Financial District & Lower Manhattan

Reserve tickets online well in advance (up to six months ahead) to access Lady Liberty’s crown for breathtaking city and harbor views. If you miss out on crown tickets, you may have better luck with tickets for the pedestal, which also offers commanding views. If you don't score either, don't fret: all ferry tickets to Liberty Island offer basic access to the grounds, including guided ranger tours or self-guided audio tours. Book tickets through Statue Cruises to avoid long queues.

The focal point of the National September 11 Memorial is Reflecting Absence, two imposing reflecting pools that occupy the actual footprints of the ill-fated Twin Towers. From their rim, a steady cascade of water pours 30ft down toward a central void. Bronze panels frame the pools, inscribed with the names of the nearly 3000 people who died in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and in the World Trade Center car bombing on February 26, 1993.

Home to One World Observatory – New York's highest observation deck – the 94-story One World Trade Center is architect David M Childs' redesign of Daniel Libeskind's original 2002 concept. Besides being the loftiest building in America, this tapered giant is currently the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, not to mention the sixth tallest in the world by pinnacle height. The tower soars skywards with chamfered edges, resulting in a facade of isosceles triangles that, seen from the base, seem to rise forever.

Staten Islanders know these hulking orange ferries as commuter vehicles, while Manhattanites think of them as their secret, romantic vessels for a spring-day escape. Yet many tourists are also wise to the charms of the Staten Island Ferry, whose 25-minute, 5.2-mile journey between Lower Manhattan and the Staten Island neighborhood of St George is one of NYC’s finest free adventures.

Ellis Island is America's most famous and historically important gateway. Between 1892 and 1924 more than 12 million immigrants passed through this processing station; more than 100 million current Americans are their descendants. Today, the island's Immigration Museum delivers a poignant tribute to the immigrant experience: narratives from historians, immigrants themselves and other sources animate a fascinating collection of personal objects, official documents, photographs and film footage. Purchase tickets online in advance from Statue Cruises to avoid soul-crushingly long queues.