We bought our tickets to the Statue of Liberty at Castle Clinton. $12 tickets get you passage only on the Circle Line ferry. For $18 you get an audio tour. Our son's ticket cost $5.

You need a reservation to visit the 10th floor of the Statue of Liberty, but not to wander around the island. The return-ferry ticket also includes a visit to Ellis Island.

We queued 5 minutes to buy the tickets, but a further 1.5 hours to go through security. Wrap up warm - it is freezing down there.

On-board the ferry sit up-top. Despite the icy wind, you get wonderful views of Liberty and the skyline.

The Statue of Liberty - official name Liberty Encircling the World, was designed by Bartholdi and Eiffel and presented as a gift from France to the USA to commemorate America's 100th birthday. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, it is 305 ft tall and very green - it's covered with a copper skin.

Liberty's crown has 7 rays, symbolising the 7 seas and 7 continents. The tablet she holds is inscribed with July 4, 1776. Her nose is 4ft long and her mouth is 3ft wide. Bartholdi used his mother's face as inspiration. The Statue is the universal symbol of democracy and still the epitome of the American dream.

Walk all around the island. As well as a close-up of the statue you get lovely views of Manhattan and the water. Avoid the restaurant - fast-food and very crowded. Wait until you get to Ellis Island and visit the coffee-shop/restaurant there - so much nicer.

Ellis Island was once the first glimpse of the New World for countless immigrants. It was the processing station for around 12 million immigrants between 1892-1954. 40% of Americans today have an ancestor who entered the country through the island.

It is a moving memorial and interpretive centre where Americans can research their ancestors' arrival, entering through a replica of the baggage and registry room. We found it fascinating.

Back in Manhattan, when we got off the ferry we walked up to Wall Street. This is the New York from the black and white movies - narrow streets, big skyscrapers, suited businesspeople.

We walked down Wall Street - so narrow. It was named after a wall which the Dutch built to fend off Indian attacks and has been the centre of commerce in the New World for 2 centuries.

We also walked past Ground Zero. The 16 acre site of the World Trade Center is now a construction site, as the World Trade Center Memorial is now being built. It is a poignant and sad place, but the really moving memorial to those who died is at Battery Park.

The orb there used to stand on top of a granite fountain between the World Trade Center Towers. The plaque says "in honour of those who were lost, the sphere stands as an icon of hope and the indestructible spirit of this country."

If you are planning to visit the Statue of Liberty, prepare to wait in lines and go through security at least once. We arrived at Castle Clinton to get our tickets and board the ferry about 15 minutes before the ticket area opened at 8am. The line was rather short, but by the time it opened, it was much longer. After getting tickets, we got into another line to go through security. Once through security, we waited in an area packed with people creating a scene, resembling cows being corralled into a barn.

Once on the ferry, we sat on the top deck to get a good view of the skyline and the approaching Statue of Liberty. Not that we actually saw anything once the boat loaded up. To actually see the view, you must stand by the edge or be tall enough to see over everyone else, or you could just wait until the ride back, when the boat is likely to be a little less crowded.

The first thing we did when we got to Liberty Island was go into the Statue of Liberty’s Pedestal using our time passes, which we purchased online and picked up at Castle Clinton. Here was yet another line and a another security checkpoint. The security here includes an air puffer machine that checks your body for hazardous chemicals as well as a metal detector. The time passes are free, but are on a first come basis. Inside the Pedestal we got a Park Ranger guided tour through the museum that gives the story of the statue from the construction of the statue to the pedestal to the 1980s renovation.

At the end of the tour, you take an elevator up to the top of the pedestal, where you can look up into the Statue and see her framework. Up here you can also walk around the outside and see the statue above and get a great view of the New York skyline.

After we came back done via the steps, we walked around the base of the statue before getting in the long line for the ferry to go to Ellis Island.

Almost first on our visiting agenda was the Statue of Liberty – the statue that "is America" and symbolizes hope and freedom. Liberty was the dream of French sculptor Frederic Bartholdi and was partially gifted to America by the French Government as a sign of their friendship with America and a commitment to an American styled constitution. The project was not without controversy but despite the lack of American government funding the American money was found following an appeal from Joseph Pulitzer and some amazing donations from individual American citizens. It was finally assembled, on site, having being delivered in separate containers, in October 1886.

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.

The idea of the Statute of Liberty conjures up many different ideas of what it is, but almost everyone’s first though when they see it is "wow, it’s small." The Statue is 152 feet tall and weights 225 tons. France gave the statue to the US in 1865 as a sign of friendship and close historical ties between the two countries (France helped the US win their independence from Britain during the Revolutionary War). The ferry for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island leaves every 15 minutes from Battery Park starting at 8:30am. Tickets ate $12 more if you want an audio tour. If you want to go into the Statute then order the monument time passes online. They sell out quickly, and when you get to the Statue the lines are LONG to get inside, even with the pass. Get to the park early, because you need to pass through security. The ride to the Statue of Liberty takes about 15 minutes.

There isn’t much to do on Liberty Island. There is a gift shop and usually a park ranger giving talks about the history of the Statue. When getting back onto the ferry to the Ellis Island is careful of which ferry you board; one heads to Ellis Island and then back to New York and the other goes to New Jersey. Ellis Island was my favorite of the two destinations. The space in the complex is devoted to the history of the island and the immigrants who passed though it. Tourist can learn about the whole process that the immigrants went thought once they arrived in New York through photographs, documents, and even quotes from the people who were there. Other exhibits such as "Treasures from Home" show off items that immigrants brought with them from home, and "Ellis Island Chronicles" tells the history of the island itself. How it started as fishing to how it grew in size from 3 acres to 27 acres. There is also a show for an extra $6. The show Island of Hope/Island of Tears is decent. It lasts 25 minutes and tells the story of a few immigrants and their journey to Ellis Island. It was decent but reminded me more of a bad High School play then a professional production.

There is even the American Family Immigration History Center, where for $5 you can research your family. All you need to know is the name of the person who came through island and you can find a wealth of info. My search lead me to a manifest of two people who could possibly be my great-great grandfather, but what I didn’t know is that they both came over with family members that I never knew about.

Since we didn't have time to spend half our day actually visiting the Statue of Liberty, we satisfied ourselves with the view from the Staten Island Ferry. From the Bowling Green subway station, we walked two blocks to the ferry. The ferry is free!

Once you board the boat, go to the back of the boat and then up the stairs one level. Find a seat on the right near the doors to the outside deck. You can see the closest view of the Statue and Ellis Island from the inside deck or you can stand on the outside rail or sit on benches outside.

The trip takes about twenty minutes one way. At the other side, everyone must get off the boat. Follow the crowd off the boat but stay to the right. After walking around the terminal, you will be able to walk back into the loading dock and back onto the very same boat for the return trip.

The return trip doesn't go as close to the Statue, but you will still get a nice view of Manhattan as well. The back right is still the best view. The hurricane deck is the top deck, and if you wish to be outdoors, it is fine. However, their is less space outdoors on the top deck and no benches. Also, the indoor area on the top deck does not have seats immediately in front of the windows. The best seating is the middle (second) deck on the back right side as you face the rear of the boat.