One World Observatory is located on the highest floor of One World Trade Center – the tallest building in New York City. For the best experience, you should pre-book a timed ticket for the first time slot of the day.
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Taking pictures at the One World Observatory
We had pre-booked our tickets for the One World Observatory for the first available time slot of the day, which was at 8 am.Β
It is important to arrive on time, otherwise you end up having to wait until the first possible open time slot to take the lifts upstairs. I also heard from other tourists who didn’t have a timed ticket that they ended up queuing for 6 hours (!).
When we arrived at 8 am, there were maybe only 10 other visitors, so we had some amazing views over New York City:
The observation deck in One World Trade Center is fully indoors, which means you will have to take your pictures from behind the windows. For the best pictures, I sat down on the window sills.Β
Tripods are officially not allowed, but we were only told to put our tripod away once the crowds started to arrive. So we managed to get some tripod shots in the early morning. And of course, we also used the tripod outside the building. Just look at how tall the One World Trade Center is:
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Which tickets to buy
On their official website, the One World Observatory sells 4 types of tickets:
- Standard ticketΒ – This ticket only gives access to the 360 degree observatory deck.
- Combination ticketΒ – In addition to observatory deck access, this ticket comes with priority lane and a digital guide.
- All-inclusive ticket – On top of the “combination ticket” benefits, this ticket also allows for flexible arrival and $15 off at the cafe, bar, restaurant or gift shop.
- VIP – TourΒ – This is a 60 minute guided tour with escorted entry into the Observatory and $15 to drink or shop.
When you plan to visit at the first time slot of the day, there is absolutely no need for priority lane access. We arrived at 8 am with our standard tickets, and there was no queue for the lifts or the security.
However, if you plan to visit later in the day, the priority lane access may come in handy. You don’t want to end up having to queue for 6 hours to get to the observatory deck. When we left the deck at 9:30 am, the crowds already started to come in.
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