Empire State Building: Tickets, Hours and Best Views

The Empire State Building is New York's most famous building. Plain and simple.

It's true that over time it stopped being one of the tallest skyscrapers (today it ranks seventh), but on any list of things to do in New York it sits right near the top, and its observatory is one of the most visited attractions in the city.

That's why it pays to plan your visit ahead of time. You won't waste valuable minutes standing in line for tickets, and you'll get up sooner to take in those 360º panoramic views of New York.

Empire State Building Hours

The good news is that the Empire State observation deck is open every day of the year, so you have plenty of chances to visit (go on a weekday, and go early, when there are fewer people).

The Empire State Observatory hours shift depending on the time of year and how many tourists are around, but you can count on it being open between 10 am and 10 pm.

During peak seasons, like summer in New York and the Christmas season, it stays open until midnight. Double-check the hours when you buy your ticket online.

If you're really pressed for time, you can buy express tickets that let you skip every line.

Empire State Observation Decks

The Empire State Building actually has two observation decks:

🔭 The main deck on the 86th floor: this is the one included with general observatory admission. It's an open-air deck and fairly small, so bring some patience.

🦍 The 102nd floor observatory: the 102nd floor ticket costs more, but go for it if you can (it includes the 86th floor too). Fewer tourists make it up there, and you're much closer to King Kong's territory.

The Best Time to Go Up the Empire State Observatory

During the day, if you luck into clear skies, you'll see Manhattan spread out below plus a bit of New Jersey and even Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Another unforgettable experience is going at night, when the city lights put on a show of their own. The City Pass really helps here: it's a discount card that lets you visit the Empire State during the day and come back at night without paying a dollar more.

If you have time, head up shortly before sunset and you'll get both versions. Better still, you'll watch the city light up little by little.

Where Do You Enter the Empire State?

The Empire State Building sits on famous Fifth Avenue at 34th Street, right in Midtown Manhattan, the heart of the city. The observatory entrance is on 34th Street.

You won't even need a map, since you can see it from everywhere. Just look up 😜.

Tips for Going Up the Empire State Building

I'll say it again: the way to avoid the long lines to go up the Empire State observatory is to buy your tickets online.

Now, if you want to skip every line (and there are several: security, the first elevator, the second elevator, the observatory entrance…), you can buy the express ticket. It costs a lot more than standard admission, but it's worth it if you're short on time.

Keep in mind that if you wait in all of those lines you can easily burn half a day on the Empire State Building alone. It's one of New York's most visited attractions, and therefore one of the most crowded.

Tourist Discount Passes

If you get the New York Pass or the City Pass, admission to the Empire State's 86th floor observatory is already included. You'll save up to 40% off the ticket price!

Tips for Visiting the Empire State Observatory

♿ There's an entrance for people with limited mobility on 34th Street (between Bank of America and Starbucks). Outside those hours, head to the main door.

👮‍♂️ Everyone goes through a security check, just like at the airport. Don't bring prohibited items, because there are no lockers to store them… Think of it as boarding a plane.

🎟️ Book your tickets in advance: buy your tickets online ahead of time, since reservations are required. It'll save you time.

🌆 Visit the 102nd floor observatory: Don't pass up the chance to go up to the 102nd floor observatory. The views are genuinely stunning and there are fewer people.

🏛️ Walk through the Empire State Museum: The views are the thrill, but give yourself time for the museum too. You'll learn the fascinating story of the building and its record-breaking construction, an engineering milestone.

Empire State Building Facts and History

This 102-story office building was the tallest in New York from its opening in 1931 until the Twin Towers went up in 1972.

After the 9/11 attacks, it tragically reclaimed the top spot, a title it lost again in 2014 to One World Trade Center.

The race to scrape Manhattan's skies has been fierce in recent years, pushing the Empire State down to seventh place among the tallest (as of 2020, at least). Even so, it will always be New Yorkers' favorite.

An Art Deco Gem

It's a magnificent example of art deco, and its elegant lobby carries you straight back to the grandeur of 1930s New York (if you love that era, take the Radio City Music Hall tour).

The building's starring role in the Western cultural imagination is beyond dispute.

The Empire State on Screen

Since 1931, the year the Empire State Building (ESB) went up, every generation has had its own Hollywood-planted memory of this New York icon.

For some it's where Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks meet (Sleepless in Seattle, 1993), for others Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr (An Affair to Remember, 1957) or Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne (Love Affair, 1939). And for those of us who love TV, it was one of the clues that told us which New York a scene of J.J. Abrams's Fringe was taking place in.

King Kong

The king of the Empire State will always be King Kong (1933), filmed just two years after the modern building opened, in which the poor animal climbs the antenna to escape his captors.

That classic image is the one we all carry in our heads, not so much Peter Jackson's 2005 King Kong, however hard it tried to pull off its own inception.

Alien Target

The fact is that every time the city gets hit by a natural disaster, or aliens show up, or Godzilla, the Daleks or any other monster, the Empire State is one of the first targets.

More Than 250 Films

The building's official count puts more than 250 movies on location here, including Andy Warhol's experimental Empire (1964), which consists of 8 hours and 5 minutes of a single static slow motion shot of the structure.

Zeppelin Station

There are other fascinating Empire State stories that sound like they were lifted from a movie, but they're real.

Our favorite bit of trivia is that the building's 50-ton steel antenna was designed to be a mooring mast for transatlantic zeppelins.

Once the airship was tied to the antenna, an extendable gangway would connect it to the 102nd floor so passengers could step down straight into the heart of New York (in this plan, the 86th floor observatory would serve as customs).

But in 1937 came the Hindenburg disaster, which, along with New York's strong winds, put an end to this futuristic fantasy.

Other New York observation decks

You should know that with the never-ending crowds, taking in the New York views gets a little rough.

Even so, I still insist you visit the Empire State for the experience, but to enjoy the views more comfortably, and even see the Empire State itself from above, also head up to the Top of the Rock, the Rockefeller Center observatory about twenty blocks north. I'll admit it's my favorite because it sits right in the middle of the skyscrapers. I took this photo on my last trip 😉 👇

Another must is One World Trade Center, today the tallest skyscraper in New York, and if you already know those, you have to visit the newer observatories The Edge at Hudson Yards and the fabulous Summit at One Vanderbilt next to Grand Central Terminal, which also gives you a spectacular view of the Empire State:

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Address

Empire State Building. 350 5th Ave at 34th St

Getting there

Subway B, D, F, N, Q, R, V, W. 34th St-Herald Sq station

Hours

Every day of the year
10 am to 10 am (hours change throughout the year, you can check them on the official site)

Prices

General admission to the 86th Floor: From US$44

Express ticket to the 86th Floor (no lines at all): From US$86

Ticket for the 102nd Floor observatory plus the 86th: From US$91