Downtown

The lower tip of Manhattan, where the East and Hudson rivers meet, is where New York City began. Now the blend of old colonial churches and gleaming skyscrapers has become the Financial Capital of the World. The heart of it all is the area clustered around Wall Street – originally a walled fortress (c.1633) – where titanic edifices such as the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve Bank buildings line the streets. While modern day business is the focus of Lower Manhattan, many visitors come to this area to experience history. The free National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Insitution is here as are the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, the Irish Hunger Memorial, and the World Financial Center, a waterfront complex with 45 shops and restaurants. Ground zero, the memorial to the dead at the World Trade Centre is also worth a visit. The South Street Seaport offers boat rides, shops, lively restaurants, museums, and special events. Century 21 is a bargain hunter’s paradise offering great deals on designer clothing. At the bottom of the island is Battery Park, a waterside haven with 30 acres of gardens, playgrounds, a one-mile esplanade with views of the Hudson River, public art, and the Ritz-Carlton Battery Park. Catch ferry service to harbor islands: Governors Island, Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, and Ellis Island, the famous immigrant gateway to America (1892-1954) for ancestors of one in four present-day Americans.