The Vessel NYC: How to Visit Hudson Yards’ Icon

The Vessel is the climbable installation by English architect Thomas Heatherwick, the centerpiece around which Hudson Yards was designed, the new Manhattan neighborhood along the Hudson River at 34th Street.

The monument is an interconnected web of staircases and platforms with flawless views of the Hudson River. During the pandemic, the structure closed after a string of suicides from its upper levels.

The good news is that The Vessel will reopen to the public in late 2024, after safety netting is installed.

Until then, you can only see its web of staircases from the ground floor of the monument, but it is worth it because the view is mind-blowing.

The Vessel in New York City: the heart of Hudson Yards

Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in U.S. history, matched in scale only by the construction of Rockefeller Center in the 1930s. It is still under construction, so when you visit you will notice there is plenty left to do.

The focal point of the whole development is The Vessel, a structure that quickly became a new Manhattan icon after opening in 2019.

THE VESSEL WILL REOPEN TO THE PUBLIC IN LATE 2024.

What is The Vessel?

The Vessel is a walk-through installation with a network of 154 staircases, 2,500 steps and 80 observation platforms offering different perspectives on the Hudson River, New Jersey and Manhattan.

When it reopens it will undoubtedly be another New York City viewpoint where you can take stunning photos (especially at sunset, when the sun drops over the Hudson River!).

How to visit The Vessel

This climbable sculpture has generated plenty of conversation, not just for its design but for its closure in January 2021 following a series of suicides. As mentioned above, The Vessel is set to reopen to the public in late 2024.

In the meantime you can only enter the ground floor, but it is worth it because the structure is stunning.

Attractions near The Vessel

It is a good idea to pair the visit with other new New York attractions right nearby:

1. Edge Observation Deck

Edge Hudson Yards Observation Deck is steps from The Vessel. It is an open-air observation deck with a platform that juts out 65 feet from the building, including a section of clear glass floor for looking straight down. Vertigo!

2. Moynihan Train Hall

Hudson Yards is part of a much broader redevelopment project for the west side of Midtown Manhattan.

Another major addition to the revival of one of the city's last underdeveloped areas is the new Penn Station waiting hall, opened on January 1, 2021: Moynihan Train Hall.

It is a light-filled space with cutting-edge design that brightens the daily grind for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers passing through drab Penn Station.

A good plan is to start your visit to Hudson Yards at Penn Station.

3. High Line Park

The new extension of the High Line Park leads right into Hudson Yards. Once you have seen The Vessel, you can walk the length of this inventive park built on an abandoned rail line all the way to Chelsea and the Meatpacking District.

4. Little Island

At the far end of the High Line Park you will find Little Island, the new public park in New York City built over the Hudson River.

If you love architecture or design, you have to see it. Like The Vessel, it has gotten plenty of attention for its unorthodox shapes, and that is no coincidence: it was designed by the very same English architect, Thomas Heatherwick, who created The Vessel 😉

How to get to The Vessel

The easiest way is to get off at the New York subway station 34th St – Hudson Yards on the 7 line. From there, walk along 34th Street toward the Hudson River.