The quietest of the five boroughs, and home to the single best free thing to do in New York City. Most visitors still treat it as a there-and-back on the ferry, but a short bus ride from the terminal gets you to a Greek Revival cultural campus, a living-history village, and a Civil War-era fort under the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge — enough to turn a forty-five-minute round trip into a genuine half-day out.
4 stops · Tiers B–C
B
Limited
Great with an extra hour or two.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden
Historic Campus · North Shore
A former retirement home for sailors, founded in 1801 and now an 83-acre campus of Greek Revival buildings, art galleries, a children's museum, and eight themed botanical gardens, including a full-scale Chinese Scholar's Garden built by artisans brought over from China. The grounds are free to walk; individual museums and the botanical garden charge separate small admissions. It's the single best argument for taking the ferry all the way to Staten Island rather than just riding it round-trip — a fifteen-minute bus ride from the terminal.
S40 bus · St. George TerminalBest: weekend, combine with the ferry
C
Shuttle
For second-timers and niche interests.
Staten Island Ferry
Ferry · Manhattan / Staten Island FREE
A free, 25-minute boat ride across New York Harbor that happens to sail directly past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, offering roughly the same view as a paid harbor cruise for the price of nothing. Ferries run around the clock between Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan and St. George Terminal on Staten Island; stand on the right side heading south for the best angle on the Statue. Most visitors ride over and immediately ride the next boat straight back, a completely reasonable way to spend forty-five minutes. Go near sunset for the skyline lit up behind you on the return trip.
1 · South FerryBest: near sunset
Historic Richmond Town
Living History Village · Richmondtown
A restored village of more than two dozen original and relocated buildings spanning the 17th through 19th centuries, including the Voorlezer's House, believed to be the oldest surviving elementary school building in the country. Costumed interpreters demonstrate period trades like blacksmithing and tinsmithing on weekends, and the general store and courthouse are open for self-guided wandering the rest of the week. A slower, quieter alternative to Manhattan's more polished historic sites — closer to a living museum than a monument.
S74 bus · St. George TerminalBest: weekend trade demonstrations
Fort Wadsworth
Historic Fort · The Narrows FREE
One of the oldest continuously garrisoned military sites in the country, guarding the Narrows since the Dutch colonial era and expanded through the Civil War and both World Wars, now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area. Battery Weed, a five-tiered 1861 fortress built directly into the cliffside, sits almost underneath the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, giving it one of the more dramatic bridge views in the city without the crowds of the bridge itself. Free to visit, with a small visitor center and coastal walking trails along the overlook.
S51 bus · St. George TerminalBest: clear afternoon
