I climbed Vessel, the $200 million, 2,500-step sculpture in Hudson Yards - and the view from the inside blew me away

Katie Warren/Business Insider

The Vessel is open to the public and free to visit.

• The Vessel is a brand-new, 150-foot tall climbable sculpture in New York City's new $25 billion Hudson Yards neighborhood.
• The sculpture cost $200 million to build and features 154 interconnected staircases, nearly 2,500 individual steps, and 80 landings.
• I was one of the first to climb the Vessel on Hudson Yards' opening day, and I found the view of the inside was way cooler than just seeing the exterior.

The Vessel, a $200 million climbable sculpture in New York City's Hudson Yards, is now officially open to the public.

Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, it's the sculptural centerpiece of Hudson Yards, Manhattan's new $25 billion neighborhood that includes office buildings, luxurious residential towers, and a seven-story luxury shopping center with stores like Louis Vuitton and Dior.

Read more: I got an inside look at Hudson Yards on opening day. Here's what the glitzy neighborhood is like, from the $200 million climbable sculpture to the 7-story 'vertical shopping experience'

Called the Vessel, the 150-foot tall climbable sculpture cost an estimated $200 million to build, according to Curbed. It includes 154 interconnected staircases, nearly 2,500 individual steps, and 80 landings.

"[The Vessel] is going to be to New York City what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris," Jeff Blau, the CEO of Related Companies, the developer behind Hudson Yards, told CBS.

I was one of the first to climb the Vessel on Hudson Yards' opening day. Here's what it was like.