Top of the Rock

Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering 22 acres (89,000 square meters) between 48th and 51st Streets, facing Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The current center is a combination of two building complexes and one standalone building: the original 14 Art Deco office buildings from the 1930s, one building across 51st Street built in 1947, and a set of four International-style towers built along the west side of 6th Avenue during the 60s and 70s of the past century. The center spans about 8.9 hectare in total, with some 17,000,000 square feet (1,600,000 square meters) in office space.

Rockefeller Center includes a lot of great attractions as Radio City Music Hall and Paul Manship’s 1933 masterwork, “Prometheus”. The statue stands in a 60-by-16-foot (18.3 by 4.9 m) fountain basin in front of a grey rectangular wall. The famous Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree is placed above the statue from November to January every year.

Last but not least, Top of the Rock, the 3-tiered observation deck on the 67th, 69th and 70th floors of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. And yes, it is one of New York City’s most amazing attractions! It is often considered the best panoramic city view, mainly because it offers a far-away view of the Empire State Building. The unforgettable experience includes a panoramic 360-degree, unobstructed view from the 70th floor observatory, 850 feet in the sky.

The main entrance is located on 50th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. The elevator ride without stopover takes just under 50 seconds to reach the 67th floor. Under the ride up and down the roof to the elevator lights up with different effects and shows you the illuminated elevator shaft.

Another benefit of a Top of the Rock visit: you can buy tickets for an exact starting time, therefore you needn’t to wait for entry a long time. Because there is no time limit we ordered tickets for 6 p.m. – before the blue hour began – and stayed on top to 9 p.m. So our stay included both day and night and we were able to enjoy the awaking lights of Manhattan and an irresistible sunset. Three exciting hours spun away and were one of the most stunning experiences of our NYC trip.