Hello Friends!

in today’s post I’m going to talk you about my experience at One World Trade Center (aka One World Observatory aka Freedom Tower). At the end of May 2015, there was the grand opening to the public to this amazing building.

I cannot miss that of course! I can remember than in 2011, during my first visit in New York, Freedom tower was under construction and I promised to myself that one day I’ll visit that building.

In November 2014 the construction was done and at the end of May 2015 One World Trade Center opened to the public.

Freedom Tower is one of the building of the new “World Trade center”, which includes several buildings:

• 1 Word Trade Center: ended in November 2014. Only few floors are open to public and  you can go there with a dedicated entrance and, with a dedicated as well elevator you can go up until the 102^nd  floor and the One World Observatory Deck.
• 2 World Trade Center it is supposed to be completed at the end of 2021;
• 3 World Trade Center it is supposed to be ended in 2018;
• 4 World Trade Center it is completed and it is occupied only by commercial offices;
• 5 e  6 World Trade Center the construction started in 2011 (for 5WTC) and will be start soon for 6WTC.
• 7 World Trade Center it is the first building completed in 2006;
• National September 11 Memorial opened to the public the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It is composed by two huge pools built on the base of the Twin towers. Personally, when I saw the pools for the first time I felt completely loose, and I realized how giant was the tragedy site and how close it was to the rest of financial district. As you an image, New York is a chaotic city, but here at the Memorial, there is always a strange and respectful silence;
• National September 11 Museum, aka 9/11 Museum where you can find a reconstructions and you can find some object discovered during the removing of the debris caused by the twin towers’ attack in 1993 and  in 2001, there you can also find  a pic of each victims of that terrible day;
• World Trade Center Transportation Hub aka Oculus station, it was recently opened to the public, although I admit it is not really easy to find I way to come inside!
• In addition of these buildings there are also other building like Performing art Center, Vehicular Security Center, Liberty Park and St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

As you can image from the data above, the new World Trade Center is huge, but the most touristic attractions are the One World Trade Center, the Memorial Pools, the 9/11 Museum and the Oculus station as well.

At the current moment, One World Trade Center is the higher building in Manhattan, and from the top of it you can enjoy a special and clear view all around. Thanks to its position, there are not other high skyscrapers that obstacle the view, you can see all the Manhattan Island, Brooklyn and Queens, Staten Island, Liberty Island and, looking to west, the New Jersey.

The experience is amazing, starting from the beginning of the visit, you are “prepared” to what are you going to see. On the elevator wall, during climb, a movie about the site is showed. At the 102^nd floor there are a black room where you are going to see a movie which celebrate New York City and its neighborhoods…. And at the end of the movie there is a surprise!

What can you experience…

You must be prepared of the best view of Manhattan. A 360 degree view from New Jersey, Governor Island, Staten Island, Liberty and Ellis Island… you can see the unforgettable silhouette of Manhattan, the Empire state Building and the Brooklyn Bridge…It is a different view compared to the one you could have from the Empire State Building Observation Deck and one of the most important differences is that Freedom Tower is closed instead the Empire State Building is open…. I don’t really know which one of the 3 views (from Empire State Building, from Freedom Tower and from Top of the Rock) I prefer they are all amazing, I suggest to try all of them!

As usual I think that the images talk better than the words, so in the little movie below, I Showed my experience and my personal history with One World Trade Center and my two visits there during the day and during the night as well. Please consider that at the end of the video there is a spoiler about the movie showed at the 102^nd floor!

FYI (For Your Information)

The ticket’s price is $ 34.00 online and $ 37.00 at box office at Freedom Tower (for more info I suggest to see the website). There are no time limitation about the visit and you can stay on the observatory as long as you want. I suggest to buy the tickets in advance, so you can chose the best time frame for you.

One World observatory is located in Financial District at 285 of Fulton Street, it is opened 7 days from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm and the last ticket is at 9.15 pm. Arriving at Freedom Tower is super easy, the faster rout is the subway (as usual) I suggest the lines A C J Z 2 3 4 5 until Fulton Street/Broadway-Nassau station. But you can chose different ways to come there (on the One World Trade Center’s website are showed several options).

On the 2 floors dedicated to public, there are some facilities and a restaurant as well. I guess that have a lunch close to the window with the city on your foot, is an awesome experience!

I suggest to dedicate at least half day for visiting the World Trade Center site, Freedom Tower, the Pools and the museum and the Hub Station as well.

Here another little piece of New York City, in a different point of view! Another little story about my New York city adventure and discover… a kind of piece of me! I hope you like this post and my way to share with you my life and my experiences.

For Other adventures in the Big Apple

Stay Tuned!

Tricks in this Post:
1. New World Trade Center;
2. One World Observatory, my experience;
3. Some information for your New York City trip.