Originally Posted by
DefianceX
If you're going to Ellis island, I'm assuming you're also stopping by the Liberty Statue then? If you want to be cheap, a great tip would be to just take the Staten Island ferry roundtrip which is free and you'll still have a nice view of both Ellis and and the statue. The upside is that the roundtrip itself is less than an hour and wont consume most of your day and its free!
After that, I would strongly suggest taking a stroll at the Brooklyn Bridge. IMO, it's the most breathtaking place in NYC and again you dont have to pay anything. If you want to walk all the way to the Brooklyn side, there's a nice little pizza restaurant you can stop by called "Grimaldi's". Also, a nice little spot called "Brooklyn Promenade" is not far off from the restaurant where a nice panoramic view of Manhattan can be had. If not, you can always just walk halfway and admire the views in the middle of the bridge.
Other musts:
Empire state building (34th st around Madison Avenue)
Central Park (starting from 59th up to 110th st)
South Street Seaport + Ground Zero 9/11 (Lower Manhattan; somewhat near where the Ellis island boats dock)
Museums; Metropolitan museum of art & American Museum of Natural History (both of which are around the upper west side of Manhattan)
Rockefeller Plaza
Times Square (of course)
Roosevelt Island Tram (only costs as much as a single subway ride)
Bookmarks