Best Observation Decks in New York City

The world's most famous building, the Empire State Building offers 360-degree open-air views from its iconic 86th-floor Main Deck at 1,050 feet, plus a reimagined 102nd-floor Top Deck with floor-to-ceiling windows stretching views up to 80 miles on a clear day. Beyond the views, the experience includes an immersive Art Deco lobby, interactive museum exhibits, and a rich cinematic history spanning over 250 films. Rated the #1 Attraction in the World by TripAdvisor in 2024, it remains a bucket-list must for any NYC visitor.

Set 70 floors above Rockefeller Center, Top of the Rock delivers some of the most beloved 360-degree panoramic views in all of Manhattan — including unobstructed sightlines of the Empire State Building, Central Park, and beyond. Three levels of indoor and outdoor terraces face all four directions, and new additions like the Skylift and The Beam Experience add pulse-pounding aerial perspectives to the visit. Its dead-center position in Midtown makes it arguably the best single vantage point for photographing the full Manhattan skyline.

The highest outdoor sky deck in the Western Hemisphere, Edge at 30 Hudson Yards suspends visitors 1,131 feet above Manhattan on a cantilevered triangular platform with angled glass walls and a breathtaking glass floor. The one-of-a-kind design gives the sensation of floating in mid-air above the city, offering 360-degree views of the Hudson River, Central Park, One World Trade Center, and the full Midtown skyline. Thrill-seekers can also take on the City Climb, an exhilarating harnessed ascent on the outside of the skyscraper to the highest outdoor platform in New York City.

SUMMIT One Vanderbilt redefines what an observation deck can be, combining three floors of immersive multi-sensory art installations — including mirrored infinity rooms, a balloon-filled chamber, and glass Levitation boxes suspended in the sky — with sweeping 360-degree views of NYC from 1,100 feet. Perched atop One Vanderbilt in the heart of Midtown, it's the city's most Instagram-worthy sky experience and includes a sky-high lounge, Après, for cocktails and light fare. Visitors consistently rave that going at night or near sunset transforms the experience into something truly magical.

Located on the 100th–102nd floors of One World Trade Center — the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere at 1,776 feet — One World Observatory offers some of the most emotionally powerful and visually stunning views in New York City, including unobstructed sightlines of the Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor, and the entire Manhattan skyline. The experience begins with a dramatic 47-second Sky Pod elevator ride wrapped in a time-lapse of NYC's construction history, and culminates with the Sky Portal, a 14-foot circular disc in the floor streaming real-time live video of the streets far below. Its location in the Financial District provides a uniquely different southern perspective unavailable from any of the Midtown decks.