Get in

By car
From the West take the New Jersey Turnpike to exit 14B or 14C, or take the Pulaski Skyway (Route 1/9) and get off between Tonnelle Ave (for Journal Square and the Heights) or just before the Holland Tunnel for Hamilton Park and downtown. From Manhattan take the first left after exiting the Holland Tunnel, or the Kennedy Blvd exit when coming out of the Lincoln Tunnel.

By Subway
The PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) train runs to Journal Square, Grove Street, Exchange Place, and Pavonia/Newport in Jersey City with connections to Newark, lower Manhattan, midtown Manhattan, and Hoboken. It costs $1.50 each way and is easily the best way to get into town. Travel Time between Downtown Jersey City (Grove Street) and Lower Manhattan (World Trade Center Station) is approximately 6 minutes.

By light rail
The Hudson-Bergen light rail, operated by NJ Transit connects the Jersey City waterfront to Hoboken and Bayonne. Eventually it is planned to extend northward into the suburbs of Bergen County.

By bus
NJ Transit and other operators run buses to the Journal Square bus terminal. For destinations not served by this terminal, check out Newark Bus Terminal and Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan.

Attractions

 • Downtown Jersey City (DOJO) The historic center of Jersey City, Ward E, is easily explorable on foot. Downtown Jersey City stretches from 18th Street in the North, down to Liberty State Park in the South; and from Baldwin Avenue to the Waterfront. The area is home to several landmarks.
 • Hudson and Manhattan Railroad Powerhouse The H&M Powerhouse is a Romanesque revival industrial masterpiece built between 1906 and 1908. The Powerhouse was designed by architect John Oakman, an alumnus of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. The Powerhouse allowed the operation of the first trans-Hudson subway, the direct predecessor of today's PATH. It ceased operation as a power generating station in 1929, and was officially designated an historic landmark in the 1990s.
 • Jersey City Hall Completed in 1896, This imposing granite and marble municipal structure was designed by Lewis Broome, who also designed the Trenton Statehouse. A bronze memorial monument by Philip Martiny stands in the small plaza in front of the City Hall entrance. The memorial bears the inscription: "Erected by the People of Hudson County to Commemorate the Valor of the Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines of the Civil War." The statue is of the Goddess of Victory in a seated pose. Although she has lain aside her shield, her hand rests in readiness upon her sword, though she offers the olive branch of peace.
 • Jersey City Waterfront The Waterfront which delineates the eastern border of Jersey City faces, across the Hudson River, the island of Manhattan. Ferried and Water Taxis depart regularly from the Marina in front of the Goldman Sachs Tower, the tallest building in New Jersey, and the second tallest building in the New York metropolitan area (after the Empire State Building). On the waterfront is a Hyatt Hotel with a restaurant which, although pricey, offers excellent views of New York. Just South of the Hyatt is a waterfront park which extends some 250 meters into the Hudson river and which is an excellent location to fish, play chess, relax, or to take photographs of the Manhattan skyline. Until 2001, this park was directly across from the World Trade Center.
 • Paulus Hook Between Grand Street and the Morris Canal that Divides Downtown Jersey City from Liberty State Park is an area known as Paulus Hook. Today, Paulus Hook is a charming neighborhood of Brownstone Row Houses with an excellent view of New York city, serviced by a light rail. Originally a small peninsula surrounded by marsh, it connected the mainland by a causeway that was passable only at low tide, and was the main landing point before the revolutionary war for travelers going into Bergen County from New York City, it has since been backfilled and Paulus Hook is no longer a hook. Paulus Hook was the site of British fortifications during the revolution that caused serious problems for the local revolutionary government- it was used as a base for loyalist raids into Bergen County. Major Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee (father of the later confederate General Robert E. Lee) took the fortifications by a night assault carried out during low tide on August 19th, 1779.

Horse driving, Grainville Fields, Jersey City

Get around

The best way to navigate within Jersey City, as a tourist, is likely by PATH, Taxi, or Light Rail. Most of the major sections of town are serviced by these forms of transport. The bus system is simply too arcane for the short term visitor to come to terms with.

Shopping

La Isla Nueva - Stop by the "La Nueva Isla Meat Market at 265 Grove Street and say Hello to the proprietor, Oscar. While your there, you can pick up everything from the latest issue of the "Daily News" to a couple of home made 'empanadas'.

Dining

 • Definitely make a stop at the Hard Grove Cafe at Grove Street and Columbus in Downtown Jersey City. It is a Cuban-American diner with great decor (plastic palm trees), great food, great drinks, and decent (but sometimes lacking) service. It is not the fanciest restaurant, but it's more fun than that anyway.
 • White Mana is by far the best grease pit burger joint.