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Downtown or Lower Manhattan is in many respects the heart of New York City. The government, business, and culture are centred here at the southern tip of Manhattan Island. It is the driving force of, not just New York’s, but the United States’ economy, as it is the site of the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street and the NASDAQ headquarters.

Being the site of New York’s financial district, Lower Manhattan was naturally the location for the World Trade Center.Destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Ground Zero has been converted into a 9/11 Memorial, drawing in millions of visitors. Away from the business world, Greenwich Village has long been a liberal paradise, forming the seat of both the counterculture and the LGBT rights movements. The downtown area also forms an important hub connecting Manhattan to other parts of New York. The Brooklyn Bridge extends from City Hall over the East River. Lower Manhattan is also where visitors can find the embarkation point for ferries to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

Sections of Manhattan, Upper, Midtown, and Lower, all span the breadth of the island from the East River to the Hudson. New York has an extensive Metro system with several stations throughout Lower Manhattan.

Lower Manhattan is the historic birthplace of New York as we know it. Originally inhabited by the Lenape people, this southern section of Manhattan Island was the site of the first European settlement of New Amsterdam. By the 19th century, downtown New York was considered the economic centre of the United States.