FIDI
Find gorgeous views, public art, and lots of history in oldest part of Manhattan.
Also see our guide to nearby Seaport.
EVENTS
Destination Cosmos: The Immersive Space Experience
Apr 24, 9:00 amHall des Lumières
Go on a gripping digital, immersive voyage across the universe through a maze of stars, planets, nebulae, and supernovae. Composed of 13 sequences and a prologue, the unique journey of discovery begins at Cape Canaveral and ends in the universe’s outer reaches. After departing from Earth, travel over Martian canyons alongside rovers, dive into the heart of Jupiter, glide across the rings of Saturn, and explore beyond the frontiers of our solar system to experience the immensity of our universe.
A multi-sensory journey with projections on marble walls, towering columns, stained glass skylights and coved ceilings of a historic former bank. Created with participation from NASA and in partnership with CNES.
Come back weekday mornings for Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion, a multi-sensory journey through the golden, sensuous and revolutionary art of the Viennese painter Austrian painter Gustav Klimt.
Optik & Roseaux
May 18, 12:00 am200 Water St
The Downtown Alliance’s Art Is All Around campaign returns with two newly installed interactive art pieces — “Optik” and “Roseaux.”
“Optik,” on display at Cortlandt Way, was created by the Urban Conga in collaboration with Serge Maheu. Rotate 10 movable gyroscope-like rings, each producing its own sounds and a spectrum of reflective colors, to create ever-changing lights and tones.
“Roseaux,” located at 200 Water St., was created by 1ToMn in collaboration with UDO Design and Serge Maheu. Step onto the sensors on this interactive installation of 15-foot illuminated reeds to rhythmically propel a spectrum of colors. The reeds continuously emit gently pulsating lights and audible tones when a participant stands on the base.
Global Architecture III: Mosques
Jun 3, 10:30 amThe Skyscraper Museum
Learn about the features of Islamic architecture and designs that migrated from the mosque, even into skyscrapers. Look at interiors with beautiful domes and intricate patterned designs inspired by repeating geometric shapes, then design original patterned tiles.
Online re
Drag Story Hour
Jun 3, 11:00 amNelson A. Rockefeller Park
In celebration of Pride month, Battery Park City Authority presents Drag Story Hour, a fun and fabulous educational experience that celebrates gender diversity and all forms of difference to build empathy and give kids the confidence to express themselves however they feel comfortable.
Jazz Age Lawn Party
Jun 10, 11:00 amGovernors Island
Time travel to the twenties with dance lessons and performances, picnicking, vintage motorcar exhibitions, and carnival games all set to live jazz age music. A fun event for grown-ups and junior gents and flapperettes. Tickets sell out, so buy in advance.
See our complete guide to Governor’s Island.
Swedish Midsummer Festival
Jun 23, 5:00 pmWagner Park
Join a nostalgic celebration of the summer solstice. Dance around the Midsummer pole, make wreaths from beautiful flowers representing those in bloom on the solstice in Sweden, watch a parade, play children’s games and try Swedish delicacies. Dances will be led by Ross Sutter, a Scandinavian folklorist, to traditional music by Paul Dahlin and fiddlers from the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis.
Presented by the Consulate General of Sweden, New York and Battery Park City Authority.
TO DO
Staten Island Ferry
Take a free ferry ride from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan to Staten Island and back for great views of The Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan & Brooklyn skylines. 25 minute trips (1 hour round trip) depart every half hour (every fifteen minutes during rush hour). Masks required.
For a quicker trip, take the…
Battery Playscape
Explore a new playground with five ecology zones—Bluff, Marsh, Dune, Meadow, and Riverbed– in resilient design, post-Superstorm Sandy when the park survived the full force of the 15-foot storm surge and became a focal point of sea level rise. Lyrical patterns of water illuminate the portal, fence, and custom seating. Daylight filters through the punctuated…
Seaglass Carousel
Spin under the sea in an aquatic carousel in historic Battery Park. Sit within iridescent fiberglass fish that glide through a (covered) spiraling nautilus of glass and steel. LED color-changing lighting combined with “water effect” light projectors and oceanic music create a magical underwater atmosphere for kids of all ages.
Purchase tickets at the carousel…
The Statue of Liberty
Take a ferry to Liberty Island, home of the iconic statue. After a lovely 15-minute boat ride with amazing views and no crowds. Walk among paved, stroller-friendly paths and relax in shady grassy areas. Reserve tickets in advance to guarantee access to the Statue of Liberty Pedestal (crown tours not currently available)
At the Statue…
One World Observatory
Elevators climb 102 stories in 47 seconds to the top of the Freedom Tower, the tallest building in America at a symbolic 1,776 feet. Incredible views plus lots of interactive and digital features including immersive audiovisual experiences, a 14-foot wide circular glass disc with high definition footage of the streets 100 floors below and friendly…
play:groundNYC’s The Yard
Get creative at a 50,000 square-foot adventure playground stocked with loose parts, tools and space for kids to play, imagine and dream big.
ART/HISTORY
imagiNATIONS Activity Center
Solve puzzles, perform experiments, play state-of-the-art computer simulations and find out how corn is like a dog in this interactive, family-friendly space. Explore scientific principles behind Native innovations and technologies that are so ingenious, many remain a part of our daily lives.
XO World & XO Play
XO WORLD (outside One World Trade Center) features a giant globe and 12 foot “Jack” from the game of Jacks (the “X” with crossed arms attached to the spoke to represent love).
Created by Daniel Anderson, an internationally recognized artist inspired by children’s natural acceptance of others regardless of race, gender, age, or religious…
Dubuffet Sculpture
An office tower plaza features a dynamic Jean Dubuffet sculpture and a peaceful Noguchi rock garden fountain.
WTC Street Murals & Memorial
Street artists from around the world vibrantly transformed the streets surrounding 3 World Trade Center with fun, colorful murals, bringing love and joy to a place of mourning.
At the 9/11 Memorial, two 1-acre pools with the largest man-made waterfalls in the United States comprise the footprints of the Twin Towers, symbolizing the loss of…
Art Walk at Brookfield Place
Look for works ranging from oil on canvas to handmade ceramics throughout the 40-foot palms and glass atrium in this shopping and office complex.
In addition to a permanent collection on view, new artists exhibit their work throughout the year. Right now see Rashid Johnson’s Untitled Broken Crowd, a monumental tile mosaic composed of handmade…
National Museum of the American Indian–New York
All ages can learn about the culture and contributions of Native Americans at the engaging New York branch of this DC museum.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🌽 Interactive, family-friendly imagiNATIONS Activity Center
🪶 Comprehensive Infinity of Nations: Art and History in the Collections of the National Museum of the American Indian
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
👽 Site-specific comic-inspired…
Trinity Church
An active Episcopal church, built in 1846 on the site of a congregation founded in 1697, welcomes visitors of all faiths to a Gothic Revival style building where Founding Fathers worshiped. Admire lovely stain-glassed windows. In the picturesque graveyard, visit the final resting place of notable early Americans including Alexander Hamilton, Eliza Hamilton and Angelica…
The Skyscraper Museum
Celebrate NYC’s rich vertical architectural heritage in a small but very cool stainless-steel space.
HIGHLIGHTS:
🌇 A 36-foot long history of height from the pyramids to the present
🌇 Detailed mini-Manhattan models
🌇 Scale models of the world’s tallest building
CURRENT EXHIBITS:
🌇 Residential Rising: Lower Manhattan, 2000-2022
⭐️ Join…
Wizard Tea & Potion Making
A two-floor, wizard-themed bar and restaurant with indoor dining and outdoor terrace seating on the cobblestones of historic Stone Street hosts interactive experiences perfect for Harry Potter fans. Don a provided robe and use a hi-tech magic wand to cast a pouring spell to receive a welcome drink from the maw of a magical creature.
…
Gustav Klimt: Gold in Motion
Take a multi-sensory journey through the golden, sensuous and revolutionary art of the Viennese painter Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Be immersed in his iconic works, projected on marble walls, towering columns, stained glass skylights and coved ceilings of a historic former bank using unique, cutting-edge mapping technology, synchronized to an original soundtrack.
The first exhibit…
Destination Cosmos: The Immersive Space Experience
Go on a gripping digital, immersive voyage across the universe through a maze of stars, planets, nebulae, and supernovae. Composed of 13 sequences and a prologue, the unique journey of discovery begins at Cape Canaveral and ends in the universe’s outer reaches. After departing from Earth, travel over Martian canyons alongside rovers, dive into the…
Optik & Roseaux
The Downtown Alliance’s Art Is All Around campaign returns with two newly installed interactive art pieces — “Optik” and “Roseaux.”
“Optik,” on display at Cortlandt Way, was created by the Urban Conga in collaboration with Serge Maheu. Rotate 10 movable gyroscope-like rings, each producing its own sounds and a spectrum of reflective colors, to create…
TO EAT
Strasbourg-Alsace Christmas Market & Père Noël
The centuries old Strasbourg-Alsace Christmas Market pops-up in Bowling Green. Thirty authentic wooden chalets sell handcrafted gifts and Christmas ornaments from Alsace, France: genuine artisanal pottery, fine table linens, fragrant gingerbread, jams and chocolates plus gastronomic specialties to discover such as choucroute and tarte flambée, hot mulled glühwein, Alsatian craft beers and high-quality Hugel Family wines…
Eataly NYC Downtown
The 40,000 square feet outpost of Italian marketplace Eataly is focused on bread, but you can also find delizioso pizza, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, pasta, rotisserie chicken, chocolate, gelato and (post-pandemic) weekend kids cooking classes.
Choose from five restaurants, nine take-away counters (including gelato), two caffès, and one wine bar. Shop more than 10,000 high-quality…
La Pizza & La Pasta a Colori
Experience the world of food and color at Eataly’s immersive restaurant space designed in collaboration with the Color Factory. Under a kaleidoscopic canopy, explore a diverse array of tints and tastes, from the rich golden hue of farm-fresh eggs to the emerald green of fresh DOP basil and beyond. Ceiling installation “Somewhere Out There”…
Greek From Greece Bakery &Cafe
Feast on authentic Greek pastries both sweet (backlava, kataifi, walnut cake) and savory (spinach pies & a variety of cheese pies) plus soups, salads, sandwiches, house-made Greek yogurt and more at this friendly bakery/cafe.
Le District
Mangez on freshly made croissants, crepes, frites and more delicious treats in a French shopping district within happening Brookfield Place. Take your treat to the terrace for a view of the French-in-origin Lady Liberty.
Adrienne’s Pizza Bar
Eat thin-crust square pies (plus classic round pies, salads, pastas and more) on indoor and outdoor seating overlooking historic, cobbled Stone Street at this casual yet classy pizzeria.
Hudson Eats
Choose from over a dozen fast-casual chef-driven eateries including Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar, Umami Burger and Dos Toros Taqueria at this upscale foodcourt on the second floor of Brookfield Place (upstairs from French market Le District).
Counter service; eat at fancy-feeling seating throughout the 30,000-square-foot space featuring soaring ceilings and window walls with…
Fraunces Tavern
Get a pot pie (one of George Washington’s favorite meals) and other traditional and modern American dishes at New York’s oldest and most historic bar and restaurant. Established in 1763, this favorite drinking spot of Alexander Hamilton and the site of Washington’s famous farewell address to soldiers after the Revolutionary War now is part restaurant,…
SWAY’S BLOOM! & Fantastical Flower Craft
See 20-minute family-friendly, colorful, spirited performances exploring themes of earth and nature, community, transformation, individuality, and diversity, performed atop SWAY’s signature 14 foot sway poles on the Waterfront Plaza. Accompanied by an original soundtrack by Ania Reynolds, BLOOM! celebrates the ephemeral and simultaneously beautiful nature of life. Pick from 3 performances at 12:30, 3:30 &…
Portside
Admire the harbor at an al fresco lounge on Brookfield Place’s Waterfront Plaza inspired by coastal charm and nautical traditions. Light bites and bevs including avocado, burrata and nutella tartines are available for grab-and-go at The Shack by Tartinery (11 am – 9 pm), or get food inside at the Le District or…
Wizard Tea & Potion Making
A two-floor, wizard-themed bar and restaurant with indoor dining and outdoor terrace seating on the cobblestones of historic Stone Street—the oldest paved road in Manhattan hosts interactive experiences perfect for Harry Potter fans.
In immersive Potion Making classes, don a provided cloak, wield a working magic wand & use molecular mixology to brew drinkable elixirs.…
Wizard Tea & Potion Making
A two-floor, wizard-themed bar and restaurant with indoor dining and outdoor terrace seating on the cobblestones of historic Stone Street hosts interactive experiences perfect for Harry Potter fans. Don a provided robe and use a hi-tech magic wand to cast a pouring spell to receive a welcome drink from the maw of a magical creature.
…