Circling the Statue of Liberty - United States, New York

One of the highlights of any helicopter tour of New York is circling arguably the most famous statue in the world. The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, to give it its full name, was a gift from the French people to the Americans in order to commemorate the friendship established at the time of the American Revolution. It represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom and is one of the most famous personifications of democracy in the world. Standing at 92.99m including its base, she was the idea of Edouard de Laboulaye and was designed and built in copper by Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, with the steel skeleton being conceived by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Completed in France in July of 1884, the statue was then disassembled and shipped to the US arriving in June 1885. After four months spent putting it back together again, it was finally officially unveiled on 28th October 1886. The island on which it stands was originally named Bedloe's Island, but was renamed Liberty Island in 1956. It is possible to take the ferry to Liberty Island from Battery Park, New York, or from Liberty State Park in New Jersey. While anyone can wander round the grounds at the foot of the statue, you must have a reservation for any level inside the monument and this must be done at least two weeks prior to your visit. If you do not have time to visit up close then viewing it from above will give you shorter, but rarely experienced, panorama of Lady Liberty.