The Top of the Rock experience is easily one of the top attractions in New York City. Standing at the top of the Rockefeller Center, 69 floors up, and looking out over the picturesque city is an incredible thing to witness. If you have tickets to The Top of the Rock, or are considering going, here are some key things to know in order to make your experience the best!
1.) Plan in Advance
The sooner you know you’re going to do the Top of the Rock experience, the sooner you’ll want to reserve your ticket. Tickets are based on a timed entry and you’ll have a greater chance of getting the time you want if you book a couple days in advance. You can either buy online or at the box office on 50th. If you have purchased a New York Pass for your visit, you can put it to use here!
2.) Go Just Before Sunset
If you’re not sure what time to go, I highly recommend making your ticket time for about one hour before sunset. This way, you have ample time to take photos during the Golden Hour, as well as during and after the sunset.
3.) Dress Appropriately
The weather is a little different up on the 67th floor. Expect it to be a little cooler in the evenings and prepare for some wind. Some ladies up there were struggling with skirt issues when I visited. My suggestion? Long pants and a nice shirt will do just fine. Also make sure to wear comfortable shoes! You want to be up there as long as possible to make the most out of your experience. If you absolutely must wear heels, bring some flip flops or something in a bag. There are few places to sit and they fill up quickly towards sunset time.
4.) Bring Your Selfie Stick
If there’s ever a time for a selfie stick, the Top of the Rock is it. Unless you have extendo-arms, a selfie stick will help you get the most out of the incredible scenery around you. Just make sure to be aware of your surroundings!!
No selfie stick or extendo-arms :(
5.) Exercise Patience
Sunset is the most popular time to be at the Top of the Rock- for obvious reasons. This means that you and about 300 of your closest friends will be sharing the view at the same time. Exercise patience while at the top. You will get your turn.
6.) Eat & Hydrate Beforehand
There is no food or drink allowed at the Top of the Rock. If you’re going to be there for a good period of time (I was there two hours) you may want to consider drinking some water and having a delicious slice of NYC pizza before heading up.
7.) Charge Your Batteries
You’re going to take a lot of photos. A LOT. Of photos. Make sure your photo-taking devices are fully charged to capture as much of the scenery as possible.
8.) Use Your Manners
As I mentioned before, things can get pretty crowded up there. Everyone is here for more or less the same reason- to get great sunset shots over the city. BUT there’s a right way to do it, and a wrong way to do it. Don’t push people out of your way. Don’t stand in one place for more than 5 minutes- let the people behind you get a chance to see. And for goodness sakes, don’t be that guy who sets up his mini tripod in the best vantage point and stays there for the. Entire. Time.
9.) Download the App
If you want to have a better grasp of what you’re looking at, the Top of the Rock app has a great feature which will label the noteworthy buildings for you! It’s also got an audio tour you can listen to to get more information.
10.) Take Your Time
The sun doesn’t set in a matter of minutes. Take your time and enjoy the views from all three floors and all different angles. Take photos at many different points throughout your time at the Top of the Rock. I got photos of the city in regular sunlight, as the sun was setting, and as it got dark and the city lights illuminated!
Have you visited the Top of the Rock? What did you think?
If you want more great views of New York City, try visiting the Statue of Liberty!
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24 Comments
We’ve never had the privilege of visiting NYC (but it’s on our list!!) And seeing Rockefeller Centre is of course on there too. I never would have thought to go at sunset, great tip! And I’m sure many travelers will appreciate the heads up on the food and drink as well! Great post.
Thanks, Amy! NYC is definitely a great place to visit! I hope you can make it there soon!
This is a crazy coincidence! I was just in NYC for the first time in 6 years and I spent a ton of time debating whether or not to go to the top. I had dinner right in the Rockefeller area but did not go to the top! Wish I could have read this the night before haha.
P.S what camera are you using? The pics look much nicer than I could have gotten with my iPhone anyways! (skylinesfromrooftops.com)
iPhone 5! Can you believe that??
Good points! It is only sad that we need so many preparations for a simple landmark visit. I guess the sudden increase of tourism in the last years is making it more and more difficult to enjoy places without 300 other people. But still it is worth the good view. Love that they have an app showing you the places. I remember at the London eye there were screens where you can point to a building and see some info.
I mean, you could certainly make it without reading some tips, but it makes the trip a bit more stress-free if you go in prepared :P
I would love to go on top of the rock if I’ll ever be in New York. The view from up there is breathtaking! Shame that there are so many people and you probably can’t truly enjoy a romantic moment at sunset because of it.
Yeah, probably not the best place for a romantic moment. But definitely a great start to a romantic evening!
This is on my list. Thank you for posting this detailed guide. I agree that this is one of the few places where it is acceptable to use a selfie stick…unless take photos with a lot of photo bombers in them. I am looking forward to my next trip to NYC :)
Haha! Some places are not appropriate selfie-stick locations!! I saw people using them at the 9-11 Memorial and was like….no.
I have been to New York a few times and have not had a chance to visit the Top of the Rock yet. Now it is on the top of my list when we visit NY again in the near future! Thanks for all your tips!
It is actually really cool. I debated a lot on whether or not I wanted to spend the money on it, but I decided if I was going to do it I’d stretch my time as far as possible :P
This post is so useful! We’re thinking of visiting New York next year. Definitely saving this post :D Thanks!
You’re welcome! Thanks for reading and let me know if you need any other NYC tips :)
very useful and interesting post, haven´t been to New York city yet, but would love to visit some day.
It is a great place to visit!
I’m thinking of heading to NYC sometime next year so this post will come in very handy! Great tips! Keep posting!
Great! Let me know if you need any other NYC info!
Wow, I’d definitely include this if I get to visit NYC sometime soon. The skyline view is to die for! I was just surprised about the amount of people in there, but hey it’s worth it.
I was surprised too! Maybe during a different part of the year it would be less busy!
Timing couldn’t be perfect, I might stay in NYC before moving on to next hop, very informative & if luck stays in my side, I’ll try to get the experience. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Awesome! Have a great trip!!
Great post! It’s very useful, I will save this post and read it again when I visit NYC someday in future.
I think the views seen from Top of the Rock is better than the viewing platform on Empire State Building, we can see aerial views of Central Park and Empire State Building, which cannot be seen from the viewing deck on Empire State Building itself.
I need to go here next time I’m in NYC! Thanks!