We recently visited New York City the week before Christmas and it lived up to all the hype! There are hundreds of New York Christmas itineraries out there. My goal when creating our itinerary was to do some of the major Christmas things, but also to explore areas of New York we had never been to before. So while this is a “Christmas in New York” itinerary, it only hits a few of the major Christmas events offered in the city in December. Some frequently recommended things we skipped were The Nutcracker show, Dyker Heights Christmas lights, the New York Botanical Garden holiday train show, and all of the other Christmas markets in the city (except Bryant Park). Keep reading to see how we spent 3 days in New York in December!
Day 1
Arrive in the morning
Lunch at Joe’s Pizza on Broadway
Christmas Walking Tour
Walk around Midtown checking out all of the Christmas displays and trees. Here are the places we stopped:
Macy’s on 34th street
Head to 5th Ave and start walking towards Bryant Park
Bryant Park’s Winter Village
New York Public Library
It’s free to enter and there was a cool exhibition when we were there! Worth it to stop in for 15-20 minutes. It reminded me of something out of Harry Potter.
End the walking tour at the Rockefeller Center
Option to buy tickets to go to the “Top of the Rock” to get arial views of New York City.
Dinner at Tim Ho Wan
Broadway Show
Day 2
Breakfast at Russ and Daughters
Ground zero
Option to walk around to memorial (free) or there is a 9/11 memorial museum you can pay to enter.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
You can purchase tickets ahead of time, or you can buy them at the boat which is what we did.
Lunch at Xian Famous Foods
Explore Brooklyn: bridge, DUMBO, shopping, flea market
Dinner at Misi or il Buco Alimentari e Vineria
Comedy Show
Day 3
Breakfast at Ess a Bagel
Central Park walking tour: Wollman rink, Bethesda terrace, Bow bridge
Go to a Museum
There are so many museums you can visit in New York City. We have been to the MET and the American Museum of Natural History and would recommend both!
Lunch at Empanada Mama
Shopping along 5th avenue
Dinner at Pure Thai Cookhouse
Saks 5th Avenue light show and Rockefeller tree at night
Radio City Christmas Spectacular
We booked this show the day we went because we weren’t sure if it would be worth it or not. It was! Highly recommend if you are in New York during the holidays.
Day 4
Fly home
Check out everywhere we ate while in New York City:
https://followthefischers.com/where-to-eat-in-new-york-city/
