We paid the (rather expensive) admission and then we went up to the top of it in the elevator. This is kind of fun for kids, to get to go for a ride in the big elevator up so high. When you get to the top the view is amazing—it's a beautiful panoramic view of New York City and the skyline. Be sure to take lots of pictures—although there are sort of these little metal grates so you don't fall off, but they make taking pictures more difficult. They also have these view things that you can pay to look into, and they give you an even better view. It's fun to pay for one and then look through and see if you can spot specific New York landmarks that you may have visited or seen.

Somehow I just didn’t find the Empire State Building impressive. Granted, the view from the top is very pretty, though, overall it just didn’t live up to my expectations. The classy art deco atmosphere ended in tiled décor of the front lobby. The whole process of actually getting up to the top wreaked of hurried commercialism, with the mandatory group pictures, fading and crinkled Broadway posters, and the insistent "suggestions" to buy the audio commentary (from a "real live New York Cab driver"), or take a ride in a simulator that would "fly" you over New York. I wasn’t hoping for the 1920s age of glamour (well I was but I’m a tiny bit of a realist), but I would have at least settled for letting the building and its views speak for its self. Then again, this is why no one would ever put me in charge of something like this; it would never make any money. Overall, the Empire State Building does seem to have the tall building market cornered, so if that’s your thing, go. Otherwise, I’d spend my time and money somewhere else.