Indice:
How to climb the crown of the Statue of Liberty
Surely if you are thinking of traveling to New York, or if you have already done so, at some point you asked yourself the question: to climb or not to climb the crown of the Statue of Liberty?
Is it worth it or not? It depends on the point of view from which you look at it. If you do it for the views to get from the crown, I tell you no, the same or better you get from the pedestal. But if you think about it from the side of living the experience of being inside the icon of New York, and there if you….es something different.
If you have already thought about it and have already decided to climb the crown, then stay that we start with the steps to follow to make this route.
► Did you think about a free tour to take the first contact with the city, it’s always a good idea.
The tickets to climb the crown of the Statue of Liberty sell out quickly, so as soon as we have decided the trip, and the day that would suit us to make the tour to Liberty Island, we will have to start looking at the official website to book our tickets.
What we have to know first of all is that there is only one boat company that takes us to the island. Statue Cruises, the official company, is the one that allows us to buy tickets. The rest of the other Hudson River tour companies will only take us too close to the statue to take pictures, but not more than that.
The same is true if we have one of the tourist passes such as the New York Pass, o Sightseeing Passin both cases they include the visit to the island, but not the not the climb to the pedestal or the crown. Anyway we are fans of sightseeing passes in NY, we think they are a great help to save if you plan to visit many things. But we have a full post►Is it worth buying a tourist pass?
So the first thing to do is to enter their official website, in advance of the trip as I told you, and then start with the reservation.
Once in it, a drop-down menu will appear with the different options, in this case we are going to choose the crown reservation ticket.
And on the next screen you will see two departure options: from New Jersey or from Manhattan (Battery Park), usually the latter is the one that fits well if you are staying in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, it is the departure option we took.
The prices for adults, children or reduced tickets and the number of people taking part in the visit will now appear on the screen. Prices for adults are u$s 24.30 for adults and u$s 12.30 for children under 12 years old.
In the next step on the screen you will see a calendar with the days and times available for the visit. My advice is, if you can, that you visit it in the morning, remember that first you will visit the statue and then you will go by ferry to visit the immigration museum, the amount of people will be less and you will surely do the tours in a more leisurely and quiet way. But this is a personal opinion, and maybe it will be more comfortable for you to do it at a different time.
Then proceed to the payment, and that’s it!! you have your tickets to visit and climb the crown of the Statue of Liberty. You will receive the details of your purchase and an explanation of where to go and at what time.
The day has come! Today you are going up to the crown of the Statue of Liberty! Remember to check the schedule and all the reservation information. Also check the weather, and remember that the island is always windy, so bring the appropriate clothing, a coat is never superfluous.
You will surely arrive by subway, because it is probably the way you are getting around New York. The stop to get off is: Bowling Green.
Did you see our post on how to take the subway from JFK to Manhattan with the metrocard?
Then from Bowling Green station you must walk across the park to Castle Clinton, where you will find the ticket booths to pick up the tickets you previously purchased on the web.
Once there, look for the line for the correct window, you will see a lot of people, so it is important to ask if you have any doubts. For the same reason, due to the amount of people you will find, it is advisable that you are at least thirty minutes before the time marked on your reservation already in the line, as this usually takes a long time, as well as the boarding time. It is also important that you bring with you your reservation and an identity document that proves that you are the person that appears on your reservation. After this verification, they will give you your tickets for boarding and the visit.
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After getting your ticket you will head to the pier, right there in Battery Park and almost next to Castle Clinton. Again the line will be long, but don’t worry, the boats arrive quickly and have plenty of capacity, so you’ll be on board in no time, passing a checkpoint on the way up.
Now, get ready to enjoy, the views you get of Manhattan from the river are great, so get a good place to enjoy them and take some good pictures. In a few minutes you will be very close to the statue, and while you see it, the pictures you will take there will be as magnificent as the ones taken before.
Don’t miss the New York Contrasts Tour, we tell you all about it in this post.
- Arrival at Liberty Island
Once you disembark on the island you can access the museum and the pedestal, and then go up to the crown. The first thing you will go through will be the security controls, scanning included.
The other thing is that you cannot go up to the crown with a backpack, bag or food. Yes, of course, with your camera or cell phone. For this purpose there are lockers at the entrance, but for small items, try not to bring anything too bulky.
Now we are light on our luggage and ready to start the tour!
Tour of the pedestal and the museum
Here we tell you about the mistake we made out of anxiety. As soon as we went through the security checkpoint and left our bag in the locker. We were already looking forward to climbing the crown, so we got to the pedestal, took some pictures and went up right away, leaving the museum to do after coming down. Wrong!
The museum is something you should do before seeing the whole structure, because you will find a lot of information about the construction, transfer, and information that will be very useful once you are up there to appreciate the work in its entirety.
So our advice is to take your time and visit the museum, gathering all the information, and then start the climb inside the structure.
Climbing to the crown of the Statue of Liberty
After the tour and with a lot of information now about how it was built, the transfer to its current location, and so much more, you have to start the climb.
The same is done by stairs inside the structure designed by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (yes, the same of the famous tower), although the statue is the work of the French architect Frederic Auguste Bartholdi.
Expect 377 steps to be able to see Manhattan from the crown windows, the place is enclosed, something to keep in mind if you can’t stand the confinement.
While I was of the mindset that it wasn’t worth the climb, I have to admit that once inside the structure, I found it interesting to see the inside of this American icon.
Arrival, after negotiating the steps, you finally reach the crown. It is here when I have to tell you my feeling of that moment, the first thought was “is this so small?
Yes, honestly, the place inside the crown is smaller than I had imagined, but there we were!
Visit to Ellis Island (Immigration Museum)
After all the time you want to spend on the ascent and tour of the island, you board again. Now the destination will be Ellis Island, where we find the immigration museum.
It’s easy, you head to the pier and you’ll board again with lots and lots of people, and it will be the last stop before the return to Battery Park.
Ellis was the main customs office for entering the city, so most of the immigrants who came to New York passed through here, and it is estimated that some twelve million passengers passed through this office between 1892 and 1954. Today it has been converted into a museum, and I assure you that it is worth the tour, you will go a little into the history, and for those of us who are descendants of immigrants it is interesting, since it is not so different from the history of other immigrants who arrived in other lands.
And finally, after completing the tour, we only have to board again, now towards Manhattan again, where the tour ends. We can now say, task accomplished, after climbing to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.
Again, be prepared for the views, as they are magnificent and you will surely, like us, take lots and lots of pictures.
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Extras : VIDEO
NOTE: The information in this article is based on our own experience, being totally objective. This article contains affiliate links.
