Empire State Building, New York

It's OK to go just once. The line for the elevator is really long. The view is great of course. But then you wonder, all this line for this? It's something I wouldn't do again. And the souvenirs are way too expensive.

I went for the memorial weekend and eventhough there was a lot of people we didn't wait for more than 40 min, including all the lines and the picture. Every body tell me I was so lucky:) The experience of been looking all the city from the top of this buliding is unique, because it gives you a clear idea of how hughe NY city is, how far it goes from Manhattan to the other parts and how many skyscrapers are there in this city. It really should be seen! We also went for the Sky coster attraction, which uses a simulation, I liked it but I felt it was so expensive for a motion movie.

I liked the breathtaking view once we finally got to the top. I very much enjoyed the audio tour and I recommend that you pay the extra $ to do this. It is included if you buy a City Pass. We were there on a gorgeous summer day and we could see for miles. I did not enjoy the lines. I felt like I got into line to get into line to get into line to get into line in order to get in the line for the elevator to the top. We even waited in lines to get out. Not recommended for impatient little ones. I was with my 17 and 20 year old sons though, and we all really felt it was worthwhile.

Being Irish particularly on St. Patricks Day when the NYPD & the FDNY march down O'Connell St. Dublin For this short time-span for the past 45 years in mind only' I am in America. Not Boston,Dallas or Washington but New York (The big apple, the city that never sleeps) Well this year my wife & I made our first visit to N.Y Our first port of call was The Empire State Building. We were just blown away. That American word 'Awesome'came to mind. To see New York from such a high is a must do for anyone who visits, in fact there should be a law insisting that you can't leave the city unless you're an approved Empire State visitor. The view really does show how N.Y is made up (a city of islands connected by bridge,tunnell and boat). Hire the recorder it's only a few dollars. The narration is Ist.class, informative & funny Recommend as the Ist.place to visit in N.Y. Could have done without been waylaid by ticket sellers(in red waistcoats) at the entrance of E.S.B with hard sell methods to get you to buy N.Y tours. After a long haul flight you can do without this.

Having the ESP tickets made the experience wonderful. We missed all the lines. The Empire State Building has spectacular view, which you should not miss.

Just wait what goes around comes around is the old saying. The Empire State building will be nothing once they open the new complex where the World Trade towers were located. The rip-off costs to go to the top of the Empire State Bldg. and the lines and all the rest will disappear when they have some competition in town. A little kid took a dump in the corner of the viewing deck when i was up there. Best part of the whole thing for me.

I went with some friends during the off-season (January) in the evening. There were no lines for tickets, no lines for security, a small line for the photo, and no line for the elevators. There was a small crowd on the deck itself, but it in no way detracted from the experience. My suggestion is to visit this landmark when tourists are not in season. If there is a line, it is manageable and the view from the top will leave you awestruck. A visit at night is also a good idea. Most people visit during the day, creating the lines. If you go at night, there will be less people. Definitely worth any wait and the price.

In short, the Empire State Building does not live up the hype about it. The lines to get in are excruciating. There are 3 lines. The first one just gets you to security (similar to airport security except you get to keep your shoes on). Unless you have the $48 express pass (normal ticket = $20), a significant amount of your time will be in this line. The second line is to buy tickets. If you've purchased your tickets on-line or have a City Pass, you get to skip this line, but this one isn't the worst line. The third line is the line to get on the elevator. Unless you get to the building VERY early, you will end up waiting more than an hour to get on the elevator. Once you get to the observation deck, the view is nice, but not as good as one would expect, even on clear days. You do get to see many nice buildings and bodies of water, but it�s just not worth it. There are multiple obstructions too. I would recommend going to the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center). It�s less expensive, has very minimal lines, in better condition, and has a better view. The view from Top of the Rock of Central Park is breath-taking and you can see pretty muchly everything that you can see from the Empire State Building. In summary, unless you feel an absolute need to say that you went to the Empire State Building, go to the Top of the Rock.

Very interesting and a must see for visitors. For those with Terrorist-Phobia and tall buildings in NY. Don't worry. This building was built long beofre and better. A B-17 Bomber crashed into it in 1945. Took out some office buildings and was back in business very shortly afterward. Heck of a View

if you're in new york city you should seriously consider going to this land mark bring a camera and watch the weather...the observation deck gets cold during the winter, a coat (like a tree-hugger style fleece sweater) and/or raincoat would also be appropriate...don't bring an umbrella, with the possibility of a crowd it would be really difficult to move and the winds would be a problem also great views of the east river, hudson river, GWB, VNB, brooklyn, queens, statue of liberty, central park, and all major buildings in manhattan the gift shop has everything...including bottled water, snacks and all the snow globes one could imagine