A Two Day Itinerary for New York City
On your second day, head downtown to see where the city began, Lady Liberty and its most sobering, but popular, sight: Ground Zero.
Start: Subway: 1 to South Ferry or 4 or 5 to Bowling Green.
1. Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Whether or not you’ll get to tour both depends on how early you can get to the ferry terminal and how large are the crowds. Having advance tickets up to the crown is a good reason to get off at Liberty Island, though there's now an excellent museum on the island, too (it opened in spring of 2019). But if the stars aren’t aligned or you miss the first ferry of the day, take in the view of Lady Liberty from the ferry (without disembarking) so you can spend the bulk of your time at Ellis Island, the famed portal to the “New World” for millions of immigrants (see below). It’s the more compelling visitor experience of the two, even with the new museum.
2. Wall Street
Back on the isle of Manhattan, walk uptown to the Financial District. Along the way you’ll see structures such as Castle Clinton National Monument in Battery Park—it’s what’s left 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. Once on Wall Street, stop for a photo op at the Federal Hall National Memorial, where George Washington took the oath of office as our first President (his statue is in front), and the New York Stock Exchange across the street, with the famed Fearless Girl statue in front of it. Unfortunately, the Exchange is no longer open for tours.
Walk uptown and towards the river to the corner of Fulton and Anne St. There you’ll find.:
This little restaurant serves some of the best pizza in NYC—and that’s saying a LOT. You should be able to walk in during the daylight hours without a reservation. Very good gluten free pies are available if you can’t stomach the classic Neapolitan pizza served here.
Walk inland on Fulton until you get to:
4 The Oculus
Pop in to see this architectural marvel, designed by Santiago Calatrava to resemble a bird in flight. It’s filled with shops and subway lines; if you’re not in a buying mood, simply take a quick look from the top level.
Exit the way you came in and walk around the structure, following the signs to:
3. National September 11 Memorial and Museum
Be sure to get advance tickets to the National September 11 Memorial, as the line for day-of entry admission can take up to an hour, and that’s on top of the 20 minutes it takes to get through security here. Still, the opportunity to pay your respects to all those who perished, and tour one of the finest (if most shattering) history museums in the United States, is not to be missed..
Exit the site and head east towards Broadway and Fulton Street, to the Fulton Street subway stop. There, you’ll hop a 4 or 5 train to Brooklyn Bridge, switching to the 6 train to the Canal Street stop. Get off the train and start walking east on Canal to:
6. Washington Square Park
As the sun starts to set, head to this carnival of a park, where street musicians are always performing and crowds of Villagers and NYU students gather. Spend some time relaxing here before heading somewhere in the vicinity for a terrific dinner (the restaurants downtown are the best in the city). Choose from one of the restaurants listed on this website as being in either the Village, SoHo, Nolita, Union Park/Flatiron District, the Lower East Side, or the East Village.