening facilities, so plan accordingly. Different restrictions apply to access the crown and the pedestal, and only a few items are allowed inside the statue.
Choose The Right Time To Visit
Even though Liberty Island can be reached any time of the year, a visit at the right time will definitely make your experience much better. The majority of the traffic will be during the summer while you will be able to find the fewest number of people in the winter. The very first hours of a working day (Tuesday-Thursday) will give you a chance to visit with the least people around.
You have to be sure that you have at least two hours for the Statue of Liberty and then one more hour for Ellis Island in your time budget. The total time for a complete visit to both islands can be anywhere from four to six hours depending on the crowd and the speed of your walk.
What to Do on Ellis Island
After that if you are on the way to Ellis Island you will feel the history of America which is really strong and close to your heart. There are a lot of different ways to spend an educational, history, and fun kind of your time on the island.
Explore the National Museum of Immigration
The museum at Ellis Island, the national landmark of the immigration heritage, is housed in the magnificent refurbished building where the Main Building operations and the immigration processing of millions took place. The museum is truly a museum of the world and it has been set up through three floors representing the immigrant’s experiences in different times. On the first floor, there is the Baggage Room with the real trunks that immigrants carried, and the second floor is home to the famous Registry Room (Great Hall). The third floor has further exhibits like the “Ellis Island Chronicles” and “Treasures From Home”. Everywhere you go, you can hear the individual voices, see the original pieces of history, and use the interactive presentations to help you understand the history of immigration in America from the 1550s upto today.
Visit the Wall of Honor
The American Immigrant Wall of Honor which is placed between the museum and the Hudson River has almost one million names spread out over more than 770 panels. The wall is not, as a lot of people mistakenly think, a memorial that only records the names of those who came through Ellis Island, but it honors immigrants of all times, places of entry, and origins. If you pay $300, your family name will be added to this permanent collection of names, your family becoming one of the growing memorials.
Join a ranger-led tour
Park rangers and volunteers conduct free 40-minute walking tours throughout the day. These informative tours depart from the information desk and require no reservations – simply check the schedule upon arrival. Rangers explain what immigrants experienced during the 7-10 day Atlantic voyage and the inspection process they faced upon arrival. For those interested in seeing more, the 90-minute Hard Hat Tour takes visitors through the hospital complex for an additional fee.
Walk through the Great Hall and inspection rooms
The impressive Registry Room, brought back to its 1918-1924 look, was the main area where over 5,000 people were handled daily during the busiest years. In this place, doctors carried out brief medical checks – which in some cases were done in just six seconds per immigrant. Then, people went through the legal side of the matter where policemen asked questions about the person’s name, job, place of the journey, and money. The first wooden benches have survived and are still there, so you can take a seat on the spot where the immigrants nervously waiting for their turn.
Check out temporary exhibits
Besides the permanent exhibitions, the museum has temporary special exhibits that are shown in the Third Floor Changing Exhibit Gallery. These temporary exhibits generally illustrate various aspects of the immigrant experience but are currently closed for installation.
Tips for Visiting the Statue of Liberty
While it’s absolutely nice to go to the Statue of Liberty and see it with your own eyes, you definitely have to plan things out correctly if you want to have a really cool and memorable time. Make sure to check out some of these tips that will mainly enhance your journey:
Visit the Statue of Liberty Museum
The museum, which has recognized the iconic entity and opened in 2019, is home to three interactive galleries which explore the background of the iconic Lady Liberty. Be sure to first experience the Immersive Theater to enjoy a spectacular 10-minute multimedia show that explains the origin of the statue. Then, delve into the Engagement Gallery to learn how the statue was engineered and built. At last, be sure to see the Inspiration Gallery which is the home of the first torch that was kept for 100 years. In addition, the museum terrace offers magnificent views of the statue and New York Harbor.
Reserve pedestal or crown access
General admission tickets grant island access but not entry inside the statue. For the full experience, consider pedestal access (215 steps) or crown access (162 additional steps). Notably, crown tickets must be reserved months in advance as only 300 people are permitted daily.
Take photos from the best viewpoints
For unique perspectives, lie down at Fort Wood (the star-shaped base) and shoot upward. Also, capture Manhattan’s skyline from the northern edge of Liberty Island.
Use the audio guide or join a guided tour
Pick up an audio guide which covers 12 different languages at the kiosk located between the Refreshment building and Information Center. Besides, ranger-led tours offer a lot of interesting historical facts which are usually not included in the self-guided options.
Make the Most of Your Experience
Don’t just check out America’s immigration story at Ellis Island. Change your trip to an Ellis Island visit into a real experience with these traveling tips to Ellis Island.
Put yourself in the shoes of immigrants
What about picturing yourself doing this act? You disembark from a ship full of people after several weeks at sea, you observe Lady Liberty with your own eyes and then you enter a big hall full of thousands of people who are all talking different languages. This visual helps the different facets of the historical journey of Ellis Island to become more vivid to you. When you look through the windows of the Registration Room, think of the infinite numbers of people who had to see the same thing with a different mixture of emotions- hope, but also terror. Keep in mind that most people considered it an “Island of Hope,” however, there were some who called it an “Island of Tears.”
Pack light and wear comfortable shoes
Security screening is very much like what happens at airports. So, come with the least possible things—there is no allowance for backpacks inside the pedestal. Having comfortable shoes is a must; people are said to cover 16,000+ steps during their visit. The islands may be more than twice as cold and can also be significantly windier as compared to Manhattan, therefore dress in layers.
Avoid weekends and peak hours
If you want to experience less crowd, then weekdays (mostly Tuesday to Thursday) are the right days for you. Besides that, getting there for the initial ferry (approximately 9 am) is the best way to have an up-close encounter with the nature before the people arrive. The time from Christmas Day to New Year’s Eve is very busy with a lot of people.
Do some research beforehand
Above all, research your family’s immigration records online before visiting—it’s free. This preparation allows you to locate names on the Wall of Honor or obtain manifest printouts at the American Family Immigration History Center.
Conclusion
Modalities beyond the mundane are presented by the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, which are positioned at the confluence of America’s bygone days and present. We have examined throughout the manual the essential points of the schedule, such as obtaining your tickets far ahead of time and comprehending the security measures that will make your visit more comfortable. We have also discovered the plentiful experiences that are waiting for you at both the sites – from the immigrant footsteps that you can now follow to the bright light of the Lady Liberty’s torch that you can look up at.
A lot of people who come to these places decide to hurry through them, and thus they lose the possibility of making a deeper bond with the sites. So instead, slow down and take as much time as you want. Every show, every thing speaks the tale of immigration in America and may be even your family’s tale. Knowing the travel of your forefathers prior to your visit will provide you with a totally different experience that will personally connect you to such an important event in American history history.