Empire State Building, New York

to go up on the building is a bit overpriced in my opinion. the line waiting to go up can also be quite time consuming. HOWEVER, once i got up there the sights take your breath away. i was a bit disappointed though because it was extremely foggy and kindof hard to see much. it also started to rain!! =( i suggest that you go up around dusk so u have enough sunlight to see all nyc and then as night falls, you will get to take in the experience of all lights!! ALSO, bring a warm jacket!!

Save your money and go to "Top of the Rock" (Rockafellar Center). We waited in line at the Empire State Building for 90 minutes. Each time you thought you were at the end of the line, they took you to another room with another line. We went through 4 rooms of waiting in line. It was absolutely horrible. The "Top of the Rock" has the same view, actually better, and we didn't have to wait in line. It was fabulous!

We went on a Saturday afternoon and were treated very well by the staff there was an 84 year old with us and we were fast tracked.The staff ahead were made aware of this and very courteous.

Loved the views. Watch out for the wind which is only coming from one side and which is not noticeable at street level! Went at 9.15am and took 10 minutes to get to the top. Was told they open at 8.00am so the early bird...

I recently went up to the top of the Empire State Building for a reunion for myself and the most romantic time of my life flashed into my mind. You see i am alone now but i met the "love of my life" one evening long ago at the top of the Empire Building. While looking out over the city in the late evening time and watching the lights and life of the city out eyes met and mine were never distracted for the rest of my life. Her name was "Violetta" and we fell in love for the next 52 years that wonderful evening,talking with each other while standing in the warm breeze. There was another special couple that night with whom we met and talked. They must have noticed something about Violetta and myself because they told us to "enjoy the rest of our lives together" that wonderful and romantic evening. We talked far into the night and we both discovered, i believe,our destiny together from that enchanting moment on. The other couple with whom we talked smiled at us and disappeared into the night and we never saw them again. I have wondered from time to time thru the years what they saw. I liked to imagine they saw a young couple just falling in love and that it would be strong enough to last the rest of our lives together. But alas, that evening, that time and those special people are gone now. They belong to the ages,the mystic and romance of the Empire State Building. When i was back i could almost see myself standing there again with my beautiful "Violetta" at my side with the couple we talked with smiling their approval our way. When you are at this romantic and special place for young lovers and if you look and listen closely and truly "fall in love" here those people will appear to you, i promise. For they still walk among the guests at this forever enchanted place among the clouds. Your visit here will be very special for the Great Empire State Building and those wonderful people at the top will be with you for the rest of your life.

Pros: The view was, indeed, amazing. You could see Lady Liberty and Central Park from up there. I bought great souvenirs. Cons: Way too many people. It was a hot day, and the lines were so long. We waited for an hour even though we got to go ahead of a couple lines. The cost of pictures were immense. I couldn't believe how expensive it was. It was rather dirty outside and terribly windy. Overall, it wasn't much of an experience.

Only do this place if your heart is set on going up the Empire State Building, just because it's there. My heart was set on it, so I guess it was worth it. Maybe. I bought my tickets online, but I honestly don't know if it saved me much time. Basically, it's a tourist trap and you will stand in line for a very very long time surrounded by other tourists. At first you will be in hallways and rooms that are beautiful, but after you are ushered in and out of an elevator taking you to the 80th floor, you will then spend a great deal of time in a very ugly room (more like a gigantic cattle car) where you will be subjected to having your photo taken against a 'green screen' so that you can be asked to cough up more money for your very own face superimposed against the Empire State Bldg., and will also be asked to buy an audio tape that will describe what you are seeing. I said no to both, as well as the virtual Skyride. Lord only knows what other stuff they have planned to sell in the future to us gullible tourists. Eventually you will be ushered into an elevator for the 86th floor, where you will go through a gift shop, out to a small open area where you can see Manhattan at your feet, between metal bars (fortunately, the bars are well-spaced, so you can truly see things -- plus, there are viewing machines that will give you a bird's-eye view for some spare change). There will be many people up there doing the same thing, so it may take a while, but eventually you should be able to shuffle to all four sides. This was the only over-rated, over-priced, touristy thing I did in New York, and my daughter kindly humored me with nary a complaint. But if I had spent all of our 3 days in Manhattan doing these types of tourist stops, I think she would have choked me.

Once we reached the top, it was an amazing experience. By luck, we reached the top just as day was becoming night and the views were awesome! We stayed at the top a long time and really, really enjoyed it. The lines are every bit as horrible as you hear about though. Definitely buy your tickets ahead of time (we did) as it will save you probably an hour, but still expect an hour and half wait. If you've not done it before though, this is a no brainer. You have to do it!

Having spent a long time queuing (or "in line" in USA speak) for the Staue of Liberty we learned our lesson and arrived here at 8.30am. This meant we went straigt up but we could see the large areas allocated for waiting which must have been a nightmare later in the day. The view was everything you expect. We took the audio tour option which was informative and you can share one unit between two people easily. It was a useful tool but don't believe the people in the lobby who tell you to get one because there ar "no maps availaible"- in fact there were maps identifying even more buildings and sights than the audio tour. We didn't bother with the Skyride add on or the souvenir photo which.

Not to long ago, I went to the top, $12.95 a person, that was in 2004, anyway, the line was just under 2 hours, finally got up there, saw a couple of army men with high powered rifles, but I also so an amazing view of just about all of Manhatten, some of New Jersey, saw some Queens, I could even make out some of Long Island. I you don't mind lines its pretty worth it.