City Pass & Discount Options for the Empire State Building

A city pass is worth it only if you're visiting several paid attractions on the same trip — for a single Empire State Building visit, the direct $44 official ticket is cheaper than any pass. Three passes currently include the building: CityPASS, its smaller C3 option, and the New York Pass.

1. #1

   CityPASS (New York)

   Five attractions for one price, with the Empire State Building's own AM/PM bonus visit built in.

   Priced at $149 for adults and $129 for children (6–17), valid across 9 consecutive days from first use. Includes the Empire State Building AM/PM Experience — 86th-floor entry plus a same-night return visit during the last three hours of opening — alongside a choice of attractions such as the American Museum of Natural History, Top of the Rock, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, and a Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry.

   Wikipedia

2. #2

   C3 by CityPASS

   A smaller three-attraction version for shorter trips.

   Priced from $109, letting you choose three attractions rather than five — a better fit if your trip only has time for the Empire State Building plus one or two more stops rather than the full five-attraction CityPASS.

3. #3

   New York Pass

   Unlimited attractions for a set number of days, if you're planning a packed itinerary.

   Starts from around $134 for a single day, with multi-day options, and covers 115+ NYC attractions including the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and Big Bus tours. It suits a dense sightseeing schedule rather than a couple of stops, since the per-attraction value only pays off with heavy use.