Ellis Island Museum

While you don’t need a ticket to enter the Statue of Liberty Museum or Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration, tickets are required to board ferries to Liberty and Ellis Islands. All ferry ticketing is run through Statue Cruises, which is the only vendor authorized to provide tickets and transportation to Liberty and Ellis Islands. No other ferry company can give you access to the Islands.

Arrive to Ferry Service as early as possible, lines tend to be long in good weather!

The Ellis Island National Museum of Immigration is located in the Main Building of the former immigration station complex and tells the moving tales of the 12 million immigrants who entered America through the golden door of Ellis Island. Today, the descendants of those immigrants account for almost half of the American people.

From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was the largest port of entry and inspection to the United States of America. Inspections of passengers arriving from around the glo be after frequently arduous sea crossings took place here in the Registry Room (or Great Hall), where doctors inspected every immigrant for signs of illness. Ellis Island is a great place to explore American immigration history, and trace family roots, particularly at the American Immigrant Wall of Honor. Watch the award-winning documentary film Island of Hope, Island of Tears, and learn more about the Peopling of America.

An Audio Tour through Ellis Island Immigration Museum, retraces the immigrants' first steps through this gateway to the New World. It is available at the museum in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Public Tours are periodically conducted by Park Rangers.