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Brooklyn Bridge Waterfall

I think for most of my life I have been suffering from some horrible prejudice induced by seedy waterfront film noir movies because, until my last trip there (trip #10ish), I didn’t think of New York City as a great place to get out on the water. The East River is for people wearing cement shoes, and the Hudson has who knows what lurking beneath its murky surface. That’s why there’s so many nice bridges in New York City, so you can get over the polluted, kraken infested water that is lapping dangerously near Manhattan’s shores. And the poor Statue of Liberty, stuck out there, she must be lonely. Turns out, I was horribly wrong. New York’s water is as lovely to sail on as San Francisco’s Bay or Sydney’s Harbour.

The impetus for my brave venture onto the water is the New York City waterfalls art installation by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Eliasson designed four enormous waterfalls along New York’s waterfront, including one pouring out from under the Brooklyn Bridge (my personal favorite). Having seen other Eliasson exhibits in San Francisco, I really, really wanted to see these waterfalls, and the best way to see them all, up relatively close, is to hop on a boat and cruise on up to them.

My excellent cruise guide

I opted for a 90 minute Manhattan Harbor Cruise because I thought if I am braving the water, then I might as well cruise by Lady Liberty and Ellis Island and really do it up. First off, let me say that our guide was wonderful. A native New Yorker, he had a great, casual commentary about the city’s history, geography and plans for the future. Some people like to take a hop-on hop-off bus tour to get oriented to a new city, I like to pound some pavement and walk around, but I have to say, he did a really great job of orienting the first time visitors to the Big Apple by explaining the city’s layout from the water (ok, even I picked up some tips). With the whole city laid out before you, it actually becomes much easier to see how all those neighborhoods fit together and find visual cues to help get your bearings. And, needless to say, our guide answered everyone’s questions about what building that is, and which bridge are we sailing under with ease.

I’m sure it helped that we had gorgeous weather, but I found the whole experience of being out on the water a pleasant treat. New York City is loud, but the water is fairly quiet. When we floated in front of where the World Trade Center once stood and took a quiet minute to reflect, I swear you could have heard a pin drop, and I don’t think that would have happened had I visited the site up close. I also snapped some great photos of the Statue of Liberty when we stopped by, without waiting in the absurdly long (I heard 2+ hours wait) Statue of Liberty cruise queue. And yes, I saw all four waterfalls, and no krakens, the water actually didn’t look that bad up close, though I wasn’t really tempted to join the jetski duo that zipped past us (I was a little envious of the seaplane that landed). Most surprisingly of all, I couldn’t take my eyes off the city, waterfalls aside, it was really a thing of beauty to see New York’s skyline from the water.

Bonus! The cruise line operates several shuttles, which post-cruise can drop you in Midtown, the Village or other popular Manhattan spots, free of charge.

So I stand humbly corrected, a convert to the leagues of water lovers in NYC, and would definitely recommend hopping on a cruise to the New York City waterfalls before they are dismantled in mid-October. And while you are on the NYC summer public art kick, stop by David Byrne’s excellent Playing the Building exhibit near the South Street Pier. I know, that’s near the water, but I promise, its much nicer than you think.

- Kelly G

If you don’t believe Kelly and would like to stay as far away from the water as possible, check out other fun things to do in New York City on Viator. You can also get a great view of Manhattan from the Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock. If you need a place to stay, check out Hotels in New York City on Planetware.com.