The big light trails sell timed tickets, and the nights closest to Christmas go first, so a weeknight in late November or early December is the easiest way in. The tree lightings and window displays are free — and crowded, so get there early.
A nighttime parade of lighted floats, music and toy giveaways along 125th Street, kicking off at 6 p.m. near Broadway. Free; the 1 train to 125th St stops at the start.
An after-dark walk through Brooklyn Botanic Garden lit up with light installations and music. Timed tickets; value nights are cheapest, so book weekends ahead.
Lantern animals and light displays across the Bronx Zoo on select nights. New this year: the Children's Zoo farmyard and reptile house stay open after dark. Tickets include entry from 1 p.m.
The facade of Saks's flagship turns into a synchronized light show set to music, right across Fifth Avenue from the Rockefeller Center tree. Pair it with the holiday windows.
The Natural History Museum's holiday tree, hung with more than 1,000 hand-folded origami models by folders from around the world. Seen with museum admission.
A twenty-foot blue spruce hung with 18th-century Neapolitan angels rises over a Nativity scene in the Met's medieval hall. A quiet holiday tradition inside the museum.
Whole houses decked in lights, giant inflatables and animated displays across a few blocks of Dyker Heights. Free to walk; go on a weeknight after dark to skip the tour buses.
Holiday lights fill a working farm in eastern Queens after dark for six weeks, with a tree lighting in early December.
The tree switches on live on NBC. Being there means hours in a pen for a glimpse; the tree stays lit into January if you'd rather come another night.
More this season: markets, skating, shows and New Year's Eve.
A few from Whosly's NYC Cocktail Bars pack, each a short walk from one of the dates above.
The St. Regis bar under the Maxfield Parrish mural, where the Bloody Mary was reportedly poured into being. Formal, expensive, and unlike anywhere else in Midtown.
A 1920s financier's private office tucked into Grand Central — leaded glass, a painted ceiling, and a stiff Manhattan before your train.
A piano, a deep rum list, and live music from the afternoon on. The one Times Square bar New Yorkers will admit to going to.
Meticulous Japanese bartending across three floors of a Gramercy townhouse.
Every date and bar on this page. Tap a marker to see which it is.
Whosly's NYC Festivals & Events list keeps every holiday date in New York and tells you when it matters.
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“Whosly: Plans, Places & RSVPs”.
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