Battery Park: What to See in Lower Manhattan

Battery Park is more than the launching point for visiting the Statue of Liberty. Its Castle Clinton is loaded with history, and there are stretches of waterfront lookouts where you can take good photos or just enjoy the breeze.

This sprawling park sits at the southern tip of Lower Manhattan, and it owes its name to the battery of colonial cannons that once guarded the entrance to New York Harbor.

What to see in Battery Park

Thanks to its location, Battery Park is one of the best places in the city to see the Statue of Liberty from afar, and it doubles as an oasis where you can escape the bustle of Downtown.

Over the years the park has reclaimed land from the water, pushing its original boundaries well past State Street, the road that once marked the shoreline.

Beyond the pier where the ferries to the Statue of Liberty depart, there are plenty of other interesting spots, which I'll walk you through below:

1. The historic subway entrance at Battery Park

The Bowling Green subway station, the closest one to Battery Park, has one of the most beautiful entrances you'll find in the New York subway.

Look for the main entrance on one of the park's corners. It's an elegant piece of Beaux Arts architecture.

2. Castle Clinton

Inside Battery Park you'll find Castle Clinton, a fort built in 1811 as artillery to defend the harbor.

Since then it has served all kinds of purposes. It was a theater, a beer garden, an immigration station before Ellis Island, and home to the New York aquarium before it moved to Coney Island…

Today it's a national monument, a National Park Service visitor center, and the ticket office for the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (this is where you buy your tickets, or pick them up if you bought them online, before boarding the ferry).

Castle Garden, customs house and aquarium

I wanted to tell you a bit more about Castle Clinton's many lives. It didn't last long as a military fortification: in 1824 it became New York's first beer garden, Castle Garden.

To convert it into a beer garden, the castle's inner courtyard was roofed over with a sort of dome and fitted with bleachers and terraces inside. It grew into one of the most visited attractions in Manhattan.

In the series The Alienist, set in the 19th century, a couple of episodes take place at Castle Clinton and recreate what the structure looked like back then.

After 30 years as a beer hall, in 1855 it became New York's first immigration station.

By 1890, 8 million immigrants had come through Castle Clinton, at which point the building was deemed too small and operations moved to Ellis Island in 1892.

In 1896 it was the turn of the New York City Aquarium, which operated inside Castle Clinton from 1896 to 1941, once again making it one of the city's most visited attractions.

At one point there were plans to demolish it and build another bridge to Brooklyn from the site, but the idea never went anywhere. In 1946 it was designated a national monument, and since the 1970s it has served as the departure point for visits to the Statue of Liberty.

Before or after your trip to the Statue, take a few minutes to walk through the inside of the castle and imagine all the generations who defended the city here, drank here, entered the country here, or marveled at the beauty of marine life here.

3. SeaGlass Carousel

If you're traveling with kids, they'll love riding Battery Park's one-of-a-kind carousel, the SeaGlass Carousel. Even if you don't plan on riding it, I'd recommend stopping by to look: the show of lights, colors and music is hypnotic (I had a hard time walking away, haha).

It's a gorgeous merry-go-round inspired by marine flora and fauna, with transparent structures full of lights and constant motion.

This glass pavilion sits on the east side of Battery Park, very close to South Ferry Station, the terminal for ferries to Staten Island.

Admission is $5.50 and it runs from 11 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday, and 11 am to 8 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

4. Monuments in Battery Park

In Battery Park you'll come across several statues and memorials to victims of war, to immigrants, to sailors. You can see them all on the website of the organization dedicated to preserving The Battery's historic heritage.

From 2002 to 2017, Battery Park was home to Fritz Koenig's Sphere (The Sphere), the sculpture that survived the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers.

In 2017 The Sphere returned to its place at the World Trade Center, where you can visit it today (it's in Liberty Park).

5. Museum of Jewish Heritage

At the western edge of Battery Park stands the Museum of Jewish Heritage, dedicated to keeping alive the history and memory of Jewish migration to New York, a city that today is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the world.

6. Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park

Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park sits at the southern tip of Manhattan, between the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the waterfront promenade, where you'll get great views of the Statue of Liberty, the Hudson River and New Jersey.

Its beautiful gardens are planted with vegetation native to the area, and each season brings a different palette of colors.

It's a good place to rest on the lawns and benches with the sea breeze on your face. Free events are held in its open plaza throughout the year, too.

The park is also home to Pier A, the oldest pier still standing in New York. On Pier A you'll find The Oyster House, whose outdoor tables with Statue views fill up after work and on weekends.

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Address

It's at the southern tip of Manhattan, next to the Financial District.

How to get there
Subway M. Bowling Green and South Ferry stations