The statue of liberty. An absolute classic piece of New York and an absolute must see for tourists. Once you get to the island it is all about taking pictures, of the skyline, of others in your group, and of the fine lady of freedom herself. Once you’ve taken pictures to your hearts content, it is actually time to enter the statue

The first thing I would recommend is don’t overlook the museum; it contains a really well put together exhibit on the creation and history of the statue. After walking around the museum (I’d allow 30 minutes, but then again I am a museum geek), you then proceed up a few stairs to the base of the statue. Here you get to look inside the statue but don’t expect to go any further. In a post 9/11 world, going up to the crown has been deemed unsafe. That’s not to say that the view isn’t amazing. Spend some time up here taking photos too. And bear in mind that once you leave an area you will not be allowed to re-enter it. After you exit the statue there isn’t a whole lot else to do, other than take a trip to the gift shop and hop back on the ferry.

It’s a given that as a tourist/traveler you will visit this statue, just give in to temptation. It’s worth it.

Entrance to Liberty Island is free, but in order to get there, you must take a Circle Line ferry. Tickets cost $11.50 for adults, $4.50 for kids, and $9.50 for seniors. Ferry tickets can sell out, so it's a good idea to buy ahead, especially if you want to go inside the base of the statue--for that you'll need a separate free ticket that admits you on a guided tour. These are time-stamped so that you have reservations for a single tour. The time-stamped tour tickets sell out well before the ferry tickets do, so if entering the statue is important to you, plan ahead.

If you don't enter the statue, there isn't very much to do on the island except walk in a wide circle around the statue, admiring it and the views of Manhattan and New Jersey. But it's a very pleasant thing to do.

The ferry leaving Liberty Island takes you to Ellis Island, which is a much more interesting (if less picturesque) spot: the former immigration center that processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the early 20th century is now a museum documenting immigration to America. Most of the exhibits consist of photographs of immigrants, although there are also some cases full of objects people imported with them (embroidered dresses, silverware, books, etc.) and later donated to the museum. I found the photographic exhibits surprisingly moving: they're well selected, and the information provided along with the photographs is thorough and varied. The museum manages to do a good job of showing just what immigrants were up against in their home countries (the Irish potato famine, massive unemployment in Italy), and then what challenges they faced in America (anti-immigrant sentiment, the difficulties of assimilation).

If you're interested in doing genealogical research on Ellis Island, there's a library, although you should contact them in advance for permission.

There's food available everywhere on this trip: while you stand in line for the ferry, you'll be surrounded by pretzel carts, and there's a concession on the ferry, a fast-food restaurant on Liberty Island, and a cafe at Ellis Island.

It was a superb day when we visited with clear skies and we weren’t too surprised when we met a large queue at the ferry terminal. We stood in line for our tickets and then again for access to the ferry, but our wait was not boring as there were a variety of street entertainers and a number of souvenir stalls to peruse.

The journey was exciting – this after all was our first visit to the "big country" – and as liberty loomed closer we began to realise the vastness of the figure. It must have been an awesome sight for immigrants as they, fatigued from their long ocean crossing, saw this vast symbol of hope towering before them. I guess they’d feel relief alongside nervous excitement as they prepared for their new life.

I was a little surprised at the scale of the statue and was intrigued to hear that her index finger is 8 feet long, her nose 4½ feet, and the overall height a staggering 151 feet. "Liberty enlightening the world", to give her full title, commandeers the eponymously named island and dwarfs the hundreds of tourists that poured off the ferry to frantically explore her innermost sanctuaries.

There are some superb views across the Hudson River to Manhattan and tidy gardens around the statue, but the main attraction is the statue itself. So we climb the steep staircase up the massive plinth and make our way inside. There’s a superb exhibition explaining the history of the statue with some of the original moulds and first casts in plaster. The explanations and historical notations are short making for an easy but explicit read of the progress of this impressive work of art.

The original lantern is on display in the middle of the statue. It’s impressively large when you’re standing up close and personal with it. It was given a rest after being at the top of the statue for just over a century. Some routes around the statues innards become quite congested with visitors and you’ll need to be patient as you weave your way around the narrow staircases that give you access to different levels of Liberty.

But nothing beats the experience of approaching by ferry and seeing one of the world’s most famous statues for the first time.