Best Observation Decks In NYC: Ranked By Price, Height & View

Viewing New York City from its tallest buildings is one of the city’s best experiences. There is something thrilling about looking out across Manhattan and peering down at the people and bright yellow taxis far below.

Visiting the observation decks in Manhattan can be an expensive and time consuming process. You may not want to shell out hundreds of dollars for aerial views over New York City or spend valuable hours waiting in line.

Currently, there are five observation decks in Manhattan: the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, One World Observatory, the Edge, and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt. Each observation deck offers a different view, and a different experience. If you want to narrow down the list to just one or two, we have lots of great information to share with you.

We’ve been to all of the observation decks at least once, with multiple visits to the Empire State Building, One World Observatory, the Edge, and SUMMIT One.

In this guide, we cover the best observation decks in NYC, share photos from each of them, and rank them by height, cost, and view.

I do my best to keep the hours of operation and pricing up to date for each attraction, however, these can change at any time. I recommend getting updated hours and pricing for your dates of travel. The link to the official website is provided for each site.

October 2025 Update: This article was updated with new pricing and hours of operation of the observation decks.

Table of Contents

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• Empire State Building
  • Facts about the Empire State Building
  • How to Get to the Empire State Building
  • Empire State Building Ticket Options
  • Hours of Operation
  • What to Expect on Your Visit
  • The View from the Empire State Building
  • Reasons Why You Should Visit the Empire State Building
  • Reasons Why This May Not Be the Best Observation Deck in NYC
  • Is the Empire State Building Worth It?
• Top of the Rock
  • Facts about Top of the Rock
  • How to Get to Top of the Rock
  • Ticket Options for Top of the Rock
  • Hours of Operation
  • What to Expect on Your Visit
  • View from Top of the Rock
  • Reasons Why You Should Visit Top of the Rock
  • Reasons Why This May Not Be the Best Observation Deck in NYC
  • Is Top of the Rock Worth It?
• One World Observatory
  • Facts about One World Observatory
  • How to Get to One World Observatory
  • Ticket Options for One World Observatory
  • Hours of Operation
  • What to Expect on Your Visit
  • View from One World Observatory
  • Reasons Why You Should Visit One World Observatory
  • Reasons Why This May Not Be the Best Observation Deck in NYC
  • Is One World Observatory Worth It?
  • Learn More
• The Edge
  • Facts about the Edge
  • How to Get to the Edge
  • Ticket Options for the Edge
  • Hours of Operation
  • What to Expect on Your Visit
  • View from the Edge
  • City Climb
  • Reasons Why You Should Visit the Edge & City Climb
  • Reasons Why This May Not Be the Best Observation Deck in NYC
  • Is the Edge Worth It?
• SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
  • Facts about SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
  • How to Get to SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
  • SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Ticket Options
  • Hours of Operation
  • What to Expect on Your Visit
  • Views from SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
  • Reasons Why You Should Visit SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
  • Reasons Why this May not Be the Best Observation Deck in NYC
  • Is SUMMIT One Vanderbilt Worth It?
• Best Observation Decks in NYC: Ranked
  • Observation Decks Ranked by Height
  • Observation Decks Ranked by Price
  • Best Observation Decks Ranked by View
• Which Observation Deck Should You Visit?
• Links to Each Observation Deck
• Tips to Have the Best Experience
• More about NYC