In Two Days

On your second day, you’ll head downtown and explore the city where it began. You’ll wander through streets that are as old as any in New York, and some that are curiously towered by ultramodern, gleaming steel-and-glass skyscrapers. Again, you’ll want to get a very early start because there is so much to see and always too little time.

Start: Subway: 1 to South Ferry or 4 or 5 to Bowling Green.

1. Statue of Liberty

You saw Lady Liberty on your Circle Line half-island tour yesterday, but now you want to get up close and personal with her. Ferries leave from Battery Park (check the online schedule, which changes seasonally). On Liberty Island, you can take one of two tours. The Pedestal/Museum Ticket takes visitors to the base of the Statue and the Pedestal Observation Deck, while the Crown Ticket incorporates the pedestal/museum tour and makes a visit to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty.

2. Ellis Island

Your Statue of Liberty ferry ticket also includes a stop at Ellis Island on your way back from Liberty Island; ferries leave every 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the season. (They will leave less frequently in the dead of winter.) The Immigration Museum is one of the most touching in the city. Incredible, personal details of the immigrant experience are on display, from letters and jewelry to battered valises. You could spend all day there, but you don’t have time! Wander through the Registry room and you’ll hear the echoes of hundreds of different languages of immigrants who came through these doors to a better life.

3. Wall Street

Back in Manhattan, the walk up to the Financial District is not long. Along the way you’ll see structures such as Castle Clinton National Monument, the remnants of a fort built in 1808 to defend New York Harbor against the British, and the impressive U.S. Customs House, which houses the Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution. Once on Wall Street, stop for a photo op at the Federal Hall National Memorial, with the statue of George Washington in front, and the New York Stock Exchange, across the street. Unfortunately, the exchange is no longer open for tours, but if you are a person of some significance, they might let you ring the opening day’s bell.

Take the free Downtown Connection bus that travels from Battery Park to South Street Seaport, with stops along the way including one at Wall Street.

4. South Street Seaport

Here the streets are really old—so old they are rough with cobblestones. This is a 17th-century historic district with restored 18th- and 19th-century buildings still standing. The interesting South Street Seaport Museum will fill you in on more of the 11 square blocks of seafaring history. Also part of the seaport complex is Pier 17, a historic barge that now is the home to various stores that you are probably very familiar with.

Take the A or C train at Broadway–Nassau Street toward Brooklyn and get off at High Street, the first stop in Brooklyn.

5. Brooklyn Bridge

You have been well fed, so now you have the energy to make the approximately half-hour stroll back to Manhattan across one of the greatest suspended bridges in the world. The view of the Manhattan skyline is spectacular—make sure you have plenty of room in the card of your digital camera.

Take a Break -- Grimaldi’s Pizzeria -- You are now in Brooklyn and probably very hungry. You’ll need nourishment for your next adventure, and where better than this famed pizzeria, in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge? 19 Old Fulton St., between Front and Water streets. tel. 718/858-4300.

6. Lower East Side Tenement Museum

When you visited Ellis Island, you learned about the immigrants’ struggles to gain entry into this country. Now visit the prototype of a Lower East Side tenement where many of those immigrants lived. The only way to see the museum is by guided tour, which takes place frequently between 10am and 6pm.

Take a Break -- Il Laboratorio del Gelato -- Just across the street from the Lower East Side Tenement Museum is a wonderful ice-cream-and-gelato shop where you can experience a multitude of homemade ice cream and sorbet flavors. Pick up a cone or cup for the walk to the subway. 95 Orchard St., between Broome and Delancey streets. tel. 212/343-9922.

Take the F train at Second Avenue and Houston Street two stops uptown to West 4th Street.

7. Washington Square Park

Welcome to the center of Greenwich Village. This neighborhood’s bohemian tradition is best represented by this park and the characters in it. It recently went through a major renovation and so is looking the best it has in years. On the north end of the park, you’ll see a row of elegant late-19th-century town houses and Washington Square Arch, patterned after the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

8. Union Square Park

About 10 blocks north of Washington Square Park, you’ll find this small but welcome bit of park. And if it is a Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday, you’ll be in for a treat because the city’s best greenmarket, the Union Square Greenmarket, will be buzzing with activity.

Take a Break -- Pete’s Tavern -- A few blocks east of Union Square Park is Pete’s Tavern, the city’s oldest continually operating drinking establishment. Look familiar? You may have seen it in an episode of Seinfeld, Sex and the City, or Law & Order, or else on the big screen. Stop in for a pint to quench your thirst after that full day of walking. 129 E. 18th St. (at Irving Place). tel. 212/473-7676. www.petestavern.com. Subway: L, N, R, Q, 4, 5, or 6 to 14th St./Union Sq.