Things to Do: Circle Line boat tour, NYC

Circle Line   (212) 563-3200.  Tours depart from Pier 83 on West 42nd St. Reservations not needed.  The absolutely best way to see Manhattan’s famous skyline must surely be by boat.  The well-established Circle Line has been doing this for more than 60 years, and has it down pat.  From the tour options, I chose the 2½-hour full circle cruise.  While your tired tootsies get a break, the boat completely circles the entire island of Manhattan--past Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, around the southern end past Battery Park and Wall Street, under the Brooklyn Bridge, past Roosevelt Island and Gracie Mansion, past Harlem on one side and Yankee Stadium on the other (where we witnessed the aftermath of an automobile accident and a resulting traffic jam that makes me very thankful I am on a car-less vacation), around the amazingly park-like northern end of the island, where a small bridge opens up especially for our boat, then down past Grant’s tomb and back to the dock.  For the best views and picture-taking opportunities, sit on the port side--the left side as you face forward heading south. 
    Among the tidbits culled from the oration is that NYC was the country’s first capital and that in those early days George Washington hung out on Wall Street.  We also learn the “only thing” free in NYC is the original Staten Island Ferry; it once cost a nickel, but collecting the fare was so hard that the officials threw in the towel and made it free.




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images ©2015 Carole Terwilliger Meyers