Last November, my family and I decided to take our children on their first overnight trip to New York City. We only had 24 hours in the Big Apple and wanted to make the most of our quick visit. NYC’s main attractions were on the agenda, but time was tight and the prices were high, so we had to prioritize which places we wanted to visit. The Empire State Building was almost on my vacation chopping block, but now that we have visited, I’m so glad we didn’t pass it up.
I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I had initially assumed that a tour of the city’s number one attraction would be a brief, inexpensive stop on our New York getaway. I had visited here many years ago and remembered just walking in and heading to the top for a quick view of the city. Well, it seems that times have changed greatly, and a trip to the Empire State Building now takes some planning.
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I went to reserve the tickets well in advance and experienced a little bit of sticker shock when I saw the tour prices. I highly doubted that the hefty price tag was worth the view, and suggested to my husband that perhaps we could just snap an obligatory New York City photo of the kids with the iconic landmark in the background. He laughed and said that we couldn’t visit the city without going to the top of the world’s most famous building, and in the end, I gave in and bought the tickets. But before doing so, I did a little more research.
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I discovered that the best time to visit was first thing in the morning, and this advice paid off. On a cold Sunday morning, we left our cozy hotel room beds and made the trek over to the attraction. We got in line early and were fortunate that the staff took pity on us and let us enter the warm building a few minutes before opening time. There were lines for admission and security, but these were not too long at this hour, and before we knew it, our timed self-guided tour was underway.
Photo by Kimberly Falchek for Only In Your State
There are several different tour options available, and I went with the basic package, which includes a visit to the 86th floor. I expected to just take an elevator to the observation deck to check out the panoramic skyline views, but this tour was actually so much more. Revamped in 2019, it included so many interactive exhibits, historical displays, pop culture memorabilia, and lots of fantastic photo opportunities. My favorite was the larger-than-life King Kong recreation exhibit, which depicts the gigantic ape breaking into the New York City skyscraper. There was also a very cool immersive construction site exhibit that made us feel as though we were in the middle of the action as the landmark was being built.
We ended up spending quite a bit of time wandering through the exhibits before making our way out to the observation deck. Although it was cold and windy, the skies were clear, and we were able to catch some amazing 360-degree views of the New York skyline. It was fascinating to see the city from all angles.
Photo by Kimberly Falchek for Only In Your State
You can’t get much more “New York” than a trip to the Empire State Building, and despite my initial reservations, I’m so glad that my children were able to experience this iconic attraction. I guess that so-called “tourist traps” are touristy for a reason, and over 2.5 million visitors a year can’t all be wrong.
Which must-see attractions in New York have you visited? Was the Empire State Building on your list? For more information on this top New York attraction, please visit the Empire State Building website and Empire State Building Facebook page. You can also reserve tour tickets through Viator. To make the most of your visit to New York City, use the Only In Your State itinerary planner to map out a customized city itinerary.