You don't need a ticket to feel small in New York. Some of the best views in the city are free, a lot of them are on the water, and almost all of them hit harder when you've got nowhere to be. Here are the spots to stand, sit or float while the buildings do their thing.
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Skyline from the water's edge
The Brooklyn Heights Promenade is the postcard, a long walkway over the harbor with lower Manhattan laid out in front of you. Gantry Plaza in Long Island City gets you the Pepsi-Cola sign and the Empire State Building. Transmitter Park in Greenpoint has a pier and Midtown going pink at sunset. Domino Park in Williamsburg puts the Williamsburg Bridge right on top of you. Astoria Park has the Hell Gate arch. For more green with your view, see the parks and waterfronts guide.
Views that move
The Staten Island Ferry is free and gives you the Statue and the whole harbor. The Roosevelt Island Tram costs a subway fare and floats you over the East River beside the Queensboro Bridge. The East River ferry is the cheap skyline cruise, and it's smoke-free, so arrive floating. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge toward Brooklyn and turn around halfway. Walk the Williamsburg Bridge toward Manhattan at golden hour. And the N/W back from Astoria runs above ground with the skyline out the window.
Hilltops most people miss
Sunset Park, the actual park, sits on a hill in Brooklyn with a clean look across the harbor to the Statue. There's construction around its pool building, but the hill's still there. Fort Greene Park climbs up to a monument and a good breeze. Green-Wood Cemetery has the highest natural point in Brooklyn, and it's a beautiful place to be quiet. Fort Tryon Park way up in Manhattan looks over the Hudson and the Palisades.
Rooftops and observation decks
Top of the Rock is the one people have trusted forever, and it's got the Empire State Building in the shot. The other observation decks are bigger and flashier, and all of them cost real money, so save them for a clear day and a visiting relative. Rooftop bars change hands all the time, so we don't list them, and you can't light up at any of them anyway.
Your own roof is the best one, if your building allows it. Check first. Our guide to where you can sesh in NYC has the honest version, fire escape included.
Can you sesh at these spots?
Mostly no. City parks and piers, the ferries and the tram stations are all places to arrive already floating. Gantry is a state park with its own rules, so read the signs. Have your sesh at home, then go stare at something enormous.
