New York, New York
NYC self-guided walking tour: Lower Manhattan.
An original loop through Lower Manhattan: Castle Clinton, Bowling Green and the Charging Bull, Federal Hall and Wall Street, Trinity Church, the 9/11 Memorial, St. Paul’s Chapel and City Hall Park by the Brooklyn Bridge. Read the stops here, then open the mapped route on your iPhone.
Start at Castle Clinton
Begin at Castle Clinton, the circular fort inside Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan, a short walk from Bowling Green subway station. The loop heads north through the Financial District to City Hall Park, then returns south along Broadway. The route follows mapped pedestrian paths, but it has not been walked on site by DailyWander.
- On iPhone, get DailyWander if you do not have it.
- Return to this page and tap Open the tour in DailyWander. Check the preview, then choose Open in DailyWander.
- In the app, review the route and choose Start this route or Save route. Keep this guide handy for the stop notes.
Museum visits, tickets and meals are separate and are not included in the walking time. Follow local signs, closures and diversions.
Seven stops, in walking order
The route uses public viewpoints. Check the linked sources for current access before planning a visit inside.
Stop 1
Castle Clinton, Battery Park
Start at the circular fort inside Battery Park, near the harbour promenade. Castle Clinton was built on rocks off Manhattan’s tip between 1808 and 1811 to help defend the harbour and was renamed in 1817 for DeWitt Clinton. It later became an entertainment hall and then, from 1855, Castle Garden, an immigrant landing depot where more than 8 million people entered the country. Today it houses the Statue of Liberty ticket office.
Stop 2
Bowling Green and the Charging Bull
Walk northeast out of Battery Park to the small fenced oval at the foot of Broadway. Bowling Green was set aside as a park in 1733, when the city leased the land on condition that it be kept as a bowling green. On July 9, 1776, a crowd pulled down the gilded statue of King George III that stood here. Arturo Di Modica’s Charging Bull stands at the park’s northern tip, where it was installed in December 1989.
Stop 3
Federal Hall and the New York Stock Exchange
Walk north on Broadway and turn right onto Wall Street to the columned building at Nassau Street. This site held New York’s 18th-century City Hall, where the First Congress met and George Washington was inaugurated as the first president on April 30, 1789. That building was demolished in 1812; the present one opened in 1842 as a Customs House and later served as a US Sub-Treasury. The New York Stock Exchange stands nearby on Wall Street.
Stop 4
Trinity Church
Walk back west along Wall Street to Trinity Church, which faces down Wall Street from Broadway. The parish received its royal charter in 1697, and the first church was built here in 1698. Today’s Gothic Revival building, designed by Richard Upjohn, is the third Trinity Church and was consecrated in 1846. In the churchyard, look for Alexander Hamilton’s monument, with Eliza Hamilton’s stone beside it.
Stop 5
National September 11 Memorial
Walk a few blocks north to the Memorial plaza. Two pools, each nearly an acre, sit in the footprints of the former North and South Towers, with water falling into a central void. Bronze parapets around them bear the names of the 2,983 people killed in the 2001 attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, the Memorial opened on September 11, 2011. Please keep voices low; this is a place of remembrance.
Stop 6
St. Paul's Chapel
Leave the plaza heading east to Broadway at Fulton Street. St. Paul’s Chapel opened in 1766 as a chapel of Trinity parish, which describes it as the only colonial-era church remaining in Manhattan. After his inauguration in 1789, Washington walked here from Federal Hall. The chapel survived September 11, 2001, and became a refuge for recovery workers. Check Trinity’s website for current opening times; the interior can close for works.
Stop 7
City Hall Park and the Brooklyn Bridge walkway
Walk north on Broadway into City Hall Park, pass City Hall and continue to Park Row on the park’s east side, where the Brooklyn Bridge walkway begins. Designed by John A. Roebling, the bridge was built between 1869 and 1883 and carries a pedestrian promenade plus a protected bike path that opened in 2021. The tour turns back here; to finish, walk south down Broadway past Trinity Church and Bowling Green to Castle Clinton.
Keep the route with you
The tour link opens a route preview with an iPhone handoff. You can also download the GPX and open it from Files → Share → Daily Wander. The app shows the route; this page supplies the stop descriptions.
New York walking-tour questions
How long is this New York walking tour?
The mapped loop is about 2.4 miles (3.9 km). That is roughly 50 minutes of moving time at 3 mph; allow 2–2½ hours with stops.
Can I visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum?
The outdoor Memorial is open to the public daily; the 9/11 Memorial & Museum lists its hours on its website. The Museum below the plaza is a separate visit that requires an advance ticket.
Can I walk across the Brooklyn Bridge after the tour?
Yes. NYC DOT says the bridge carries a pedestrian promenade and a separate protected bike path, and the promenade stays open during rehabilitation work, though parts may be narrowed. The walkway starts beside City Hall Park at stop 7; the bridge and its approaches are about 1.8 km (1.1 miles) one way.
Can I follow the route on my iPhone?
Yes. Tap Open the tour in DailyWander, check the route preview and choose Open in DailyWander. If you need the app, install it first and return to this page. The page supplies the stop notes; the app shows the walking route.
Does the walk return to the start?
Yes. The loop starts and finishes at Castle Clinton in Battery Park.
Can I download the GPX instead?
Yes. Download the GPX from this page, save it in Files on iPhone and share it to Daily Wander. The route geometry is available under the Open Database License.
Make another walk from your hotel
For a different distance or a loop from another starting point, use the US walking-route planner. DailyWander can suggest a separate loop from the location you choose.
More self-guided tours: Charleston, Savannah, New Orleans French Quarter, New Orleans Garden District, Nashville, Washington DC and Amsterdam.
Original itinerary by VANTH Studio. Reviewed October 10, 2026. Route geometry from OpenStreetMap via the FOSSGIS pedestrian router; distance measured along the track. Actual time depends on your pace, stops and diversions. Access to venues is controlled by their operators.