Where DO you go to get the best views of New York? Me, I’ve always spent most of my time on the Manhattan sidewalks, gazing upwards with my mouth open. I did wind up on the receiving end of some “Watch where you’re going!” comments, and I did get a sore neck, but I didn’t really grasp the scale of the city.

So this time I resolved to do something a bit different. I probably wouldn’t take Manhattan, but I would take in as many different views as possible and finally, if possible, come home with a real sense of perspective.

Of course, New York is a collection of islands. It isn’t just Manhattan, and even a land-based across-the-water look at another borough is a must. If you like the smell of salt and the feeling of the wind in your hair, then try a New York City cruise for the sea view. But, for that feeling that you’re really lording it over Manhattan, nothing beats seeing it from up in the sky.

New York by sea – the Statue of Liberty on a NYC harbor cruise

New York City by land

If you ask me, Brooklyn gets a bit of a raw deal. If it were a city in its own right, rather than one of the Five Boroughs, Brooklyn would be the USA’s 4th largest city. As it is, it’s frequently (and some say unfairly) known as Manhattan’s less glamorous neighbour.

But if you’d like to at least take a look at the Borough that spawned Saturday Night Fever, then the South Street Seaport is a cool place to start. The area boasts a boardwalk with steps (great for those lingering views), the South Street Seaport Museum and a collection of shops and restaurants. (If you’re in need of Swedish flat-pack furniture, there’s also a free ferry across to IKEA in Brooklyn.)

We took a seat on the boardwalk steps and admired the view. The Brooklyn Bridge is a truly awe-inspiring piece of engineering. Its span stretches across the East River from Manhattan into Brooklyn Heights, where a mass of red and brown brick buildings, faded warehouses and rushing freeways give the area an air of working-class reliability.

The Brooklyn Bridge

Here there are no glass facades, no shiny reflections and little obvious elegance. For that, you have to look back to Manhattan and the Wall Street skyline. For me, in this instance, Brooklyn red-brick won the day.

The South Street Seaport Museum is home to the USA’s largest fleet of privately maintained historic vessels. The ships themselves are lined up at piers along the dock and their wooden masts and colourful hulls hark back to the time when Wall Street was a fur trading centre and the Dutch built a wall to keep the English out.

Once you’ve finished at South Street, Wall Street is but a stone’s throw away. And it was back to gazing upwards and bumping into irate financiers.

New York City by sea

For an all-encompassing view of Manhattan, the Circle Line cruises are an extremely good option. The Harbor Lights Cruise (2 hrs, early evening) takes you nearly all of the way round Manhattan. We had stunning views of the islands and the bridges without the need to lift so much as a finger. Photography is difficult from a moving boat at night (unless you’re an expert and I’m not) but it’s still a lovely trip.

(The cruise includes a commentary, which is staggeringly informative. Any interesting facts or trivia in this piece, I therefore credit to the Circle Line rather than to my own research!)

The boat has plenty of seating inside and there’s also a seating area outside on the top deck. Or you can do what most people do: grab a seat inside to hear the commentary, and then shoot out onto deck to take photos or get a clearer view. (Tip: it will be considerably cooler on the water than on land, so dress accordingly.)

As you leave the dock, take a peak at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on the next pier. Poking out from behind the USS Intrepid – and looking pathetically small – is a retired Concorde. Once the boat is underway, take time to grab the view straight down 42nd Street and check out the colour of the Empire State Building.

The glorious Empire State Building in New York City

Manhattan’s architecture is the star of this show. The Woolworths, Empire State and Chrysler Buildings all hark back to an era when cities were built by people, rather than by corporations and banks. In Times Square, you’ll pay more to advertise on the outside of a building than to rent space inside. Or did you want to buy a piece of Manhattan? It’ll cost you: in 2007, a building on Park Avenue sold for over $1,500 per square foot.

Dig down as the story doesn’t stop at ground level. There are – as you’ll see – no skyscrapers between the Empire State Building at 34th Street and Wall Street (way below 1st Street). This is geology. The bedrock in this part of Manhattan is not strong enough to support skyscrapers, and so there is a deep dip in the skyline.

The cruise begins at the 42nd Street Pier, heads south down the Hudson River, round the bottom of Manhattan and then up the East River as far as Williamsburg Bridge. Then it turns round and visits the Statue of Liberty before heading home. These bridges carry a significant proportion of the 1.4 million people who commute daily into Manhattan.

(If you’re wondering, the 42nd Street Pier is somewhere south of where US Airlines Flight 1549 came down in January 2009. When the captain turns the boat around, you’ll get an idea of how strong the current is and how much of an achievement that really was.)

New York City by sky

I rate the Manhattan skyline as one of my personal Top 10 Travel Sights, so admiring it is a must on any trip to New York. What better way to see it than from above? One day, my wallet might stretch to a Big Apple Helicopter tour, but right now I’m all about budget options. I went up the Empire State building on my last visit, but since then, the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Plaza has re-opened.

You’ll want to pause at ground level to take in the scale of the Rockefeller Center: 22 acres of buildings, begun in 1930 and financed by John D. Rockefeller himself. The complex is home to Radio City Music Hall, NBC Studios (including the “Saturday Night Live” studios) and the Rainbow Room Restaurant.

Inside the lobby, you can see the history of the building in words and pictures, including the iconic “Girder Photo” where the construction workers happily munch their lunchtime sandwiches whilst sitting high above the city. (You can also pose for and buy your own, less scary, version of the photo!)

“Your next stop is the 67th floor and you’ll be there in less than 50 seconds,” said the elevator operator, before closing the doors on us. We looked up through the elevator’s glass ceiling and saw the top of the building shoot towards us before the doors opened again.

And wow, is that view ever worth it.

On a clear day, you get a perfect view of Central Park, the Statue of Liberty (oh-so-tiny in the distance), Wall Street and the other boroughs.

If you’re not familiar with New York, grab the skyline map. It helps to know what you’re looking at. Do also stay as long as you want at the top. Don’t forget your camera and don’t stay inside! The best views are to be had from the decks, particularly the top balcony.

-Louise Heal

Planning a trip? Check out Viator’s things to do in New York City. You can also get a great view of Manhattan from the Empire State Building or the Top of the Rock. Or check out traveler photos of the Harbor Lights Cruise over on the main Viator.com website.

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