By Nora Lindqvist · Updated · Affiliate links, explained in my disclosure
Empire State Building Observation Deck
NYC Empire State Building - Observation Deck & Museum Ticket
4.7 (29,182) · from $50.08
Empire State Building tickets start at $50.08 on GetYourGuide, and the standard Observation Deck and Museum ticket is also the most reviewed option I found, at 4.73 stars from 29,182 reviews. The building’s roof stands at 1,250 feet (380 m), according to Wikipedia, with the open-air deck on the 86th floor. I’d go about an hour before sunset, so you see the city in daylight, at dusk and lit up.
| Tour | From | Rating | Length | Free cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NYC Empire State Building - Observation Deck & Museum Ticket | $50.08 | ★ 4.7 (29,182) | 24-hour ticket | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: Empire State & Flatiron Tour with Optional 102nd Floor | $99 | ★ 4.6 (24) | 2 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| NYC: Empire State Observatory Ticket & Digital Tour | $122 | ★ 5.0 (1) | 3 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| Easy Access – Empire State Building & NYC Harry Potter Shop | $129 | – | 3 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| Empire State Building NYC Tour, Pre-booked Tickets, Transfer | $300 | – | 2 - 4.5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| Express Pass VIP Private Tour of the Empire State Building | $488.60 | – | 2 - 3.5 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| New York City Small Group Holiday Tour With Empire State | $119 | – | 2 hours | Yes | Check availability |
| Empire State Building Mystery Picnic | $155.02 | – | 4 hours | Yes | Check availability |
I compared all eight Empire State Building tickets and tours that you can book on GetYourGuide right now. One is a plain entry ticket, one is a ticket with a digital guide, five are guided or private tours that include entry, and one is a picnic game that starts at the top. Every price, rating and inclusion for these Empire State Building tickets comes from the listings, checked October 2026, in US dollars. Links open GetYourGuide in a new tab, and I earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.
The Empire State Building is a 102-story skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, designed in the Art Deco style by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon. Construction ran from 1930 to 1931. Here are the numbers behind the Empire State Building tickets on this page, each with its source.
Wikipedia gives two heights, and they differ because of the antenna: the roof stands at 1,250 feet, and the whole structure reaches 1,454 feet (443.2 m) including the antenna. Use whichever figure matches the question, because the two are often mixed up.
| What | Detail |
|---|---|
| Decks | 86th floor main deck (open-air) and the 102nd floor top deck (enclosed), per the ticket listings |
| Address | 20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001, per Google Maps |
| Opening hours | 9 AM to 11 PM every day, per Google Maps |
| Google Maps rating | 4.7 from 130,587 reviews |
| Children | Under 6 enter free on the standard ticket |
The Empire State Building is a 102-story, supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States.
Hours change on holidays and for special events, so before buying Empire State Building tickets check the official site for the day you plan to go.
If you only want to go up, this is the one of all the Empire State Building tickets I’d start from. The Observation Deck and Museum ticket is a standard ticket with skip-the-line entry, and it includes the 86th floor open-air deck, twelve museum galleries on the construction, King Kong and the building’s history, and the Art Deco lobby. The 102nd floor is available depending on the option you select, and booking fees and sales tax are in the $50.08 price.
My reasoning is simple. Of all the Empire State Building tickets, it’s the cheapest entry, it carries the most reviews by a wide margin, and it is listed under the operator name Empire State Building Observation Deck, so there’s no middleman guide to rely on. Free cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours before.
Empire State Building Observation Deck
My pick: My default for a first visit: $50.08, 4.73 stars from 29,182 reviews, and it includes the museum galleries and the open-air 86th floor.
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$50.08
Some visitors don’t want to go up alone, and for them Empire State Building tickets paired with a guide make sense. The City Wonders walking tour costs $99 and takes 2 hours. It begins at the Tiffany Street Clock on Fifth Avenue, passes the Flatiron District, Madison Square Park, Koreatown and Herald Square, then finishes at the building with admission to the 86th floor. The 102nd floor is an optional extra.
It has only 24 reviews at 4.6 stars, so I’d treat the rating as a hint. The extra $48.92 over the standard ticket buys the guide and the route, and it’s worth it only if you like context about the neighbourhood before the climb. If you only care about the view, skip it.
City Wonders Ltd. USA
My pick: A 2-hour walking tour from the Flatiron District that ends with 86th floor entry: $99, and the 102nd floor is optional.
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$99
The WeGoTrip product is the in-between option among Empire State Building tickets: an entry ticket plus a digital audio tour that you run on your own phone. You get the ticket and the tour in the WeGoTrip app, skip the line at the access-with-ticket entrance, and explore at your own pace. The listing says to bring your own earphones, and there’s no physical guide.
At $122 it is the priciest way I found to get in without a person leading you, and it has a single review (5 stars), so there’s very little evidence about it. I’d choose it only if you want the tour in Russian or Spanish, since the languages listed are English, Russian and Spanish. Otherwise the standard ticket does the same job for $71.92 less.
WeGoTrip USA
My pick: Entry plus a self-paced audio tour on your phone for $122; a single 5-star review, so I'd pick it for the language options.
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$122
People searching for the height are usually deciding which Empire State Building tickets to buy, meaning how far up they will go. Wikipedia lists the roof at 1,250 feet (380 m) and the full height with the antenna at 1,454 feet (443.2 m), and the building was the world’s tallest until 1970. The open-air deck on the 86th floor is well below the top, and the enclosed 102nd floor sits much higher.
If the building’s story is why you’re here, the Rosotravel private tour is the one that turns those numbers into a visit. It’s a licensed guide for your group, with tickets to the 86th floor main deck and, on the 3 and 4.5-hour options, the 102nd floor top deck. The 3.5 and 4.5-hour options also include hotel transfers. Prices start at $300, and it has no reviews yet, so you’re relying on the operator’s description.
Rosotravel - United States Tours & Experiences
My pick: A private guided visit that reaches the 102nd floor on the longer options, from $300; no reviews yet.
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$300
The address is 20 W 34th St., New York, NY 10001, per Google Maps. Madison Square Park and the Flatiron Building are a short walk to the north-east, which is why so many of the tours on this page start there. Because the building is easy to reach on foot from so many Midtown stops, most buyers of Empire State Building tickets do it as part of a day in the area.
If you’d like someone else to handle the details, the Rosotravel Express Pass VIP tour starts at $488.60. It comes with a private licensed guide and an Express Pass, which the listing describes as priority security plus dedicated elevators to the main and top decks. The guide meets you in front of LOVE Korean BBQ at 319 5th Ave, not at the building itself, and the 3.5-hour option adds private transfers. I’d only spend this much for a special occasion or a group that dislikes queues. Split four ways it still comes to more than $122 each.
Rosotravel - United States Tours & Experiences
My pick: The most expensive way up: $488.60 for a private guide and Express Pass priority; I'd keep it for a special occasion.
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Empire State Building tickets on this page range from $50.08 to $488.60, and the spread comes from what is bundled in, not from the deck itself. The standard ticket is the base. A guided walking tour that includes entry costs $99 to $129, a small-group city tour is $119, and a private tour is $300 and up. Empire State Building tickets with a guide are always dearer than the plain entry. In other words, every dollar above $50.08 pays for a guide, transport or an extra experience.
If you are comparing a few options for a group, this calculator works out the total for the product you pick and links straight to the booking page.
Calculator
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from per person, before any child or group discount
Prices are the lowest per-person prices on GetYourGuide when I last checked; the final price depends on the date, time slot and age.
The one card in this section is the See Sight small group tour. It is a holiday-themed 2-hour tour for $119, limited to 12 guests, and it passes St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall and Bryant Park before ending at the Empire State Building. It’s a leftover in my ranking rather than the best match for a price search: it is not the cheapest way up, and it has no reviews yet. The Rockefeller Christmas Tree is in the description, so I’d treat it as a winter product and look at the dates on offer before you book.
See Sight Tours Inc
My pick: A 12-guest holiday tour for $119 that ends with Empire State entry; seasonal and unrated, so check the dates.
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$119
I didn’t find a way to get Empire State Building tickets cheaper than the $50.08 standard ticket, and I won’t pretend there is a secret code. The real saving is in what you leave out. Skip the guide, skip transfers, and book the plain Empire State Building ticket. Children under 6 enter free on that ticket, which is a real saving for families with toddlers.
The LetzGo City Tours combo is a leftover in my ranking, not the best match for a discount search. It costs $129 for roughly 3 hours: you get Easy Access entry to the Empire State Building and the 86th floor deck, then a guided stroll past the Flatiron Building and Madison Square Park, and a stop at the Harry Potter Shop. The listing says late arrivals can’t be accommodated, and you can only enter the venues as part of the group. It makes sense if the Harry Potter shop is on your list anyway. As a pure money saver, it isn’t.
LetzGo City Tours
My pick: A 3-hour group combo at $129 with Empire State entry, the Flatiron Building and the Harry Potter Shop; not a saving, but a tidy half day.
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$129
When people search for official Empire State Building tickets, they usually want to avoid resellers they don’t trust. The building has its own official site, and the Observation Deck and Museum listing above carries the operator name Empire State Building Observation Deck. Compare the date and price there with the booking page before you pay.
The one thing on my list you won’t find as a plain ticket is the AmazingCo Mystery Picnic. It’s a 4-hour, self-guided experience for $155.02: you start on the Observation Deck, then follow clues on your phone through Midtown to collect a picnic from local food stops. It begins at 10am and it is built for couples and friends rather than for a quick look at the skyline.
AmazingCo
My pick: Entry to the deck, then a 4-hour phone-clue picnic through Midtown for $155.02; a date-night idea, not a quick visit.
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Google Maps lists the Empire State Building as open from 9 AM to 11 PM, seven days a week, so your Empire State Building tickets can be for almost any time of day. Special events, holidays and weather can change that, so the official site is where I’d confirm the exact time for your date. If you’re choosing between morning and evening, the evening gets you the best light: see the planner below.
The building is listed as open until 11 PM, which makes a night visit possible with ordinary Empire State Building tickets. At night the city is a field of lights, and a sunset slot gives you both daylight and the lit skyline on one ticket. Winter sunsets arrive before 5 PM in December and January, so you can see the night view without staying out late. I’d bring a warm layer for the open-air deck even in summer, because you’re standing high above the street.
Top of the Rock is the main rival, only about 1.3 km (0.8 miles) away. Google Maps rates both 4.7, with 130,587 reviews for the Empire State Building and 93,042 for Top of The Rock. The big difference is what you see: from Top of the Rock, the Empire State Building is in the frame, and from here it isn’t. I’d pick this deck for the icon and the open-air floor, and Top of the Rock for the photo that includes the icon. If you only have time for one, and it’s your first visit, go with this one.
Cloud cover decides how good the views are, so it matters when you book Empire State Building tickets. In the 2025 weather data from Open-Meteo, the clearest months at the deck are August and October, both with 41% average cloud cover. The cloudiest is May at 74%, followed by April at 70%. Sunset runs from 16:29 in December to 20:29 in June.
| Month | Sunset (New York time) | Cloud cover | Sunshine a day | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16:53 | 53% | 7.4 h | 7 |
| Feb | 17:31 | 69% | 6.9 h | 9 |
| Mar | 19:03 | 54% | 8.8 h | 7 |
| Apr | 19:35 | 70% | 8.2 h | 10 |
| May | 20:06 | 74% | 8.4 h | 16 |
| Jun | 20:29 | 65% | 9.9 h | 12 |
| Jul | 20:25 | 55% | 12 h | 15 |
| Augclearest | 19:53 | 41% | 11.1 h | 6 |
| Sepclearest | 19:04 | 52% | 9.6 h | 8 |
| Octclearest | 18:15 | 41% | 8.4 h | 9 |
| Nov | 16:37 | 57% | 6.7 h | 10 |
| Dec | 16:29 | 64% | 5.9 h | 8 |
Pick a date, and the planner below shows the sunset and the entry time I’d book.
Sunset planner
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book this entry time (50 min before sunset)
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sunset, New York time
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typical cloud cover that week
Sunset and cloud cover for the same dates in 2025 at the deck (Open-Meteo historical weather (ERA5), 2025); sunset moves by about a minute between years.
My rule for Empire State Building tickets is to arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset. That way you spend the queue in daylight, reach the top for the golden hour and stay for the lights. Autumn is my favourite window on this data: October has the lowest cloud cover alongside August and a sunset around 18:15, which is a comfortable hour.
On a clear day the horizon is a long way off. The calculator below uses the deck height to show how far you can see.
Calculator
369 m · 1211 ft
km
to the horizon ( miles)
km
with typical atmospheric refraction
Geometric horizon d ≈ 3.57 × √h (km, h in metres); refraction adds about 8%. Haze and clouds usually limit the real view first. Formula: Distance to the horizon.
Distances below are straight-line from the building, computed from the Google Maps coordinates.
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Times Square is the closest big name at 1.06 km (0.66 miles), and Rockefeller Center is 1.29 km (0.80 miles) away. The Chrysler Building, 0.93 km (0.58 miles) to the east, is the one I look for first. Central Park is 4.15 km (2.58 miles) north, and the Brooklyn Bridge is 4.80 km (2.98 miles) south. One World Trade Center is 4.61 km (2.86 miles) away. The Statue of Liberty is the farthest and the smallest at 8.24 km (5.12 miles), so bring a zoom lens.
New York has several paid decks within a short ride. Ratings and review counts are from Google Maps, and distances are straight-line from the Empire State Building.
| Deck | Google rating | Reviews | Distance | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empire State Building | 4.7 | 130,587 | the deck itself | Paid |
| Top of the Rock | 4.7 | 93,042 | 1.32 km (0.82 mi) | Paid |
| SUMMIT One Vanderbilt | 4.7 | 37,523 | 0.76 km (0.47 mi) | Paid |
| Edge NYC | 4.6 | 34,092 | 1.41 km (0.88 mi) | Paid |
| One World Observatory | 4.7 | 26,435 | 4.57 km (2.84 mi) | Paid |
| One Times Square Skywalk | 4.8 | 44 | 0.87 km (0.54 mi) | Paid |
| High Line Observation Deck | 4.8 | 1,283 | 1.86 km (1.16 mi) | Free |
The Empire State Building has the most reviews of any deck here, which tells you its tickets are the ones most people choose. I’d pair Empire State Building tickets with a free view from the High Line if you’re watching your budget.
The cheapest ticket I found on GetYourGuide is $50.08 for the Observation Deck and Museum ticket, which covers the 86th floor and the museum galleries. The 102nd floor is an option on some tickets, and guided tours that include entry start at $99. Children under 6 enter free on the standard ticket. Check the final price for your date before paying.
Yes, for the observation decks you need a ticket. The lobby is a separate matter, but the 86th floor open-air deck and the 102nd floor both sit behind the ticket office. Booking ahead gives you a skip-the-line entry, which is why I'd buy before arriving instead of joining the walk-up queue.
I couldn't find a gate price in my data, so I can't promise a saving either way. What I can say is that the online standard ticket is $50.08 and includes booking fees and sales tax, according to its listing. Gate prices and walk-up queues vary by day, so check the official site before you decide.
The standard ticket is self-paced, so you decide how long to stay once you're up. Guided tours that include entry run 2 hours (City Wonders and See Sight) to 3 hours (LetzGo), and the private Rosotravel tours run 2 to 4.5 hours. If you want to see the museum galleries as well as the deck, allow extra time.
For a first visit I'd say the 86th floor is enough: it's the open-air deck with the 360-degree views. The 102nd floor is the enclosed top deck, a higher vantage that is also sheltered from the weather. It's an add-on on some tickets, so compare the price gap on the date you want before choosing.
The observation decks need a ticket, so you can't simply walk up. The standard ticket I'd book includes the Art Deco lobby, the museum galleries and the 86th floor deck. Buying in advance means you aren't relying on the line at the ticket office, and free cancellation is available up to 24 hours before.
The cheapest on my list is the Observation Deck and Museum ticket at $50.08, rated 4.73 from 29,182 reviews. The next cheapest options are guided tours that include entry: $99 for a 2-hour walking tour and $119 for a small group holiday tour. Prices are in US dollars and can change by date and option.