See the famous sights while they're empty, and spend the evenings where the crowds are thinner. Every day is planned backwards from a sunset at about half past four. Start on a Monday.
Day 1 · a Monday
The Christmas mile
- The tree at dawn
- Breakfast: Ess-a-Bagel
- Grand Central Terminal
- Bryant Park Winter Village
- St. Patrick's Cathedral
- The Fifth Avenue windows
- Sunset: Gapstow Bridge
- The tree again
- Dinner: Junior's
- Times Square
Be at Rockefeller Center at a quarter to seven, when the tree is lit and the plaza is nearly empty. Breakfast is a bagel at Ess-a-Bagel on Third Avenue, open from six. Look up at Grand Central's ceiling, then skate the free rink at Bryant Park at nine, before the holiday shops open at eleven. Give St. Patrick's twenty quiet minutes, then walk the Fifth Avenue windows: Saks, the Cartier mansion tied in red, and Bergdorf Goodman. Be on Gapstow Bridge by four for sunset over the Pond, see the tree again after dark, eat cheesecake at Junior's, and see Times Square once, at night.
Why this order: the tree and the windows are empty in the morning, and the rink is free at Bryant Park. Skip Wollman Rink.
Tip: check the tree's lighting hours for your dates. Late at night, wait for the subway in the Off-Hours Waiting Area under the yellow sign.
The free planner has this day's times, the walk and the map →
Day 2 · not a Wednesday
The park and the museum
- The Mall and Bethesda Terrace
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Levain Bakery
- The Upper West Side
- Sunset: Columbus Circle Holiday Market
- Optional: the Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Walk the Mall to Bethesda Terrace early, while the paths are empty. Be at the Met at opening and go straight to the medieval hall for the angel tree. Cross the park to Levain Bakery for the six-ounce cookie, then walk south through the brownstone side streets of the Upper West Side, with wreaths on the stoops by four. End at the Columbus Circle market along the park wall, calmer than Bryant Park.
Why this order: the park paths are empty early, and you reach the Met as it opens. The angel tree, hung with eighteenth-century angels from Naples, stands from about late November to early January.
Tip: the Met is closed on Wednesdays. Dress for the cold: the park is the coldest part of the trip.
The free planner has this day's times, the walk and the map →
Day 3 · a weekday, or Christmas Day
The harbour and Brooklyn's lights
- The Staten Island Ferry
- The 9/11 Memorial
- Lunch: Katz's
- The Brooklyn Bridge
- Sunset: DUMBO and Jane's Carousel
- The Dyker Heights lights
Ride the free Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty: the right-hand side going out, the left coming back. See the 9/11 Memorial, then eat pastrami on rye at Katz's, and keep the paper ticket. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge from City Hall at about a quarter past three, toward Brooklyn and the sunset, and watch it go down from the DUMBO waterfront. Then take the R train to 86th Street for the Dyker Heights lights, houses lit from the roofs to the lawns.
Why this order: the bridge walk is timed toward the sunset, and the Brooklyn lights come on after dark.
Tip: Dyker Heights is a residential street, not an attraction: eat before you come, and leave with the crowd. This whole day works on Christmas Day.
The free planner has this day's times, the rides and the map →
Day 4
The Village and the West Side
- Washington Square Park
- The West Village
- Lunch: Joe's Pizza
- Union Square Holiday Market
- Chelsea Market
- The High Line
- Sunset: Edge
- Macy's windows
Start under the marble arch in Washington Square Park, then walk west along Bleecker Street: low brick houses, iron railings and a wreath on every door. Eat a folded slice at Joe's Pizza, browse the Union Square market, warm up in Chelsea Market, then walk the High Line north in the last hour of daylight. Watch the sunset from Edge, the one sky deck worth paying for, and end at Macy's six Christmas windows.
Our verdict: pay for one sky deck only. Edge faces west over the Hudson, so the sun goes down in front of you and Midtown lights up behind. Book a slot about thirty minutes before sunset.
Tip: flying out tonight? The day ends two blocks from Penn Station: skip the sky deck if your flight is that evening.
The free planner has this day's times, the walk and the map →
