I checked out Top of the Rock to see if it was worth it or not.

New York City is a place I’m always quick to say I hate, but deep down, I love it so much. Not only is my part-time and freelance work there, giving me an excuse to go up and see great theatre whenever I’m in town. It all started when I moved to New York from Baltimore in college to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Having just studied abroad in Seoul that summer to bounce to the energy of New York was wild, but I only got a year and a half of it before COVID hit. I graduated college early during COVID to avoid the rent prices in the city, as I live at home and save a lot of my money that way, but back in the day I used to go up once a month for work and to see Broadway shows whenever I could snag a cheap ticket here and there.

This trip was my last time going up for a week in a while, as I recently landed a full time job. This is a lifestyle blog, and I do make a few dollars here and there from the display ads, but it’s not enough to live off of at all (especially during this economy). I spent a lot of blog posts mentioning how I was unemployed for the longest time, as, because of this tough economy, it was very difficult for me to find a job.

I did end up finding one and was prepped to start right after this trip. I’m writing this after I’ve started! But whether I got this job or not dictated what I spent and did this trip, as it opened up my budget in new ways.

After all of these years of living in New York City I have largely avoided the more tourist-heavy things, especially if they cost more money. I’m used to doing New York City on a budget and staying with people I know to avoid paying a lot on hotels or sublets, so once I had this job confirmed I knew I wanted to try out Top of the Rock.

Ideally, I would’ve gone during sunset, but this time I had Broadway shows or plans with friends all booked during the evenings, so I was forced to do a mid-afternoon time slot. I personally think the sunset slots are highway robbery, but Top of the Rock is one of the cheaper observation decks in the city.

Let’s get into how I spent my afternoon there and around Rockefeller Center!

Around Rockefeller Center there are a bunch of lovely shops, and a handful of cafes and places to eat that won’t break your budget.

I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time around Rockefeller Center because of the theater districts and the nature of the work I’ve done, as well as going to fashion school for undergrad. I know this area very well, almost like the back of my hand, so on this day I had a plan before I went to Top of the Rock.

I was hanging out with a friend in Koreatown until around 3 PM, then we walked up Fifth Avenue together until she met her sister for shopping. We got lunch at Cho Dang Gol, which is my favorite Korean lunch special in the entire city—highly recommend eating there if you can swing by during their lunch hours and wait for a table to open up. We only waited about 25 minutes for a table for two to be available.

You could spend a bunch of time shopping on Fifth Avenue and at the stores around and beneath the center, but I decided against this because A) my budget and B) I didn’t want to carry any more bags up onto Top of the Rock because I knew I wanted my hands to be free for my camera. I do really like the UNIQLO store, and came back another day to pick up some workwear before I start my new job. The Dry Barrel Pants? My new favorites.

My first stop was McNally Jackson. They’re my favorite chain of bookstores in New York City, and I especially like them because they arrange their fiction in their Rockefeller Center location by country of origin and region. They also tend to have a really good selection of Korean and Japanese literature, which always draws me in like a magnet.

I only picked up two books this time because I’m trying to be mindful of my book buying habits. I want to use my local library as much as I can, while my physical space is dedicated more towards books that my local library can’t and won’t stock, as well as rare finds I pick up while at the thrift stores or I get for free in academic spaces.

I was debating going to Urban Hawker, which is a Southeast Asian/Singaporean style food hall around 50th Street, as I was thinking about getting a teh tarik (a sweet Malay iced drink), but I had a makgeolli earlier and decided not to get a drink. I do recommend eating there if you’re in the area, although I’m not sure how long that hall is going to last. Every time I’m there it’s empty.

With my new books in hand, I saw outside the Avenue of the Americas and started reading for a bit. There’s a free public space where people can sit, eat, and read, which is nice considering there are trees, benches, and a fountain. I wanted to go to a different park with a waterfall, but on this day is was randomly closed.

For me, Top of the Rock is a one and done kind of deal, unless I wanted to really go see it at sunset.

I had purchased my Top of the Rock ticket for 5 PM, so at 4:45 PM I closed my book I’d picked up at McNally Jackson, then headed over to Top of the Rock. It was a two minute walk from where I was sitting, and I went right in. No one cared that I was ten minutes early for my time slot, as it wasn’t really crowded at 5 PM on a weekday. I will say that when I was leaving, though, it was getting progressively more crowded.

Anyways: once you head up to the second level and have your ticket scanned, then you are herded into a room with a bunch of other people to watch a short video on the history of the building. It was neat to watch, but a bit dry—minus the literal bubbles they spouted at us. You then are herded into the elevators to go to the 70th floor, which is the top of the building.

The first section is where they sell souvenirs and have a cafe. There are two small observation decks in this part of the attraction, but I skipped them for now and headed up to the next level. This is the first observation deck, and you can see the New York City skyline pretty clearly from this section. I recommend the next level, which is the top, for the best pictures.

On one side of the Rock is Central Park. This is ultimately why I ended up picking this observation deck—it’s the only one with a good view of the Empire State Building and Central Park. I spent a while staring at the massive size of the park and realizing why it usually takes me over two hours to walk the entire length of it (which I did on my last day here, which was a little bit insane before getting on a bus).

On the other side is the Empire State Building. I went on a day where it was lightly foggy, but you could still see the One World Trade Center, entire sections of New Jersey, and the first portion of Brooklyn. I took some night pictures with all three in view. I was happy in general with the pictures I took of the area.

I sat on a bench on this level for a bit. There’s no time limit for how long you can stay up there. I ended up being in Top of the Rock for an hour, but if I were balling less on a budget, I would have gotten a coffee at the cafe and just enjoyed the views from above. I was too scared to look at those prices though if we’re going to be honest.

While I enjoyed Top of the Rock, I don’t thin I would do it again. It’s definitely more of a tourist site where you can gawk at the skyline, and while it was nice to gawk at, it was just too expensive to make this more than a one-and-done sort of deal. It wasn’t blowing my mind at how cool it was.

Underground Rockefeller Center has some nice shops and places to snack at in addition to being connected to the subway.

Once you finish at Top of the Rock and take the elevators down, they dump you off at the gift shops. I quickly darted out of there before more crowds could come into the small space and found myself at Rockefeller Center’s underground shops. If you want to hop on the subway here it’s real convenient, as it’s connected to the office building, but I kind of just wandered around.

And this was how I found out one of my favorite record stores in the city, Rough Trade, was having a live performance in their Below space in the underground part of Rockefeller Center! Rough Trade Below is their space where they sell a lot of movie merchandise and used vinyl, and can be a lot more affordable than Rough Trade Above. They also have performances here occasionally, and I caught two musicians from Ireland performing a thirty minute set with a small crowd.

After that, I finished up in the area in general. It was a nice afternoon outing, if not a little bit of a splurge. I wouldn’t say I don’t regret coming to Top of the Rock, but, as I mentioned before, it was more of a one and done kind of deal. If you’re a tourist coming into the area and interested in it though—definitely give it a chance! It gives excellent views of the city skyline.

I purchased my tickets the day of and had no problems. If you want sunset tickets though maybe buy one or two days in advance after checking the weather.

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