The Statue of Liberty

Situated on the Liberty island (New York Harbor), the Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French people to the United States of America on October 28, 1886. It is an icon of freedom of the United States and was a welcoming site for immigrants arriving from abroad.

Not many people know that the statue is made up of copper. The statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess, bearing a torch in one hand, a tablet in another and with broken chains at her feet.

I have been lucky to see this magnificent structure in both day and night. The view is completely spectacular!

As a part of my job, one of the requirements is to go onsite for client meetings. After work, I always spent my time exploring the place. During one of my visits to the client site in New York, I planned to visit the Statue of Liberty. I and one of my colleagues went out on a weekend for visiting the site.

During the day, there are ferries from the Battery Park that can take you to the Liberty island. After the entry, you spend time there and take one of the ferries back to the Battery Park.

New York from the deck

While you are on the island, you can take a guided audio tour.

The statue is huge. To capture the full length of the statue, I had to lie on the ground to get some of the shots.

Close up

After spending a few hours on the island, we started our journey back to the hotel.

New York from the deck

New Jersey from the deck

I would also recommend taking the cruise during the night.

It was December 2007 and I was in New York along with some of my colleagues. During one of the days, we finished work much earlier than usual and went for the cruise around the Liberty island.

Our ride for the night

Soon we were all aboard the cruise and were on our way. After the initial greetings, some of us moved to the deck. With the ice cold wind on the face, Standing on the deck was a task in itself. I tried to take some pictures with almost frozen hands. I managed to take some which came out better than others.

New Jersey

New York

As we went through the B-M-W (Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg) bridges, the view kept on changing. I could see the skyline of New York and New Jersey. The view was breathtaking.

B-M-W bridges

We could see the Statue as well by now and made an attempt to take some pictures. But with the vibrations and cold weather, I was unable to get a clear shot. So I waited to get closer to the Statue. Finally, I was able to take a couple of good shots and went back inside the mini restaurant of the cruise to join the others.

The cruise lasted for a few hours and we were back at the dock.

I recommend to see the Statue of Liberty both during day and night.

Best time to visit: Any time of the year

How to reach: Arrive at Battery park and take a boat/cruise for the Liberty island