Landmarks
Trinity Church
An Episcopalian Anglican church and parish was first established on this site in 1697 under charter by King William III. The present Neo-Gothic Revival church building the third incarnation dates from 1846 and remains a significant landmark within Downtown. The original burial ground at Trinity Church includes the graves and memorials of many historic figures, including Alexander Hamilton, William Bradford, Robert Fulton, and Albert Gallatin.
Bowling Green
A small park at the foot of Broadway which is the oldest public park in the city and is the site of the Charging Bull sculpture created after the 1987 stock market crash. Bowling Green is also the origin point for the Broadway ticker-tape parades; if you walk up Broadway, you can view plaques in the sidewalk honoring the people or events celebrated in these parades.
City Hall
On a triangular city block between Broadway, Park Row and Chambers Street sits City Hall, a gorgeous gleaming white building completed in 1812 and still serves as the home of certain city government functions, such as the office of the mayor. The building itself is fenced off and only accessible by tour, but there is a lovely park surrounding the building, with plenty of shady trees and a pleasant fountain just to the south of the building. Just north of City Hall and on the same block is the Tweed Courthouse, a gorgeous government structure and the legacy of Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed, who used the courthouse project to embezzle large sums of money from the city budget and was convicted in a courtroom in this building.
Battery Park
At the southern tip of Manhattan, Battery Park is a waterfront green space, named for the artillery batteries which were installed here to protect the settlement of New York when it was under Dutch, then British rule. In the lead-up to the War of 1812, Castle Clinton (http://www.nps.gov/cacl/) was constructed as a fort to protect the city, and is now operated as a small museum. There are several memorials in the park, including The Sphere, a public art piece originally housed on the World Trade Center site which survived the events of September 11 and was moved to Battery Park. Ferries departing to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island see below depart from here.
St Paul's Chapel
Built in 1776, the chapel is an active part of the Parish of Trinity Church and is Manhattan's oldest public building in continuous use. It is the only remaining colonial church in New York City and was George Washington's place of worship after he was inaugurated as president, but more recently the chapel became known for surviving the events of 9/11 without even a broken window - despite being located across the street from the World Trade Center - and its role as a place of refuge for the WTC recovery workers in the days that followed.
Woolworth Building
One of the oldest and most famous of New York's skyscrapers dubbed the "Cathedral of Commerce", the neo-Gothic Woolworth Building was completed in 1913 and was the world's tallest building until 1930. The building has a beautiful ornate lobby, but it has been closed to the public since September 11.
Manhattan Municipal Building
With New York City growing and not enough space in the City Hall building, this 40-story structure was built to meet the space demands of the city government. Completed in 1915, it is a massive and very grand building with the gilded statue of a woman standing atop the building's spire.
Brooklyn Bridge
From its intersection with Park Row just east of City Hall you can walk takes about 20-30 minutes each way, bike, or drive across the historic and iconic bridge to Brooklyn. The view from the bridge is quite lovely, with excellent views of Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn and good views of Midtown and the New York Harbor in the distance.
Museums
African Burial Ground National Monument
For most of the 18th century, Africans in New York City were buried in a graveyard outside the city. The graveyard was eventually forgotten and was rediscovered in 1991. This museum and memorial site commemorate the estimated 15,000 Africans that were interred on the site of the memorial. Note that the museum is located inside of a Federal building so airport-style security should be expected.
Museum of American Finance
A small museum dedicated to finance and the markets, with exhibits that change periodically.
Museum of Jewish Heritage
A memorial to the Holocaust.
National Museum of the American Indian
Housed in the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House, this Smithsonian museum is the New York branch of the National Museum of the American Indian the other branches are in Washington, D.C. and Maryland.
New York City Police Museum
A museum dedicated to the history of the NYPD.
Skyscraper Museum
Exhibits on the history of highrise and skyscraper construction.
South Street Seaport Museum
A museum with exhibits on the historic Seaport area and a collection of ships at the South Street Seaport on the East River open for tours.
New york harbor
Lower Manhattan is the primary gateway to three islands in New York Harbor: Liberty Island home to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and Governors Island. Another ferry runs to Liberty and Ellis Islands from Liberty Park in Jersey City, but most tourists use the Manhattan ferries. These are some of the most popular destinations in New York City and access is available only by ferry boat.
If you're visiting New York on a budget or you don't want to wait for hours to get near the Statue of Liberty, you may want to consider taking the Staten Island Ferry (http://www.nyc.gov/html/d...), which is absolutely free and offers excellent views of the Statue of Liberty from its route to Staten Island from the South Ferry Terminal, just east of Battery Park.
Governors Island
Governors Island has a long military history, home to headquarters and military posts of the United States Army from 1794 until 1966, then a complex for the U.S. Coast Guard before becoming a historic district open to tours.