The piers

Three piers, three completely different answers to the question of what a pier is for.

Pier 17

The big one, and the most argued-about structure in the district. The original Pier 17 was a 1980s festival marketplace — a mall on a pier, of the kind built in several American port cities in that era. It was demolished and replaced with the current building, which opened in 2018.

The current Pier 17 is glass, restaurants, offices and — the part that justifies it — a rooftop that operates as an open-air concert venue in summer and a rink or seasonal installation in winter. The view from up there, straight at the Brooklyn Bridge with the river underneath, is one of the best free things in Lower Manhattan when there is no ticketed event on.

Pier 16

Where the historic fleet ties up. This is the working heart of the South Street Seaport Museum's collection and the pier to walk out on if you want to look at ships rather than buildings. See the ships.

Pier 15

The quiet one, and the best of the three for simply sitting. A two-level public pier with a lawn, seating and an upper deck, rebuilt as part of the East River waterfront esplanade. No shops, no admission, no programme — just a well-designed piece of public space over the water.

If the Seaport is crowded, this is where to go.

The esplanade

The piers are linked by the East River waterfront esplanade, which runs south past the Battery Maritime Building and north towards the Brooklyn Bridge and beyond. It sits underneath the FDR Drive for much of its length, which sounds worse than it is — the space beneath the highway has been treated as an asset rather than an embarrassment, with lighting, planting and bike lanes.

It connects into the wider Manhattan Waterfront Greenway, so you can walk or ride from here around the bottom of the island.