Guides / Best views
GuideThe best views in NYC
Where to see the skyline: bridges you can walk across, rooftops worth the drink, lookouts and the waterfront. Several of them cost nothing.
Bridges you can walk
Best firstFree, and the view changes every step.
9.6Williamsburg BridgeThe one to walk. Impeccable views from both sides, and a subway running straight down the middle.9.5Manhattan BridgeRolling thunder. Walk it at sunset, stand in the right spot, and feel the subway come through the steel.9.2High BridgeNew York's oldest standing bridge, built to carry water, reopened for walking in 2015.8.5Brooklyn BridgeGenuinely beautiful, and home to some of the worst crowds in the city — go early and it is a different bridge.Free lookouts and the waterfront
Best firstThe skyline from across the water, no ticket required.
9.7Brooklyn Heights PromenadeA third of a mile of cantilevered walkway with the entire skyline laid out in front of it.9.6Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge ParkA local escape into greenery, with art installations you find rather than get shown.9.6The Manhattan Bridge LookoutThe bridge with Manhattan sitting perfectly proportioned behind it — and far fewer people than the famous corner.9.2Louis Valentino Jr. Park and PierThe closest straight-on view of the Statue of Liberty you can get standing on land.8.7Gantry Plaza State ParkThe best head-on view of Midtown, from the Queens side of the river.Rooftops and decks
Best firstUp high, for the price of a drink or a ticket.
9.7OverstorySixty-four floors up at 70 Pine, on a terrace small enough that the height is the only thing you notice.9.6Empire State Building ObservatoryDead center of Manhattan, with all four sides of the island in front of you — and the only deck where that is true.9.5WestlightTwenty-two floors over Williamsburg, with the Manhattan skyline laid out across the East River.8.9Le BainA penthouse discotheque at The Standard with a plunge pool in the middle of the floor and a disco ball over it.8.9Mr. PurpleTwo terraces and a pool fifteen floors over Orchard Street, in the middle of everything the Lower East Side does well.Questions
Where is the best view in NYC?
Brooklyn Heights Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, which we score 9.7/10. A third of a mile of cantilevered walkway with the entire skyline laid out in front of it.
Where can you see the NYC skyline for free?
Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge Park, The Manhattan Bridge Lookout and Williamsburg Bridge, all free.
Did anyone pay to be on this list?
No. Nobody pays to be included, to rank higher or to be left off. Every place here is one we visited and would send a friend to.