Top of the Rock Viewpoint – The Best View of New York from Rockefeller Tower
When visiting New York, viewing the city from above is probably on most people’s lists of things to do. It gives you that iconic viewpoint. I love seeing a city from above. The bigger decision is whether you choose to go to the top of the Rockefeller Tower, whether you choose the Empire State Building or just do both.
We chose the Rockefeller. Whilst being a whole 122 metres (or 400 ft) shorter than the Empire State Building, it obviously has that one bonus of having the aforementioned impressive building in view whilst you’re up there. The Empire State Building view obviously doesn’t have that, and honestly the top of the Rockefeller building itself just isn’t that pretty to look at from the outside.
The Top of the Rock observation deck offers a panoramic view of New York, and from it you will see buildings such as the aforementioned Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, One World Trade Center and even the Statue of Liberty!
Rockefeller Center Plaza
The Rockefeller Center is actually huge. It is home to the NBC Studios and a plethora of shops and eateries. There is also an NBC shop in there that has loads of cool merchandise from their TV shows so that’s definitely worth a visit if you’re a fan. You can sit at a desk set-up from The Office too. The Radio City Music Hall is just across the road, but I believe it all counts as part of Rockefeller.
Getting to the Rockefeller Center
Located just 10 minutes away from Times Square it is really quite easy to find. You can also get a subway right to it, getting off at 47th–50th Streets. The main entrance can be found on 50th St, between 5th/6th Avenue. There’s a red carpet outside the door that leads to the observation deck so you won’t miss it!
Top Tip:
Missed out on tickets for Tonight with Jimmy Fallon on their release at the beginning of each month? Well you can queue up on the filming days to grab a standby ticket for that night’s live show. Early morning you should find a queue of people outside the Top of the Rock Observation deck entrance. We joined, thinking it was for the viewpoint, only to discover that we had chanced upon some standby tickets for Jimmy Fallon. At around 9:15am, we picked up numbers 58 and 59.
All you need to do then is return to the NBC shop at 3:30pm. You will be sorted into a line dependent on your ticket number and then a certain amount of people will be allowed in depending on that show’s numbers from people with actual tickets. We were told that the week before 20 something people were let in one night, and then 90 something the night after. It really is just chance, but the good thing is that it is done fairly from when you had queued up earlier that morning. Unfortunately only 4(!) were let in on the night we tried. But you know, worth a go when it costs nothing!
Book Your Top of the Rock Tickets in Advance
Back to Top of the Rock, I would definitely recommend booking in advance to secure the time and date you want. It’s New York, it’s always going to be busy. You just never know how long you’ll have to wait if you try on the day. I’d read that early morning is one of the better times as it is generally a bit quieter with everyone still making their way out.
Booking through the Rockefeller Centre website gives you all sorts of upgrade options. We just went for the basic ticket which gets you to the top, but you could also add on VIP access, a tour of Rockefeller or a sunrise/sunset option (which allows you to go up during the daytime and then return that same night for a view of the city lit up).
Top Tip:
Book your visit to the Top of the Rock early on in your trip. This is more important in the winter time I would assume, but something you need to think about is the weather. When we woke up, on the morning of our booked tickets, the Top of the Rock looked like that photo a little further up – covered in mist. There was 0% visibility that day. Thankfully you can rearrange and transfer your tickets to another day if this happens. As we still had two more days to chance it this wasn’t a problem. Save it for your last day and well, you could just be looking out into the mist with all the regrets.
Top of the Rock Viewpoint
You will be let into the area at your booked time only and will be led through a few different areas. Once you have passed security you’ll see the Mezzanine Exhibit, which gives some information about John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the history of the Rockefeller Center. Then you’ll have the opportunity to take one of those touristy photos against a green screen, replicating the famous photo of the construction workers sat on a beam overlooking the city. We didn’t check ours once near the shop so I couldn’t tell you the costs unfortunately, but I imagine it was expensive.
After that there’s a short video presentation (you don’t have to stay and watch if you don’t want to) and then you’re into the main elevator that shoots you up 850 feet in less than a minute. It’s not as bad as it sounds though, honest. From here you’ll walk through a few more rooms, one including the first views of the city and then you’re up to the top for the outdoor views.
Taking in the Views of New York
Once up there, you can stay however long you want so there’s no worry or rushing about to get those shots.
There are two outdoor levels. The first one covers quite a big area but is enclosed by a glass wall. This doesn’t really affect photos and there are actually little gaps for if you really want the clear views.
The very top observation deck has a good clear view as there is no glass. This space is a little smaller but there is still plenty of space to move about. As mentioned above, we went early morning so it was pretty quiet up there at that time.
Accessibility in the Rockefeller Plaza
I can’t comment on how everything described actually is through personal experience, but the Top of the Rock Viewpoint and the tour are both wheelchair accessible. All entrances to the building are accessible, and there are power-assist doors at the main entrance. Elevators can be found on all floors of Top of the Rock, right up to the open air viewpoint on the 70th floor and the public restrooms also have designated wheelchair accessible stalls. It sounds well planned out, so I would hope the experience is too!
In short, visiting the Top of the Rock viewpoint is well worth the money to get those beautiful city views. You can see SO much on a clear day and you will not regret doing it. I’d probably go again next time I visited to be honest.
Have you ever been up to the Top of the Rock Viewpoint?
