While the St. Paul's Church National Historic Site (NHS) may not be as popular as other National…read moreParks in the North Atlantic Region (it's hard to compete with the Statue of Liberty!), it's a small but mighty national park site. We wanted to support the national parks given the current cuts happening to the federal government. We booked the 45-minute tour on Recreation.gov (very reasonable $1 fee) and arrived about 15 minutes early. The tour guide was dressed in a colonial outfit and was super knowledgeable about the history of the church and stable house. Some highlights of the tour: * We were allowed to ring the 260-year-old bell. The bell was made by Whitechapel Bell Foundry in London, the same company that made the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. * The church features one of the oldest functioning pipe organs in the entire country. It was crafted by Henry Erben (1800-1884) whose father Peter Erben (1771-1863) was the organist at Trinity Church in Manhattan (where Alexander Hamilton is buried). * Dr. Charles Sabin Taft was a physician who was attending a show at the Ford's Theatre in Washington DC on April 14, 1865. He was a bystander during Abraham Lincoln's assassination and one of the first responders to treat President Lincoln. Dr. Taft is buried in this church's cemetery! * This National Historic Landmark is open during many federal holidays like President's Day, Memorial Day, and Juneteenth and it's a great way for people to learn about history via historical re-enactments and guided tours. Don't forget to collect your National Parks passport stamp! There's also a Junior Rangers program for kids, which is pretty challenging compared to other National Parks sites that we've visited. Ask for the program guide before the tour because some of the questions ask about very specific dates and names of people that come up during the tour.

Site is currently open with covid-19 protocols in place which means reservations are required at…read moreRecreation.gov for tours. The visitor's center is also closed and if you need a NPS passport stamp, they will bring it outside for you to stamp after your tour. We came on a Thursday morning and were the only ones that showed up for the tour. We basically had a private talk with the guide about the history of this small, one room church. The building itself dates back to the 1700s and has an organ upstairs from the 1800s. Unfortunately due to covid measures we weren't allowed to go upstairs, however, the guide went up himself to play the organ for us. After the tour you're able to walk the grounds on your own which includes a decently sized cemetery with headstones dating from the 1700s to the early 2000s. It was a great experience and best of all, it was FREE!!! You can either drive here or take the 5 train like we did. The church is about 0.7 miles from the subway station although you do have to walk through some pretty sketchy industrial areas that looked like chop shops...

This is an amazing museum, my brother and I came here to visit Staten Island and it was amazing the…read morelady was nice gave a private tour and showed her passion for lighthouses! Amazing experience

Bianca was incredible, friendly and knowledgeable...I got some info to make a donation, learned a…read morething or two, and found a geocache.......what a pleasant way to spend a few hours on this rainy Sunday....will have to checkout the boat tours in the summer...

I had a good time. Although I thought there would be more food stations, I was enjoying my time…read morewith good music, food and great vibes. I'm looking forward to next years event.

Wow. Made me feel stupid. I'll stand by the 1, but sure wish I'd been with Nicole C…read more Hubby wanted to give this event to me for my b'day. But I had to make the arrangements. This was in August. Buy this time many, many events were sold out. So I got sucked into buying the 4 day package. I guess that was stupid. It was over $1000 (add to the hotel/air). Night one was the women's night. Two, the b'day party. Three, burger night & four BBQ. These were all rooftop parties which were simply a mad house. All those volunteers! What a good job they did of politely corralling hundreds of people. But then the hordes were turned loose. Rude crowds is one complaint. Rude celebs is another. It's a double whammy. Where were the photos taken showing attendees with their fav chef? Certainly not where we were. We barely got a *glimpse* of Bobby, Ina, Giada, & Alex when they were on stage for 30 seconds. The only person we saw not under guard was Casey Webb ( I just looked him up. Who knows his name?!) Burger challenge night had GZ, Zimmern, Neil P. Harris & his hub as judges. They were roped off by about 20' with guards. Seriously. On top of that they didn't even look at the crowd -- not a smile, a wave. GZ grimaced. Funny, I actually liked these people before this. I "heard" Bobby/Ina signed books one night. Opposite each other in the same section of the roof. Well, guess what? That caused one major cluster -------! You ***could not*** get through the crowd. I "heard" Giada was in the mix for a time on top of that. All I wanted was to get to some wine. Which brings up another point of serious contention: wines were only available at the far end (BACK) of the pier. So I, the wine drinker, had to make the hike and fight the crowds to get what turned out to be a very expensive sip, considering what I spent to be there. (And I never talk about costs. Money's never in my forethoughts. That's how disappointed I am) So, my non drinker husband was kind enough to pretend to drink so I'd at least get two at a time while the crowds were swilling beer after beer and whiskey. But, oh it got worse. The charity wine purveyor refused to serve Chardonnay!! the last two nights. Of course that's what I drink. I don't have pix because of full hands and crowds. The lines were ridiculous, food scarce. Burger night was the best but started badly. We were in line for a taste of Cinton Hall when shoving and line cutting started. I asked someone what the hell was going on. Apparently Rachael Ray was spotted at the front of the line! People are crazy! They served 1/2 burgers & I scored a whole Shake Shack special burger. Yum. Hubby voted w/ the crowd for Cinton Hall. Another incident. I stepped up to a booth serving sunchokes. The server was asking me if I'd had them before, etc. when the "chef" working behind her looked up & I said, "I know you." I don't know if she'd been a contender on Top Chef or what but I recognized her. With no response I asked, "What's your name?" She just batted her false eyelashes at me and mewed, "Tara. . . " Fine, be coy. I just walked away. I just couldn't understand how all these people could have paid what I paid. BBQ night we sat down with a mother of two. Somehow it came out that her tkts had been comped by a chef she knew. Figures.

Such an incredible landmark! The Statue of Liberty Museum on Liberty Island, offers free access to…read moreexhibits on the statue's history, design, and symbolism, featuring the original torch, interactive displays, and an immersive theater. We absolutely loved this museum! It's interactive, informative and rich on history. It had been a long time dream of mine since I was younger to visit New York- specifically to see the Statue of Liberty. The museum itself provides a comprehensive experience filled with artifacts, photos, and a rooftop terrace with panoramic views of New York Harbor. Entrance to the museum is included with the cost of any standard ferry ticket to Liberty Island. My wife and I spent a few hours here as we basked in the glory of Lady Liberty. It was quite the experience. Highly recommend to anyone interested in learning about the history, construction, and global symbolism of Lady Liberty.

My first visit to Liberty Island was on Sep 10, 2008. The museum in its current form didn't exist…read morethen. What existed back then was on a much smaller scale, closer in size to a gift shop. The statue itself was closed to visitors. We spent less than an hour (mostly walking around the island and taking a breather) and then returned to the mainland. Our second and most recent visit was on Jun 23, 2025 as part of the Road Scholar's "American Mosaic - An NYC Exploration". It was a much different experience. Since our tickets were taken care off in advance, there was no waiting in line... except for the boat to take us from point A to point B. The museum has everything there is to know about Lady Liberty, from her history, design, construction to her continuing impact since. At the Inspiration Gallery, we had our photos taken at a kiosk and watched it appeared on the extra-large Becoming Liberty screen. We continued watching as our photo formed a collage with other visitors' photos in the shape of Lady Liberty. That was impressive. I was also impressed with the life-size replicas of Lady Liberty's face, feet and torch. While at the Inspiration Gallery, I happened to catch the second half of a park ranger's lecture about Lady Liberty. It was very informative. He spoke about Lady Liberty's history and what it meant to him, emphasizing the responsibility of exercising one's civil liberty. I didn't take as much pictures and videos as I should, but I'm glad with the ones I did took. At the Engagement Gallery - the historical part of the museum - I captured on video the entire "Making of the Statue" exhibit. [URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb2UdSV7S8k&list=PLWc5V5RzykolGJ1Zg4W6Immgorrga_X0f&index=4&t=55s] I also took two shots of the film "Liberty Enlightening the World" in the Immersive Theater. Co-sponsored by the Walt Disney Company and narrated by Diane Sawyer, it is shown in three parts, each on its own screens. This meant we sat on the floor, then got up, proceeded to the next screen, and repeated the sitting down and the getting up two more times. Quite an inconvenience. I guessed that must be the "Immersive" being alluded to by the theater name. We weren't able to enter the statue itself. Our tickets didn't include that. It requires a separate reservation of at least six to nine months in advance. Consequently, that affected the overall score. 4 stars is better than 2, which would have been my rating for the 2008 visit.

Fete Paradiso was my perfect introduction to Governors Island. My family and I spent a Sunday…read moreafternoon exploring the island and riding vintage Parisian carousels and carnival rides. I especially enjoyed the Velocipedes, which was introduced in the late 1800's as a way to help the bicycle, a new invention at the time, gain popularity. It was so fun to actually have to pedal the ride! I also loved the carousel with the ballerina seat, which was the oldest ride at Fete Paradiso dating back to 1850. Throughout the day we listened to music in the transformed bumper car pavilion beer garden (from 1900), admired the antique pipe organ, and even watched a sword swallower (I still do not understand how he did it!). It was quite a magical New York City Sunday. If you are in the New York City area and want to check out Fete Paradiso, go now! It closes for the season on September 29th.

There are just a few more weekends to try this out and I say it's DEFINITELY worth experiencing…read more I heard about Fête Paradiso when it first opened. It was something I had on my list to check out. Then, I had an opportunity, a few weeks back, to go with an organized grop. All I can say is that my answer was a huge YES. The photos I had seen were so cool and I was awe-inspired by the thought of seeing old carrousel pieces dating back to such an earlier time. The entire event is awesome. The people working the rides are dressed in appropriate attire from the era. The entire event has a feel of another time. Being on Governor's Island, you really lose the feeling of being in NYC. Yes, it's a short (FREE) ferry to Governor's Island, but you are really transported into another land. It's easy to lose yourself in the imagining how things were in an earlier time. Just a quick tip regarding the concessions. Concessions within the "Fête Paradiso" area are way over-priced. If you aren't willing to wander away a bit, you'll pay premium prices. If you are willing to cross over to the food area, there are dedicated concession areas and food trucks with very yummy, diverse options. I encourage you to be adventurous and find better, cheaper options. Re toilets, non-porta-a-poty options are located near the Manhattan ferry landing. These things will become of increasing significance as the length of your visit increases!

More like 3 1/2 stars. Because you have to stand behind one of the barricades to watch it pass for…read moreover 4 hours. That being said, it's a unique experience. We attended the 13th annual parade and festivals (2019) held in New York City. It starts around 21st street and goes down Broadway, then University Place, turning onto East 8th street which becomes Saint Marks Place. It ends in the Dance Fest after party at Tompkins Square Park. The parade includes some 10,000 dancers from over 150 organizations with 100 unique styles of dance. Groups come from New York but also New Jersey and Connecticut to promote their dance schools, clubs, performing arts programs, and national origins. We had staked out a good viewing spot on 8th street just after the parade would turn from University place. Luckily we were in the shade. We stood for over 4 hours as the different groups passed by. Many had banners featuring the name of their groups and had amps with their music to accompany their dances. A few were on trucks or parade floats. Most were walking and dancing the entire route. Amazing how they did both in heavy colorful costumes and very high heels, too. All sorts of dance were here -- from ballet to belly dancing; hip hop to traditional Chinese fan dances; Latin fusion to ballroom. Can you think of it? It was represented. Then there were some of the weird and wild with drag queens and campy dances. Exercise like dancers too -- from aerobics to jazz. And also there was a mix of ages -- from tiny kid dancers to elderly Asian umbrella dancers. All sorts of folk and ethnic dancers. A lot of Bolivian dancers with blaringly loud "hurt your ear drums" music. Contrasted with drum corps -- the all female group was great. If you're in town when this occurs, plan for disruptions in traffic and closed streets. And if you can't go (or stand) for the entire parade, at least carve out an hour to see this unique New York experience.

Today was the 13th Annual NY Dance Parade. It was on Broadway between 14 St and 21 Street in…read moreManhattan running downtown bound. There were lots of different dance schools, dance teams and other dancers represented. It also wasn't just New York Area groups because I did see one from North Carolina. Plenty of good music to dance along the sidelines.The cops let people cross Broadway to get to the other side during lulls in the parade,

If you are looking for something more to do than just have a seafood lunch on City Island, the City…read moreIsland Nautical Museum would be a nice stop. It's a small museum with enough to hold your interest but not hold up your day. The museum is filled with all sorts of boating items. You can easily feel yourself transformed back in time. Go ahead and pretend you are a fisherman at sea, a rich person who owns a boat, or docking at City Island. The building itself is an old school building. One of the rooms is kept with the old school classroom theme. It's really neat to see old textbooks, chalk, toys, desks, etc. This place is filled with history and gives a little more meaning to City Island than just seafood.

I haven't been here since I was a little girl but what I can remember is an overall feeling of…read morewonderment. I would like to go back and get a better account o the history of town that has been a second home to me all my life. One of my favorite things I remember is the old school diving suit. Looks more like a space suit. Thank god for scuba!

Great spot to visit with a beautiful multi-level museum full of information about the area,…read moreWashington and the Revolution. Very clean, bright museum with friendly helpful staff and very interesting & some interactive displays. A cool stop for everyone & MUST STOP for History Buffs.

You can't come to Morristown and not at least visit the famous statue of George Washington across…read morefrom the Park. George loved loved loved Morristown and was the place he would "hang out" when taking a break from the war. I did not have time on my trip to visit the Museum but I'm sure it's great. I did have time to spend some quality time with George along with my Nephew who lives close by and posted some pics here. I wonder if he ever gets off that horse?