Statue of Liberty and Skyline 60-Minute Cruise New York

Pier 83 and the Hudson River West Side

Pier 83 sits at the western end of West 42nd Street at 12th Avenue, on the Hudson River in Midtown Manhattan, and harbor sightseeing boats have left from here for generations. If you are wondering how to get to Pier 83, it is simple: walk west along 42nd Street from Times Square in about 20 minutes, take the 42nd Street crosstown bus to its last stop, or ride the subway to Times Square–42nd Street or 34th Street–Hudson Yards and walk the last blocks.

As the boat pulls out and turns south, the West Side opens up: the glass towers of Hudson Yards, the Chelsea piers and the green ribbon of the High Line, a former elevated freight railway that became a raised park in 2009. Look back across Midtown to pick out the stainless-steel crown of the Chrysler Building, an art deco landmark finished in 1930, while the far bank shows the waterfront towns of New Jersey.

One World Trade Center and the Lower Manhattan skyline

Heading down the river, the skyline of Lower Manhattan builds up ahead, crowned by One World Trade Center. Its 1,776-foot height, spire included, recalls the year of American independence, and it is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The tower opened in 2014 beside the 9/11 Memorial, and its faceted glass changes colour with the sky, from silver in the morning to deep blue later in the day.

From the water you see the whole financial district at once: the older stone towers around Wall Street, the green edge of Battery Park at the tip of the island and the orange Staten Island ferries crossing the harbor. This is often the moment travellers decide a New York harbor cruise was worth it, because no walk at street level shows how tightly the towers crowd onto the narrow end of Manhattan.

Statue of Liberty: the slow photo pass

The high point of this Statue of Liberty boat tour comes when the boat reaches Liberty Island and slows in front of the statue. A gift from the people of France, she was dedicated in October 1886; her copper skin, only a few millimetres thick, weathered to its famous green within a few decades. From the ground to the tip of the torch she stands about 93 metres (305 feet), and the seven rays of the crown are said to stand for the seven seas and continents.

The boat comes within about 30 metres (100 feet) of the island, so even a phone captures the statue clearly; the outdoor deck on the island side fills quickly, so move there a few minutes early. This cruise does not land on Liberty Island, which makes it the quickest way to see the statue up close without island security lines. The best time to visit the Statue of Liberty by boat is a clear morning, when the sun lights her face.

Ellis Island and New York Harbor

Just north of Liberty Island lies Ellis Island, where the red-brick main hall with its four domed towers still faces the city. From 1892 to 1954 it was the country's busiest immigration station, and millions of newcomers had their first inspection in its Great Hall before boarding ferries to Manhattan. Today the building holds the National Museum of Immigration, and the guide tells how families arrived, waited and were sent on.

Looking around the harbor you also see Governors Island, a former military post that is now a park, and far to the south the long span of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge marking the harbor entrance. The boat then turns back up the Hudson toward Pier 83. Stepping onto Ellis Island needs a separate island ferry ticket; on this Ellis Island cruise you enjoy the building and its story from the deck, with the skyline on the other side.