No trip to NYC is complete without a visit to Lower Manhattan. It’s easy to reach, just a short ride from most any part of Manhattan. Once you’re here, distances are short, and the streets are easy to navigate.
ATTRACTIONS
Ultimate perspectives on downtown can be found at One World Observatory. A quick ride on one of the world’s fastest elevators brings you to the observatory level, a climate-controlled interior with stunning 360° views. Take in historic bridges, skylines, and the shipping lanes of New York Harbor.
Courtesy The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.
There are great perspectives on the Statue of Liberty here as well. To truly appreciate its scale, you need to get up close. Statue City Cruises is the only way to get there, leaving out of Castle Clinton at the neighborhood’s southern tip. On Liberty Island, you’ll find the Statue of Liberty Museum, with artifacts, an immersive film, and close looks at the statue’s original copper torch. Boats also stop at Ellis Island, the U.S.'s famous immigrant point of entry, home now to the Ellis Island National Immigration Museum.
Image: Museum of Art and Technology.
Mercer Labs Museum of Art and Technology redefines the museum experience as an ultra-sensory immersive, featuring cutting-edge projections, sound design, and mirrored spaces that stretch to infinity. More modernity can be found at the new Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), a trailblazing architectural wonder and a cultural keystone in Downtown Manhattan. In addition to live music, theater, opera, and dance, there’s a vibrant restaurant, Metropolis by Marcus Samuelsson.
MUSEUMS
Fraunces Tavern Museum.
Visiting Fraunces Tavern Museum feels like time travel, with exhibitions showing off the building’s long and important history, including serving as the site of General George Washington’s famous farewell to his officers at the end of the Revolutionary War.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is nestled into Battery Park, inside a contemporary building with inspiring views of New York Harbor. Exhibits here celebrate the lives and traditions of both those who survived and those who perished in the Shoah.
SHOPPING
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Photo: Deonté Lee/BFA.com.
One of the neighborhood’s most famous draws has recently reopened the doors to its Cortlandt Street flagship. Century 21 stocks a world of designer fashion at discount prices. Four floors offer everything from shoes to fragrances, handbags, luggage, and men’s, women’s, and kids’ apparel.
You can’t miss the soaring white wings of Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s Oculus, along Broadway near One World Trade. In addition to serving as a transit hub, there are dozens of top retailers at the Shops at the Oculus, from Banana Republic to H&M to Kate Spade New York. It’s part of the Westfield World Trade Center, which has even more shops to explore.
Further towards the Hudson River, Brookfield Place offers stylish shopping, plus restaurants, a food hall, and culture under the palm trees of the Winter Garden. Brands like Ferragamo, J.Crew, Lululemon, Michael Kors, and Tory Burch are only the beginning.
THE SEAPORT
On the East River side of Lower Manhattan, The Seaport brings together centuries of history with modern style on its cobblestone streets. There’s shopping, dining, and a museum dedicated to the area’s seafaring past, with historic ships docked in front.
A REJUVENATING GETAWAY
Photo credit: Courtesy of QC New York.
A legendary Italian spa has opened its first U.S. location here in NYC. QC NY is an oasis with massages, saunas, steam rooms, and outdoor pools, just a quick ferry ride away on historic Governors Island.
WALL STREET
The Charging Bull, also known as the Wall Street Bull or the Bowling Green Bull, is another must see when you’re down in FiDi. It’s a popular attraction for tourists, and you’ve probably often seen it displayed in movies. This 11 feet tall and 16 feet long bronze statue has been around since 1989, and it has become a part of New York’s history—and a photo op you don't want to miss!
Wall Street is both a literal street and how we describe the financial industry located in this bustling area. The famous Charging Bull statue by Arturo Di Modica attracts plenty of daily visitors, along with Kristen Visbal’s Fearless Girl statue in front of the neoclassical New York Stock Exchange. Nearby, the cobblestones of Pearl Street and Stone Street boast great eating and drinking.
BATTERY PARK
The ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are located inside Battery Park, once a strategic site, at the very tip of Manhattan. The historic Castle Clinton National Monument was a defensive structure built prior to the War of 1812 and now houses the Statue Cruises ticket office.
The park’s awe-inspiring Sea Glass Carousel (lower image) is sure to wow kids and adults alike. Also located in Battery Park are the New York Korean War Veterans Memorial, a statue of Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, and the Netherlands Monument (reminding us that New York was once called New Amsterdam).
HELICOPTER TOURS
You can also capture a bird’s-eye view of the city aboard Helicopter Flight Services, which departs from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Pier 6.
EASY ACCESS
Getting Downtown is easy; most major subways lines stop in Lower Manhattan and the ride is only 15-20 minutes from midtown. Convenient downtown stations include:
1 train to Rector Street or South Ferry
2/3 trains to Wall Street or Fulton Street
4/5 trains to Wall Street or Bowling Green
6 train to Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall
A/C trains to Fulton Street
E train to World Trade Center
J/Z trains to Broad Street
R/W trains to Rector Street, Cortlandt Street, or Whitehall Street
