Rockefeller Center

Seeing New York from the top of the Rockefeller Center

Rockefeller Center is one of the New York city’s most famous buildings. And some people say that if you have not seen the New York city from the Top of the Rock (aka one of the Rockefeller Center’s observation desks on the 70th floor), you have not really been to New York city. And after seeing that view with my own eyes, I have to say that I completely agree with that statement.

What do you think, judging by this picture: is it worth paying the admission fee to see New York from the top of the Rockefeller Center? My answer is a wholehearted 'Yes! '.

How to get there?

The famous Rockefeller Center is situated on 45 Rockefeller plaza in New York city. It is really easy to get there by public transport, because several bus and metro lines have stops right next to or at least in a very close proximity to the Rockefeller Center. The easiest way to figure out the way there is to simply use Google maps.

Tickets and wait times

The Rockefeller Center has several admission options. You can either visit the observation decks during the day, at night, or you can combine them and visit the top once during the day and once at night. The regular admission costs thirty six dollars, and if you decide to do the so - called ‘sun and stars’ ticket, which will allow you to see the New York from above during the day and at night, that will cost you fifteen dollars more. As you can see, the Sun and stars option is definitely worth it, if you can afford to be at the Rockefeller Center twice in one day.

This will be your view at night.

Unlike the WTC, Rockefeller Center has assigned time slots for admissions if you book your tickets in advance, which means that you will never have to wait more than fifteen minutes to get inside. Of course, it takes some time to walk through the lobby (where you also have to walk through the metal detector and the employees will check your bags) and to the elevators (you can also have your picture taken there, but it costs almost as much as the admission, so I skipped it), but better that waiting in line for about two hours without a reservation.

The admission to the Top of the Rock will be a little cheaper if you purchase the so - called New York city pass, which will give you discounts on the most popular admission prices for the famous New York city attractions. The New York city pass might seem expensive, but if you are planning to visit more than two of the attractions that are included in the pass, you will actually save a fair amount of money.

The view from all the observation decks

Once you clear the security on the first floor, you will get to an elevator, which will shoot you up to the top of the Rockefeller Center. I am saying ‘shoot’ because it is so fast. In fact, this is one of the fastest elevators, so prepare for some popping pain in your ears. During the ride, the light show will be displayed on the elevator’s ceiling, but before I could figure out what was going on, a mechanical voice said ‘Welcome to the top of the Rock’, and the elevator doors opened.

As soon as I stepped out, I was able to see the view that took my breath away. Coming from a small town, I could not even imagine how big some cities can actually be. Central park from up there looks like a green would in the otherwise grey landscape, and on the other side, you can see all the way to the end of Manhattan. You will even be able to spot the Statue of Liberty in the background!

The Central park, surrounded by endless skyscrapers.

Of course, there are glass panels on the observation decks, but with some skills, they will not even be visible on your pictures. And once you are done with admiring the view on the first observation deck, you can walk up the stairs to the second one, which feels much more open than the first one. If you have a fear of heights, do not look down! Well, I guess you would not be up there if you were afraid of heights, but you never know.

And once you think you have seen everything, well, you have not. There is the third level too! It is very narrow and you have to walk up some pretty steep and narrow steps, but it is totally worth it. This observation deck is usually the least crowded, but do not expect to be alone up there.

The gift shop

Once you decide you’ve had enough of the awesome views of the Big Apple from the observation decks, you can head back downstairs. But before you do that, take a look at the gift shop. Of course, most of the things in there are too pricey to even consider buying them, but the first time I went there, was also my first time ever in the United states of America, so I decided to treat myself with a small souvenir.

And I literally wanted to get the cheapest thing possible. After a few minutes of browsing, I figured out that the key chains are the cheapest thing you can get at the Rockefeller Center’s gift shop, and they cost eight dollars. Oh well, I guess I should have expected that kind of prices in New York city.

But long story short - the gift shop is indeed selling some pretty cool items, so if you are looking for an authentic souvenir, and not a cheap knockoff from the street, this is the right place to buy it.

Christmas time at the Rockefeller Center

The plaza in front of the Rockefeller Center is the home of the famous giant Christmas tree every year, and there is also a skating rink there, but it is way too expensive for me to justify skating there. I mean, if I decide to go skating there, I can say that I have done it, but it is just not worth the price.

And meanwhile I loved seeing the famous Christmas tree and the skating rink, it was just too cold for me to actually enjoy it. So if you are not a big fan of ice cold weather, do not even think of visiting the New York city in winter.

A few words for the end…

Seeing the Big Apple from the very top of the Rockefeller Center was definitely one of my highlights of my trip to New York city. I have seen the view from the top of the Rock during three different times of the day - in the morning, at night and during sunset. It is impossible to pick my favourite time, because I loved all of them, but if you have an opportunity to see the sunset from the top of the Rockefeller Center, go for it! You will never look at New York the same way again.

So many lights!