Budget · 3-hour walk · New York City
Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge in three hours
Battery Park up through Wall Street to the memorial, then across the bridge into DUMBO.
The oldest part of New York and the cheapest three hours in it: everything here is free except the observatory, and the bridge — the thing most people come for — costs nothing at all. Walk it west to east, towards Brooklyn, because that is the direction the Manhattan skyline is behind you and you can turn around. Cross in the morning or after seven; the middle of the day on the bridge is a slow-moving crowd with cyclists trying to get through it.
The route, stop by stop
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Battery Park
The southern tip. The Statue of Liberty ferry leaves from here — this route only looks at it from the railing.
15 min here Walk here → -
Wall Street & Federal Hall
Where Washington was inaugurated, and free to enter. The Exchange itself has been closed to the public since 2001.
15 min here Walk here → -
9/11 Memorial & One World Observatory
The pools are free and open late. The observatory above is the ticketed part and the fastest lift in the western hemisphere.
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City Hall Park
The bridge's pedestrian entrance is at the far corner of this park, not at the roadway — this is where people get lost.
10 min here Walk here → -
Brooklyn Bridge
Twenty-five minutes at a steady pace on the upper walkway. Stay out of the bike lane; it is enforced by cyclists.
30 min here Walk here → -
DUMBO & Brooklyn Bridge Park
Come off the bridge and turn back west. Washington Street frames the Manhattan Bridge — the photo everyone comes for is here, not on the bridge.
25 min here Walk here →
More in New York City
Every walking route in New York City, or the full New York City guide for where to stay and what a day costs.