Ride the Free Ferry Out at Dusk, Then Dinner at a 1762 Tavern

Whitehall is the Manhattan terminal for the Staten Island Ferry, free around the clock. Weekend boats depart every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour. Stand on the right rail outbound so the Statue of Liberty glides past in evening twilight during the 25-minute crossing. Ferry rules require every rider to disembark and reboard from the terminal waiting area: at St George, walk through the waiting room and join the queue for the next Manhattan-bound sailing.

Five minutes on foot from the slip at 54 Pearl Street, this house was built around 1719 for the De Lancey family, and Samuel Fraunces established his tavern here in 1762. Washington bade farewell to his officers in the historic Long Room, which sits inside the upstairs museum rather than the active restaurant. Dinner runs daily from the standard menu. Oyster happy hour is weekdays only, Monday to Friday 4 to 7 pm, in the Independence Bar and Lafayette's Hideout Bar: $1.50 an oyster with a six-oyster minimum, and weekends have no oyster happy hour. Taprooms take walk-ins, dining rooms take reservations, and current weekend hours should be checked on the venue's live site.

In November and December, sunset at the Battery falls around 4:30 to 4:55 pm (4:52 pm on November 1, 4:44 pm on November 8). Depart Whitehall 45 to 60 minutes before sunset to catch dusk over the water. At St George, every rider steps off and reboards from the terminal waiting room; the return boat then sails back after dark as Lower Manhattan switches on to your left. Weekday 5 to 7 pm boats are commuter-heavy, so weekend crossings are the calmer choice. Bring gloves for the breezy deck.