Top of the Rock Reviews (New York, New York)

View New York at Midnight

Luzerne County, Pennsylvania

June 21, 2012

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A must see. The lines are not as long as the Empire State Building. Breathtaking view of the City. Get a New York City Pass and save on admission.

From journal 5 Days in New York

Top of the Rock vs. Empire State Building

by lavenderdays

El Segundo, California

June 9, 2012

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If you’re traveling to NYC and want to see some great views, Top of the Rock is the place to go. It’s the tall building located in Rockefeller Plaza. You won’t miss it, trust me.I like going here so much better than the Empire State Building and ...Read more

On top of the Rock.

by garymarsh6

Gravesend, United Kingdom

November 30, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo Rockefeller Centre and Top of the Rock, New York.The Rockefeller centre is perhaps one of the must see attractions when visiting Manhattan New York. The Top of the Rock being a must do experience to take in the sights of the vibrant city of New ...Read more

From journal New York Weekend break part Deux

Amazing view, with three levels to take it all in!

by tobert

Salem, Massachusetts

July 13, 2011

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Best of IgoUgo I just came back from a weekend in NYC. On previous visits I have taken the trip up to the top of the Empire State Building, but I think I liked this experience more. For starters, there was not much of a line. In a way this was almost unfortunate ...Read more I just came back from a weekend in NYC. On previous visits I have taken the trip up to the top of the Empire State Building, but I think I liked this experience more. For starters, there was not much of a line. In a way this was almost unfortunate as there was a lot of information on the walls to entertain people while in line. Lots of history of the building, etc. I read some of the information, but I felt silly waiting in a line that didn't exist. Right before you go up in the elevator they have a short movie with a bit more history, and then you were put in one of the two elevators. Unlike any other elevator I'd ever been on, this elevator had a glass ceiling and they put lights in the elevator shaft so you could really see how far and fast you were going. Definitely a cool experience. Once at the top there were three different levels from which to see the view, plus a nice large interior space if you wanted to just take in the view from inside.

For me, the thing that made this observation platform special was the fact that you were actually on the roof of the building. Given the building's design (no spire), you are actually able to walk on the flat roof. This was a bit of a surreal experience. On the very top floor there was no safety glass which made the experience that much more exciting. The safety glass wasn't necessary as the level below was terraced out to prevent anyone from falling. Still, from the very top deck, you really did feel like you were on top of the world. The view is incredible, but the view of the Empire State Building was spectacular. I think I got about 20 pictures of just that one building. While on the first of the three levels you can actually see the letters "GE" outside the windows. But you can only see small parts of the massive letters. It was fun to try and figure out which part of which letter you were looking at. With this view, you really get a sense of how large the letters are...and how high up you are.

This visit was well worth the money. I plan to go back when the weather is warmer and spend some more time.

As an FYI, they have a ticket that allows you to go twice in one day...so you can see the view from the day and the night. Very cool! Close

Rockefeller Center

by Uncle Phil

Brooklyn, New York

March 22, 2011

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You will find a bronze status named "Atlas" in front of Rockfeller Center. It located across 5th Ave from St. Patrick's Cathedral. The sculpture depicts the Ancient Greek Titan Atlas holding the heavens. The North-South axis of the sphere on his ...Read more

From journal New Jersey Trip

Defying Gravity

by Liam Hetherington

Manchester, United Kingdom

December 2, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo If Manhattan is famous for one thing it is its skyscrapers. Okay, the iron-frame construction that allowed buildings to tower so far overhead that they caress the clouds may have been pioneered in Chicago. Okay, so New York no longer holds any of ...Read more If Manhattan is famous for one thing it is its skyscrapers. Okay, the iron-frame construction that allowed buildings to tower so far overhead that they caress the clouds may have been pioneered in Chicago. Okay, so New York no longer holds any of the top 10 tallest skyscrapers in the world (its current best is 15th place). Yet New York more than anywhere else witnessed the apotheosis of the skyscraper. Nowhere else is there such a concentration of these manmade pinnacles lining canyon-like streets, forming their own reefs and mountain ranges. New York and skyscrapers are as inextricably linked as pastrami and rye.

Ascending a skyscraper is a must whilst in New York. And essentially the visitor has two options. The first is the Empire State Building. This of course has many advantages. The Empire State Building is the iconic building of New York. It has been immortalised in movies like An Affair To Remember, Sleepless In Seattle and – of course - King Kong. It is the tallest building in the city and the 15th tallest building in the world. By choosing to ascend to its 86th or 102nd floor ‘observatories’ you get higher in New York than anywhere else. You area also well-placed for views south to the tip of Manhattan. All this comes at a price however: $22 for the 86th floor, and an additional $15 if you want to go up to the 102nd. Furthermore, the queues are legendary!

I took the second option, which was to visit the Rockefeller Center, a network of Art Deco buildings constructed during the ‘30s under the direction of John D Rockefeller Jr.. Here, for the ‘bargain’ price of $21 each we bought tickets allowing us access to the observation decks on the 68th, 69th and 70th floors of the GE Building – the ’Top of the Rock’. While not as high as the Empire State’s Observatory (it is only the 9th tallest building in New York City), one of the ‘Rock’s’ big advantages is that from here we could actually see the Empire State Building to the south, its instantly recognisable silhouette dominating mid-town Manhattan. It does indeed soar far higher than any of its neighbours, plonked plumb centre on Manhattan’s axis. Its shape reminded me of an art deco space rocket – or a bulky and rather unpleasant syringe – due to its spindly mast (once used for mooring dirigibles). Beyond it glimmered New York harbour and its speckling of islands; on one the Statue of Liberty could just be seem, dwarfed by scale and distance. The other advantage of the Rock is that by turning north we had a spectacular view down the length of Central Park, a lushly wooded moss-green rectangle hemmed in by tower blocks. We could make out individual features – the shimmer of water from the Lake and the Reservoir, open exapanses of grass marking the Great lawn and Sheep Meadow, and the sizeable jut of the Metropolitan Museum of Art into the eastern section of the Park. To the east we could see over the East River to Brooklyn and Queens (though sadly the beautiful Chrysler Building was mostly obscured by another, less aesthetically pleasing skyscraper). And to the west the sun was sinking, sheening the Hudson River bronze and throwing the long shadows of New Jersey across towards the USS Intrepid.

The 68th and 69th floors have viewing terraces which wrap around the exteior of the building; these have tall sheet glass barriers to prevent any accidents or suicides (and hence protect themselves from lawsuits). On the 70th, the very top of the building, these are absent – as the terrace is set back from those below any potential jumper would only be able to plummet one story. The views are vertiginous however, and people with a fear of heights maybe won’t get the best out of a visit.

And essentially that is it. The good folk at the GE Building have tried to jazz things up a little bit. Beyond the ticket desk downstairs are displays and video documentaries playing up the importance of the Center in New York and painting the Rockefeller dynasty as benevolent philathropists and visionaries. You can have your photo taken on a replica iron girder to recreate the famous 1932 ‘Lunchtime atop a Skyscraper’ image and then have that printed out or put on a keyring or t-shirt for ridiculous prices. And the lift up to the 68th floor has some rather natty projections designed to give the impression that you are flying through time and space – very Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. But all that is merely window-dressing. What we came for were the views over New York. And I find it hard to believe that these views can be beaten.
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From journal New York, New York - It's a Wonderful Town!

the biggest view ever for panaramic views come here.

by alanmack37

Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

October 8, 2010

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Cental Park is so huge you cannot even imagine the views you can see. If youre into seeing birds eye views of things and seeing the city sprawled out underneath you then come here. Forget the Empire State Building its too crowded and you ll wait ...Read more

From journal New York on a budget

Top views!

by Gemma_C

Sunderland, United Kingdom

October 8, 2010

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Best of IgoUgo Top of the Rock is an observation deck covering three floors at the top of the Rockefeller Center. It boasts great views of the city, including a view of the Empire State Building, and is also well known for shorter queues than the aforementioned. ...Read more Top of the Rock is an observation deck covering three floors at the top of the Rockefeller Center. It boasts great views of the city, including a view of the Empire State Building, and is also well known for shorter queues than the aforementioned. After carefully planning my recent trip to New York, my mind was made up that I’d much rather go up to Top of the Rock than the alternative, the Empire State Building. The main reasons being a shorter queue (and I didn’t fancy spending an hour or two waiting to go up the Empire State Building!) and also Top of the Rock offers good views of the city including being able to view the Empire State Building itself, which you can’t see if you’re on that observation deck. I wanted to time my visit perfectly so that I could view the city as the sun was setting; essentially meaning I could view the city in the daylight, and then at night as all the lights of the city come on.

After a quick subway ride and a helpful local to point us in the direction, we arrived at the Rockefeller Centre. Once inside it was a bit confusing where to go at first, but once we found the correct place the signs from then on made it simple. What first shocked me as we went to get our tickets was the lack of a queue; we walked straight up and got our tickets, got straight through security, and were ushered into the first elevator to go up a floor or two to get the proper elevator. Here we wandered around a small display containing information about the history of the building, and you can have your photo taken pretending to re-enact that famous workmen photo before moving into watching a film. As the film was half way through, we attempted to watch it but left after a minute or so, eager to get the elevator up to the observation deck. We only had to wait 2 minutes before we got into the final elevator, and were told the lift would take 42 seconds to reach the top before the doors closed on us and we were being zapped up through the building. Looking up at the roof of the elevator I could see small blue lights guiding the way to the top, making me slightly giddy as these came rushing past and we got closer to the top. The roof also had a projection on it of something, but I wasn’t paying too much attention to that, instead being amazed at how quickly we were advancing up through the building.

Top of the Rock is a 3 level observation building, and it takes up the 67th, 69th and 70th floors of the building. The first level you come out onto is the 67th floor, and as you leave the elevator and round the corner you can immediately see out the windows a lovely view of central park. There is also a small gift shop here and a bar area. The evening that I went up there was a bad playing in the bar area, and it made for a lovely atmosphere. The outside sections are the smallest viewing points on this floor, and the view is obstructed by fully transparent safety glass which is much nicer than looking through wired fencing which is usually the case with observation decks. There are gaps in the safety glass every so often big enough to fit your camera through to take shots of the city without the glass ruining it. There were also gray leather seats here to lounge around on with a beverage from the bar, I choose to have a glass of wine and go indoors and sit on a window ledge though. The visibility on the day I visited was brilliant, and I could even see the statue of liberty right in the distance, so if you want great views I would try and go when the weather is a bit clearer.

After a while we decided to head on up to the 69th floor deck, again this has the safety glass except the view goes around the whole building this time and has a much better feel to it. Go upstairs to the 70th floor deck and you have a complete 360’ view of the city, and no safety glass! I got a good spot with a view directly towards the empire state building, and it made for an amazing view watching the sunset and the city begin to light up. In the distance you can see the camera flashes from people standing on the empire state building observation deck, and I wasn’t jealous at all, after all Top of the Rock has great views of the whole city including central park, where as the view to the park is rather blocked for people who choose the Empire State option. We spent over an hour at the top watching the sunset and it was an enjoyable experience which I will never forget. After taking it all in and having took enough photos to satisfy, we decided to get the elevator back down to explore the city, and again we didn’t even need to queue to get the lift back down to the bottom.

Top of the Rock is open 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and if you don’t want to waste your time in New York standing around in queues, then I highly recommend this over the Empire State Building. Ticket information can be found on the website: http://www.topoftherocknyc.com/tickets However as adults we paid $21 each, and you have as much time as you want to take in the views of Manhattan. The top level does get rather chilly as there is no safety glass to shield the wind, so wrap you warm if you are visiting in the colder months! The entrance is on 50th St between 5th and 6th Avenue and is open daily from 8am till Midnight with the last elevator going up at 11pm. Close

From journal My first visit to the 'big apple.'

Better than Empire State

by Stoli Razz

New York, New York

February 24, 2010

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I live in New York and whenever I have visitors from out of town I always take them to the Top of the Rock. It doesn't have the name or the plethora of movie references, but it's cheaper than the Empire State Building, it's newer, there's less ...Read more

Best Observatory in New York

by W. D. Perez-Leston

New York, New York

September 27, 2009

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The most astounding views of New York from the George Washington Bridge up in 181st Street (and further on clear days) to the Statue of Liberty, right in the middle of the Bay of Manhattan.Offers the best views of Central Park and the most important ...Read more

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Top of the Rock

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User Reviews

View New York at Midnight

Top of the Rock vs. Empire State Building

On top of the Rock.

Amazing view, with three levels to take it all in!

Rockefeller Center

Defying Gravity

the biggest view ever for panaramic views come here.

Top views!

Better than Empire State

Best Observatory in New York

Top of the Rock

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Avg. User Rating:

User Reviews

View New York at Midnight

Top of the Rock vs. Empire State Building

On top of the Rock.

Amazing view, with three levels to take it all in!

Rockefeller Center

Defying Gravity

the biggest view ever for panaramic views come here.

Top views!

Better than Empire State

Best Observatory in New York