Sky View Observatory Tickets

Sky View Observatory tickets start at $28.35 for the entry ticket on GetYourGuide, rated 4.44 from 295 reviews, and it is the only listing I found. The deck sits on the 73rd floor of Columbia Center, and Wikipedia gives the observatory height as 902 ft (275 m). I’d go about an hour before sunset and stay for the lights.

Sky View Observatory at a Glance

The Sky View Observatory is the public viewing floor of Columbia Center, the tallest building in Washington state. Before you buy Sky View Observatory tickets, the numbers below describe the tower around it, and the table underneath covers what the grid leaves out.

Detail	What I found
Observation floor	73rd floor, reached by a direct elevator from the 4th Avenue lobby, per Wikipedia
Indoor or open-air	Enclosed; I found no open-air deck, and one reviewer expected one
Address	700 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104 (per Google Maps)
Opening hours	11 AM to 8 PM Thursday to Sunday, closed Monday to Wednesday (per Google Maps)
Time to allow	No time limit mentioned by reviewers; I’d plan for an hour or more

“The tower has the highest public viewing area west of the Mississippi River.”

Sky View Observatory Observation Deck Tickets

Of the Sky View Observatory tickets I found, there is exactly one, so it is both my cheapest and my first-visit pick. At $28.35 the Columbia Center Sky View Observatory entry ticket is a standard admission ticket with no guide. It covers admission to the 73rd floor, access to a full-service bar, a coffee station and the Sky Cafe, and reserved table seating. The listing also says hotel pickup and drop-off, which is odd for a ticket like this, so confirm on the booking page what you actually receive.

Sky View Observatory

Columbia Center Sky View Observatory Entry Ticket

• ★ 4.4 (295 reviews)
• 24-hour ticket
• Free cancellation

My pick: My pick for a first visit: $28.35, 4.44 stars from 295 reviews, and the highest view in Seattle.

from

$28.35

Check availability

Cancellation on Sky View Observatory tickets is free up to 24 hours before, so I’d book early and move the date if the forecast turns. The ticket is valid for 24 hours according to my data. Luggage and large bags are not allowed, and smoking is excluded.

Sky View Observatory Tickets and Prices

Prices for Sky View Observatory tickets in my data come down to one number, $28.35 per person for entry. The listing says there are three ticket options and that an upgrade gives you a credit to spend at the Sky View Cafe, plus reserved window seating, but it does not give those prices, so I can’t compare them. If you plan to drink at the bar anyway, the credit upgrade is worth looking at on the booking page.

Sky View Observatory Columbia Center Tickets

People searching for Sky View Observatory Columbia Center tickets are looking for the same attraction under its building’s name. The tower is the Columbia Center, opened in 1985 and designed by Chester L. Lindsey Architects per Wikidata, and the observatory is its public floor. There is no second Columbia Center product in my data. You enter the building on 4th Avenue and Cherry Street and check in at the box office near the entrance, according to the listing. It is two blocks north-east of Pioneer Square Link Light Rail station.

Sky View Observatory vs Space Needle

The honest comparison of Sky View Observatory tickets with the Needle is height, price and what you see. Wikipedia lists the Space Needle’s deck at 158.5 m, against 275 m here, so Sky View is about 116 m higher. The Space Needle ticket I track at Space Needle tickets combines the Needle with Chihuly Garden and Glass at $77.98, while Sky View entry is $28.35. That is a bundle against a plain ticket, so it is not a like-for-like price, but it shows the gap if you want only the view.

The Needle has one thing Sky View cannot give you: you cannot see the Space Needle while standing on it. From the 73rd floor it is in the panorama, and the listing names it among the sights. One reviewer put the trade-off this way:

“Good value for money, half the price of the Space Needle with better views as it is the tallest building in Seattle.”

Where the Needle wins is the experience: it has the more famous silhouette and sits among Seattle Center’s museums. If you only have time for one deck and want the highest view, I’d choose Sky View.

Sky View Observatory Hours

Whichever Sky View Observatory tickets you hold, Google Maps lists the deck as open 11 AM to 8 PM from Thursday to Sunday and closed from Monday to Wednesday. The official site says the last elevator and ticket sale end one hour before closing and sends you to its Hours and Location page for current times. A reviewer who stayed until closing said it closed at 10 PM on the evening they went, so hours clearly vary by season and day. Check the official page for your date before you choose a slot.

Sky View Observatory Tickets Price

The price of Sky View Observatory tickets is $28.35 on GetYourGuide, and the value case is easy. At that price the 73rd floor costs far less than the Space Needle bundle, and reviewers repeatedly call it good value. The listing does not mention a child price, so I can’t quote one. For a family I’d open the booking page and check the options for your children’s ages before paying.

Address and Getting There

The address printed on your Sky View Observatory tickets is 700 4th Ave, Seattle, WA 98104, per Google Maps. The entrance is on 4th Avenue and Cherry Street, and the box office is by the entrance. Pioneer Square station is two blocks away. On foot, Smith Tower is 0.3 km (0.2 miles) from the deck, so the observatory is easy to combine with a walk through the old downtown.

Sky View Observatory Height

The floor your Sky View Observatory tickets open onto is at 902 ft (275 m), per the Wikipedia infobox, in a tower with a 933 ft (284 m) architectural height and 76 floors above ground. Wikidata lists the whole building at 294.8 m. The tower was originally drawn at about 306.5 m, but Federal Aviation Administration rules for nearby Sea-Tac Airport cut it down. That 275 m is why reviewers rank it above every other deck in Seattle for view.

Sky View Observatory Dinner and Drinks

Your Sky View Observatory ticket gives you access to a full-service bar, a coffee station and the Sky Cafe, but food and drinks are not included in the price. A reviewer bought a couple of glasses of bubbles to share in front of the window. There is no sit-down dinner restaurant in my data, so I’d treat the visit as drinks and snacks at the top rather than a dinner. I found no menu or prices, so check the official site if you want to plan a meal around the visit.

Best Time to Visit Sky View Observatory

For Sky View Observatory tickets, July is the clearest month at the deck, with 36 percent average cloud cover in 2025 according to Open-Meteo, followed by September at 47 percent. November is the cloudiest at 87 percent, and December and March are not far behind. Sunset runs from 16:18 in December to 21:09 in June, and since the deck is open to around 8 PM per Google Maps, summer sunsets may fall after closing, so check the day’s hours. I’d arrive 45 to 60 minutes before sunset to see the city in daylight, golden light and after dark. One reviewer waited for fog to clear and got a view.

Month	Sunset (Los Angeles time)	Cloud cover	Sunshine a day	Rainy days
Jan	16:45	61%	5.4 h	8
Feb	17:33	73%	5.1 h	13
Mar	19:15	85%	6 h	19
Apr	19:59	60%	9.9 h	11
May	20:40	64%	10.6 h	10
Junclearest	21:09	50%	12 h	3
Julclearest	21:02	36%	13.2 h	1
Aug	20:20	54%	11.5 h	5
Sepclearest	19:20	47%	9.8 h	5
Oct	18:20	65%	6.6 h	14
Nov	16:32	87%	3.6 h	20
Dec	16:18	83%	3.5 h	22

What You Can See From Sky View Observatory

With Sky View Observatory tickets in hand and 275 m under you, the horizon is far, and the calculator below shows how far. The ticket listing names Mt. Rainier, Lake Washington, the Cascade Mountains, Mt. Baker, Elliott Bay, the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound and the Space Needle in the panorama. In a straight line from the deck, Smith Tower is 0.3 km (0.2 miles) away, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park 0.6 km (0.4 miles) and the Seattle Great Wheel 0.9 km (0.6 miles). Pike Place Market and the Seattle Aquarium are 1.0 km (0.6 miles) off, the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass 2.3 km (1.4 miles), Kerry Park 3.5 km (2.2 miles) and Discovery Park 9.0 km (5.6 miles).

Sky View Observatory vs Other Observation Decks in Seattle

Beyond the Space Needle, and apart from Sky View Observatory tickets, Seattle’s other decks and viewpoints are smaller or free to reach. The table lists those in my places data.

Deck	Google rating	Reviews	Distance from Sky View	Ticket
Sky View Observatory	4.7	3,914	n/a	Paid, from $28.35
Space Needle	4.6	59,882	2.3 km (1.4 miles)	Paid, see its page
Bell Harbor Marina Observation Deck	4.7	19	1.5 km (0.9 miles)	Check locally
Water Tower Observation Deck	4.6	324	3.0 km (1.9 miles)	Check locally
Seattle Panoramic Viewpoint	4.9	336	3.5 km (2.2 miles)	Check locally

How I’d Choose

• Cheapest: the $28.35 entry ticket, the only Sky View Observatory ticket I found.
• First visit: the same entry ticket, because it covers the 73rd floor, the bar and the Sky Cafe.
• Sunset: the entry ticket booked 45 to 60 minutes before sunset, after checking the day’s closing time.
• Highest view in Seattle: this ticket over the Space Needle, at 275 m against 158.5 m.
• A view of the Space Needle: Sky View, since the Needle is in the panorama.
• Families: the entry ticket, after checking the options for your children’s ages on the booking page.