We are driving from Washington DC to Boston, (thanks for the driving instructions) and want to stop for one day in NYC. We only want to see the Statue of Liberty & Empire State Building. Don't want to drive in NYC. Where should we stop & park outside NYC & what's the best way to get to both sites and back again?

A few options - you can stop in Jersey City OR Hoboken and take the PATH train from there to the World Train Center and then walk down to get a ferry over to the Statue of Liberty, or you could take the PATH up to 34th Street where you would get out right by the Empire State Building. You can also take a ferry to Manhattan from Weehawken which is a little further north. The PATH only costs $1 and runs very late (not sure if it's 24hrs, but close enough). Have fun!

There are parking lots in battery city.
Warning: you should be on line for statur of liberty by 8am. Why not go to top of trade center near the statute of lberty -sort of- & skip the empire state? empire state is not so hot.

Hey,
park in Newark. if you have a nice car, find a lot, if you have a car like mine, park it and club it heehee. take the path to the world trade and do the statue of liberty thing EARLY... honestly, goin all the way up isn't as glamorous as it seems, then take the path back up to 34th and do the empire state. they close the elevators around 1130 so get there round 7 so you can get all the way up by 8 (lotsa elevators) come back to earth at 11 to beat the closing rush and eat at jekyl and hyde or something. they have good calamari. whats wrong with driving in nyc?

oh, and also better to do that in that order cuz the ferry to the statue ends at like 4 or 5pm, and the empire state building isnt much of a sight in the daytime but is pretty at night.

have a great one!