best views for your money

the silver towers views are pretty sick, once you trudge over there.

The whole northern rim of Central Park is quite beautiful: CPN, upper CPW and Fifth Avenue. Just below Mt. Sinai, fantastic Carpenter co-ops can be had for a fraction of what they would cost a mile farther south.

For river views on a budget, Washington Heights.

For river views, Riverside Drive or WEA in the 90's 100's--there are some amazing apts with unobstructed views of the river--I have one of them and its great! Mostly pre-war co-ops if thats what you are into you can find something beautiful with real character, many need to be renovated but not all

The best river views for the money are to be had from many of the Mitchell-Lama and ex-Mitchell-Lama buildings around the coastline, especially Cooperative Village on the LES (ex-ML), and Southbridge Towers near Fulton St. (soon-to-be-ex-ML).

the wrap full floor units in time warner 76,77,78,79 and 80...are truly the pinnacle...of course the cheapest one is around 40 mil and two floors got duplexed together(after the billionaire dropped 8mil to add stuctural steel to the outside of the building)..ah money is a beautiful thing if you got a LOT of it

And, of course, for even less than the price of the cheapest Time Warner full-floor duplex: sidecars (on the dry side) on my high-floor Hudson-view balcony in Harlem. View partially obstructed by tomato plants when the fish are jumping and the cotton is high, though.

for value, Riverside Drive in Harlem/Washington Heights

Northern Inwood - Anywhere on west 218th Street - Choose Open Views of Baker Field, Inwood Park, Henry Hudson Bridge, Riverdale.

Long Island city along the water front in "THE VIEW" - amazing...

I think the best views in this town are the ones IN the view. Seeing manhattan from miles away doesn't compare for a sec. Of course, brooklyn has the best of that view, with the bridge included (Queens to me doesn't come close, it certainly 'aint "the" view, the classic photos are almost all from the brooklyn pov)

But for best overall...
anything on CPW with a view toward midtown, but thats expensive.
Highrises in the 20s

There really aren't big buildings right there up until the empire state, so you get these glorious angles to the water and the bridges, and then you're right near ESB and the rest of midtown, and see downtown.

And, in terms of what to look at, the madison square park stuff rules... the nylife and the (OLD) metlife building, with the light up gold dome and the clock tower. And you don't need 1 madison square park to get it, think all the high rises on 6th.