Staten Island and Staten Island Ferry, New York City

Fort Wadsworth is a former United States military installation on The Narrows which divide New York Bay into Upper and Lower halves, a natural point for defense of the Upper Bay and Manhattan beyond. The Navy Based closed in 1994 it claimed to be the longest continually manned military installation in the United States. Fort Wadsworth is now part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area, maintained by the National Park Service.

The first use of Fort Wadsworth was as a blockhouse in 1663. During the American Revolution it became known as Flagstaff Fort; captured by the British in 1776, it remained in British hands until the war's end in 1783. Today the New York City Marathon,starts on Fort Wadsworth. The Five Boro Bike Tour is an annual recreational cycling event in New York City that starts at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and ends with a festival in Fort Wadsworth. We had a tour where we went into the fort, our guide was knowledgeable about the uses of each room inside. There are wonderful views of Manhattan.

The visitors center has a lot of free parking, displays, a small gift shop, clean bathrooms, water fountains and snack machines.

Many people told us to go to Staten island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. We did go to the island of Statue of Liberty, since I wanted to see it close. And it was good we did. At our last day we did go to Staten island, adn used the ferry. And this is how close we got to the statue. I did have zoom at my camera. I wouldn´t have been satisfied if I would have only seen it this far!
But if it is enough close for you, then you can go, and the ferry is free!
From the second photo you will see how far it was, since it has been taken without zoom.
But the view to Manhattan was good. Even though you couldn´t take many photos because of the waves swinging the ferry.

Richmondtown is a village at the center of Staten island. The reason I went there was the historic Richmond town, a town that is actually an open-air museum! It opened at 1958 and you can see 27 historic buildings that were built there since the 17th century. There is a central Info Center where you pay the entrance fee ($5) and they give you a sticker. With that you can go inside the museum and some of the buildings. All these houses that are open are furnished in the 17th century style and there is usually a person in each one that makes a demonstration about it.

It was very funny because when we went into the old grocery store, an old lady came dressed with some old dress and started explaining about her store and how she makes a living! Even the smell was interesting because they had put some of the herbs that were for sale in that era. Then I understood how this village works so I visited the carpenter’s place and he started cut the woods! I asked him if he does this all day for the tourists and he told me that some of the wooden things he makes are for sale because the people of the village don’t have so much money anyway.

One other house was very nicely decorated with a nice kitchen and plenty of rooms so I told to the little girl (that was the “guide” there) that I could easily live in the 18th century if I had a house like this. She told me “ok, but this was the house of a rich man, your will would probably had the one next door” Of course, I didn’t like the other house so much :) We walked around the village for a while and there weren’t any other visitors, only some ducks so I guess we felt for a while how was to be there in the 17th century! Lol

There is also a piece of land where they plan to build some old buildings that were burned out like the First County Courthouse(1729), a jail (1741) and the Jailer’s House(1751). The Courthouse destroyed during the Revolutionary War. I also saw some churches like the St.Andrew church which is a typical Episcopal-anglican church.

the entrance fee is $5 and includes Museum and village tour.
It’s open Wednesday-Friday 11:00-17:00 and Saturday-Sunday 13:00-17:00. It is closed Monday and tuesday

Surprise! It's still free. My brother from over in Jersey City want's to know why the Staten Island folks get free transportation, when everyone else has to pay. Wonderful views of the harbor, boat traffic, and the surrounding sites - statue of liberty, ellis island, world trade center, battery park, brooklyn heights, governor's island, brooklyn bridge, and the hudson river.

If you're not to interested in these sites, it's a chance to let the kids run (on the other side of the boat. It's crowded by the rail facing west, but the other half can be very open. Oh, I didn't go during rush hour, so I'd avoid that if you have kids.

The Staten Island Ferry is a free service and goes past the Statue of Liberty. On the way to Staten Island out sit on right side and on the way back the left. Before the boat docks try and get to the front and race through to the entrance. Turn immediately to your right and try and catch the ferry back or you will be waiting half an hour. The JFK ferry has a place where you can sit at the back whereas the older Staten Island ferries don’t. In winter the windows are shut so you won’t get perfect photos. Better to sit in the cold to get a clear view.

Forget the expensive cruises, all you need for the perfect view of New York's skyscrapers and the Statue of Liberty is the Staten Island Ferry. And it is free. It costs nothing, takes about 25 minutes each way and you get to see Staten Island into the bargain. It's not perfect, and if you really want to see it all take the cruise. The crowds of people are unsurprisingly dense and you have to know where to go to get the best view. The Statue of Liberty passes by quite far away too. But it's free! And there's not much in New York as amazing as this that is even cheap, let alone free.

One of the best sites in all the United States and maybe the world is the Statue of Liberty (thank you France)... known to us American's as Lady Liberty .... but getting tickets to the ferry to see it ..... at times is as hard as winning the lottery .. they sell out days or even months in advance ... so if you can't get them and still want to see her, jump on the Staten Island ferry for the leisurely ride to Staten Island ... best part it's free !!!!!!!! The roundtrip ride takes about an hour .....

Being that I spend so much time in the city, I am constantly looking for cheap things to do. The Staten Island Ferry is great because it is free! The ferry travels between Whitehall St. in lower Manhattan and St. George in Staten Island on the hour and every half hour throughout the day. Many passengers use the ferry to commute to work everyday. The ferry is not just for residents though. The 5 mile journey takes about 25 minutes and provides passengers with outstanding views of the Statue of Liberty, the New York Harbour, and the city skyline.

Mayor Giuliani made this boat trip from Whitehall Terminal to Staten Island free for everybody. Intended for commuters, but often used by tourists, this is an excellent and cheap way to have a peak at the Statue of Liberty and the skyline of Lower Manhattan (picture: 17 State Street). The boat trip takes about 30 minutes each way.

Take the Staten Island Ferry across to Staten Island. You get a great view of the statue of Liberty as you go past on the ferry, and the ferry is free! (as of June 2010) You also avoid the long crowds and queueing on Ellis Island

the Staten Island Ferry is free. The big orange ferrys travel many, many times during the day. You get on at the ferry station at Battery Park, and it goes to Staten Island (no fooling!) and back. While free, you do have to stand in the cattle corral and fight your way on board. Try to go upstairs - you can see much better and it generally gets you away from the people who actually use the ferry to get home after work. Anyway, the outside decks give you a terrific view of the Verazzano Narrows bridge and Brooklyn. When you get to Staten Island, you must get off, run around the gate and get back on the other ferry going back to Manhattan. This time, stay on the left side of the ferry as you will get a great view of the Statue of Liberty. Then, go to the front of the ferry for a photo op of lower Manhattan that can't be beat. All in all, it will take about an hour but is worth it. There is a snack bar for coffee and a sandwich - might be just the lunch break needed before heading up Lower Manhattan to Chinatown and Little Italy. A must do, if you have time. Use the website to look up the schedules and details of travel.

My favorite bridge in Going to Atlantic City wherelse but this bridge in Staten island. Located at the mouth of upper New York Bay, the bridge not only connects Brooklyn with Staten Island but is also a major link in the interstate highway system, providing the shortest route between the middle Atlantic states and Long Island and for Atlantic City Bound gamblers hehehe and again the Verrazano Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, The bridge is named for Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, It has a center span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m) and was the largest suspension bridge in the world from the time of its completion in 1964 until 1981. It now has the seventh longest center span in the world but still is the largest suspension bridge in the United States. It is widely known today as the starting point of the New York City Marathon. The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor; all cruise ships and most container ships arriving at the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge. Most ships, when built, must be built to accommodate the clearance under the bridge. Among local residents it is often referred to as simply "the Verrazano". It costs $ 8 for the bridge toll in going over the bridge.

Most of the tourists take advantage of the free ferry that goes every 30’ to Staten Island because they can take pictures of Statue of Liberty on the way! 80% of them return back with the next ferry without even walk for 5’ at the island! Believe it or not Staten island is bigger than Manhattan so there are some interesting places to visit. More than 500.000 people live on the island and the architecture is much different than in other districts of New York. I had a feeling I was traveling in the country side! I suggest you to go around the island for a while. The central town of the island is St George and its right there by the port so you can see some sights in walkable distance.

There are some nice Victorian houses at the historic part of the city where you can also see the St Peter’s catholic church. There are some museums in St George like The National Lighthouse Museum and The Staten Island Museum.

If you have some more time you can take a local bus(you can use your Metrocard) and go further inside the island. I went to the historical Richmond town (see next tip) but there are some other places too like the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, the Staten Island Zoo or the Center of Thibetian Art at 338 Lighthouse Avenue (one stop before the Historical Richmond Town) .

On our return with the ferry some people started to dance tango until we reached Manhattan again!!! (pic 2)

Snug Harbor Cultural Center is another attraction in Staten Island, a more relaxed one as inside the 83-acre grounds you can find a few gardens and 28 buildings that are used for cultural events, exhibitions etc Of course you can just come and walk around the gardens (for free) but there is a small fee if you want to see the exhibitions or visit the Chinese Scholar’s Garden. Many families come here for picnic so we walked a bit around and relaxed near some fountains (pic 1)

I was surprised at the entrance when I saw some buildings in greek revival style, the visitor center is housed in one of them but as we walked inside the park we noticed many other buildings (pics 2-3) and we also visited the glasshouse of the Botanical Garden (pic 4, free entrance), nothing special but we liked the Chinise Garden (pic5, $5 or free on Tuesdays) where a small lake and the Chinese like buildings make a weird spot (don’t forget we are still in New York) but yet beautiful spot (during the spring you can also admire the colors of the flowers).

You will enjoy the beautiful scenery of Statue Of Liberty from the ferryboat to Staten Island.
Go to Battery Park in Lower Manhattan and take Staten Island Ferry.
*free of charge
*service available every 15 to 30 minutes
*Takes 25 minutes to Staten Island
*Get off at Staten Island, and get on board another ferry to come back to Manhattan.