The New York Borough Most Visitors Skip — and Why That’s Their Biggest Mistake

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Most tourists never get off the boat. They ride the Staten Island Ferry across New York Harbour, snap photos of the skyline, then turn right around and ride back. It’s free, it’s beautiful, and it’s one of the great missed opportunities in American travel. Because the moment you step off that ferry, you enter a version of New York City that almost nobody talks about.

The Garden That Used to Be a Sailors’ Home

In 1833, a New York merchant named Robert Richard Randall donated his farm to create a retirement home for aged sailors. The idea was simple: the men who built New York’s fortune through maritime trade deserved somewhere dignified to spend their final years.

The result was Snug Harbour Cultural Centre & Botanical Garden — a stunning complex of Greek Revival and Beaux-Arts buildings set inside 83 acres of grounds. For over a century, it housed thousands of retired mariners far from the city streets.

Today, Snug Harbour is one of the most beautiful outdoor spaces in New York. The grounds include a Chinese Scholar’s Garden, a sensory garden, a butterfly garden, and one of the finest tree collections in the five boroughs. On a quiet weekday morning, you might have the whole place nearly to yourself.

The Only Tibetan Temple in the Western World

Staten Island holds a secret that stops people cold when they first hear it. On a quiet hilltop in the borough’s residential interior sits the Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art — a stone complex built to resemble a Himalayan mountain temple.

Jacques Marchais was the pen name of Edna Lilly Coblentz, a New York art dealer who spent decades collecting Tibetan artifacts. In the 1940s, she designed this hilltop compound herself, complete with terraced gardens, a lotus pond, and authentic monks’ quarters.

From the outside, it looks completely at odds with its suburban surroundings. Inside, the collection includes hundreds of rare thangkas, bronze statues, and ritual objects. The Dalai Lama has visited. It is, without question, one of the most unexpected places in New York City.

Three Centuries of City Life, Preserved in One Place

Most cities claim to have outdoor history museums. Few actually deliver. Historic Richmond Town is the real thing — 100 acres and 30 historic structures spanning 350 years of New York life.

The village was the original colonial-era county seat long before Staten Island had its modern name. Today, the site includes a working farm, a tinsmith’s shop, a general store, and homes dating from the 1690s onward. It’s genuinely old in a way that few American historical sites manage to be.

Unlike many heritage sites, Richmond Town uses its buildings as active spaces. Artisans demonstrate traditional crafts. Staff in period dress aren’t there to perform — they’re knowledgeable historians. It’s the kind of place where a casual afternoon turns into four hours without you noticing.

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The Forest at the Centre of New York City

Manhattan residents sometimes joke that Central Park is their wilderness. Staten Island residents just smile. Tucked inside the borough is the Staten Island Greenbelt — 2,800 acres of unbroken woodland in the middle of one of the most populated cities on Earth.

The Greenbelt includes over 35 miles of hiking trails, freshwater wetlands, hardwood forests, and open meadows. It is larger than Central Park and Prospect Park combined. On a weekday morning, it feels more like the Catskills than the five boroughs.

Red-tailed hawks nest here. White-tailed deer move through the trails at dusk. It is, by any measure, a genuine wild place — one that most New Yorkers from the other four boroughs have never set foot in.

The View That Nobody Tells You About

Here is the strangest thing about Staten Island’s relationship with the rest of New York: the Staten Island Ferry delivers one of the finest views of the Manhattan skyline in the entire city — for free, every half hour, twenty-five minutes each way.

Yet most visitors treat it as a commuter service or a budget tourist attraction. They ride it for the view and turn around at St. George Terminal without ever stepping onto the island itself. Staten Islanders watch this happen constantly. They don’t say much about it. They’re quietly fine with things staying exactly as they are.

That’s the real character of this borough. It doesn’t need your approval. It’s been here since before the other four boroughs had names. And it will keep surprising every visitor who finally decides to get off the boat.

Frequently Asked Questions About Visiting Staten Island

What is the best time to visit Staten Island in New York?

Spring and early fall offer the best conditions — mild temperatures, gardens in full bloom at Snug Harbour, and comfortable walking weather for the Greenbelt trails. Summer is excellent but can be humid; weekday visits are quieter than weekends.

How do you get to Staten Island from Manhattan?

The Staten Island Ferry departs from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan every 30 minutes. The 25-minute crossing is completely free and runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. From St. George Terminal, buses connect to most island attractions.

Is Staten Island worth visiting as a tourist?

Yes — genuinely. The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art, Snug Harbour Cultural Centre, and Historic Richmond Town are all exceptional attractions. Most visitors spend a full day and leave wondering why they waited so long to cross the harbor.

How far is Snug Harbour from the Staten Island Ferry terminal?

Snug Harbour Cultural Centre is about 2 miles from the St. George Ferry Terminal. Take the S40 or S44 bus, or a short taxi ride. The grounds are open Tuesday through Sunday, with the botanical garden accessible year-round.

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