Things You'll Need:
- A New York City guidebook
- An Internet connection for making reservations
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Step 1
Take a free tour of Wall Street, courtesy of the downtown New York Alliance. This 90-minute guided tour will take you to the U.S. Custom House, historic Trinity Church, Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange and other cultural and architectural sights. These tours begin on the front steps of the U.S. Custom House, at One Bowling Green, every Thursday and Saturday at noon. No reservations are required, but groups should call (212) 606-4064.
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Step 2
Check out tours provided by Patriot Tours, which focus on the historical significance of Lower Manhattan and the Financial District, particularly the neighborhood’s pivotal role in the Revolutionary War. The 2½-hour tours all take place at about 1 p.m., and tickets must be reserved in advance at zerve.com. After you reserve, you’ll receive information about meeting place, along with directions and a map.
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Step 3
Purchase an audio tour from Sounds for Sights, which provides audio walking tapes for travelers who don’t want the hassle, expense or constraints of group tours. With their recorded guides for your MP3 player, you can sightsee on your own terms. The 49-minute audio tour takes you to the first Dutch-settled areas of Manhattan Island, a former secret meeting place where plans for the Revolutionary War were hatched, and through the financial district and Wall Street. Tapes can be ordered online and cost $6.99.
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Step 1
Pay tribute to the victims of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks at the Tribute WTC Visitor Center, 120 Liberty St., a moving and place where visitors can take walking tours and see exhibits. The Visitor Center was set up until the completion of the Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site in 2009. Walking tours around the perimeter of the WTC site are offered.
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Step 2
Go on a tour of Federal HallSee where this country’s major financial decisions are made, at the Federal Reserve, 33 Liberty St., between Nassau and William Streets. Tours of the Fed take place Monday through Friday at 9:30, 10:30 and 11:30 a.m., and at 1:30 and 2:30 p.m. Since all visitors are screened for security, it’s wise to arrive about 20 minutes early. Tours are free, but only 30 visitors per tour are permitted. Reserve a spot online or by calling (212) 720-6130.
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Step 3
St. Paul's ChapelVisit Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel, 2 historic churches in lower Manhattan now best-known for being close to the World Trade Center and surviving the destruction. Both welcome visitors. Trinity, an Episcopal parish founded in 1697, conducts tours 7 days a week at 2 p.m., and after the 11:15 a.m. mass every Sunday. It is on Broadway at Wall Street. The tiny St. Paul’s Chapel permits self-guided tours during non-worship hours. Look for their current exhibit, “Unwavering Spirit: Hope and Healing at Ground Zero,” which chronicles the role the chapel played in the months after 9/11. St. Paul’s is on Broadway and Fulton Street.
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Step 4
The Promenade at Battery Park CitySend a day at Battery Park City, an oasis of green space, parks, playgrounds, sculpture gardens and museums at the very tip of Manhattan. Wander along the paths and walkways of Wagner Park, where you can eat lunch in one of its restaurants, view the Statue of Liberty from the roof deck, or visit the Museum of Jewish Heritage.
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Step 5
Fraunces TavernSee where George Washington bid an emotional farewell to his officers at the end of the Revolutionary war--Fraunces Tavern, now a museum located at 54 Pearl Street, at Broad Street. The Museum, which was a tavern in the 1760s, houses 2 reconstructed period rooms including the Long Room, site of Washington's farewell to his officers, and the Clinton Dining Room, where Dewitt Clinton commemorated the British evacuation of North America. Admission is $2.50 adults, $1 students and seniors.
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Step 6
Spend quality time at the World Financial Center, in Battery Park City. This huge office building is a vibrant part of the lower Manhattan, offering shops, restaurants and a host of events year-round in its fabulous lobby space, the Winter Garden. This spring, for example, the Winter Garden will host a children’s program by the New York Theatre Ballet. In the Financial Center plaza April 24-26, the Tribeca Film Festival will hold its “drive-in” event, where films are screened for free.
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Step 1
The Financial District and lower Manhattan has a number of good hotels, with a range of prices. The Millenium Hilton hotel is located in the heart of the Financial District and features standard rooms and suites with 42-inch plasma screen televisions, high-speed internet access, a fitness center and an indoor heated swimming pool. The Millenium is located at 55 Church Street, and rates start at $187.
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Step 2
Try a hotel that’s a bit more affordable--the Embassy Suites Hotel, conveniently located across from Battery Park's riverfront promenade, 4 blocks from the New York Stock Exchange, and 1 block from the World Trade Center site. Embassy Suites has a restaurant and lounge, complimentary breakfast, and a weekday evening cocktail reception. Embassy Suites is at 102 North End Ave., and rates start at $149.
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Step 3
At the top end of the cost spectrum is the Ritz Carlton Hotel, Battery Park, the only luxury waterfront hotel in Manhattan. The 39-story, 298-room art-deco hotel overlooks the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor and Ellis Island. Cocktails are served at Rise, the hotel’s 14th-floor bar and terrace. The Ritz-Carlton is at 2 West Street, and rates start at $475.
