EMPIRE STATE BUILDING

This majestic skyscraper, perhaps New York's most iconic, offers breathtaking views of Manhattan.

Today, at 443 m, the Empire State Building ranks 5th in the United States after the One World Trade Center, the new Central Park Tower and Chicago's Willis and Trump Towers. At the end of its construction in 1931, it was the largest building in the world, but it was only a half-empty skyscraper: the Great Depression had ruined the real estate market, most of the 4,000 offices in this jewel of the city had not found tenants. A very temporary catastrophic situation, however, because the New Deal was not far away. Salvation will come in the form of a romantic monster, King Kong, who will ensure the giant's universal reputation on movie screens around the world. Inevitably, it is the giant monkey clinging to the skyscraper that comes to mind as we let ourselves be carried to the 86th and 102nd floor observatories for an unparalleled view of Manhattan, at an altitude of 320 m. After 10 months of work, the 102nd floor observatory, located in the skyscraper spire, reopened in the fall of 2019, now offering 360-degree views of Manhattan! When making your reservation on the Internet, choose the floor you wish to visit. By opting for the 102nd floor, you will also have access to the 86th floor observatory. The CityPass only gives access to the 86th, but it allows two visits on the same day, the idea being to go up once during the day and then come back at nightfall. The best time to climb up is indeed at sunset. It is also the time when the wait is longest (you have to pay extra for the queue cutter), but you have to admit that the view is even more spectacular when the setting sun floods Manhattan with its orange light and the buildings gradually light up.... The Rockefeller Center is in front, like the enigmatic Chrysler Building, slightly off-centre. Midtown radiates all its raw power. Now surpassed by many buildings, the Empire State remains this symbol of American grandeur and genius, and this is even more true since the fall of the World Trade Center towers: more than 4 million visitors come to discover its point of view each year and 20,000 souls work there daily, making it the second largest office complex in the United States, just behind the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The majestic hall, all in marble and dominated by a splendid bas-relief representing the building, recalls the lobby of the Chrysler Building and its warm colours. The hundred or so floors that make up the building belong to companies and are not open to the public. On some days, the Empire State Building is lit in particular colours in reference to a particular event. It is in green for St. Patrick's Day, in red and blue for Independence Day or, for example, in blue when celebrating the city's baseball team, the Yankees. When there are no events to celebrate, it is illuminated in white. To find out the colour of the building and the reason, go to www.esbnyc.com/explore/tower-lights/calendar Finally, a few dizzying figures on the Empire State Building: 113 kilometres of pipes, 257,211 ^m2 of surface area, 760,000 metres of electrical wires and a total weight of 347,000 tonnes. Last number: 10,118, the postal code that was created just for this skyscraper!