4 days New York at Christmas, what would you do?

[Jeffers3]

Going to NY on the 20th Dec, 3 nights but 4 full (ish) days. We don’t normally plan what we are going to do but as this trip is short, we want a rough plan for each day.
What would be on your definitely to do list?

I’m very tempted by the Radio City Christmas Spectacular - has anyone been? Is it more for children? We’re 2 adults going alone

No it’s for all ages and suitable for all but the majority of the audience were adults. Would try and sit a few rows back from the stage, it is truly a lovely auditorium.

It can be particularly busy around the Rockefeller center and Times Square at that time of year. It was also very cold there last year too so you may want to visit museums like the Met and the American museum of Natural History.

The Christmas Spectacular is excellent for all ages. Go skating in Central Park: if you turn up early as they open it’s not too busy. The restaurant overlooking the rink st the Rockerfeller Centre is gorgeous at Christmas but pricey and you need to book. At the Met gallery there are short free tours in the morning that take you to a range of exhibits you might not otherwise linger on - very enjoyable. If you take the boat out to Statue of Liberty wrap up warm!

Top of the Rock gives amazing views, but pre-book as it gets very busy. It’s especially lovely at sunset.

And check out the light show at Saks on 5th Avenue - really fun and Christmassy, although absolutely heaving with crowds.

We did NYC at Christmas a couple of years ago. The weather was pretty good for us .We did the High Line , Empire State (line was long but moved quickly and we decided it was the iconic thing to do) we w had teens so went to see the Brooklyn Nets play at the Barclay Centre which was a big hit , also did the planetarium at the Natural History Museum (having tickets for this means you skip the general entrance line) and we went to see a show as well. Not cheap but it was Christmas present for all. WE also went to the Tenement Museum which was a massive hit with us all and I would recommend, funnily enough it was that visit which comes up in conversation the most, it made a real impression and gave you a sense of the old New York.

The only thing was the crowds, everywhere was absolutely packed and I mean packed , you could barely walk down the street in some places .We would like to go back and do more museums and the NYC Ballet but trying to work out when it would be less rammed.

I agree about The Tenement Museum. It is brilliant.

I walked all the way back from there to Central Park. It was a fab walk, I loved the lower east side. Like with London, you see so much more if you walk rather than take the underground. That is of course unless it is not too cold.

I can recommend Arturios for pizza and Cafe Reggio for amazing puddings! Both recommended to me by a native New Yorker!

I will be there from the 24th - so excited!! Second trip this year.

For the natural history museum is it very different from the London one - as we've been frequent visitors there over the years...... no need to do again.
What is the planetarium like and is there a show etc / or is it interactive?

Echo others' advice to book anything you really want and can prebook. It's VERY busy. We only got as far as the gift shop at the Met! Rockefeller Tower a must. Walk down 5th Avenue, the Christmas windows are amazing. Stroll in Central Park, and skate if it's your thing, very iconic. But- wear v comfy footwear, and don't try to do too much, we ended up going to the cinema at one point, we were so tired! It'll be brilliant.

I was there last week and it was amazing (I got engaged so yeah amazing)

If you're going to do the tourist stuff, get a pass it was $90 each but we saved about $30 each on the admission.

We went to the empire state building, 9/11 museum (this tour takes over two hours) it was hard to see but it was worth it. And we went to Ripleys believe it or not - not worth it tbh. We were near Times Square so that was awesome. We also went to the Rockefeller centre and saw the big xmas tree.

We took naps in the afternoon to stop the jet lag from kicking in.

Pick what you want to do the most and take into account how you're going around.

We have decided to go back next year to do the other stuff we wanted to do.

Have a fabulous time.

I wouldn’t do the Natural History Museum, it’s good but I think at this time of year there are better things to do. Ripleys Believe It or Not should also be avoided.

I loved Chelsea markets. Greenwich village foodie tour will be on my list for next time. I really liked Brooklyn. You can walk and walk and walk and just soak it up. Iconic buildings everywhere. Do a cruise - really worthwhile to see the sights.

The World Trade Centre 9/11 Museum is a must. We were only going to go to the memorial, but I’m so glad we went. It felt important.

I used an Explorers Pass for 4 attractions. There’s lots of different passes. Worth investigating. Cheapest were Costco or Travel Republic. There’s a really good Facebook group NYC The Place To Be. Lots of people sharing their trips.

You can navigate the subway pretty easily, get a Metro Pass. Times Sq is quite full on and busy, worth a look but so much more to see. It’s all walkable.

It’s a fabulous city. Enjoy every second!