There are many New York viewpoints which have panoramic and spectacular views of the city, highlighting in many of them the views of the skyline of the southern part of Manhattan full of skyscrapers, considered one of the most beautiful in the world.
And although you can enjoy the best views of Manhattan from terraces of bars or restaurants, hotels, museums or with a helicopter flight, the viewpoints are the most impressive option.
In this list of 5 best viewpoints in New York We have based our experience on the two trips we have made so far to the Big Apple, New York in 11 days and our 40 days in an Airbnb apartment.
1. Top of the Rock
The Top of the Rock is one of the New York's best viewpoints, in addition to our favorite, from which you will have magnificent views of Manhattan. From here you will see how the Empire State stands out in the Big Apple and Central Park, giving us unforgettable views of the city's lung.
This large viewpoint is located in the Rockfeller Center shopping complex and has an area with glass and an open area, which offers incredible views of the entire city.
The Top of the Rock is open every day of the year from 8 in the morning until 12 at night, although the last elevator goes up one hour before closing.
Normally large queues are formed to buy the tickets and you must always go before to reserve the time of ascent, although you already have the entrance, especially if you want to climb at some peak time.
Admission is included if you have the CityPASS or you can also book it here in advance. In these two cases you will skip the lines, something very important if you do not want to waste time and make the most of the day.
The best time to get on Top of the Rock lookout point It is an hour before sunset. In this way you can enjoy New York in the sunlight to see after the sun goes down, see how it lights up little by little and enjoy New York at night.
Top of the Rock, one of the best viewpoints in New York
2. Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Brooklyn Heights Promenade is a beautiful promenade located on the banks of the East River from which you will enjoy magnificent views of Manhattan, with the Brooklyn Bridge on one side.
As advice we will tell you that there is nothing better than to start this tour by buying and savoring one of the famous ice creams of Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.
During the walk you will find benches where you can rest, tables and a lawn where you can picnic with one of the best views of New York.
We recommend touring it before sunset and waiting for the night to come to see the illuminated Manhattan skyline.
At the end of the walk you will see an area where a series of wooden logs emerge from the water. From this point you can take one of the best photos of New York at night.
Towards the northern part of the promenade, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge below, you will find the Empire Fulton Ferry Park area, with several viewpoints to see the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyscrapers in the background.
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
3. Empire State Building, one of the best viewpoints in New York
The Empire State Buiding is the most famous skyscraper in the world and one of the most essential places to see in New York. This building was for a long time the tallest skyscraper in the world and even today it is one of the New York's best viewpoints.
From its uncovered viewpoint there are incredible views of the southern area of Manhattan and its old iron binoculars scattered throughout the terrace give it a special charm.
The Empire State viewpoint, which will always be remembered for the final scene of the movie King kong, opens from 9 in the morning until 2 in the morning.
We recommend going a little before sunset, although if you have already climbed to the Top of the Rock at night, you can rise at noon, when the sun is at its highest point and there is no backlight.
Admission is included in the CityPASS, although if you don't have it, you can book here in advance and skip the lines.
Empire State Building
Recommended travel cardsRemember that in order not to pay commissions and always have the current change we recommend you use the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.
4. Exchange Place and Hoboken in New Jersey
On our last trip to New York we took the PATH to cross the Hudson River and reach the viewpoints of New Jersey.
The Path can be taken from the One World Trade Center subway stations or on 33rd Street. The journey takes between 10 minutes and half an hour, depending on the New Jersey station where you get off.
You must bear in mind that the Metrocard, the New York transport card, does not work for either the Path or the New Jersey subway, so you will have to pay for the separate routes.
The two best viewpoints in New York from New Jersey are very close to Hoboken and Exchange Place stations. The two areas have a wide walk along the river with tables and lawn areas to enjoy the views comfortably and take one of the most incredible experiences of the trip.
In the Hoboken viewpoint you can see more the central part of Manhattan with the Empire State as the protagonist, while from Exchange Place you can better see the skyline of southern Manhattan.
The best time to go depends on the position of the sun and trying to avoid the damned backlight, in this case thanks to the recommendation of Rubén and Lucy from the blog Something to remember, one of our favorite travel blogs and we recommend you read, we went at 4 in the afternoon and it was a success.
Exhange Place in New Jersey
5. One World Observatory
Our latest proposal from New York's best viewpoints It is the newest and tallest in the city, the imposing One World Trade Center. This office building is the sixth tallest skyscraper in the world and was built next to the old Twin Towers. In 2015, the viewpoint with 360-degree panoramic views over New York, the One World Observatory, was inaugurated.
The viewpoint is located on floors 100, 101 and 102, over 400 meters high and opens from 9 in the morning until 10 at night.
The views from the lookout point One World Observatory for us they are the most spectacular in New York, since its high height allows you to have a vision of almost the entire city, the rivers and the bay.
The only drawbacks of the viewpoint is that it is all closed with glass and that you can not approach 100% to the windows since there is a kind of step that prevents it.
In addition, we believe that the price is too high, $ 34 per person, although despite the inconveniences we totally recommend the visit and far exceeded our expectations.
You can book tickets here in advance and thus save your queues, which in many cases are more than an hour.
Another good option to go up to the viewpoint and learn the whole history of 11S is to book this 9/11 tour with a guide in Spanish.
One World Observatory
Other good New York viewpoints
Helicopter
- Book a helicopter tour to fly over the Hudson River and see incredible views of all of Manhattan or this night helicopter ride through the city. Two of the best tours and excursions in New York.
Ship
- Take the free ferry to Staten Island with good views of the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty.
- Book one of these cruises around Manhattan: 3-hour cruise in the morning, sunset cruise or evening cruise with dinner.
Museums
- The Metropolitan Museum terrace with good views of Central Park.
- The terraces of the Whitney Museum overlooking the Hudson River and New Jersey.
Hotel and restaurant terraces
- The 230 Fifth Rooftop, one of the New York's best terraces with good views of the Empire State Building.
- Le Bain at The Standard hotel, with good views of the Hudson River and New Jersey.
- The terrace of the William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, with good views of Manhattan.
Others
- The Roosevelt Island cable car, where you can arrive with the Metrocard.
- Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, good views of the Wall Street area and the Manhattan Bridge.
- Roosevelt Island walks that overlook Manhattan and Queens with their famous Pepsi sign.
- The views of Manhattan from Ellis Island. You can get there by making the famous tour to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
- Gantry Plaza State Park, a good viewpoint of Manhattan with the Chrysler Building as a reference.
- Taking the ferry to the Governor's Island, with good views of New York.
- Battery Park with incredible views of New Jersey.
- Crossing the Manhattan Bridge with good views of the Brooklyn Bridge, with the background full of Manhattan skyscrapers.
How to have internet in New York?If you want to have internet in New York a good option is to buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, several GB of data, keeping your WhatsApp number and support service in Spanish.
You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.
If you feel like helping us complete the list of the 5 best viewpoints in New York, add your recommendations in the comments.
