Rockefeller Center Walking Tour With Optional Top of the Rock

Recommended by 91% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

New York City, USA

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Uncover the fascinating past and present of one of New York City’s most iconic places: Rockefeller Center. Follow your guide in and around the Art Deco structure, hearing about Radio City Music Hall, 30 Rock, Channel Gardens, the Atlas sculpture, and even St. Patrick’s Cathedral. See where the magic happens for TV shows like Saturday Night Live. Finish with tickets to the Top of the Rock, an unparalleled observation deck.

Tour Rockefeller Center and the surrounding area
Uncover behind-the-scenes stories of New York City’s broadcasting history
Enjoy more personal attention on this guided tour
Tickets to Top of the Rock are included to use after your tour

What's Included

90-minute walking tour of Rockefeller Center
Professional NYC tour guide
Ticket including all three levels of Top of the Rock (if option chosen)

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

ATLAS
45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, USA
Please meet your guide by the statue of Atlas (a Greek god holding a globe on his shoulders) outside of the Rockefeller Center. You’ll find the statue in front of the main entrance to the Rockefeller Building. orange hat or blue jacket with "ExperienceFirst" written on it.

End point

Rockefeller Center
45 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10111, USA
This tour ends at Top of the Rock with your included ticket.

Operating hours
.3:00 pm

Itinerary

Atlas Sculpture

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

St. Patrick's Cathedral

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The British Empire Building

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Maison Française

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Channel Gardens

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Rockefeller Plaza Manhattan New York City

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

FAO Schwarz

10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Radio City Music Hall

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

News Sculpture by Isamu Noguchi

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Top of the Rock

5 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible
Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate
If you’ve booked this tour on the weekend, please be aware that delays are common due to street closures for events and parades that often cross 5th Avenue near Rockefeller Center. We strongly recommend arriving early to avoid any disruptions and ensure you don’t miss the start of your tour.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

John_Y

Liam my tour guide is was fantastic. Even though I’ve lived in NYC for years I learned so much about Rockefeller Center. And I also learned things about NYC in general I never knew. I will recommend this tour to others. John Yarbrough

Reviews

4.6

based on 65 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Never Run Late

Bryan_H, Oct 2025

Our other tour ran over. The tour guide waited for us and was so informative and kind. Thank him for his patience and wealth of knowlege.

Disappointed in Viator

Sherri_P, Sep 2025

This tour guide is very difficult and rude. We went to meeting point at Atlas several times and he was not there bringing us to think we were at the wrong place. Employees that work at Rockefeller never heard of tour. We were at meeting point before and after our meeting time several times. We missed our tour. Tour guide would not reschedule our appt. or refund us our money back. This guy is an independent person giving this tour. He is NOT ALLOWED to take you inside. The description is misleading! Rockefeller employees never heard of this tour. Go directly to the people at the Rockefeller building to schedule a tour for inside. Do NOT go through Viator!! They do not back their customers!!!

Response from Host, Oct 2025

Hi Sherri, Thanks for reaching out. We're sorry you were unable to find the tour guide. He was at the meeting location at 2:50pm, ten minutes before the start of the tour, until 3:30pm. We encourage our guests to not leave the meetup point before the start of the tour. If you ever have any issues finding the tour we recommend contacting us directly at exp1.com/ contact. Thank you.

Rob is the best!

Kari_W, Jul 2025

Rob was very personable and knowledgeable with all of the historical facts of the area! We loved it!!!

Fantastic tour

Kim_P, Jun 2025

It was a fantastic tour!! Jim Q was very knowledgeable and kind!! My family and I had a great time!!

Viator needs to change the title of this tour - very misleading in title and description.

Collin_M, May 2025

Tour guide was excellent. My review is based on the actual description and what you recieve. This tour IS NOT about going into/on top of, viewing from the observatory or otherwise. There is NOT any discussion or showing of any places inside the Rockefeller tower, and while SNL/Other shows are talked about it's summed up here - "These shows are filmed inside the building, which we're not going in, nor on the observatory - let's keep moving with some other facts".

Response from Host, May 2025

Hi Collin, Thanks for reaching out. We're glad you enjoyed our tour guide, Amy. As stated in the description, this tour is of Rockefeller Center itself. Unfortunately, we do not have access to NBC Studios, as they are a separate entity. If you would like a tour of the studios, you can book that directly though NBC. Also, our listing clearly states that the Top of the Rock Observatory is an optional add-on when purchasing this tour. Thank you.

Great Tour for Those Who Appreciate HIstory, Arcitecture, and Art

Jenny_B, Mar 2025

Liam was a great tour guide who was friendly, knowledgeable, and informative. You can tell that he really enjoys the architecture, art, and history of Rockafeller Center and NYC. My family loved learning about everything on the tour, and we felt that the length was perfect for the area. We would definitely recommend!

Merry Christmas 🎄

Mar_H, Dec 2024

Amy was wonderful. We started near the Rockefeller center and she showed us around the city. It was wonderful. Thank you for everything.

Misleading description

Christina_S, Dec 2024

In the description, it did not say that the entire tour was outside and that we would not be inside the building. It was a very cold day and we had already been walking to meet up at the starting point, and we had to excuse ourselves from the tour because my teenager was too cold to continue. The tour guide was very nice, but the description of this tour was misleading.

Response from Host, Jan 2025

Hi Christina, Thanks for reaching out. This is a 90 minute walking tour that takes place primarily outside. We encourage our guests to dress for the cold weather when visiting in the wintertime. We apologize if there was any misunderstandings. Thank you.

Christmas in NYC

Docia_S, Dec 2024

Rob was very well spoken, interesting to listen to and made our very cold experience worth every minute

Great job by Liam

John_Y, Oct 2024

Excellent cultural tour, wrongly titled by Viator

Hannah_T, Oct 2024

Liam’s tour was really excellent, with a focus on the social, architectural and artistic aspects of the Rockefeller Center. He was friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining - highly recommended. The only problem (not Liam’s fault) was that the tour description was completely misleading because the ticket did NOT include going up to the “top of the Rock” building, which I then had to buy and time separately. Hopefully this inaccuracy will now be rectified by Viator.

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you so much for your feedback. You're 100% correct, it was an issue with Viator and how it was set up. We offer two options, with and without the Top of the Rock tickets. Be sure to read which one you book - and you'll be good! We're glad that you still enjoyed the tour with Liam - he's GREAT! We hope that you choose ExperienceFirst again.

Artistic Gem in the heart of NYC

Erika_C, Oct 2024

A quick tour of the campus of Rockefeller Center which is a gem 💎 for anyone who is a fan of art deco of this period. There’s a lot to see in the center of the Golden Age of Radio . I particularly enjoyed the channel garden and the history of the fist tree. Again the friezes and sculpture display a craftsmanship of a very high caliber where no expense was soared. Going to the Top of the Rock was a plus!

Response from Host, Oct 2024

Thank you so much for your thoughtful review! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed the tour of Rockefeller Center, especially its Art Deco architecture and rich history from the Golden Age of Radio. The Channel Gardens and the sculptures are indeed breathtaking, and it's wonderful that you appreciated the craftsmanship. We're also glad you got to experience the Top of the Rock—it’s certainly a highlight! We hope to welcome you back for more explorations in the future!

Mala experiencia con guía de compañía Experience First

Carol_V, Mar 2025

La experiencia en sí fue buena pero mi queja va dirigida a la compañía Experience first que nos brindó el tour. Primeramente la guía llamada Mindy me informó que no tenía las taquillas de nosotros para entrar The Top of the Rock. Que posiblemente yo la había comprado aparte, cosa que no era real pues cuando realicé la orden específicamente decía que incluía el tour por el Rockafeller la historia y las taquillas de entrada. La guía al momento de subir a Top of the Rock nos dejó solos y sin taquillas pues seguía insistiendo que su compañía no las tenían. Tuve que dialogar con una empleada del Rockafeller explicarle la situación mostrarle las taquillas que teníamos en el email para que en efecto nos permitieran subir. Fue todo un proceso de casi una hora perdida esperando. Nos informaron que no es la primera vez que dicha compañía no les brinda las taquillas a los turistas.

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Hi Carol, Thanks for reaching out. We apologize if there was any confusion. Tickets to Top of the Rock are optional so if you did not select the option to include the Top of the Rock tickets when you purchased the tour then you would not have had the tickets. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at exp1.com/contact/. Thank you

Deplorável!!!

Gabriel_M, Mar 2025

Chegamos no horário do passeio, o responsável não deixou embarcamos, saiu com o barco e deu risada da nossa cara. Bati fotos! Deplorável!! Estou aguardando meu reembolso

Response from Host, Mar 2025

Hi Gabriel, Thanks for reaching out. You booked a tour for Rockefeller Center so we're not sure what you mean about not being able to board the boat. The Rockefeller Center tour is a walking tour nowhere near the water. There must have been confusion about which tour was booked because you never showed up to the meeting location for the Rockefeller Center tour. Thank you.