Must-dos for NYC in mid-December?
Nov 3rd, 2016, 05:22 PM
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Must-dos for NYC in mid-December?
I'll be in NYC a few days in mid-December. I've been there a few times before and have visited all the major tourist destinations, but I've never been at Christmastime (mainly because of the crowds and costs). I'm traveling solo on business, and I'm arriving a couple of days early to have a little fun in the city.
My question - What are the Christmas must-dos in New York City? I'm staying at the Bryant Park Hotel, because it looks like there's a lovely Winter Village there, with food, ice skating, and vendors. I've got a ticket to Radio City Music Hall, so I can enjoy that show, see the tree at Rockefeller Center, etc. I was also thinking that I might venture up to 5th Avenue to see the pretty storefront windows, and I'll probably also hit a Broadway show or two, depending on what's available at the tkts booth.
What else? Keep in mind that I'm not used to the bitter, bitter cold (Southern girl!), so I'll probably have to take cabs most places. The Cloisters? I've never been there. Maybe return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art? (It's been a few years since my last visit there.) What do you guys recommend?
My question - What are the Christmas must-dos in New York City? I'm staying at the Bryant Park Hotel, because it looks like there's a lovely Winter Village there, with food, ice skating, and vendors. I've got a ticket to Radio City Music Hall, so I can enjoy that show, see the tree at Rockefeller Center, etc. I was also thinking that I might venture up to 5th Avenue to see the pretty storefront windows, and I'll probably also hit a Broadway show or two, depending on what's available at the tkts booth.
What else? Keep in mind that I'm not used to the bitter, bitter cold (Southern girl!), so I'll probably have to take cabs most places. The Cloisters? I've never been there. Maybe return to the Metropolitan Museum of Art? (It's been a few years since my last visit there.) What do you guys recommend?
Nov 3rd, 2016, 08:36 PM
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I have not been. But there is a miniature train village display at the botanical gardens, and that looks really neat
http://www.nybg.org/hts16m/
Please post a trip report! I'm jealous. I wanted to see the Rockettes perform but it's unfortunately done by the time I could have visited NYC so another year maybe.
http://www.nybg.org/hts16m/
Please post a trip report! I'm jealous. I wanted to see the Rockettes perform but it's unfortunately done by the time I could have visited NYC so another year maybe.
Nov 3rd, 2016, 08:40 PM
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There is so much to see and do, your plans should be around what interests you the most. Rockefeller Center and the store windows are a must. The view from 30 Rockefeller will give you a great view of the Empire State Building and the city--especially wonderful on a clear night. The museums all have some sort of special holiday display.
I would go to the 9/11 memorial and museum. I hear it is spectacular. It may be a little easier to get to be in an audience for one of the TV shows in the winter. Get tickets early.
What kind of things do you enjoy doing when you travel to a city?
I would go to the 9/11 memorial and museum. I hear it is spectacular. It may be a little easier to get to be in an audience for one of the TV shows in the winter. Get tickets early.
What kind of things do you enjoy doing when you travel to a city?
Nov 3rd, 2016, 10:11 PM
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The subway is a much more efficient and cost effective way to get around.
You can sign up for discounts at broadwaybox, playbill, and theatermania to avoid standing out in the cold.
I agree with the recommendation of the 9/11 Museum, which deserves 3 hours. Federal Hall, Museum of the American Indian and Jewish Heritage Museum are also in the area.
Have you been to the Frick Collection or the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art?
You can sign up for discounts at broadwaybox, playbill, and theatermania to avoid standing out in the cold.
I agree with the recommendation of the 9/11 Museum, which deserves 3 hours. Federal Hall, Museum of the American Indian and Jewish Heritage Museum are also in the area.
Have you been to the Frick Collection or the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art?
Nov 4th, 2016, 05:47 AM
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Agree about the subway. Taking taxis in midtown during the Xmas season can be a painfully slow way to get around. Take a little time to familiarize yourself with the subway and you'll reap the benefits.
I recommend the 9/11 memorial, though it's not designed to put you in an uplifting Xmas spirit. Get timed tix in advance.
As noted, you will have to wait in line at the TKTS booth. Consider other options for tix, or maybe get to the booth in the early a.m.
Bundle up! The skyscrapers block out warming sunlight and sometimes act as wind tunnels.
I recommend the 9/11 memorial, though it's not designed to put you in an uplifting Xmas spirit. Get timed tix in advance.
As noted, you will have to wait in line at the TKTS booth. Consider other options for tix, or maybe get to the booth in the early a.m.
Bundle up! The skyscrapers block out warming sunlight and sometimes act as wind tunnels.
Nov 4th, 2016, 07:16 AM
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it is not "bitter, bitter cold" in mid-December. We don't get snow or below-freezing temperatures that early in the season. It could be in the mid- to upper-40s or even in the low-50s (though that may seem bitter cold to you). You'll still need a hat, scarf and gloves but you won't become an icicle. I would also suggest thick socks which will keep your feet warm from the cold sidewalks. This always helps me to feel warmer. If you can't get wool socks where you live you can pick some up when you arrive. I think you will still be able to walk some.
The Bryant Park Holiday Market is wonderful. It's only a couple blocks from my office and I stop by at lunchtime a few times during the season. If you stand at the lower end, near the fountain, it is a beautiful photo op with the skating rink, and then the back of the Library, and then the tall buildings behind it. I would definitely suggest going to see all the holiday windows: Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue at 38th st.; Saks Fifth Avenue a bit farther north; Macy's on Broadway at 34th St.; even Bloomingdale's at Lexington and 59th St.
Enjoy!
I would also suggest thick socks which will keep your feet warm from the cold sidewalks. This always helps me to feel warmer. If you can't get wool socks where you live you can pick some up when you arrive. I think you will still be able to walk some. The Bryant Park Holiday Market is wonderful. It's only a couple blocks from my office and I stop by at lunchtime a few times during the season. If you stand at the lower end, near the fountain, it is a beautiful photo op with the skating rink, and then the back of the Library, and then the tall buildings behind it. I would definitely suggest going to see all the holiday windows: Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue at 38th st.; Saks Fifth Avenue a bit farther north; Macy's on Broadway at 34th St.; even Bloomingdale's at Lexington and 59th St.
Enjoy!
Nov 4th, 2016, 08:06 AM
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TKTS does not open "early in the AM". It opens 10--2 for matinees and 3--8 for night performances (and doesn't cross-sell, which annoys tourists), and lines in mid-December are painfully long unless it's raining or snowing. The booth at South Street Seaport is open daily 11-6 for all performances and usually has shorter lines, but even though its downtown, it is not particularly convenient if you are visiting the 9/11 Museum since its on the opposite side of downtown Manhattan.
It's usually easier -- especially during the holidays -- to book your theater tickets in advance with a regular discount code, as all the New Yorkers have suggested.
It's usually easier -- especially during the holidays -- to book your theater tickets in advance with a regular discount code, as all the New Yorkers have suggested.
Nov 4th, 2016, 08:08 AM
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Sorry ... I didn't finish my thoughts before I pressed SEND.
The three biggest time-wasters during the holidays:
1. TKTS lines
2. Taxis (always subway or walking, all the time)
3. Not planning ahead when you can.
The city becomes so crowded with tourists starting Thanksgiving week, that you really do have to make dinner reservations if you want to eat someplace good (though you can usually not do that for 1). Crowds are really heavy, especially at the major tourist attractions, at anything Christmasy, and particularly around Rockefeller Center, so you have to allow extra time to get anywhere. If you don't like really big, pushy crowds, it's not a good time to come.
The three biggest time-wasters during the holidays:
1. TKTS lines
2. Taxis (always subway or walking, all the time)
3. Not planning ahead when you can.
The city becomes so crowded with tourists starting Thanksgiving week, that you really do have to make dinner reservations if you want to eat someplace good (though you can usually not do that for 1). Crowds are really heavy, especially at the major tourist attractions, at anything Christmasy, and particularly around Rockefeller Center, so you have to allow extra time to get anywhere. If you don't like really big, pushy crowds, it's not a good time to come.
Nov 4th, 2016, 11:53 AM
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If you haven't visited many of NYC museums, I wouldn't put the Cloisters on your must-do list. It will eat up a lot of time just getting to/from it and one of its purposes is to show Medieval gardens, which of course won't happen in winter. The M4 bus takes about 1.5 hrs one-way from midtown. Otherwise, you have to take the A subway line (which doesn't have a stop near Bryant Park) up to around 190th St or something and then transfer to the M4 bus. That wuold be less time than the bus the entire way. But there is plenty of Medieval art in the Met itself if that is your interest.
I would just put MoMA, the MET, the Neue Galerie, Guggenheim, Frick, as well as the Museum of the City of NY ahead of the Cloisters given it is winter and you only have a couple days. Or the National History if you like that kind of stuff, there are a few others, also (like NY Historical Society but I prefer the one on 5th ave)
I would just put MoMA, the MET, the Neue Galerie, Guggenheim, Frick, as well as the Museum of the City of NY ahead of the Cloisters given it is winter and you only have a couple days. Or the National History if you like that kind of stuff, there are a few others, also (like NY Historical Society but I prefer the one on 5th ave)
Nov 4th, 2016, 12:18 PM
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The only week that is even remotely less crowded is the actual week between Christmas and New Year's. But the Christmas season is the absolute height of tourist season in NYC, when hotel rates double, everything starts getting hard to book, and crowds from around the world descend on our city. And it's a very big regional draw, so people in the immediate suburbs (or from as far away as Philadelphia) come in just for the day to enjoy the seasonal offerings. It's not all tourist from far away.
Last year, there was a break on hotel rates starting Christmas week, when you could find really good hotels for great rates through discounters. But if you want to see the city in its Christmas finery, you have to be able to accept that you are going to be doing it with alot of extra folks. This year, with Christmas on a Sunday, I'm not sure when that break might be, but I suspect it might include all of Christmas weekend.
Last year, there was a break on hotel rates starting Christmas week, when you could find really good hotels for great rates through discounters. But if you want to see the city in its Christmas finery, you have to be able to accept that you are going to be doing it with alot of extra folks. This year, with Christmas on a Sunday, I'm not sure when that break might be, but I suspect it might include all of Christmas weekend.
Nov 4th, 2016, 05:37 PM
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The store windows are not pretty - the big ones: Lord & Taylor, Saks, Bloomies are fantastic animatronic displays worth of Disney. Also Saks has a light show on the front of the store. As well as the tree at Rock Center don't miss the skating rinks (consider a meal in one of the restaurants overlooking it - Sea Grill or Rock Center Cafe) and aisle of angels leading to Fifth Ave. Then head across the street to see St Pat's which is glorious.
Other famous trees:
The Met - antique neapolitan tree and creche
AMNH - an all origami tree
We always do the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center which is a great celebration of the holiday.
and yes, everything will be mobbed. Remember there will be 1.1 million NYC school kids on the street, many with parents with time off searching for ways to amuse them.
Other famous trees:
The Met - antique neapolitan tree and creche
AMNH - an all origami tree
We always do the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center which is a great celebration of the holiday.
and yes, everything will be mobbed. Remember there will be 1.1 million NYC school kids on the street, many with parents with time off searching for ways to amuse them.
Nov 4th, 2016, 05:49 PM
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Following this too, as I will also be in NYC mid-December for business but will have a day and a half for fun and also have seen most of the major tourist attractions but not at Christmas time!
I have found discount codes for Something Rotten and Waitress (and others) on Broadway Box - are either of those worth seeing? Other recommendations?
Also, if I leave Manhattan (Central Park South area) at 4:00 pm on a Thursday, can I make a 7:30 flight at EWR, and what method of transportation do you recommend? All of this talk about extra crowds and congestion is making me a little nervous.
I have found discount codes for Something Rotten and Waitress (and others) on Broadway Box - are either of those worth seeing? Other recommendations?
Also, if I leave Manhattan (Central Park South area) at 4:00 pm on a Thursday, can I make a 7:30 flight at EWR, and what method of transportation do you recommend? All of this talk about extra crowds and congestion is making me a little nervous.
Nov 4th, 2016, 05:52 PM
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We were in NYC last year for the 2 weeks starting the 8th and then returned for 1 day a few days before Christmas. Due to our attending several plays and seeing our son's exhibit at the MOMA a few times, we were concentrated in midtown. Shocked at the crowds - not sure if it was the great weather last December - but it was just crazy! Rockefeller Center and 5th Avenue to be expected, but extending several blocks out in all directions. If you know of some restaurants you really want to go to, make reservations soon.
Nov 5th, 2016, 09:02 AM
#16
Owdo-Gace.... I dread going to my dentist. Not because of him, but his office is on Central Park South. Traffic there is always a nightmare. If I were you I'd call your hotel well in advance and get there advice on how to travel to EWR.
During December there are often what are called "gridlock" days when people are advised not to drive to midtown.
During December there are often what are called "gridlock" days when people are advised not to drive to midtown.
Nov 5th, 2016, 04:08 PM
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Usually December is not deep winter yet - but you can get extra cold days - 20 degrees, damp and windy. Usually the worst weather is Feb - 2 years ago the average high for the month was 22 with a low near zero.
But Dec highs are usually much more like 40 - so not really cold.
But Dec highs are usually much more like 40 - so not really cold.
Nov 5th, 2016, 05:31 PM
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Owdo.. it's been years since I flew from EWR but then there was a bus that left from the Grand Central area. Better to be stuck on a bus than in a taxi. A car service wouldn't be cheap but is the more sensible alternative to a taxi. If the bus is still an option you could take the subway at 59th and Lex (in Bloomingdales) to Grand Central. (Central Park South is really West 59th Street). In any event I would check with your event organizer or the hotel to get up to date info.
