New York: The Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island

I don’t know about you but when I think of New York the first thing I think about is the Statue of Liberty. I guess it’s a landmark we are all familiar with, have seen in pictures and movies over the years, and more than that, as a universal symbol of freedom, it’s such an important part of our history. With that in mind, during our trip to New York we knew that we wanted to visit the statue on Liberty Island.

I’ll be honest with you, prior to our visit, so many people told us not to bother with the island tour and we very nearly took their advice. For those simply wanting to see the Statue you can get the free Staten Island ferry and still enjoy the view, but for us it was more than that and I wanted to climb those steps to the top, look out at that view, and tick off another item on the old bucket list.

Having bought out New York Explorer passes before hand, enabling us to visit ten attractions from a list of over 90, we simply needed to take our passes to the ticket office and in return we received our ferry tickets, access to both Liberty Island and Ellis island. the Statue itself and the museum too.

Ordinarily the ticket prices are $22.95 for the cruise and access to the Crown and $19.95 to the pedestal, both giving great views across to Manhattan as well as access to the museum and Ellis Island.

Having passed through security, which took just a couple of minutes, we waited for our boat which would take us the short distance across the water to Liberty Island. I can’t even tell you how excited I was at our first glimpse of the Statue itself, it felt very surreal to be finally seeing it in reality and, not for the first time during our trip, I got a real lump in my throat.

Inside the boat has three floors, downstairs which is fully covered and far warmer, upstairs which is partially covered and then the top deck which is completely open and incredibly windy! With us wanting to get the best view possible as we crossed the water, we headed straight to the top deck and didn’t regret it.

 Everyone I had spoken to previously said that for them, the Statue of Liberty was far smaller than they thought it would be and yet for me I was completely in awe. Placed on the top of a pedestal, the statue measures 305 feet from the base of her feet to the tip of her torch and weighs a whopping 225 tonnes!!

We got off the boat at Liberty Island, which then continues to Ellis Island, and set off to explore the island, starting with the most incredible view of the New York skyline. The island is definitely an amazing location to really appreciate how impressive the New York skyline is, as well as being a great spot to take a few photos to look back on!

 After a walk around the island we headed up towards the statue where you have to go through security again before access to the top. Every attraction we visited in New York had extensive security which was reassuring and fortunately, we never had to wait more than a couple of minutes at a time. I imagine in the busier months there can be longer waits so it’s worth taking this into account when planning your itinerary.

There are 354 steps from the bottom to the top of the Statue of Liberty, the equivalent of 20 stories, but for those who may struggle there is an elevator to the observation deck. We started out quite enthusiastically but after a while it is hard going and the further we climbed the more clothes we were taking off in a hot sweat!

The observational deck gives a fantastic view of New York and it’s pretty special to know you are stood on one of the the most iconic landmarks of America. For me that was a real pinch me moment, that after all of those years of dreaming, saving and planning, we had finally made our dream come true with our visit, and it was so lovely to be sharing that with Gaz and Lewis.

When you look across the water at Manhattan it really hits home just how huge the city is with the sky scrapers literally reaching the clouds. It was funny to think hat just an hour or so earlier we had been right there in the middle of a busy city and yet on Liberty Island the feeling was one of complete calmness.

The observational deck also gives you panoramic views right across the island and as far as you can see which must be incredible on a clear day. We were lucky to have fairly good visibility but, as we commonly found during our stay, towards the end of the day the haze definitely crept in so an earlier visit may give the best views.

After climbing the Statue we headed into the Statue of Liberty Museum which is split into three interactive galleries – an Immersive Theatre, an Engagement Gallery and the Inspiration Gallery. The museum isn’t overly large so is a great way to spend an hour or so before the return sailing. We found it so interesting to read about the history of the Statue of Liberty as well as see some of the earlier designs submitted.

In the Engagement Gallery you can learn more about how sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and a team of artisans built the statue and the elaborate design, fabrication and construction process. It’s unbelievable that something so beautiful and intricate was made predominantly from copper, so much intact that it could make 30 million pennies!

In the Immersive Theatre area you can take photos of yourself on one of the camera screens which are then projected onto a large screen and all come together to create a Statue of Liberty silhouette. We were so excited to see our photo pop up!

The most exciting part of the museum for me was the Statue’s most iconic symbol, her original torch, held high for nearly 100 years. Replaced in 1986, the torch now takes pride of place in the museum and is amazing to see so close up.

We had such a great afternoon on Liberty Island and climbing the Statue of Liberty and I would recommend anyone visiting to do the same. Since returning home when the Statue has popped up on our television screens I can’t quite believe we were right there inside her! It’s definitely on of my favourite memories of our trip and I know when I’m old and grey I’ll be telling the grandchildren about the day I climbed those 354 steps to the top.