The Statue of Liberty in New York is one of the most recognisable structures in the world. She stands on her own island and towers over the water just off the southern edge of Manhattan Island. The statue was originally a gift of friendship from the people of France to the USA and now she is visited by millions of tourists from all over the world each year. The cruises to the island are always busy and you will need to book in advance, but it’s an unmissable experience in New York. You can use this form to check latest ferry availability and secure your ticket…
Ferries run to Liberty Island roughly every 15 minutes from 8.30am in the summer and 9.30am in the winter. The basic ticket also allows you to visit the museum (pictured above). Inside there are interactive displays and even the original torch which was in place for 100 years. The next step up in tickets is a ‘pedestal’ ticket. This gives you nice views from the top of the stone structure that the statue stands on. There’s also another small museum in the pedestal which is nowhere near as good as the newer one. The hardest tickets to get are the ones which gives you the extra thrill of access to the ‘crown’ of the statue. These are usually booked up for months in advance.
On our last visit to NYC, we secured crown tickets. You need to be aware that climbing to the crown involves 354 steps (pictured above) in cramped conditions. Think carefully about this experience as it is not for everyone. We saw children too frightened to climb the stairs and adults feeling so claustrophobic that they turned back. There are small platforms every so often where you can leave the stairs and get your breath back before continuing. The crown itself is very small and you can see when you get there why numbers are so limited.
There are actually 2 staircases intertwined with each other – one for going up and one for coming down. You will be limited to a maximum of 10 minutes in the crown but you will not need this amount of time. To be honest, the views are worse than the ones from the top of the pedestal because the windows in the crown are so tiny. You’ll want to take some photos to prove you’ve been there, but there’s not much else to see or do before you come down. We were in the crown with a handful of other people for around 2 minutes in total before coming back down. Still, we’re glad we did it!
Your Liberty Island ticket will also allow access to Ellis Island, where the immigration museum is located. The museum was the original immigration building and acted as the gateway to America for those seeking a new life. Admission is free and we’d thoroughly recommend it. The ferries go from Liberty Island to Ellis Island before returning to Battery Park. If you want to get off at both stops, you’ll need to allow enough time to explore both attractions. One final tip, if you don’t want the expense or can’t get a ticket for Liberty Island, hop on board the Staten Island Ferry which is free. It will give you some great views of the New York skyline as well as taking you nearer to the Statue. Then you just need to catch the next ferry back to Manhattan.
General admission, including the ferry trip to Liberty Island & Ellis Island is $25.50 per adult (2025 prices). Pedestal tickets and Crown tickets are only an extra 30 cents but numbers for both are limited and you’ll need to book in advance. Tickets should not be bought from unofficial sellers in Battery Park as these are fake. The only official operator is Statue City Cruises.
LOCATION & CONTACT
Address: Statue of Liberty, National Park Services Liberty Island, New York, NY 10004, United States
Tel: +01 212 363 3200
MORE ON THE STATUE OF LIBERTY
Statue Of Liberty – National Park Service
Statue City Cruises – Official Ferry Company & Ticket Supplier
Wikipedia – Statue of Liberty page
Books on the Statue of Liberty – Amazon.co.uk