Visit Top of the Rock in New York: tickets, prices, schedules

Are you lucky to visit the Top of the Rock in New York? Here's our mini guide: visit, schedules, rates!

See the city of New York at the top of one of the highest skyscrapers of the agglomeration, perched at 259 meters high, is it tempting you? Located at the top of the highest building in the Rockefeller Center , the Top of the Rock offers one of the most beautiful panoramic views of Big Apple.

Visit the Top of the Rock, at the sommital point of the eighth highest building in New York, offers a rival view with the observatory of the 86th floor of the famous Empire State Building (to also discover the time of a visit as reversing ). The visit to the Top of the Rock is actually less known to the general public, the Empire State Building – the second highest building in the city – making it shadowy for over 80 years. Are you going to visit the Top of the Rock? We're telling you everything about visiting this point of view!

History of the Top of the Rock

Before climbing to the nearest skies, do you know the singular history of this outdoor observation terrace? The Comcast Building (initially named) RCA Building from 1933 to 1988, then GE Building from 1988 to 2015), was built by the richissimo family Rockefeller between 1931 and 1933, in art-deco style. This is one of the nineteen skyscrapers of the Rockefeller Center .

Designed as a flat-roofed effile blade – made to look like the bridge of a boat – and without arrow. Its architecture is special because it was erected as a block of sharp stone – which increases the sensation of height – hence the singular name of Top of the Rock, which means "top of the rock" and also, by metonymie, the "top of the Rockefeller Center".

Another anecdote: the building holds a prominent place in American culture, because the world-famous photo dating from 1932 and showing eleven workers having lunches in the void, sitting on a steel tie suspended in the void at the top of a skyscraper, is precisely the construction of the RCA Building (86 years later, we still don’t know the author of the photograph).

What to see and what to do at the Top of the Rock?

The significant advantage of the observation deck is that it allows a 360° view of the skyscrapers of Manhattan, the Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center reconstructed between 2006 and 2013 after the attacks of September 11, 2001 (moreover during your visit to New York, you can also go collect you at the memorial dedicated to this tragic event).

The Top of the Rock consists in three terraces, 67th, 69th and 70th floors. A lift provides quick access to the 67th floor. Below you will discover the Skyline of New York, more than 250 meters high.

The lower floors are surrounded by windows while the top floor is in the open air: it is one of the best places to photograph New York (almost) from the sky. In the north, we see the emblematic Central Park and Times Square While in the south, the Empire State Building and Downtown are admired in the background. On the left, is the tip of the arrow of the Chrysler Building .

How to visit the Top of the Rock?

Discovering the Top of the Rock requires preparing its arrival, especially by visiting the main information about the site. From visiting time to site accessibility, we selected the most frequent questions.

How long does the visit last?

Visiting the Top of the Rock takes on average between 45 minutes and one hour . However, you can choose to stay longer at the top or even all day to fully enjoy the site: the building is open until midnight.

What is the best time to visit Top of the Rock?

The Top of the Rock is one of the most popular tourist attractions in New York: as much as the three floors of the skyscraper will be very busy at any time of the day.

- Morning You will have the sunlighting the Empire State Building and the southern tip of Manhattan. - In the afternoon : it will be Central Park that will be illuminated, and the Empire State Building in the shade (or rather, on the contrary in the photographic vocable). - Tonight : the whole city seems to embrace in a festival of sparkling lights: a night visit is one of the best moments.

Good to know. : A visit to the twilight is the most popular moment. A $10 supplement is therefore required to visit the Top of the Rock in the sunset.

Is it possible to eat on the spot?

Food and beverages on observation platforms are not allowed . However, you can restore yourself to the Rockefeller Center after your visit.

Are there unauthorized objects?

Objects which may pose a danger to the safety of visitors and employees are prohibited in the building or on observation platforms, including weapons and knives, lighters, glass bottles and flammable substances. Music instruments, amplifiers, tripods, professional video cameras and speakers are also not allowed.

Accessibility

• Wheelchairs

The guided tour of the Top of the Rock and Rockefeller Center is accessible to people with reduced mobility. All entrances are indeed accessible and electric assistance doors are located at the main entrance (50th street between the Fifth and Sixth Avenue).

Lifts are available on all floors of the Top of the Rock, from the street level to the 70th floor observation platform.

All Top of the Rock public toilets are equipped with wheelchair accessible cabins.

• Transcripts

Possibility of having paper transcripts of all small films broadcast during the visit to the Top of the Rock.

• Audio helmet

All visitors participating in the guided tours of the Rockefeller Center receive a personal audio helmet during the time of the visit.

• Visual guide & audio

Dog guide dogs are welcome in all public areas of Top of the Rock and Rockefeller Center. An audio tour of the Top of the Rock is available free of charge in the Top of the Rock mobile app. iPhone and Android.

• Poussettes

The strollers are allowed if they are scamotable.

How to go to the Top of the Rock?

To access the Top of the Rock (address : 30 Rockefeller Plaza , New York, NY 10111), just take the subway. Here you can choose between two stations: - Station 47-50 streets – Rockefeller Center (lines B, D, F and M) - Station 5 av/53rd st (E and M lines).

Schedules and prices of the Top of the Rock

HORARI

The site is open daily from 8am to midnight. The first elevator climbs at 8am, the last at 11pm.

Good to know. : The site remains open even in rainy weather. Some areas may still be closed if the weather deteriorates dangerously.

Opening hours may vary the holidays:

– Thanksgiving, November 28th: 8h-minuit – Christmas Eve, December 24: 8h-22h – Christmas Day, December 25: 8h-minuit – New Year’s Eve, December 31: from 8 am to 22 pm – New Year, January 1 of 10h-12h30

RATES

• Adults

$36 per person

• Children aged 6 to 12 (free for under 6 years)

$30

• Access ticket V.I.P (priority and rapid entry)

$85

• Guided tour (each half hour from 10am to 7:30pm, English only)

$25

• The New York Pass : if you want to avoid long queues and take advantage of discounts to visit the must-see sites of New York including the Top of the Rock, then opt for the New York Pass. You have the choice between three packages that each include the visit of the Top of the Rock as well as other essential monuments of New York such as the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. You, depending on the budget/time you have and the attractions you want to visit, choose the package that best suits you.