The Staten Island Ferry has been called the best cheap date in New York City, and it's hard to argue. The 25-minute journey is free, offers views of the Statue of Liberty from the water, and serves affordable drinks at the onboard bar. Cool breezes, outdoor seating and no ticket booth make it the rare New York experience that costs nothing and delivers everything.

The ferry route traces a path that Cornelius Vanderbilt once worked as a boy. At age 11, he quit school to help his father operate a small freight ferry across these same waters. By 16, he'd borrowed $100 from his mother to buy his own vessel, ferrying passengers and cargo between Staten Island and Manhattan. Other boat captains nicknamed him the Commodore, and the young ferryman went on to build an empire.

VoiceMap's self-guided audio tours use the Staten Island Ferry terminal to trace the origins of American fortunes, explaining how the harbour's modest ferry routes became the foundation of the Vanderbilt dynasty and connecting the working waterfront to the Wall Street wealth it helped create.