On my final full day in New York, to make sure I made the most of my trip right to the end, I saved the best til last. With a morning at the Empire State Building and a evening watching the sun set over the Manhattan skyline to make it a day to remember.
You certainly can’t visit New York without visiting the Empire State Building and unless you want to stand in queues all day to get to the top you want to make sure you visit early in the day.
Luckily, I am a morning person when I’m travelling and so was ready nice and early for the 8am opening. Even at this time there was a queue but thankfully only a small one. There are a number of exhibits on the bottom floors that the queue winds through with information on the buildings sustainability policies and the odd bit of history. The building itself is very pretty, with beautiful floors and wall titles but, of course, everyone is here for one thing and that’s the view.
I chose to go for the Main Deck option and similar to other viewpoint buildings such as the CN Tower I declined the upgrade to a slightly higher point usually for double the price. For me the Main Deck is the iconic spot anyway.
The vantage point from the Empire State Building is amazing. The views over Manhattan really are breathtaking and even if the tickets are pricey this is worth the price. On the day of my visit the weather seemed a little dull but this turned out perfect for long distance viewing with no squinting into the sun.
After spending my morning at one American icon, I take the rest of my day soaking in my last few hours in the city and picking up a few nick nack souvenirs before my evening at another. Making full use of the free Staten Island Ferry I head out at sunset to get an amazing view of the Statue of Liberty as the sun goes down and it did not disappoint.
I took a few amazing pictures but the experience itself was fantastic and I highly recommend doing this. I’m sure there must be lots of companies offering boating trips to watch the sunsets, and I can only imagine that is why there were old fashioned sail boats out in the water, but the view from the ferry is excellent if you’re saving the pennies.
After the sun dipped behind the Statue of Liberty I turned my focus back to the Manhattan skyline which looked pretty beautiful in the pink haze as the sun continued to sink. Of course taking the Staten Island Ferry means heading over and then doing an about turn at the otherside to head back to Manhattan again but I didn’t seem to be alone in this plan.
I think I definitely did well with my choice of activity for my final day in New York and as I catch the return ferry back to Manhattan, the sun has gone and I can enjoy the sparkly lights of the skyscrapers.
New York city was definitely a city I really enjoyed and I can see why so many people fall in love with this place. While I loved the wilderness camping of my trip (if not so much the people I had to camp with) my week in the New York was a great way to end my trip and to prove to me that US cities can be awesome.
Have you ever experienced a Manhattan sunset?
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