Midtown Manhattan & Empire State Observatory: Walking Tour

What your day looks like

Conjure up images of New York City, and it will be Manhattan: the ritzy, glitzy heart of the Big Apple jam-packed with big-name attractions. If there is a per-place limit on iconic landmarks, Manhattan flouts the rules - squeezing Central Park, the Empire State Building, the Met and MoMA, Times Square’s 3,685-square-foot flashing LED screens and Broadway’s bright lights into 22.7 small square miles. Well known by actors and stage junkies, New York’s dazzling Theatre District has been part of Manhattan since the late 19th century and its rich history provides a glorious mix of greasepaint, star-spotting and backstage gossip. While in the bustle of Times Square, learn how it earned its name when the New York Times opened an office there and erected an electronic news ticker - ''The Zipper'' - in 1928. Though the newspaper office has relocated, the area remains a media hotspot, serving as host and home to the likes of MTV and Condé Nast. Times Square is an icon, a Hollywood backdrop, and the heart of the Big Apple, and where there is proof - should you need it - that New York is the city that never sleeps. After a long stroll past New York’s Public Library, depart from your guide in front of the Empire State Building, where you will enjoy tickets to the top of the Observation Deck on the 86th floor to retrace your steps and gaze out upon the city that never sleeps. Please note: your tour guide will finish the tour at the base of the Empire State Building, and will guide you to the correct line with your tickets for the observation deck, where you are free to explore the views at your leisure. Attractions along this route: - Empire State Building: The building that defined an epoch, it stood as the world's tallest for over 40 years. - St Patrick’s Cathedral: This imposing Neo-Gothic construction has been the beacon of Catholicism in New York since 1878. - Times Square: Neon-lit and monumentally busy, this most famous of intersections is a mecca for tourists, shoppers, and protesters. - Rockefeller Center: An iconic complex of Art Deco buildings and public art, commissioned by the Rockefeller family. - Fifth Avenue: The world's most prestigious (and expensive) shopping street.