Going to New York City for the Holidays? Do it!

We’re not saying you shouldn’t do the traditional holiday site-seeing, in fact, GO! See the lights and trees and Rockettes—that’s what makes this season in NYC so magical! We are saying to check out some other things near those stops that gets you away from the crowds.

Midtown—After the Rockettes

Just north of Radio City Music Hall, take a spin around Central Park’s Wollman Rink with skyline views. While practicing your crossovers, pretend you’re Harry (or Sally from When Harry Met Sally), or Harry (or Marv from Home Alone 2).

Head out of Central Park to see the Pulitzer Fountain in front of the Plaza Hotel all decked out for the holidays. Then gaze at Bergdorf Goodman’s spectacular holiday windows before crossing the street to catch the end-of-year sales at Bergdorf’s Men’s Store. Then wear your new swag to the iconic King Cole bar at the classic St. Regis Hotel where you can spend your savings on a Bloody (invented here).

Midtown—After Dark at Roc Center

You’ve seen one giant lit tree, you’ve seen them all, right? But for the real show, turn around on 5th Avenue to ooh and aah for the 5-minute, Saks Fifth Avenue’s 10-story light show. Then get the heck out of there (or catch it late, until 11:35 pm), and take a breather in St. Patrick’s Cathedral. You don’t have to be Catholic to appreciate the majesty of the North America’s largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral, finished in 1879.

How ‘bout a Manhattan on the rocks and some live jazz? Walk over to Grand Central, enter on the Vanderbilt Avenue side, through the far right doors and up the steps for Saturday evening live jazz at the swanky Campbell Bar. Step back in time to 1923 when it was the office of financier John W. Campbell (his original safe sits in the faux fireplace), or to 2007 when Blair seduced Dan on Gossip Girl. After, walk across the street to the city’s newest observation deck at One Vanderbilt for The Summit to get an up-close-and-personal view of the Empire State Building dressed in red and green.

FiDi—Streets to Yourself

Not as big as Roc Center’s tree but perfect for an Instagram pic (isn’t that why you’re in NYC in cold December?), the Financial District’s holiday is impressively framed on the old, narrow financial canyon of Wall Street (flip your phone upside down to get the whole tree in for a dramatic angle.) While there, take a pic with the Fearless Girl sculpture nearby, before she’s evicted, as she stands down the NY Stock Exchange building. Don’t miss the Charging Bull statue (pose beneath his…ahem…large jewels) at New York’s oldest park, Bowling Green, then ride the whimsical SeaGlass Carousel at night at The Battery. Final stop is old Fraunces Tavern and the piano bar on the second floor (Thursday through Saturdays). Imagine George Washington relaxing here during the holidays with a cup of warm mulled wine.

Chelsea/Hudson Yards—Festive & High

Step into the jewel box of lights at Hudson Yards—we’re talking THOUSANDS of lights. For some even more impressive selfies from a higher vantage, take the elevator to The Edge, New York’s highest outdoor observatory deck suspended in mid-air. Toast to 2022 with a glass of champagne overlooking the twinkling skyscrapers of Manhattan, then travel back down for some more cocktails at Oscar Wilde’s in Chelsea. Back in 1919, the address was the HQ for Prohibition Enforcement. Ironically, now it’s the longest bar in the city, wildly decorated for the holidays.

Contributing Writer: Ginny Poleman
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