What to do in New York at Christmas: the best ideas for activities!
Are you in NYC this Christmas and looking for the most must-do activities to do during this time? In this article I share with you the best things to do in New York at Christmas. I was lucky enough to visit the Big Apple twice during the holiday season, so I had plenty of activities to share with you!
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What to do at Christmas in New York: the Christmas decorations and illuminations tour
If there's one must-do in NYC during the Christmas season, it's a tour of the city's Christmas decorations. See the most beautiful windows, the most impressive decorations and immerse yourself in the most magical atmosphere! Most of these activities to do in New York are free! I recommend you to do them at the end of the day to enjoy the illuminations and the animation!
- Boutique Saks : From 5pm there is a light show every 15 minutes
- Rockfeller : admire the most famous tree in New-York and its ice rink
- Cathedrale Saint Patrick : enter the cathedral and see the traditional Christmas decorations. If you're lucky, there'll be a mass going on, so it's well worth it!
- Radio City Music Hall : you can see the lights from outside and meet the famous Rockettes during a 1.5 hour show at Radio City Music Hall! This show is played from November to the beginning of January and is free for children. Book your tickets for the Rockettes here !
- Christmas on 5th Avenvue: Admire the display windows of the Cartier shop on 5th avenue, always beautiful!
- Or the display windows of the Macy's shop by way of the Bryant Park Christmas market, which I'll tell you about in the rest of this article! If you are there with children, you can also visit Santa in the shop!
- You can also book a guided tour directly to discover the illuminations with a guide!
New York at Christmas: Visit the Bryant park Christmas market and ice-skate in NYC !
This is one of the coolest things to do in New York at Christmas : walk around the Bryant park's designer market to discover the work of a lot of craftsmen. With its little glass houses, it is in my opinion the cutest in Manhattan! You can also take the opportunity to have a drink. Beware that you have to book your skating slot in advance!
Be aware that if you come to New-York at Christmas between December 25th and January 1st, most of the Christmas markets will have already closed! The Bryant Park Christmas Market is one of the last to remain open until January 2nd. Also note that Christmas markets close early in New-York: usually around 7/8pm.
Discover the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights
In my opinion, this is one of the best things to do in New York at Christmas! It is a residential area of Brooklyn where the inhabitants are in a real competition to the most decorated house of the district. We did this activity during our first Christmas trip in New-York and it was still quite confidential. We loved it so we did it again this year but it was clearly much more famous! Be aware that it's a little bit of a journey to get there: you have to take several subways to get to this neighbourhood very south of Brooklyn and then walk a long way to get to the neighbourhood. So plan 3 to 4 hours for this activity with the travel included. It's really worth the diversions! You can go there freely without a guide but you can also book a guide who will give you an explanatory tour.
Other ideas
Of course there are plenty of other things to do for the New York Holidays ! Some of the things you can do are
- Ice Skating in Central Park : this iconic ice rink has been around for almost 70 years! Be patient, the line is long but you can book tickets here too. c
- Eat at Rolf's German restaurant : this is the most decorated restaurant in New York I think! A real establishment at Christmas time. Make sure you book well in advance!
- Dine on a river barge and enjoy the Manhattan skyline
- Attend a gospel service during the Christmas Holidays
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