Which New York observation deck should you choose?

If you'll visit one deck, choose it by the view. Top of the Rock sits at Rockefeller Center, north of the Empire State Building, so the Empire State is in your picture; at the Empire State Building you're standing on the landmark itself. SUMMIT One Vanderbilt and Edge sell an experience around the view. One World Observatory is the indoor option downtown, on floors 100 to 102 of One World Trade Center. [1][2][3][4][5]

Pick by the view you want

The Empire State Building is the classic, and its 86th-floor deck is open to the air. Adding the 102nd floor raised the cheapest ticket from $46 to $81 on our check date. That buys extra height, and the skyline below is the same one you saw from the 86th floor. [6]

Top of the Rock is the one to choose if you want the Empire State Building in your photographs. Its top deck, on the 70th floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, is 850 feet up. Timed admission starts at $42; adding the Beam and SKYLIFT, which lifts you above the deck for an open-air view, starts at $72. It is open from 8 a.m. to midnight, with last entry at 11:10 p.m., and the entrance is on 50th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. [1][7]

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt is as much an installation as a lookout, with rooms designed by Kenzo Digital, including one filled with balloons, and glass skyboxes 1,100 feet over Madison Avenue. The entrance is inside Grand Central Terminal's transit hall. It's open from 8 a.m. to midnight, with last entry at 10:30 p.m. [3][8]

Edge sends you through seven indoor installations before you step out onto the deck, which Edge calls the highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, at 1,100 feet, with a glass floor. It's at Hudson Yards on the West Side, so it pairs well with a walk on the High Line. [4][10]

One World Observatory is an indoor observatory on floors 100 to 102 of One World Trade Center, and its own estimate for a visit is 45 minutes to an hour. If visibility is poor, its See Forever Commitment lets you come back on a better day. [5]

Then pick the time

Each operator lists a "from" price and sells entry for a set date and time, so the price you pay depends on the slot. At the Empire State Building, moving a ticket into a sunset slot can add a charge. One World Observatory recommends booking at least an hour before sunset if that's what you're after. [4][5][6]

Sunset is the slot most visitors want, and at the Empire State Building it's the one that can cost extra. Booking an hour before it, as One World Observatory suggests, gets you daylight, dusk and the city lights on one ticket without competing for the most popular time. [5][6]

Tickets are hard to undo. The Empire State Building's tickets are non-refundable but can be changed to another date or time, and One World Observatory lets you update a booking online before your visit. Where an operator allows changes, check the forecast the day before and move the slot if the sky looks poor. [5][6]

When to skip the deck

On a trip of three days or less, one deck is enough; the views overlap more than the marketing admits. Two free views compete well. The Brooklyn Bridge promenade, open at all times, looks back at Lower Manhattan, and the Staten Island Ferry crosses the harbor at no charge. [11][12]

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