[Updated May 5, 2023] The Vessel remains closed indefinitely. Access to the ground-level base is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday 11am-7pm, with no reservation required.
Should you visit Hudson Yards?
The newest neighborhood in New York City opened on March 15, 2019. At the price of $25 billion, it is currently the most expensive real estate development in U.S. history. The neighborhood has also had its share of problems since they opened, including the indefinite closure of the Vessel, a 150-foot tall, somewhat odd-looking landmark that sits at the center of everything.
Hudson Yards, located on the far west side of Manhattan in an area which used to serve as a train yard, is made up of luxury condos, office towers, a sleek mall filled with upscale shops and restaurants, and a sky deck billed as the tallest outdoor observation platform in the Western Hemisphere.
Hudson Yards opened to both fanfare and criticism. Critics said the new housing was affordable only to the rich, and that the Vessel was ugly, useless, and potentially dangerous.
Even with that criticism, there was no question Hudson Yards was initially a success. They certainly boomed in their first year of business.
Less than a month after they opened, I remember crowds of shoppers streaming into the mall, a two-week wait time for online tickets to climb the Vessel, and full tables at Mercado Little Spain, the Spanish food market backed by chef José Andrés, located on the mall’s ground floor.
Then, almost exactly a year after Hudson Yards opened, the pandemic shut it down, with even the shiny new office towers emptying out as people shifted to working at home. When things finally opened up again in September 2020, depressing headlines about the lack of visitors to Hudson Yards began to emerge.
Matt and I visited about a month after that reopening and then again just before Christmas (2020). Gauging by the crowds, business didn’t seem all that dire, but a tragic suicide soon shut down the Vessel again. The New York Times then published a discouraging article about the state of Hudson Yards.
With all the bad news coming out in the media, and with with its two-year anniversary approaching in March 2021, it seemed like a good time to visit Hudson Yards again. I wanted to know: was it still worth the time and effort? Should you visit Hudson Yards on your trip to New York City?
Should You Visit Hudson Yards?
My short answer is YES. While it may not hold the buzz, energy, and crowds of Times Square, Hudson Yards is a now a major attraction and is worth adding to your itinerary. Read on to learn the latest and to find out about the many things to do in Hudson Yards.
7 Things to do at Hudson Yards
1. Check Out the Vessel
UPDATE as of 05/05/23: The Vessel remains closed indefinitely. Access to the ground-level base is free and open to the public Monday through Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday 11am-7pm, with no reservation required.
When it first opened to the public in 2019, visitors could climb the Vessel via the 154 interconnected staircases, taking in views of the Hudson River, as well as the skyline from multiple heights and points along the way. That, along with a shiny copper exterior that mirrors everything around it, makes this landmark an Instagrammer’s dream.
Selfie-loving tourists flocked here in droves and it became a major Hudson Yards attraction.
The Vessel was designed by Thomas Heatherwick, who was also the artist behind London’s 2012 Olympic Cauldron, as well as the pair of condos along the High Line with the barrel shaped windows, known as Lantern House.
He also designed Little Island, the park that resembles a bouquet of tulips, located at Pier 55 on the Hudson River.
Since the day it opened, the Vessel has experienced criticism.
Immediately upon its debut, negative comments were hurled across the media, mostly about its appearance. Some thought it resembled a beehive or a doner kebab while others wondered what the point was of all those overlapping stairways leading to nowhere.
Criticism also emerged about the structure’s accessibility, as well as the safety of such a tall outdoor structure that contained chest-high railings but no safety guards.
In February 2020, a tragedy happened when a young man committed suicide from the Vessel. It was closed down for the rest of the day but reopened to visitors the following morning.
The next month, the Vessel closed again, this time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That shut-down lasted six months and when it reopened, it did so in conjunction with Backyard at Hudson Yards, a seasonal initiative that takes place on the public plaza behind the Vessel and includes outdoor movies, food trucks, special events, and even outdoor Soul Cycle classes.
With all this, the Vessel seemed to be regaining some of its pre-pandemic popularity.
Then three more suicides occurred. The most recent one in July 2021 shut down the Vessel indefinitely and it has not reopened since.
I like the Vessel and I hope it can reopen safely to the public one day. I love giant landmarks that I can get up close to and walk around and under. I like exiting the subway station and anticipating the moment when it will come into view, rising up out of the concrete like…well, like a giant copper beehive.
The Vessel still attracts tourists. It’s weird and worthy of photos even if it can’t be climbed. It’s probably not the main attraction at Hudson Yards at the moment, but it is certainly far too popular to count as one of these non-touristy things to to in NYC.
People still come to see it, and there are still plenty of things to do at Hudson Yards to keep you busy, too.
2. Attend Art Exhibits and Live Performances at The Shed
Every exhibit and performance I’ve seen at this performing arts center has left a lingering impression on me. I especially remember a play called Help, which was written by poet and Yale professor Claudia Rankine and was based on several of her encounters with white men in airport lounges as she flew around the world for work. (Read her essay about this topic).
We also saw an art exhibit by Howardena Pindell titled Rope/Fire/Water, which featured artwork representative of racial violence, the slave trade, and white supremacy.
Other exhibits have really stuck with me, too. One by artist Trisha Donnelly involved walking into a concrete warehouse-like space where the only things to be seen were massive fallen tree trunks and piles of messy branches. Music from the opera Carmen blasted out of giant speakers and it was all so disorienting that I had to ask a staff member if I was missing something about the exhibit.
Every time I visit The Shed, I’m reminded how much I love walking into a gallery or performance and feel utterly mystified at what’s going on. It’s always been something I love about New York City and so far, always something I can count on at The Shed. If you’re planning to visit Hudson Yards, leave some time to see this unique cultural space.
3. Visit The Shops at Hudson Yards
I suppose the word “mall” connotes more of a suburban shopping center, full of stores for the common masses that offer deep discounts over holiday weekends. In light of that, I can see why the word isn’t attached to the 7-story glass-and-steel building located just across from the Vessel.
While there are many staples such as Zara, Uniqlo, and Sephora in this “urban retail center,” luxury brands such as Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and Fendi far outnumber the mid-range stores.
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I’ve visited Hudson Yards a number of times since it reopened in September 2020 after the pandemic. I have experienced various stages of busyness. The mall (for lack of a better word) was uncomfortably crowded with shoppers just before Christmas but on a later visit, I did find it as “eerily deserted” as the New York Times article (mentioned previously) said it was—although to be fair, I arrived at 11:00 a.m. just as stores were opening.
The same New York Times article presents a pretty bleak outlook for the shops at Hudson Yards. It calls them “barren of customers,” citing the lack of big-spending tourists as one of the major culprits.
So, should you visit the Shops at Hudson Yards?
Absolutely, especially if you’re a shopper.
The lack of customers is no reason to stay away and perhaps even more reason to go if you’re not keen on fighting crowds. Personally, I view shopping as more necessity than a pleasure but I find the shopping experience here to be pleasant and there are enough stores that I like, including MUJI, PIQ, and MadeWell, to keep me coming back.
I’ve also identified six reasons other than shopping why I’ll continue to visit, and why you should visit Hudson Yards, too.
- Friendly greeters are posted at the entrances, ready to answer questions and provide detailed directions to wherever you’re headed. That saves a lot of wandering around in circles and double-backing.
- Digital kiosks with touch screens and user-friendly interfaces are located throughout the mall for locating shops and restaurants. Options include downloading directions to your phone.
- Like many malls, the shops and restaurants are entirely contained under one roof, which is a rarity in New York City. In bad weather, this makes the shopping experience much more pleasant than trudging from store to store in the rain, snow, or blistering heat.
- There are plenty of clean public restrooms located throughout the building, something that’s not always easy to find when you’re out and about in the city.
- It’s easy to find a good cup of coffee or bite to eat to keep up your shopping energy.
- Café tables and chairs line the railings on each floor, plus additional seating is scattered throughout, providing plenty of spots to stop and take a rest. If you go early enough, say before the stores actually open, it’s not a bad spot to take your laptop and get some work done (Several cafes are open by 8:00 a.m.). There are free phone charging stations near the cafe tables.
4. Attend Annual Special Events
Things to do in Hudson Yards include special annual events like Lunar New Year performances in the winter and viewings of movies and sporting events in the summer.
And if you’re visiting the city during the Christmas season, be sure to add Hudson Yards to your holiday itinerary, when the shops are absolutely decked out in millions of sparkling lights!
So, while you may not be coming to New York for a mall experience, I believe the Shops at Hudson Yards remain a destination worth adding to your itinerary.
5. See the Manhattan Skyline from Edge at Hudson Yards
On March 11, 2020, another highly anticipated attraction opened at Hudson Yards.
The outdoor sky deck at Edge Hudson Yards opened to great fanfare and Instagram was awash in selfies of people leaning daringly against angled glass corners, so as to give the appearance of falling backwards, like the old commercials where actors fell backward into a cool swimming pool as they took the Nestea Plunge.
Located on the 100th floor at 30 Hudson Yards, Edge is the tallest outdoor observation deck in the Western Hemisphere. (The Top Deck of the Empire State Building is on the 102nd floor, but is indoors).
Matt and I had initially reserved tickets for sunset on March 13, 2020 but that morning, Edge’s website announced their closure, only two days after opening. It was another casualty of COVID-19.
Edge has since reopened and we finally made it there in 2021. While I think I prefer the more central views from the observation decks at the Empire State Building and Top of the Rock, the Edge at Hudson Yards is a unique experience and totally worth a visit.
If you’re walking along the High Line toward Hudson Yards, at some point you’ll spot a tall building with a triangular platform jutting out of its side. Look closely and you’ll likely see humans in miniature peering out above the Manhattan skyline. This aspect of the architecture makes the sky deck appear to be floating 100 stories above the ground and is one of the things that makes visiting Edge unique.
Like the Vessel, Edge seems to have been built with social media in mind. In addition to the angled glass corners and floating platform, a triangular section of the observation deck is made of glass, allowing fearless visitors to stand on top of a clear plate, looking straight down to the street far beneath their feet.
This glass section takes up a relatively small portion of the deck and is obviously very popular, so visitors sometimes have to stand in line and wait their turn. Employees are on hand to facilitate, and allow a limited amount of time for each guest to snap a few photos before ushering them on.
After seeing so many social media posts of people leaning against glass walls, appearing suspended at dizzying heights, I was worried my own fear of heights would stop me from enjoying the outdoor sky deck. My back-up plan was to take in the views from inside, where there are floor-to-ceiling windows that also allow for stunning panoramas.
But, while I would never in a million years lean back against angled glass walls so high up, I was perfectly fine wandering around outside.
I also enjoyed watching the many photo shoots taking place, with so many people dressed up in their finest to get photos against such a dramatic backdrop.
A champagne bar is located inside as well, with light snacks available. The Skyline Steps, (bleacher-style seating) are available on the sky deck and reserved only for customers who purchase food and beverages. In addition, Peak, a new restaurant that takes up the entire 101st floor of 30 Hudson Yards, is now open and taking reservations. Pair a fancy dinner with your sunset view if you want a little New York romance.
The Edge is a must-see destination if you’re visiting Hudson Yards.
Visiting Edge at Hudson Yards
- Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Last elevator ride is 50 minutes before closing.
- Admission: starts at $35 for adults ($33 for NYC residents) and varies based on the experience you wish to have. Additional fees apply during peak hours and sunset.
City Climb: Want to climb 1,200 feet up the outside of a skyscraper and then lean out over the Manhattan skyline? (dear god, my hands sweat even typing this). City Climb at Edge might be the adventure you’re looking for!
6. Wine and Dine at Mercado Little Spain
On the bottom floor of the building that houses the shops and restaurants is a Spanish food market conceived of by chef José André and meant to evoke the mercados of Spain—the cheerful places where local people gather to eat tapas, drink wine, and socialize throughout the day.
Here’s how it works at Mercado Little Spain: various kiosks are scattered throughout the spacious bottom floor, with each of them specializing in different dishes. Customers can hop from kiosk to kiosk, gathering up whatever dishes they desire and then meeting up for feast wherever you can find a table.
If you’re with a group, I recommend dispatching your friends to the various kiosks and assigning one to scout for a table. You can also select one restaurant to have a sit-down meal and to have to worry about going to different kiosks.
Plates are tapas-style and meant for sharing so you can sample lots of different dishes. Maybe try the spicy fried potatoes at one kiosk, a meat and cheese board from another, and paella from a third. Grab a glass of wine from yet another kiosk and of course, don’t forget the churros with chocolate dipping sauce for dessert.
Some kiosks reserve seating for customers only but general seating is scattered throughout the floor. Sit-down restaurants including Mar, La Barra, and Spanish Diner are also located in Mercado Little Spain and reservations are recommended.
I highly recommend dining at Mercado Little Spain. I have not yet been to Spain so I love that there’s a one-stop space in New York where I can go and sample dishes that are new to me.
7. Find More Places to Eat at Hudson Yards
Other than Mercado Little Spain, I’m not terribly tempted to go to a mall-like place with the sole intention of having a nice meal.
However, if you’ve spent the afternoon sightseeing and want a convenient place to eat, you could do much worse than the Restaurants at Hudson Yards. No food court Subway or slices of pizza languishing under heat lamps exist here, and there is something for every palette, from Shake Shack, to the various Momofuku places (Kawi, Peach Mark, Fuku), all the way up to the very high-end Estiatorio Milos.
There’s are also plenty of cafes to get a good cup of coffee, a smaller bite to eat, and dessert, including Blue Bottle Coffee, Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, and William Greenberg Desserts.
5 Tips for Visiting Hudson Yards
- Plan your visit in conjunction with a walk along the High Line.
- Make restaurant reservations ahead of time if possible.
- Book tickets for Edge and The Shed ahead of time if possible, though it’s not required.
- Check out events presented by Backyard at Hudson Yards, which features seasonal outdoor movies and sporting events shown on a 30-foot Big Screen behind the Vessel.
- Walk across the street to Bella Abzug Park (near the 7 train) for lots of food vendors and outdoor seating.
How to Get to Hudson Yards
The High Line begins/ends at Hudson Yards. If you entered the High Line at one of the southern entrances, keep walking you’ll end up at Hudson Yards.
Subway: 7 train to Hudson Yards. See here for more on getting to Hudson Yards.
Final Thoughts on Visiting Hudson Yards
As a final note, visiting Hudson Yards is an interesting way to witness the progression of New York City. Love it or hate it, the neighborhood is here to stay.
Whether you’re a local or a tourist, there’s a good chance you’ve visited a landmark related to the city’s history, especially it’s immigration history since that shaped modern-day New York. Hudson Yards is an interesting point of reference to see where the city is headed in the future.
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