Christmas NYC tips please

[DoYouLikeHueyLewisandTheNews]

Hi all

Going to New York with my mum for a short break in December. We'll be there in total approx 3.5/4 days so not long.

Does anyone have any tips on discount passes to buy, where to get broadway tickets at discount on the day, best ways to get around plus some good places to eat or have some nice drinks without being incredibly expensive?

We will be staying near Times Square. My mum has not travelled much so it will be falling mostly to me to navigate and plan logistics etc. I have not been to NYC before.

On the list so far we have:
Top of the rock (daytime and sunset)
Empire State Building
Grand central station
Walk Brooklyn bridge
Central Park
Broadway show
Times Square
Cruise to Statue of Liberty but not crown/pedestal (will book this before I think)
Revolving bar at the Marriott for drinks
Christmas tree at Rockefeller centre
Bloomingdales or Macy's for Christmas tat

Thank you in advance!

Have a look at the big red bus tours. We bought a 48 hour ticket before we went (cheaper online). Plan to do the things furthest away while you have your ticket because the buses are so easy to pick up and stop near every tourist spot.

Then I'd do the things nearer your hotel on the days you don't have the bus. The best way to see everything is to walk but it's not easy for everyone and depending on the weather it can be bloody cold!

I can't advise about Broadway tickets, but you get discounts with your bus tickets to most things. I would book in advance where possible, only because it might be busy and you don't want to waste time queuing.

And definitely book Statue of Liberty now. It gets booked up very early.

Would suggest going to see the Rockettes Christmas show at the Radio City Music Hall. That is practically a NYC tradition at Christmas time. They are fab and their show is suitable for all ages (they are on YouTube as well).

Book online for both the Top of the Rock and ESB; this is because walk up lines can be very long (particularly for the Top of the Rock). Christmas and New Year tend to be very busy in terms of visitor numbers and actually peak then.

Lines again for the Statue of Liberty can be very long and its pretty miserable if it is bone cold. It is not an experience I would want to repeat because there is no shelter. You may want to rethink that along with walking in Central Park and walking over Brooklyn Bridge if it is as icy cold as it was there post Christmas last year.

I would use the free to use Staten Island Ferry to get a look at the Statue of Liberty.

Macys is good for Christmas presents and its not all tat by any means. They can offer good bargains in the run up to Christmas as well, it can be a real scrum in there after Christmas time!.

Thank you very much both and will look at booking up now then in that case and will check out the Rockettes.

You don't need to go to the top of the rock and the empire state building, in fact the best view is the walk over the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhatten.

Broadway shows more expensive than West End (Hamilton certainly is). Your best bet is standbys.

Cruising round the harbour in December can be very cold.

MOMA if that's your thing. At least it will be warm!

It will be absolutely freezing, so make sure you're prepared for that.

Chelsea market and Whitney Art Gallery.
Mooch round Greenwich village.
Flat Iron area...great place called Eaterly ..cafe/restaurant/shopping.
Definitely do VIP Top of the rock...no queuing. And Bar 65 there for drinks and views

Thank you. MoMA is definitely my sort of thing but not my mums unfortunately! I looked up the prices of broadway a while ago as did think about pre booking and you're right, much steeper! I think it'll be our biggest extravagance out there.

I've heard top of the rock be recommended over ESB but that visit will be more to nose around it and get some history rather than the view I think. We do have limited time though so whether we get to I'm not sure.

We have a good luggage allowance so will ensure gloves big coats and hats are definitely packed 

Ellen's stardust diner on Broadway has singing staff (Broadway hopefuls). It's cheaper than a show and you get to eat!

We got cheap tickets for Avenue Q through Broadway Box

We went last Xmas and it was great. I wouldn't do the empire state. It's crazy expensive and i dont think the view is that interesting. Stick to the top of the rock. We did the New York water taxi which is a ferry with goes from a pier near the Intrepid and stops at a few places down the bottom of Manhattan plus Brooklyn then does a drive by of the statue of liberty and they stop really close for photos. You can get on and off as many times as you like in a day. We also went out to dyker heights for the Xmas lights which was brilliant. One fun tour we did was The Ride which goes from Times Square and is great fun. Eating wise there are so many amazing options but get away from Times Square as everything is expensive. We spent lots of time in Chelsea and Greenwich and it's quieter and cheaper down there. We walked almost everywhere as there was so much to see with all the Xmas lights etc.

Would second going to see The Rockettes, the backstage tour of Radio City is great too.
We went For a similar amount of time in the summer but had been before in December.
Tips, plan for the area you will be staying in for the first afternoon/ evening, eg we stayed on 34th so did ESB, Chrysler, Grand Central.
1st full day took the subway south and took the ferry to Staten Island and back, 9/11 Museum subway to Brooklyn for lunch, walked back over the bridge Broadway in the evening.
2nd day High line walk ( might be very cold in December tho) Chelsea markets, Greenwich, Washington Sq Park , evening ToTR,
Final day, cycling in Central Park and Radio city tour.
(There was also shopping in between )
Enjoy, wish I was going back again!

We got married there earlier this year and are going back next year. So much to do.

NYC is fab at that time of year . One thing I would advise is the crowds are quite intense at that time of year particularly around attractions such as the Rockefeller tree.

Would recommend the rockettes at radio city hall and also Bryant Park which has a Christmas market and is nice to spend time in .

For any restaurant bookings use open table app . Start booking any special meals etc now as places can get booked very quickly . Restaurant at the Rockefeller centre is good , overlooks the ice rink and is a good NYC experience .

Statue of Liberty and Ellis island is definitely worth a visit but book tickets in advance if you haven't got a city pass or anything like that .

If you can time the Top of the Rock and Empire State Building for around about sunset for the changing views of the city .

Enjoy your trip . 

Thank you all, all very helpful! My mum is coming over today now after all your advice to book up some stuff in advance.

For hop on and off bus does anyone have a link for who they used? I looked up the red one on trip advisor but only one came up that wasn't red so not sure it's the right one.

Thanks again

I went last year and can totally recommend the Radio City Christmas spectacular. It was the highlight of our trip! Definitely do the back stage tour as well.
We also enjoyed the bus tours, but wrap up warm so you can sit on the open deck.
Ellen’s diner was really fun - not gourmet food, but a great experience.
I just loved wandering along 5th Avenue, looking at the Christmas lights.

Oh yes the Bryant Park market was lovely - especially in the evening.

I'd say don't book too much or you'll feel like you are rushing around and don't get to explore. When in December are you there? We got up really early the first morning as we were a bit jet lagged and went to things that would normally be busy and walked straight in.

I was there is the summer for 3 days. I honestly think you've already got too much on your list, sorry - this is based on our experience of feeling like we just were running from one thing to another without appreciating it properly! I'd do Empire State or Top of the Rock, not both. The 9/11 museum/memorial/new tower is amazing but could easily take a good chunk of the day. The Big Red Bus tour was fantastic and is a great way to see a bit more of the city whilst getting from A to B. Have a fabulous time

Consider getting the free ferry to Staten Island instead of the Statue of Liberty. You get a really good view and there's very little queuing so saves time. Did I mention that it's free?!
Cheap last minute Broadway tickets can be bought from the TKTS booth under the red steps in Times Square. There are also a couple of other booths in the city. The newest one, at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium (Broadway at 62nd Street). It’s only 15 blocks from the main booth but it’s far less crowded—and it’s indoors, which is a big plus in inclement weather. The other is at South Street Seaport (corner of Front and John Streets).The two non–Times Square locations sell matinee tickets a day early.
The Rockefeller Christmas Tree is easily accessible from the Concourse level of Rockefeller Center, where you will exit the elevators after visiting Top of The Rock. Allow 2 hours for Top of The Rock. It's near to Times Square and The Marriott so do them together. If you're going to the rock for sunset, spend the first part of the afternoon at nearby MoMA. It's an amazing museum. In the morning of that day you could go to the Met. Then walk from the Met through Central Park to MoMA, stopping for lunch on the way.
I'd definitely spend half a day at the 9/11 museum and World Trade Centre memorial. Go in the afternoon and then head to Winter Garden afterwards. Winter Garden is magical after dark at Christmas time. It's really close to the 9/11 museum and has lots of restaurants for an evening meal. You could spend the morning of this day seeing the Statue of Liberty, as they're not too far away from each other.
Macy's is within walking distance of Grand Central. It's busy at any time of year but especially at Christmas, so be there for when it opens. You can walk from Macy's to Grand Central via the NY Public Library. If you time it well, you could have lunch at the Dining Concourse at Grand Central. In the afternoon you could catch the train from there to the Botanic Gardens which is great at any time of year but has the very famous model railway at Christmas time.

We went 19th-24th Dec last year. We didn't book esb or totr before we went and it was fine no queues!
I'd recommend juniors cheesecakes and Brooklyn's diner for food! If there's somewhere you'd really like
To go for food I would recommend using open table to book.
We went to see a NHL game at madison square garden and it was amazing!
Bryant Park Christmas markets will also be on they are nice to have a wander round.

Also it was 12 degrees when we were there on Xmas eve last year... my cousin went on NYE and it was -4!

Thanks so much - you're all total stars!

Feeling excited now as we've sat down and planned an itinerary and looked at everything on the map.

We will try for broadway tickets at the Lincoln center when we get there and have booked TOTR for sunset and Statue of Liberty boat trip from battery park. Our hotel is very near a subway station which will take us there and have looked up all the boring bits like how early to be and how to get there.

There's a few of your suggestions within easy walking distance of our hotel such as Bryant park, Central Park, Macy's, ESB and Times Square so will slot these in when suitable so we're not too rushed.

The food recommendations have been duly noted and added to 'my trip' in trip advisor.

Thanks again.

We saw Chicago in the summer, it was amazing!