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Rockefeller Center is a working office complex that happens to contain a skating rink, a golden statue, a famous Christmas tree and the elevator to Top of the Rock. Most visitors rush through it on the way up, but it rewards an hour at street level too, and it is a designated National Historic Landmark.
We at Travelmyth, the hotel search engine that ranks stays by your interests and needs across 60 stay categories, put this guide together for the traveler who wants more than a photo of the tree. Here is what to see at street level, how the rink and the holiday season work, what is going on behind the scenes at NBC, and how to fit it around a trip up Top of the Rock. It is a companion to our wider guide to things to do in New York City.
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 buildings whose 14 original Art Deco buildings were commissioned by the Rockefeller family, and the outdoor plaza is free to wander. The centerpiece is the sunken lower plaza, watched over by the gilded, cast-bronze Prometheus statue, a 1934 work by Paul Manship. The Channel Gardens separate the British Empire Building and La Maison Francaise. Radio City Music Hall, the Art Deco venue nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation" and home of the Rockettes, is part of the same complex.
The sunken plaza has been an ice rink in the colder months since 1936, when a skating rink first replaced the retail space below ground level. It is small and famous and photographed from above as much as skated on; if you want to skate rather than watch, book a session ahead and go early in the day, when the ice is quietest. The rink is seasonal, so it is there in winter and turns into an outdoor dining and events space in the warmer months.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is famous, and the tradition runs deep: the first tree was raised here in December 1931, while the formal annual tree-lighting tradition began in 1933. Today a large tree is installed each year in November, and the public lighting ceremony falls on the last Wednesday of November or the first Wednesday of December, just after Thanksgiving. The ceremony has been televised on NBC since 1951, with the live primetime broadcast dating from 1997. The tree stands through the holidays, and the crowds around it peak in the evenings and on December weekends; come early on a weekday morning if you want it without the crush.
Top of the Rock is the observation deck atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the 67-story Art Deco tower at the center of the complex, with elevators departing from inside the building. It is the deck that puts the Empire State Building in your photo rather than under your feet, and it pairs naturally with an hour at street level; our full guide to visiting Top of the Rock covers the tickets and the view.
The tower at the heart of the complex is the headquarters of NBC and houses NBC Studios: Studio 8H is where Saturday Night Live is filmed, and The Tonight Show broadcasts from Studio 6B; the nickname ‘30 Rock’ even gave the network a sitcom. High above, on the 65th floor, the Rainbow Room first opened in 1934 and is now used primarily for private events and full buyouts, while Bar SixtyFive is also a private-event venue. NBC Studio tours are bookable, but the Rainbow Room and Bar SixtyFive are not regular public dining options, so check current access before planning a visit.
Rockefeller Center is worth an hour year-round, and the outdoor plaza is free to walk through. The holiday season, from the tree lighting in late November through the new year, is the spectacle, and by far the most crowded; if you are here then, go early in the day. The rest of the year the plaza is calmer, and you can enjoy the architecture and the statues without the queues.
Staying in Midtown around Fifth Avenue puts Rockefeller Center, the shops and the other headline sights within a short walk. On Travelmyth you can filter New York stays by the features that matter to you, from boutique-style properties and stays taking steps toward sustainability to family-friendly or luxury stays, and combine two of those filters at once to narrow the long list to the handful that fit how you travel.