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    Lower Manhattan and Financial District
    Rhododendrites / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

    United States

    Lower Manhattan and Financial District

    City

    Manhattan's southern tip holds the city's oldest part. Just west of Castle Clinton, Fort Amsterdam was established in 1626, and by 1658, Stone Street became Nieuw Amsterdam's first cobblestoned road.

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    9. Lower Manhattan and Financial District
    Manhattan's southern tip holds the city's oldest part. Just west of Castle Clinton, Fort Amsterdam was established in 1626, and by 1658, Stone Street became Nieuw Amsterdam's first cobblestoned road. Today, the Financial District's office towers rise among them, with suit-clad commuters dictating the weekday tempo.The World Trade Center is the emotional heart of the area. The two basins of the 9/11 Memorial are located precisely within the footprints of the Twin Towers, and along their edges are inscribed the names of 2,977 victims from September 11, 2001, and six victims from the 1993 attack. Right next to it, the One World Trade Center rises 541 meters with its antenna, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. From the 100th-floor observation deck, you can see the entire harbor.Battery Park begins down by the water. Inside the circular Fort Castle Clinton, built between 1808 and 1811, you'll find today's ticket office for the Statue of Liberty. If you just want a view of Lady Liberty, take the Staten Island Ferry: it's free, runs around the clock, and takes 25 minutes for the trip.It's best to come early in the morning; then the Memorial is still quiet and security lines at the Battery are shorter. In the evening, a round-trip ferry ride is worthwhile when the skyline begins to glow. On weekends, the streets between the skyscrapers seem almost empty.

    Sights in Lower Manhattan and Financial District

    Discover the most important sights and attractions

    One World Observatory
    Historic Landmark

    1One World Observatory

    The 100th-floor observation deck of the One World Trade Center, 541 meters tall with antenna and standing since 2014. On a clear day, you overlook the entire harbor from here.
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    The Oculus
    Shopping Mall

    2The Oculus

    Santiago Calatrava's white concourse above the PATH Station World Trade Center opened in 2016. Inside, you'll find shops and underground connections to several Subway stations.
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    Castle Clinton National Monument
    Museum

    3Castle Clinton National Monument

    The round fort, built from 1808 to 1811, later served as an entertainment venue, immigrant station, and aquarium. Since 1986, it has been a visitor center and ticket office for ferries to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island; admission to the fort itself is free.
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    National September 11 Memorial & Museum
    Historic Landmark

    4National September 11 Memorial & Museum

    The two pools lie in the footprints of the Twin Towers, with water falling from all four walls into a central opening. The Memorial is free and open daily 8 AM to 8 PM; you need a pre-purchased ticket for the Museum.
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    Fraunces Tavern Museum
    Museum

    5Fraunces Tavern Museum

    The 1719 house became a tavern in 1762 and was a meeting point for patriots. In the museum on the 2nd floor, you'll see the rooms where George Washington bid farewell to his officers in 1783, open daily from 12 to 5 PM.
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    Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal
    Attraction

    6Staten Island Ferry Whitehall Terminal

    From here, the orange ferry to Staten Island departs: free, 25 minutes each way, and runs 24/7. Ride it straight back, and you'll see Lower Manhattan's skyline.
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    Restaurants in Lower Manhattan and Financial District

    1

    Fraunces Tavern

    Restaurant and several bars on the ground floor of the historic building on Pearl Street, which calls itself the city's oldest bar. Live music plays in some rooms in the evenings.
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    2

    Eataly NYC Downtown

    Italian food hall with restaurants, stalls & café on 3rd floor, 4 World Trade Center, open daily 7 AM-11 PM. Ideal for a break between Memorial and Oculus.
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    Nightlife

    1

    The Dead Rabbit

    Irish bar on Water Street, voted number one in 2016 by The World's 50 Best Bars. Downstairs in the Taproom, it’s casual, while upstairs in the Parlor, elaborate cocktails are mixed.
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    Getting There and Around

    Lower Manhattan is the part of the city most densely connected to the Subway. All destinations are within a 15 to 20-minute walk, so you won't need a car here.Fulton Street (Fulton Center): Transfer hub for lines 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J, and Z, just a few minutes from the World Trade Center.South Ferry / Whitehall Street: Line 1 (South Ferry) and R and W (Whitehall Street) stop directly at the Staten Island Ferry and Battery Park.PATH: The World Trade Center station at the Oculus connects Lower Manhattan with Newark and Hoboken in New Jersey.NYC Ferry: From the Wall St/Pier 11 landing, the East River Route travels to DUMBO and Williamsburg in Brooklyn.Statue of Liberty: The sole authorized ticket seller and ferry operator is Statue City Cruises. Ships depart from Battery Park, and an airport-style security check is conducted beforehand.

    Accommodations in Lower Manhattan and Financial District

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    Campgrounds in Lower Manhattan and Financial District

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      • 1One World Observatory3 days
      • 2The Oculus4 days
      • 3Castle Clinton National Monument5 days
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    Nearby

    New York City

    New York City

    New York City, in the eponymous state, is divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. You come for its skyline, large museums, and numerous neighborhoods, each with its own distinct character, home to around 8.8 million people.In the heart of Manhattan lies Central Park, 341 hectares in size and publicly accessible since 1858. On the West Side, the High Line runs, a park on a former elevated railway line, stretching approximately 2.3 kilometers through the Meatpacking District and Chelsea. The Brooklyn Bridge, opened in 1883, leads across the East River to Brooklyn. The Statue of Liberty was inaugurated in 1886.The subway operates 24/7, a ride costs 3 dollars. You pay contactlessly with credit card or smartphone directly at the turnstile. JFK and LaGuardia airports are located in Queens.
    Lower East Side, East Village, Chinatown and Little Italy

    Lower East Side, East Village, Chinatown and Little Italy

    Few Manhattan spots tell as much about immigration as this corner. From the 19th century, immigrant families crowded into the Lower East Side's tenements. Their story lives on in delis and specialty shops over a century old. You might recognize Katz's Delicatessen (1888) from the restaurant scene in Harry and Sally.Just south, Little Italy blends almost seamlessly into Chinatown. Little Italy has shrunk to a few Mulberry Street blocks, as Chinatown expanded north since the late 1960s. Chinatown offers dim sum halls, vegetable stalls, and the crooked Doyers Street, once called Bloody Angle due to gang wars.North of Houston Street, the East Village begins, featuring pubs, small international restaurants, and Tompkins Square Park. Here, the Hare Krishna movement was founded in the USA under an elm tree in 1966, and in 1990, the park opened New York's first dog run.Plan your day around food: Dim Sum for lunch in Chinatown, an afternoon tour at the Tenement Museum, and evening beers in the East Village. You should book museum tours in advance.
    SoHo, Greenwich Village and West Village

    SoHo, Greenwich Village and West Village

    Between Houston Street and 14th Street, Manhattan becomes more intimate. The streets abandon the grid pattern, trees shade brick houses, and a café sits on almost every corner. For decades, Greenwich Village was home to artists, musicians, and counterculture, and even though rents are high today, you still sense that in the jazz cellars and comedy clubs.The heart of the neighborhood is Washington Square Park with its marble arch. Beneath the park presumably lie the remains of over 20,000 people, as it was a pauper's cemetery here from 1789 to 1823. Today, chess players gather here, street musicians perform, and New York University students flock to the fountain.A few blocks west, the Stonewall Uprising erupted in 1969 from the eponymous bar, a turning point for the LGBTQ movement. South of Houston Street begins SoHo, short for South of Houston. From the 1960s, artists moved into the empty factory lofts; today, boutiques fill the ground floors of the cast-iron facades.Come in the late afternoon: Stroll through SoHo, wander in the evening light through the side streets of West Village, and reserve a spot for later at a jazz club or comedy show. On weekends, SoHo's shopping streets are very crowded.
    Brooklyn

    Brooklyn

    Across the East River, Brooklyn has long held its own appeal. The most beautiful way over is on foot via the Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883 and was then the world's longest suspension bridge. Since 2021, the pedestrian path is exclusively for walkers; cyclists have their own dedicated lane.At the other end lies DUMBO, short for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. Its old warehouses, which once produced machinery, spices, and Brillo pads, now host offices and shops. In front of it, Brooklyn Bridge Park stretches along the East River. Just south is Brooklyn Heights, the city's first historic district (1965), featuring brownstones and a promenade above the expressway. Within the park, Jane's Carousel from 1922 spins inside a glass pavilion.Further north, Williamsburg is the district for bars, concerts, and Domino Park, located on the site of an old sugar refinery. To the south lies Prospect Park, also designed by Olmsted and Vaux, with the Brooklyn Museum right next door.Combine DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights for an afternoon and stay until sunset, when Manhattan's skyline across the water begins to glow. For Williamsburg or Prospect Park, it's best to dedicate a separate day.
    Chelsea, Meatpacking District and Hudson Yards

    Chelsea, Meatpacking District and Hudson Yards

    The West Side, between Gansevoort Street and 34th Street, shows how New York reinvents itself. Where slaughterhouses, warehouses, and a freight railway once stood, you'll now find galleries, designer shops, and glass residential towers.Everything is connected by the High Line. On the 2.3-kilometer elevated railway track, freight trains ran from 1933; since 2009, sections of it have been a park with grasses and perennials by Dutchman Piet Oudolf. You stroll at third-story height between the buildings, with views into street canyons and of the Hudson.At the south end stands the Whitney Museum; a few blocks further, the Chelsea Market, located in the former Nabisco factory where the Oreo cookie was invented. In West Chelsea, between 10th and 11th Avenue, are more than 200 art galleries. Further north rise the towers of Hudson Yards, featuring the honeycomb-like Vessel and the Edge observation deck. Also in the Hudson is Little Island, a park opened in 2021, built on 132 tulip-shaped concrete stilts.It's best to walk the High Line in the morning before it gets crowded, or just before sunset, from south to north. Check the galleries' opening hours beforehand; many aren't open every day.