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This blog post includes my itinerary for three days in NYC at Chrsistmastime.
New York City at Christmas is magical. Everywhere is festive! There are so many things to do while exploring New York at Christmas. I did a lot of research beforehand on what to do in New York at Christmas. I went for a girls trip with my mom and sister. We had three days in NYC at Christmas and I wanted to make the most of our time! In today's blog post you will find everything we did in our three days in NYC for Christmas. Our trip included all of the best things to do in New York at Christmas.
Although we could have filled another day, we were able to do everything on the top of our "must see in NYC at Christmas list" so I do believe three days is long enough for a trip to New York at Chistmas. (If you've never been to NYC before and are trying to see some of the other "typical" tourist destinations you might need longer.) If you are wondering what to do in New York at Christmas, read on!
DAY ONE:
This was our travel day. After our flights arrived, we went straight to our hotel to get ready. If you're wondering where a good place to stay in New York for Christmas is, check out The Archer Hotel - Bryant Park. This is where we stayed and it was a great location. I wanted somewhere outside of Midtown since I knew we'd already spend time in that area due to sights/shows. Since I knew we'd already be in Midtown so much, I wanted to base out of somewhere else so that we'd get to see some other sites/restaurants/etc. The Archer Hotel in Bryant Park was in a great location - we could easily walk to the subway, Timesquare, the Bryant Park Winter Market, etc. The hotel was beautiful and felt really safe. It was a great place to stay for Chrstmas in NYC.
We had reservations late that afternoon at Oscar Wilde (this was walkable from our hotel). This was one of my favorite things we did the whole trip! Oscar Wilde is a restaurant that goes allll out in Chrstimas decor. There are decorations everywhere you look. It is so festive and fun! They had yummy drinks and food, too. This was such a great way to really kick off our time in NYC as it instantly put us in the Christmas spirit. There are a lot of festive bars/restaurants you can choose from in NYC so make sure you at least pick one for your trip!
After we were done at Oscar Wilde, we hopped on the Subway to go see the sights around Midtown. First stop were the red ornaments and fountains outside of Radio City Music Hall. It was so pretty! It is a great photo spot. Go to back-side of the ornaments (away from the street). It is less busy on this side and you get Radio City Music Hall in the background!
||Botkier Cobble Hill Small Leather Crossbody* | similar black coat with gold hardware*| Mavi Blue Skinny Jeans* | similar red beanie with pom-pom*| similar leopard scarf*||
Next, we walked to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. It was really cowded here - but we just waited our turn to get up to the front to have unobstructed views/photos of the tree. (We probably waited at most 5 minutes.)
After we got our pictures of the tree, we rounded the corner to see the light show on the side of Saks Fifth Avenue*. The light show is on the building and repeated every ten minutes. The light show is set to music and is really pretty! If you are standing across the street from Saks, you'll still be on the Rockefeller Center side so if you haven't already, you can get pictures of the angels framing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree after the show.
We had planned to spend the rest of this evening walking the shops on 5th avenue to check out the window displays. (So many of the stores go all out in their window displays and decorations on the buildings!) However, it was SO busy. We didn't feel like we'd really be able to enjoy what we were looking at, so we decided to save that for another day.
||Chelsea Water Resistant Black Boots* (so comfy! wore them every day in NYC) | similar black coat with gold hardware*| Mavi Blue Skinny Jeans* | similar red beanie with pom-pom*| similar leopard scarf*||
We walked from there to the Bryant Park Winter Market. This is an open air market in Bryant Park full of shopping vendors, food, beverages, a huge Christmas tree, and an ice skating rink. There are also public restrooms here (always handy to note while in NYC). We walked around all the shops, watched people ice skate, and each got a dessert from one of the vendors. This was significantly more peaceful than the crowds on 5th Avenue. The New York Public Library is right outside of the winter market. It was already closed for the night while we were there, but I had read they have pretty decorations inside. If you find yourself in the winter market while the library is open - hop inside and check it out!
After we were done at the Bryant Park Winter Market, we walked back to our hotel for the night.
DAY TWO:
Our next day started pretty early as we had tickets to see the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at 10 AM. (Pro tip for your trip planning to NYC at Christmas - the earlier shows are always cheaper!) When we arrived down in Rockefeller Center, there was a performance going on for the Today Show that was cool to hear as we walked around! We also stopped by the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree again - almost nobody was around when we were there around 8:00 AM.
We had planned to get bagels/coffee from Blackseed Bagels, which is right inside Rockefeller Center. Then, we were going to walk around and look at all the window displays that we hadn't seen the night before. However, Blackseed Bagels had a super long line. We didn't want to waste our ~hour before showtime waiting in line so instead we grabbed coffee/pastries from The Tipsy Baker at Rockefeller Center instead since there was hardly a line there.
While we fueled up for the day, we watched people ice skate at Rockefeller Center. Even if you yourself don't get on the ice, it is still so fun to watch other people!
Then, we walked the shops on 5th avenue. I am so glad we opted to save this for the next day as there was almost nobody around this "early" in the morning! We were able to take our time and truly appreciate the displays at Saks, Cartier, etc.
At 9:20 we made our way to Radio City for the show. They recommend being in line a full thirty minutes before the show starts to make sure you don't miss any of the show. The show was a little over an hour and a half and so fun! They are so talented. There was great music, dancing, and costumes. This is a show for all ages.
||similar black coat with gold hardware* | Chelsea Water Resistant Black Boots* (so comfy! wore them every day in NYC) | Mavi Blue Skinny Jeans* | similar leopard scarf*||
After the show, we had lunch reservations at Del Frisco Grille. This is also right in Rockefeller Center so it was a short 3 minute walk from Radio City Music Hall. We had a little time to kill before our reservation and planned to go into FAO Schwartz just to wander for a bit, but there was a line wrapped around the building to get in! It must be cool inside for people to wait that long just to get into a store (and I'm sure its nice once you're in that it's controlled chaos within ha). We instead walked over to Anthropologie* to browse while waiting for our lunch reservations.
Lunch was delicious! It is a fancier place and is great for before/after a show. Following lunch, we walked through the remainder of the shops we wanted to see on 5th avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and Lotte New York Palace hotel. The Palace Hotel has a beautifully decorated courtyard. However, don't forget to go inside too! The lobby is also decorated, and they even have a gingerbread version of the Palace hotel on display.
||Botkier Cobble Hill Small Leather Crossbody* | | Mavi Blue Skinny Jeans* | Rails Sasha Stripe Wool & Cashmere Mock Neck Sweater*||
After we were done exploring, we went to Papillion Bistro and Bar for an afternoon drink. This is another restaurant that goes all out in Christmas decor in NYC! We didn't have a reservation, but at roughly 2 PM in the afternoon we had no problem getting a seat at the bar for a drink. This is a two-story restaurant that is covered head to toe in Christmas decor. My only complaint was that they didn't have any special festive drinks on the menu! We hung out here for awhile just relaxing and chatting.
Once done there, we took the subway over to Grand Central Station. There was another holiday market full of local vendors that we wanted to check out. After walking through the shops, we went down to the dining hall to get a treat from Magnolia Bakery.
At this point in the day, it started to rain and there was no sign of it stopping all night. It never poured but pretty much was constant rain from early afternoon until early the next morning. One of the things on our list that we were considering was going to Dyker Heights in Brooklyn to look at Christmas lights. This is a neighborhood in Brooklyn where every house decorates like crazy for Christmas. They have inflatables, lights, music.. you name it. It looks incredible! You can either take a paid tour or just walk the neighborhood yourself. However, it was over an hour subway ride away, and we would have been walking outside the whole time. (I read to plan for 2 hours to walk the whole neighborhood.) Due to the amount of time it would have taken to get there, and the weather, we opted to skip it. It looks amazing, though! So if you have the time in your schedule and the weather cooperates I would definitely consider adding it to your agenda.
Instead, we decided to explore some of the other indoor sights on our list -- Hudson Yards and Macys -- before we grabbed pizza and headed back to the hotel for the night. We were all pretty tired!
DAY THREE:
Not Christmas related, but to kick start day three we headed down to Wall Street / Battery Park area to see the Statue of Liberty. My nephew had specifically requested a picture of it so we made that our priority for the morning. We grabbed breakfast first from Liberty Bagels. It was delish and they have tables/restrooms in the back so you can stay there and eat! Liberty Bagels is right next to the Wall Street Bull if you are intrested in seeing that. (There is also a Wall Street Christmas Tree if you want to see that, too.) After breakfast, we walked the rest of the way to Battery Park so my sister could FaceTime her son while looking at the Statue of Liberty. If you've never been to NYC before you might want to fit this into your trip, too! I've previously been to NYC two times so we didn't spend a ton of time in this area.
Next, we took the Subway up to Central Park. We walked through Central Park for awhile and then made our way to the Columbus Circle Holiday Market. This is another outdoor market full of food, beverages, and vendors. This was by far our favorite market! We all found multiple things to buy here -- handmade oranament, chocolate, jewelery, etc. (One of our favorite booths was by Vintage Ivy.)
After walking through the holiday market, we stopped into Rosetta Bakery to grab a small snack. (Although the holiday market had food vendors, it was busy and we wanted something a little calmer.)
Next up, was the matinee showing of The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center! (Same as with the Rockettes, the earlier show was cheaper than the evening show.) The ballet was beautiful and they are so talented! Lincoln Center is beautiful as well.
After, we had dinner reservations at Rosa Mexicano. If you are going to a show at Lincoln Center, this is a great option! The restaurant is cool inside and the food is delish. They claim to have the best margaritas in NYC and I can confirm the pomegranate margarita is amazing!!
Next, we grabbed a desert from a Magnolia Bakery nearby (yes, again) to take back with us to the hotel for later. Then we took a subway back to our hotel.
The Archer Hotel in Bryant Park has a rooftap bar called Spyglass Rooftop Bar. After taking our shopping goodies back to our room, we made our way to the Rooftop bar to enjoy the weather and the view. It has a stunning view of the Empire State Building! If you're staying at the hotel, definitely make your way up there.
The weather was beautiful our second night there and would have been a great option for the Dyker Heights Christmas Light Tour, but between the Nutcracker and dinner reservations we wouldn't have been down there until after 7:30. The lights turn off around 9 so it didn't feel worth it to spend so long on the Subway and not be able to get the full experience. Something for next time! However, it was a great night for some rooftop views of the NYC skyline.
DAY FOUR: We had early morning flights so the only thing we did this day was head to the airport and fly home!
Christmas at NYC makes the perfect girls trip. There were so many people on my flight, or who we ran into while out and about on a girls trip to New York at Christmas. If you're looking for your sign to plan a trip to New York for Christmas next year... this is it! Please leave a comment or reach out on Instagram if you have any questions!
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vacation recap
- Wednesday, December 06, 2023
New York at Christmas: Our Itinerary for Three Days in NYC at Christmas
If you enjoyed,this blog post, please pin the image below. It really helps my blog. Thank you! Links with an * at the end are affiliate li...
