Empire State Building Tickets - Observatory and Optional Skip the Line Tickets

New York City, United States of America

Until you see New York City from the top of the Empire State Building, you haven't really seen it! You'll remember your first visit to the Empire State Building and the amazing 360-degree panoramic views of Manhattan forever.

Your admission ticket takes you to the 86th-floor, at 1,050 feet (320 meters) and the glass-enclosed area is reached by high-speed automatic elevators. From the Observation Deck, you'll be treated to spectacular indoor and outdoor views of Manhattan including Central Park, Times Square, the Flatiron Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty and so much more.

The Empire State Building is waiting for you day or night. Come watch the sunset as New York is bathed in warm orange, red and yellow tones, then stick around as the lights come on all over town. Or come later and listen to the live music (weekends only) as the stars and lights twinkle romantically. Whenever you come, enjoy the magic without the wait.

There are 3 lines at the observatory: the security line (required for all visitors), the ticket line and the elevator line. You will be required to join the ticket line to exchange vouchers on arrival.

Skip the Line Admission (Optional Upgrade - available only on peak dates)
Speed past the lines on your way to the tallest point in Manhattan! Your "Express Pass" voucher will enable you to proceed directly to the front of every line, saving valuable time to do all the other things New York is famous for. Don't spend your valuable holiday time waiting in line - there's no faster way to the top!

Express Pass is especially valuable from Memorial Day through Labor Day, from Thanksgiving until New Year's any time of day and all holiday weekends. Other times of year the Express Pass is recommended for planned visits between 11am and 2pm, and one hour before and after sunset. Limited numbers of Express Passes are sold, so maximum wait times are around 7 minutes. Typical wait time is under 1 minute. Specific wait times cannot be guaranteed, only front of line privileges.

Please see below for all ticketing options and inclusions. Voucher can be redeemed within a year of date originally selected - plan your visit around the weather!

USD $22.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Pamela M	April 2012
Having the express tickets made the trip a bit quicker both on the way up AND down! Views from the top were great!

Review by: MRS P TURNER T	April 2012
Wonderful experience, good idea to book ahead - no hassle !

Review by: danaw	April 2012
Worked perfectly. As long as you notify the attendant as you reach every line you are immediately moved to the front of that line! This saved at least 2 hours of waiting in line.

Review by: Marina N	April 2012
3 hours waiting in the regular line to exchange my vauchers with the actual tickets.Why bother to buy them online next time?

Review by: Helen S	April 2012
Fantastic views but go early to miss the crowds

Review by: PETER J	April 2012
early morning visit was good for us ,no queues, straight to the top.excellent clear veiws on the day. great time, friendiy helpful staff.

Review by: Darren C	April 2012
Well worth pre booking to avoid queues, great venue to watch sun set

Review by: chewit	April 2012
The skip the line tickets are excellent for the ESB. The Viator voucher has you treated like royalty as soon as you hend it over. The views are fantastic. I would reccomend you try and avoid a windy day, if its windy on the street its a gale up there! Went on a Monday and it was not to busy.

Review by: Ron L	April 2012
IT WAS GREAT! ALL WE DID WAS SHOW THE VOUCHER, GO THROUGH SECURITY and WE WERE ON OUR WAY; WHILE OTHERS WERE IN LINE!!!!!!!!!!!

Review by: Donna B	April 2012
Got there about 9 am and it was practically empty. No waiting in line at all but it does take a few minutes to get to the actual observation tower - security, etc. Cold and windy but that's okay it was sunny and no rain. The employees were more than happy to take pictures of couples, families etc. Have not been to the top since I was a child so it was well worth it. Nothing else to say except fabulous views.

Review by: Robh45	April 2012
Went on a Thursday afternoon. Absolutely no queues to skip! Still had to queue up for the ticket line to redeem your prepaid voucher but not a big problem on the day we went. The EBS is still impressive with great views.

Review by: Lucky	April 2012
Well worth an evening vist the view from the Observatory at night was excellent

Review by: le15060	March 2012
A must see whilst in New York but even when purchasing your tickets via this site you still have to queue to get actual tickets to visit the top so you still have to queue for ages

Review by: Zig	March 2012
Purchased this at the last minute before leaving. Probably didn't need to as the time of year we went the line wasn't that bad. We actually used the ticket in Citypass to go up during the day (no line at all) and used this option to go up at night - when there was a bit of a line. The whole experience day and night was wonderful.

Review by: Jacqueline P	March 2012
still had to line-up

Review by: Steven B	March 2012
ICONIC BUILDING, BEAUTIFULLY MAINTAINED - A MUST

Review by: Alan S	March 2012
misty day but still amazing!

Review by: David P	March 2012
Lovely building with lovely views.

Review by: Amy B	March 2012
What expected and more. We went late at night and the sights and lights were amazingly beautiful and well worth what you pay. Loved it and got some wonderful pickies!!

Review by: bmostowy	March 2012
perfect

Review by: David F	March 2012
My visit to the Empire State Buliding was on a Sunday morning at about 1100 and it was very quiet. There were almost no queues for security or at the ticket office, and having collected my ticket I was in the lift on my way to the 86th Floor Observation Level in about 5 minutes. It was a lovely clear day, and the views were fantastic, you could see for miles. The staff were friendly and not pushy , they try to sell you a guide map and audio tour but are quite happy to accept no for an answer. I would thoroughly recommend a visit to the Empire State Building to anyone visiting New York, and pre-booking tickets via Viator certainly helped make my visit run smoothly and gave me the flexibility of choosing when to visit, although I was fortunate enough not to have to "skip the line".

Review by: Derek	March 2012
Arrived early with skip the line booking. No problems whatsoever, very slick operation. If you intend to go to the 102nd floor buy additional tickets as you check in it saves time at the top._br/_ Phenomenal views as you would expect._br/_ Not to be missed.

Review by: Ann F	March 2012
A very enjoyable experience, no problems with pre purchased tickets

Review by: nicholas m	March 2012
it was pricey. it was well worth it to purchase the skip the lines tickets. every building employee jumped into action to escort us to the front of the lines, opening up the velvet ropes and politely making us feel special, the views were so great on the 102nd floor, that my 11 year daughter spent over an hour looking out of every window a few times each. then it was out to the 86th floor outdoor observation where we spent another 45 min or so. the overall review of this trip was excellant, my daughter kept raving about the great time she was having and it lasted for a couple days afterward. if i could do it over again i would do it exactly as i just did.

Review by: ARANTXA C	March 2012
Great deal! amazing view from the top and easy to use the voucher.

Review by: Kevin D	March 2012
Go at dusk to experience the city by day and as the lights start to welcome the night. Truly fabulous. Rather a laborious security process - Don't forget to take your passport ( I did and was initially treated as a security threat)

Review by: Cheryl B	March 2012
Wonderful view! The date I had my tickets reserved for was a foggy, misty day so we went to the bldg and traded in our voucher for our actual tickets (which are good for 2 wks) and ended up going two evenings later and we were amazed at the lights and skyline! Quite a sight to see!

Review by: Brian R	February 2012
We really enjoyed the visit. The staff were excellent and most helpful

Review by: Karen S	February 2012
Excellent as we got there early and there were no queues, the weather wasn't brilliant but it was well worth the view

Review by: Wanda K, United States of America	July 2010
IT WAS TOTALY BREATH TAKEING.THE SIGHTS WAS EXTRAORDINARY MORE THAN WE EVER COULD HAVE IMAGINE.THE PEOPLE IN NY ARE JUST SO FRIENDLY.IM GLAD I HAD THE CHANCE TO VISIT AND TAKE MY THREE GRANDDAUGHTERS AN EXPERIENCE THAT I NO THEY WILL NOT FORGET.

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	June 2010
Highly recommended.

Review by: Nicola E, United Kingdom	June 2010
We went up for sunset and although there was a queue it didn't take that long. Easy enough to exchange the tickets.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2010
A must see if you are going to NYC for the first time and never been to the Empire State Building.

Review by: Andrea P, United Kingdom	June 2010
Fantasic well worth paying extra to skip the lines - only criticism is you have to really speak up to the various members of staff at each line to say you have skip the queue tickets - there wasn't a specific line to go in.

Review by: IAN C, United Kingdom	June 2010
A must in New York. We paid an extra 30 to go to the top viewing point. This was well worth it. The views are great of the whole city. We went early and did not have to cue.

Review by: gary w, United States of America	June 2010
As I stated before regarding your service. I paid in advanc but still had to wait in line at the venue to get my tickets. I would suggest that if you have paid in advance you should e-mail tllhe tickets to the customer,otherwise there is not advantage to order through you .

Review by: Ashish P, United States of America	June 2010
Empire State Building is must see. We went for quick one day trip to New York city and glad we decide to go up to obervotory on Empire State Building. View is stunning.

Review by: BILL B, United Kingdom	May 2010
Fantastic experience, but advise get there early to avoid queues.

Review by: JOHN S, United Kingdom	May 2010
HAD TO ECHANGE MY VOUCHER FOR A TICKET FOR FOLLOWING DAY DUE TO ZERO VISABILITY. TOOK ONE HOUR TO REACH TOP AS IT WAS VERY BUSY.WOULD ADVIZE ANYONE TO GO EARLY MORNING TO AVOID QUEUES.

Review by: patricia h, United Kingdom	May 2010
Thoroughly enjoyed the views and the magnicent building,although our tickets did not enable us to skip the queue as expected.

Review by: Laura D, United Kingdom	May 2010
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Review by: Susan B, United Kingdom	May 2010
No problems with the tickets very efficient. Everyone says the views from the top of the rock are spectacular which they are but no trip to New York would be complete without a trip up the Empire State. We went at sunset just beautiful. Loved it. It would be on my list to do again if I get back over there.

Review by: Jane Louise R, United Kingdom	April 2010
We went up at 6:00pm and waited for the sun to set. We got some fantastic photos before and after dusk. There was no queue at this time, although when we came down at about 8.45pm there were queues to go up. Get wrapped up as it can be quite windy up there! It is well worth the visit.

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	April 2010
Well worth a visit. Excellent views from the top.

Review by: Beverley P, United Kingdom	April 2010
Amazing views from the top and good recorded commentary, but don't forget to look inside the building on the way up and on the way down, it is stunning. Staff fantastic. Get up and get there early.

Review by: C M S, United Kingdom	April 2010
Having read other people's reviews about how great the Empire State trip was, except for the long queues, I booked the express pass so as not to waste any time on our first trip to New York. However, having arrived at 10am at the ESB, the queues were at a minimum anyway, so we needn't have paid for the express pass. This was something that could not have been predicted, but I can imagine on other days, the pass would have been invaluable. The trip up to the top is well worth making, especially on a clear day.

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	April 2010
Skip the line tickets well worth it as there was a 45 minute wait and we got straight to the front of the line.

Review by: Sarah B, United Kingdom	April 2010
The booking was stress free and when we got to NYC it was so much easier than having to queue and pay. I would advise to book and pay for as much as possible before you go, it makes your spending money seem to go further!

Review by: Thierry D, France	March 2010
Great experience.

Review by: Anne T, United Kingdom	January 2010
This was truly amazing. The views and the place were excellent. We went to Top of the Rock as well but much preferred the Empire State Building.