One World Observatory sits on floors 100 to 102 of One World Trade Center, the 1,776-foot tower that rose on the northwest corner of the World Trade Center site and is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. The observatory opened in May 2015, and at 1,268 feet its main deck is the highest in the city, with views that reach the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and, on a clear day, 50 miles into New Jersey, Connecticut, and Long Island.
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The visit begins before you reach the top. The Sky Pod elevators climb 102 floors in 47 seconds, and their walls are screens showing a time-lapse of Manhattan building itself from the 1500s to today: forest, farmland, brownstones, then towers rising around you until the doors open on the present. It's the single best elevator ride in the city and the reason many visitors say the trip up was worth the ticket on its own.
At the top, the See Forever theater's screens lift to reveal the real view, and the main observation floor wraps 360 degrees. Unlike Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building, One World Observatory is entirely enclosed behind glass, which keeps it comfortable in any weather. Its view is the best in the city for the harbor, the bridges, and Lower Manhattan, and it's the natural end to a visit to the 9/11 Memorial directly below.
One World Observatory opened in 2015 at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere. Here are the key facts every visitor should know:
One World Observatory is open from 9am to 9pm, with extended hours in summer, and its enclosed deck makes it the most weather-proof observatory in the city.
The first slots at 9am have the shortest lines and the clearest air over the harbor, before the day's haze builds; it's the best time for photographs of the Statue of Liberty and the bridges. Late afternoon and sunset are the most popular, when the light comes across the Hudson from the west and the harbor turns gold; sunset slots cost more and sell out first in peak season.
After dark, the view shifts to the lit grid of Lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge's cables, and the last slots of the evening are often the quietest.
Because the observatory is fully enclosed, rain doesn't ruin a visit the way it does at open-air decks, but fog does; on a foggy morning there's nothing to see, so check the forecast. Clear winter days give the longest visibility. If you're combining it with the 9/11 Memorial and museum, plan the observatory as the final stop of the afternoon.
One World Observatory is at the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, with the entrance on West Street between Vesey and Fulton Streets. More than a dozen subway lines converge nearby: take the 1 train to WTC Cortlandt, directly beneath the site; the E train to World Trade Center, its final stop; or the R or W to Cortlandt Street, which exits into the Oculus a short walk away.
The A, C, J, Z, 2, 3, 4, and 5 trains all stop at Fulton Street, about five minutes east. PATH trains from New Jersey arrive inside the Oculus. From the 9/11 Memorial pools, the observatory entrance is a two-minute walk northwest.
Use our interactive NYC subway guide to plan your exact route from any hotel or neighborhood before you arrive.
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