Statute of Liberty: America's most famous greeting party welcomes you into her arms!
If you’re visiting New York City, a trip to Liberty Island, including a tour inside the statue officially titled “Liberty Enlightening the World” is now far more memorable with the re-opening of access to the crown of Lady Liberty in July 2009.
Visiting the Statue of Liberty should involve thorough planning, so take an hour or two to thoroughly visit the web sites of the National Park Service/Liberty National Monument, not to mention Statue Cruises, the official transport company for the statue.
Here’s a quick summary from those sites:
PLAN IN ADVANCE. Buy your transport and statue tickets on line as far in advance as possible and try to get to Battery Park (highly recommended over New Jersey’s Liberty State Park, the other embarkation point to Liberty Island) well before your planned departure. A wait time of several hours is not out of the ordinary.
Plan for the crown visit and the audio or ranger tour. It makes a huge difference in the quality of your visit to the statue. It might require additional time, but it’s well worth the effort.
Be prepared for a thorough pre-departure security screening. Take as little with you as possible. Obviously you want recording equipment, but avoid items like pens, keys, etc., as they will unnecessarily delay your clearance. For those with a Monument Pass (to get into the statue itself), you have to go through a secondary security clearance once you get to Liberty Island.
Large items such as backpacks, strollers, etc., are not allowed into the statue. There are small lockers available, but make sure to have cash available in order to use them.
If you’re wanting to visit the statue itself, make sure the words “Monument Access” are stamped on your ticket! Otherwise, you won’t be able to get in.
When you get to Liberty Island, take time for a ranger tour. Visitors meet at the Liberty Island flagpole and the program lasts 45 minutes. Audio tours are available in English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Arabic, and Japanese. The cost is $8.
- by Jim Brown , New York Reporter for HelloMetro
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Jim Brown Jim Brown is a longtime freelance aviation, travel and destination writer and communications professional. A former reporter for Aviation Daily, Air Safety Week and World Airline News, Jim served for more than 15 years as a senior public relations executive for American Airlines, TWA and AirTran Airways.
