Nobody does Christmas like New York. The lavish decorations, the holiday shopping, Christmas music everywhere: NYC during the holiday season is an overkill, a season of overindulgence and over-consumption. This is not the place if you’re looking for a quiet getaway, as one of the busiest cities in the world gets even busier! But if you’re open to the hustle and bustle, this can be quite a unique (and overwhelming) experience! Here is my personal guide to the best places to go during Christmas in NYC:
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1. Exploring the Christmas markets
Some of the most popular parks in the city turn into a magical Winter Wonderland for the season where Christmas markets are popping up like mushrooms. My personal favourites are the Winter Village in Bryant Park and the Union Square Holiday Market because both offer a great variety of shops and food. Bryant Park also has a beautiful ice skating rink (which is free if you bring your own skates)!
2. Admiring the decorations
Lights on! This is probably the most impressive part of NYC during Christmas time! There’s certainly no lack in pompous lights like this one at Radio City…
… or this beautiful tree inside the New York public library.
You prefer it a little quieter? The Christmas Tree at the New York Stock Exchange will surprise you! It’s one of the largest and brightest I’ve seen but there was very little people after dark – a rare sight for NYC!
I’m not a mall person, but during this time of the year it’s not only a nice place to warm up but also I admire the beautiful decorations like these stars inside The Shops at Columbus Circle!
This list would be incomplete without the Rockefeller Center, right? If you can put up with the insane crowd, you probably might find something enjoyable looking at the most famous Christmas Tree in the world. Yes, it’s impressive and should be seen at least once when you’re in the city around this time of the year. However patience is the key. I quite don’t understand the hype about that ice skate rink though… Why would I line up for hours to skate in a tiny, crowded rink? (Yes I’m spoiled because we have a huge skating rink in front of the city hall in Vienna 😉 )
It took me quite so me time to take this clear shot of the tree 😉
3. Seeing the window displays
Even if you’re trying to get away from all the shopping madness, a look at the window displays of some of the department stores like Macy’s and along 5th Avenue are worth a peek. When it comes to decorations, the New Yorkers seem to have endless creativity: The displays are made with amazing details and it takes hours of intense labour to put them up.
4. Riding the holiday vintage train
As much as New Yorkers like to complain about the MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority who runs basically all public transportation in NYC), the holiday train has become a popular attraction. Every Sunday between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day the MTA and the New York Transit Museum pull out some of their original trains from the 1930is to 70ies to not only show them to the public but actually ride them! For the price of a normal subway ride (USD 2.75) you can travel back in time and wonder about the old ads in the cars. There’s music from the past and real train and vintage geeks come all dressed up – so it’s quite a sight and shouldn’t be missed in my opinion! You can find the routes and dates of the vintage trains here.
5. Looking for the brightest decorated houses
There’s probably quite a few things you could say about America(ns) but one thing for sure, they aren’t humble! Especially when it comes to Christmas decoration in their own homes. A cluster of houses in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, made a name for “competing” each other with the brightest, craziest, most impressive decorations! Between 11th and 13th Avenue and 83rd and 86th Street you’ll find anything from tasteless-tacky to glamorous-festive and anything in-between. And again, this proofs: There are no limits in imagination!
In this sense I’m wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season!
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19 Comments
absolut verrückt. als weihnachtsfan werde ich mir das iiiirgendwann einmal live geben 🙂 obwohl mich die menschenmassen halt schon arg abschrecken. das fand ich in paris schon gruselig und in NYC hat man das wohl noch zur potenz. aber die ubahn ist ja genial! und ich liebe das foto von dir vor dem christbaumbokeh <3
Dankeschön 🙂 Wenn man weiß was auf einen zukommt, kann man sich auf die Menschenmassen schon irgendwie einstellen. Früher oder später gewöhnt man sich sowieso daran 😉
muss man wohl 😉 aber ich weiß noch, dass ich das in paris schon echt schlimm gefunden habe und ich geh davon aus, dass NY nochmal ne nummer größer ist was das betrifft ^.^
Oh my goodness those displays on those houses are incredible. Merry Christmas Julia. I am in Africa and and spending the Christmas period here. It’s fabulous.
Merry belated Christmas Sue! Africa sounds amazing! Can’t wait to read about it 😉
Thanks Julia. A very happy NY to you.
Hahaha, we for sure aren’t humble 😉
To me it’s quite entertaining 😉
OMG the houses! It’s same thing back home. 🙂 All those trees and decorations in NY no wonder people travel far just to go there.
They really love their decorations here 😀
oh NYC looks wonderful during the festive season! and the hunt for the brightest decorated house is great 😀 there’s one house on the countryside near my parents’ and it is gradually turning into one of those American-style decorated house during Christmas. so year after year the decoration becomes more lavishly and I guess it will look like one of the houses above 😀 it’s so fun to see it but it’s also so out of place 😀 I’ve always been wondering if they have a special connection to the US or if they just like this way of decorating the house 😀
That’s funny! It’s definitely becoming a thing in Europe too! It feels like the decorations become more and more each year. In the US it’s very competitive, which actually isn’t a very Christmas-like attitude :/
yes I think so too. seems like everything’s coming to Europe – just look at valentine’s day! 😀
A belated Merry Christmas dear Julia! So many things to do in NYC at this time of the year, and I feel like I’ve only done half of them. The stars look really pretty, they’re on my to-do list for Christmas 2018:)
Sorry for my late reply! I have the feeling that Christmas 2018 is coming very fast 😉
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Great post! I couldn’t agree more, the holidays are such a wonderful time to be in such a wonderful city. 🙂
NYC is wonderful year-round and even more so during the holiday season 😉
Thank you for the New York stroll It is such a lovely city. Only fond memories. 🙂
(Need to go back soon)
Cheers.
Brian