Two churches sit within ten minutes of us, both older than almost everything around them, both free, and neither one needs a ticket or a time slot. Guests usually find them by accident on the way to somewhere else. They're worth an hour on purpose.
The simplest way to do it is as a short line down Broadway. Start at St. Paul's Chapel, on Broadway between Fulton and Vesey, which is about a five-minute walk west of our door. Then keep going south on Broadway to Trinity Church, where Broadway meets Wall Street. The two are about five minutes apart. If you're already going to the 9/11 Memorial, St. Paul's is directly across from the site, so add it to that morning rather than making a separate trip.
Go early. Both churchyards open at 8:30am, and between 8:30 and 10 you'll be sharing them with commuters cutting through rather than tour groups. By midday in the fall the Trinity churchyard gets busy with people looking for one particular grave.