Empire State Building → Times Square

Two of Manhattan's most photographed landmarks sit eight blocks apart, and the walk between them is one of the most-repeated in the city — every visitor doing the Empire State observation deck eventually ends up pointed toward the lights of Times Square, or vice versa.

The route runs north along Broadway or Fifth Avenue from 34th Street to 42nd Street, through the Garment District and past Herald Square. It's flat, it's fully lit day and night, and it's rarely a straight shot — Midtown crosswalks and tourist crowds around both landmarks add real minutes to the "as the crow flies" distance.

At standard NYC block spacing, this comes out to roughly 0.8 miles of actual walking route — noticeably more than the straight-line distance, because you're following the street grid rather than cutting through buildings. That's about 1,800 steps for an average-height adult at a relaxed pace, per the standard conversion this site uses.

The Empire State Building held the title of world's tallest building for nearly forty years after its 1931 completion — a remarkably fast build by modern standards, raised in just over a year during the depths of the Great Depression. Its observation deck sits 1,050 feet up, and on a clear day the view extends past the five boroughs into three neighboring states, a fact most visitors don't fully appreciate until they're standing at the railing.

Times Square, by contrast, wasn't always the neon core of Manhattan — it took its current name in 1904 when The New York Times moved its headquarters there, and the tradition of a New Year's Eve ball drop started that same year as a publicity stunt for the paper's new building. What's changed most since then isn't the location but the density of advertising: current city zoning actually requires a minimum amount of illuminated signage on buildings facing the square, which is part of why it's nearly impossible to find a dim corner of it at any hour.

Herald Square, roughly the midpoint of this walk, is worth a brief pause even if you're not stopping to shop — it sits at the intersection of Broadway and Sixth Avenue and has its own smaller, calmer version of the Times Square crowd energy, without quite as much competition for sidewalk space.

Walking somewhere else? Calculate your own route →