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Dominating the skyline of Manhattan, the Empire State Building rises to a height of 1454 feet. The 86th floor observatory offers incredible views of NYC and the adjacent areas. High speed elevators take you quickly (once you've managed to procure a ticket...see my tip concering buying your tickets online) to the 86th floor, where there are glass-enclosed viewing areas AND outdoor promenades. (Sadly, I read where a few days ago, some fellow chose to do a high dive from the 86th floor, which came to an abrupt, and I suppose messy, end on the 6th floor)
On a clear day, you can see up to 60 miles in almost any direction. I'm told the nighttime view is quite spectacular as well, if you get a clear evening.
The cost of a trip to the 86th floor observatory is $11 for adults and $6 for children. Seniors are $10. If you get a Smartmap, you'll receive a discount of 20% on two admissions to the observatory. (See my Smartmap tip)
The Empire State Building observatory is open 7 days a week, with some variation around public holidays, from 9:30 am until midnight. The last admission to the observatory occurs at 11:20 pm each evening.
There is a gift shop on the observatory floor, and it's full of what you'd expect. Nothing, in my opinion, that one couldn't live without. : )
For more information, or for online tickets, visit the Empire State Building website at
www.esbnyc.com
It actually took us a little less time to get to the 86th floor observatory that I'd thought. AND, I didn't expect to get a nice fresh-air outdoor peek from the top.
The feeling of being above it all is surreal, and it's often easy to forget that you're in a man-made structure that is nearly 70 years old. Truly an engineering marvel.
WARNING...all during your time in line at the Empire State Building, you are harassed by some outfit calling itself Tony's Audio Tours. You are constantly haranged about buying this joker's taped commentary of the view from the Empire State Building, and it is inferred that you'll be wasting your time without Tony's input. Baloney. We had little difficulty finding all sorts of landmarks as we peered over the Big Apple. If listening to audio tape tours makes you happy, buy one. You'll have plenty of opportunities, believe me. But, do not be chided into purchasing this business believing that your experience will somehow be substandard without it. A classic HARD sell, folks. In some ways, the dogmatic pounding you get while in line from Tony and his goons is kind of comical. We had a good time making fun of them, actually. Leave a Comment
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Bonnie and I actually enjoyed our visit to the Empire State Building. Observing the Big Apple from atop the 86th floor observatory at the Empire State Building is awe-inspiring.
But, you will not be alone. Quite a few people are interested in enjoying this classic NYC tourist stop. The line(s) to purchase tickets can be astronomically long. We were LUCKY to only be in line some 90 minutes to GET tickets. (Remember, there are two steps leading to the 86th floor....getting tickets and then getting to the elevator.) There is, happily, a way to speed the process.
BUY YOUR EMPIRE STATE BUILDING ADMISSION TICKETS ONLINE! This can be accomplished easily at
www.esbnyc.com
They will either send your tickets to your doorstep, or you can print them out yourself, assuming you don't have a Canon printer. (Sorry, just me attacking Canon....I had a bad experience with my former printer)
Actually, it isn't really a FOND memory. We stood in line for almost 90 minutes just buying our tickets for the ESB observatory. It was stuffy and uncomfortable for most of the time. If we hadn't been in line with some very funny people (who enjoyed making fun of the audio tour sales goons as much as we did), it might have been insufferable.
Save your time. Get tickets online.
www.esbnyc.com Leave a Comment
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The Empire State Building has always been a favorite of the movies...where else would KingKong climb up to? The movie "Sleepless in Seattle" and the oldie, "An Affair to Remember" both chose the top of the Empire State to have that romantic rendezvous. Most of all, it affords you a remarkable view of NYC. As of my last visit, the observation deck was open 7 days/wk from 8am-2am so you may want to check to be sure this is still the case. There are two kinds of fees depending on how you want to go up the observation deck. For observation on the 86th floor, it's $20 for Adults (Ages 18-up) and below $20 for those under 18. Toddlers up to 5 years old are free. The Express Pass is $48 for everyone (Toddlers up to 5 years old are still free). Basically, this ticket let you get in front of the line. The lines for tickets are quite insane so you may want to consider buying your tickets online or ahead of time. Also there's a security check line so everyone's stuff gets inspected and of course there's a line for the elevators to go up the observatory. This is a great experience but you may want to do this when you have enough time to spend here and not in a hurry to be elsewhere. Leave a Comment
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The Empire State Building is 1,453 feet 8 9/16 inches (443.2 meters) tall, was built in one year and 45 days (1930-1931) and has 102 floors. On clear days visitors can see the surrounding countryside for distances up to 80 miles, looking into the neighboring states of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts, as well as New York. Anything this good is worth the wait! What more can be said about a feeling, a thrill and a memory that stays with you for the rest of your life. A person once said, "You can live in New York all your life, but until you see it from the top of the Empire State Building, you haven't seen the city."
Location:
Fifth Avenue at 34th Street
Observatory Hours:
9:30am to Midnight daily. Last elevators go up at 11:15pm. Open daily 365 days a year.
Admission:
Adults (18-61) $11 Leave a Comment
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Go to the top of the Empire State Building!
At first, I thought this was a pathetically touristy thing to do, but I'm glad we did it anyway. Despite an approximately three-hour wait in line to actually get on the elevator to the observation deck, it was an amazing view and worth every minute. You can see for miles! This is one of the many views from the top--the sheer size of NYC is overwhelming--even to me, and I'm used to the immenseness of Chicago! Leave a Comment
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My dear ritual...as soon as I've arrived and settled in my hotel...off I go up to admire the view from the 86th floor observatory, 1,050 feet (320 meters), shown on the picture above!
Since the Observatory opened to the public in 1931, almost 100 million visitors have thrilled to the awe-inspiring vision of the City beneath them. Each year over 3.5 million people are whisked to the 86 th floor to be where Cary Grant waited in vain for Deborah Kerr in an 'Affair to Remember', while Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan had their fateful meeting in the movie 'Sleepless in Seattle'.
TOWER LIGHTS
To find out more about lights that colors the Empire State Building CLICK HERE Leave a Comment
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El Empire States Building uno de los simbolos de New york, se la ha llamdo la catedral del cielo.
SIN PALABRAS NI COMENTARIOS, es imprescindible subir para poder disfrutar de las mejores vistas de New York
El piso 86 nos ofrece unas vistas increibles de Ny y todo Manhattan.
http://www.esbnyc.com/index2.cfm Leave a Comment
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The Cathedral of the Skies," is one of the places that identifies New York City.
WITHOUT WORDS!
At the entrances (decorated in Art deco) buy your tickets to the top.
At the 86th floor of the Empire State Building you will enjoy a panorama of New York City and the entire Metropolitan region that is world famous.
The Empire State Building is more than an office building, more than a tourist attraction, more, even, than an symbol or an icon of the nation, It is the world´s most famous skyscraper.
And it is from the 1929!
You should go to the top and relax!Incredible views of New York Leave a Comment
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To see New York City...
was always a dream for me. Feel the power of a city that really never sleeps. Offcourse we wanted to see the big landmarks like the Empire State building , Twin towers and the chrysler building.
The first year we went to the US we only drove through it with Niki's Niece and stopped for a visit to the Empire Stat building.
When we went there all by ourself the next year the town gave me some fear, this faded away quickly but the feeling of being small stayed.
Walking through this city in our own pace, take the Subway and walk through Battery Park.
Maybe it was different at that time, but the Twin towers have gotten a special place in our hearts.
Picture taken June 1998
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get high in Manhattan!
and get onto that Empire State Building!
(I have been on the Twin Towers as well... but that is left to history and memory after 11th of September.
So that was one advice I had to delete sadly enough)
I hope NYC will recover from this disaster.
More pictures are in my travelogues
You have a marvelous panoramic view over the city.
It is fun trying to spot the location of the hotel, or the places you have been too. Leave a Comment
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