Today's programme features a two-hour "Semi-Circle" boat tour — the best of Manhattan, so to speak. The tour is wonderfully informative and a relaxed way to enjoy the city's skyline with its striking skyscrapers from the water, and to see Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge from a completely different angle. The tour also takes us past one of New York's most iconic landmarks, the Statue of Liberty, which we can finally photograph in fine weather. And that is as close as we get, as the queues at the ticket booth and the ticket prices for the Statue of Liberty are simply too high for us.
The Statue of Liberty stands as a symbol of freedom and independence. It was erected in New York in 1886 as a gift from France to the United States of America, and is also meant to symbolise hope. French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue, while Gustave Eiffel constructed the iron framework. The Statue of Liberty stands an impressive 102 metres tall and weighs over 250 tonnes. Visitors who wish to explore it must climb 22 storeys on foot up to the halfway point, as the elevator only goes to the 10th floor. The statue is reached exclusively by ferries departing from the southern tip of Manhattan, where the ticket office is also located. In addition to standard crossing tickets, the STATUE OF LIBERTY offers tickets for entry to the museum in the pedestal as well as for the climb up to the crown. These tickets must be booked well in advance as numbers are limited, and they can only be purchased at WWW.STATUEOFLIBERTYTICKETS.COM.
Towards the evening we head to the Empire State Building — arguably New York's most famous skyscraper — to take it in and ride the elevator to the top. We buy a ticket from a seller in front of the entrance to the Empire State Building, which turns out to be a mistake — see our Top Tip. The building was constructed in just 18 months, stands a total of 443 metres tall, and from its opening on 1 May 1931 until 1972 it held the title of the world's tallest building for over 40 years. It sits in the heart of Manhattan and is a fascinating structure — every day its spire is illuminated in different colours. You will never tire of looking at this beautiful building, since the changing colours give it a different character every single day — yet it is always impressive. The Empire State Building is absolutely a must on any visit to New York! It even has its own zip code (NY 10118).
