Any New York City vacation should include a trip to the Statue of Liberty, one of our nations greatest monuments and one that embodies the spirit of America. The statue stands 93 meters tall (1 inch over 305 feet) in Upper Bay and can be seen from the New Jersey side of the bay or from the Staten Island Ferry. However, in order to appreciate the majesty of Lady Liberty, you must make the trip to Liberty Island to see the statue up close.

To get to the island, you can take one of the ferries that leaves about every 45 minutes between 9:00 AM and 3:30 PM. If you leave before the last ferry, you get a stop at Ellis Island included with your trip. The ticket line can be pretty long especially on weekends so you might want to try to buy your tickets in advance online and avoid the long lines at the ticket booth.

Once on the island, you will get the full effect of the immense proportions of the Statue Of Liberty or “Liberty Lighting the World” which is the statues official name. The statue itself stands 151 feet tall and sits on a pedestal of 89 feet which is on a base of 65 feet making the total height 305 feet! Just the index finger is 3 feet long and the right arm is 42 feet long. It sits on a star shaped base that was originally the ramparts of Fort Wood during the war of 1812.

Lady Liberty herself is made from hand hammered copper plates which are affixed to an internal iron frame. The flame was originally solid copper, but was later pierced and lit from inside. The statue weighs 225 tons and came to America from Paris in 350 pieces which where then reconstructed on site - a feat which took 4 months! The finished piece was unveiled on October 28, 1886.

When visiting the Statue Of Liberty, you will be amazed to climb around inside the metal framework which was designed by Gustave Eiffel who also designed the Eiffel tower in Paris. To climb from the ground floor to the crown is 354 steps, but visitors are no longer allowed to climb up to the crown or the torch area for security reasons.