Having viewed "Liberty," our next ferry stop was Ellis Island, about a 15-minute ferry ride. From my family history research, I knew relatives had emigrated to America, and as the ferry approached the pier, I speculated what they must have thought as they disembarked in front of the impressively ornate reception building. Certainly as "country folk," this would have been somewhat of a culture shock for them but no doubt a great relief to reach dry land after a long time at sea. However, if they thought that they’d achieved their goal, they may well have been mistaken, because admission to the "land of plenty" was not automatic and the staff in immigration control would scrutinise these would-be citizens for any telltale signs of frailty, insanity, or work shyness. If there were any hints of problems, the traveller would either be held in the hospital block (a large isolation block on the opposite side of the port from the reception hall) or separately pending being deported. Indeed, it is reported that many hundreds died in isolation or on the return journey to Europe.

As we were making our way to the reception hall, we got chatting to one of the guards about the history of Ellis Island. He "confidentially" told us that may immigrants did not get fair and efficient treatment from immigration officers who were prone to bribery (to ensure "fast-tracking") and did a good service in selling overpriced travel tickets to the vulnerable and naive visitor. This was not, he told me in a hushed whisper, "what our government wants you to hear" (interestingly, I have since read this "confidential" information in a standard guidebook!).

The entrance hall to the reception building was a large open space, and it must have been awe-inspiring to the weary traveller who would then have been forced into line to jump through a wide variety of interviews and checks. I guess they would have been totally intimidated and some would have answered incorrectly with the resultant deportation. There’s a large display of "abandoned" luggage in the refurbished building (it cost £160 million to carry out the work to re-open as the Ellis Island Immigration Museum in 1990), and there’s loads of plaques, some recorded oral histories, and statues recounting the fascinating story behind the island and its 100 million anxious visitors.

Outside, the "American immigrant Wall of Honour" weaves its way around the footpaths overlooking the island of Manhattan. On our visit the setting sun cast eerie shadows on this copper wall engraved with over 600,000 names. We recognised the odd one as our distant relatives, a spooky experience.

On the ferry journey back, the skyline appeared to be on fire with the most superb red sunset that I’ve ever seen. The moon was as low as it could get, nestling between the high-rise buildings, and passengers were heard to shout, "That’s a true Kodak moment." Indeed it was!

More queueing in Manhattan - but again, another one that's well worth it. If there's more than one of you, then get one person to go and get the ferry tickets while the others stand in line, as you can get to the queue without going through the ticket office area. Tickets are about $11, which is an absolute bargain, as there are no fees to get onto Liberty Island or into the Immigration Museum at Ellis Island. The queue actually looks more daunting than it is, and all told, we were probably waiting about an hour to get tickets and then get on the ferry.

The Circle Line ferry stops at Liberty Island after circling round the statue and providing fantastic views back to Manhattan of the Financial District skyline. We didn't get off at Liberty Island, as we wanted to spend the few hours we had at the museum, and I'm glad we made the decision.

We spent about 3 hours on Ellis Island, but could easily have extended it by another couple of hours. There is an immense amount to see here, all really well presented and incredibly interesting - lots of original documents from the immigration process, statistics about patterns and numbers of immigration over the life of the island dealing with everyone who entered the country - in all, 12 million between 1890 and the 1920s. There is a database which you can type names into to see if records exist, so it's worth finding out from relatives beforehand whether they know of anyone in the family who did immigrate at this time, although this can be accessed through the website later anyway - www.EllisIsland.org.

There are recordings of interviews with people who came through Ellis Island talking about all aspects of the process, from the journey on the boat to going through the immigration process and through to travel beyond the island and details of the communities that sprang up in America as a result of this huge influx of people from all over the world.

We were struck by the amazing amount of support that people were given, the posters and information leaflets that were produced in a range of languages that would be difficult to find in most services today, citizenship classes, English classes, assistance with travel arrangements and reuniting families when women and children travelled over to meet husbands and fathers who had already emigrated. It is an absolutely fascinating day - not to be missed.

We arrived at Ellis Island aboard the ferry in somewhat the same way the immigrants once landed here. When immigrant ships arrived in New York City, the first-class passengers disembarked on the mainland. The steerage passengers, which were the majority of the passengers by far, were the ones to disembark on Ellis Island for processing and careful examination.

We started our visit with the only refurbished building on the island, the only building the majority of immigrants saw the inside of, by watching the movie "Island of Hope, Island of Tears." I found the movie to be quite spectacular, as it truly showed how the Ellis Island experience was for the immigrants. It mostly consisted of original photos and movies from the time that Ellis Island was open for immigration.

After the movie, we explored the museum, imagining how this building looked when the immigrants were filing through. We started by walking up the steps that were once used as a medical examination. Doctors once stood at the top ready to pull aside those who had trouble making it up the stairs for further examination. Those found to have contagious diseases were the main ones not allowed in to America right away. They had to stay on the island until they were cleared as disease-free. Only 2% of the immigrants who came through Ellis Island were actually denied entrance.

Upstairs, there were exhibits containing some of the items that immigrants would have come over with and rooms with some of the items that were found in the deserted buildings of the island. There was also a whole room with its walls lined with immigrants’ passports. Boy, do they look different from the ones we have nowadays. They were just one piece of paper. The room that interested me the most was the one that had a postcard picture of every ship that bought immigrants who were processed through Ellis Island. There must have been at least 200 different ships that brought the 12 million immigrants who came through here.

Ellis Island was the entry point for millions of soon-to-be Americans in the late 1900s and early 20th century. It has a fabled place in American history as the landing spot for people from all over the world, but especially Eastern and Western Europe. The museum itself is located in the original building, rebuilt after a fire, with amazing views of downtown New York and Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey. It is a very popular destination for visitors to New York, and the lines for the ferry on holidays and weekends can easily exceed 1 hour. Plan to go early in the day if you are traveling during a peak time.

Newly renovated, the Ellis Island museum accurately reflects the experience that many immigrants had in coming to America while providing a great deal of statistical information through audio tours, displays, and interactive exhibits, as well as offering visitors a chance to do some genealogy research. While at Ellis Island, you can also purchase a plaque for the American Immigrant Wall of honor. Facilities on the island are basic, and there are restrooms and snacks available. You can also picnic on either Liberty or Ellis Island.

Let me first say that I think the Ellis Island museum is very well done. It kept my attention throughout the 3 hours I was there. However, the material is a bit dry, and we saw a number of younger children clearly chomping at the bit from boredom. If you will be coming as a family, keep that in mind. There are guided tours, which may be more appropriate for families with younger children. The exhibits are roughly divided into three areas: the Ellis Island experience (which replicates the process newly arrived immigrants went through), the films, and the genealogy project (which has an additional $5 fee).

Getting to Ellis Island requires taking the ferry from either Battery Park (the southernmost part of Manhattan) or Jersey City. The Circle Ferry line runs these ferries, and they cost $10, which includes your admission to the museum and also to Liberty Island. Audio tours are an additional fee. From Manhattan, Ellis Island is the second stop. The first stop will be Liberty Island, where you can see (but not go inside) the statue. Sit on the right side of the ferry and you will get great views of the statue for picture-taking. On the return trip, you are brought directly back to New York.

Ellis Island was the entry point for millions of soon-to-be Americans in the late 1900s and early 20th century. It has a fabled place in American History as the landing spot for people from all over the world -- but especially Eastern and Western Europe. The museum itself is located in the original building, rebuilt after a fire, with amazing views of downtown New York and Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey. It is a very popular destination for visitors to New York and the lines for the ferry on Holidays and weekends can easily exceed 1 hour. Plan to go early in the day if you are traveling during a peak time.

Newly renovated, the Ellis Island museum accurately reflects the experience that many immigrants had in coming to America, while providing a great deal of statistical information through audio tours, displays and interactive exhibits, as well as offering visitors a chance to do some genealogy research. While at Ellis Island, you can also purchase a plaque for the American Immigrant Wall of honor. Facilities on the Island are basic, there are restrooms and snacks available. You can also picnic on either Liberty or Ellis Island.

Let me first say that I think the Ellis Island museum is very well done. It kept my attention throughout the 3 hours I was there. However, the material is a bit dry and we saw a number of younger children clearly chomping at the bit from boredom. If you will be coming as a family, keep that in mind. There are guided tours which may be more appropriate for families with younger children. The exhibits are roughly divided into 3 areas: the Ellis Island experience (which replicates the process newly arrived immigrants went through), the films, and the genealogy project (which has an additional $5 fee).

Getting to Ellis Island requires taking the ferry from either Battery Park (the southernmost part of Manhattan) or Jersey City. The Circle Ferry line runs these ferries and they cost $10, which includes your admission to the museum and also to Liberty Island. Audio Tours are an additional fee. From Manhattan, Ellis Island is the second stop. The first stop will be Liberty Island where you can see (but not go inside) the statue. Sit on the right side of the ferry and you will get great views of the statue for picture taking. On the return trip, you are brought directly back to New York.