:: Guest blog post by Andy Hong ::

It’s pretty obvious that going to see the Statue of Liberty is a leading tourist destination, so what more needs to be said?  The thing that I would point out primarily about the Statue of Liberty is that security is tight ….. as in tighter than airport security.  Keep this in mind in regards to the timeslot that you have scheduled on your ticket.  It will take awhile to get through security to access the pedestal at the Statue.  A regular ticket will get you access to the observation platform at the top of the pedestal only.  However, if you know the date that you will be at the Statue and it is months ahead of time, you can get crown tickets online – so just go get it done.  The obvious benefit is that it is really cool to go all the way to the top through a winding staircase in the Statue to see the amazing views privileged by a small number of people at a time.  The not so obvious benefit is that you get to cut the security line which is really worth it just for that.  And don’t bypass the small museum here.  It is brief, but is also well worth the information regarding history, lobbying, logistics, and design of the Statue.

Your ticket to the Statue will also get you access to Ellis Island which is pretty cool also.  Get the audio tour as it will take you through all the processing rooms that the immigrants had to go through with explanations.  The rest of Ellis Island is mostly exhibits of artifacts and photos which are pretty informative and interesting but can get tiring as it is a lot of standing and reading.  Lots of statistics and dates here.  Also, you can look up your family name and find out when your family came over.  Over 90% of Americans are related to someone who passed through Ellis ….. okay, I made that up, but Ellis Island is an extraordinarily interesting place to visit.

Photo Credits: Andy Hong.