With the destruction of the World Trade Center, the Empire State Building , is once again the city's tallest sky-scraper. Nestling in a whole city block between 33rd and 34th Streets, it is easily the most potent and evocative symbol of New York, and has been since its completion in 1931. Its 103 stories and 1454 feet - toe to TV mast - rank the Empire State Building behind only the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, but its height is deceptive, rising in stately tiers with steady panache.
Standing on Fifth Avenue below, it's easy to walk right by without even realizing that it's there; only the crowds serve as an indicator of what stretches above. Skip the eight-minute simulated flight New York Skyride (daily 10am-10pm; $13.50, $10.50 kids and seniors; tel 212/299-4922 or 1-888/SKY-RIDE, www.skyride.com ), which soars above skyscrapers and among other New York landmarks, but will leave the weak-hearted merely dizzy and the strong-willed wondering why they wasted their cash. Better to save your pennies for the ascent to the top of the world.
Because the 102nd-floor Observatory is closed on weekends during the summer, be sure to go during the week if you want to reach the very top .
The first elevators, alarmingly old and rickety, take you to the 86th floor, summit of the building before the radio and TV mast was added. The views from the outside walkways here are as stunning as you'd expect. If you're feeling brave - and can stand the wait for the tight squeeze into the single elevator - you can go up to the building's last reachable zenith, a small cylinder at the foot of the TV mast that was added as part of a harebrained scheme to erect a mooring post for airships
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