How To Visit Empire State building and Statue of Liberty in the Same Day

Here’s an attraction that requires no introduction. Even if you’ve never actually seen the Empire State Building in real life, your mind’s eye can still immediately conjure it up just as clearly as if you were standing right in front of it. Icon of Hollywood movies including Sleepless in Seattle, Independence Day, The Muppets Take Manhattan and (most famously of all) King Kong, the Empire State Building was constructed in just 13.5 months (!) in the early 1930s, a frankly astonishing feat which required nearly 3,500 workers.

The Empire State Building was the world’s tallest for over 40 years and, at 1,454 feet (not including the antenna which adds a further 204 feet) still more than holds its own in the top 100.

General admission to the Empire State Building's 86th-floor observatory is included with a New York Pass. This 360-degree open-air platform affords fine views of NYC landmarks including Central Park, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, and Lady Liberty herself. You can also peep at rival skyline monoliths including the Chrysler and Flatiron buildings. Indeed, just about the only iconic Manhattan landmark you can’t ogle from up here is the Empire State Building itself! 

Top tip: head to the Top of the Rock or One World Observatory if its views of the Empire State Building you seek. Both are also included with the New York Pass.

A definitive symbol of American freedom, the Statue of Liberty is another of those Big Apple landmarks that can be viewed from several points across the city, but which really benefits from being seen close up. Like, really close up. For only then can you appreciate the Green Goddess’s distinctive patina and, indeed, the sheer scale of the thing (Lady Liberty stands 305 feet tall from ground level to the tip of her torch).

Dedicated in a ceremony led by President Grover Cleveland and celebrated with the world’s first-ever ticker-tape parade, the Statue of Liberty has stood in the same position on Liberty Island for nearly a century-and-a-half.

There are a few ways to visit the Statue of Liberty. You can take the free Staten Island Ferry for some decent (if somewhat distant views). There are also hour-long Liberty Cruises if you want fast access to close-up views direct from Midtown Manhattan. Alternatively, go for the full package with a ferry to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and Statue of Liberty Museum and grounds. There’s also the opportunity to ascend to the famous crown – that’s 162 steps up a spiral staircase inside the statue; for those with a head for heights only!

Liberty Cruises and general access to the island museums are available on the New York Pass, but you’ll need to book separate tickets to climb the statue.

It’s fairly easy to build a one-day sightseeing itinerary that includes both the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty. The Liberty ferry departure point in Battery Park is only a 20-minute cab or subway ride from the Empire State Building in Midtown and the ferry to Liberty Island takes just 15 minutes, so here’s the good news: you’re not going to be spending your day negotiating long trips from one attraction to the other.

The trick here is to try to avoid waiting in lines as much as possible. Obviously weekends and school holidays (especially summer) are some of the very busiest times at these popular New York icons so if you can visit on a weekday, and ideally also outside of peak vacation seasons, you’re likely to have a much better time.

In addition, the start and the end of the day are always going to be less busy than mid-morning and mid-afternoon when the tourists are at their most active. Not only does this mean shorter lines, it also makes for a more pleasant sightseeing experience with less crowding.

As ferries to and from Liberty Island shut up shop in the early evening (last departures from Liberty Island are usually just after 6PM), it makes sense to make the Statue of Liberty your first port of call, leaving on the first ferry from Battery Park at 9AM to beat the crowds. The Empire State Building stays open way later (past midnight in summer) so you could even delay your same-day visit until after-dark to see the famous Manhattan skyline in all its twinkling nighttime glory. Heck, do it this way and you could probably even squeeze in a third attraction in the afternoon. Pick up a New York Pass and the Big Apple’s your oyster, with savings of up to 50% to be had on options including MoMA, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge bike tours, and about 100 more NYC tours, activities and attractions.

Morning: Catch the 9AM ferry from Battery Park and spend the morning exploring Liberty and Ellis islands with their various museums, artifacts and, of course, the Statue of Liberty herself.

Afternoon: Return to Lower Manhattan and stop off in Chinatown or Little Italy for lunch. Afterwards, make use of your New York Pass to visit an additional NYC attraction of your choosing.

Evening: Mosey on over to the Empire State Building, where spectacular sunsets and nighttime skyline views await from the 86th-floor observatory.