A Christmas agenda to make the most of New York
New York dresses up once in colored lights and brings out the Christmas spirit to celebrate this special time of year. Surely you have been dreaming of making any of these come true for years movie plans (Hollywood is to blame, of course): ice skating in central park , enjoy a Christmas show in the Radio City Music Hall or celebrate the last minutes of the year in the always dazzling Times Square.
Well, if you finally have the luck to experience Christmas like nowhere else in the world , these are the events that will fill the five most important districts of ** the Big Apple ** with life and that NYC&Company recommend us. Take note!
Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree. Traveling to New York on these dates and not **skating under the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree** would be a sin. The golden angels blowing their trumpets and the festival of colored lights that adorn this tree with more than eight decades of history form one of the most iconic postcards of the city.
You will be able to enjoy this illuminated movie set (where, in fact, one of the mythical scenes of Home alone ) until January 7.
More lights, this time the ones that adorn the streets of Brooklyn. It is difficult to find a corner of New York that is not illuminated at Christmas, but Dyker Heights takes the award for the brightest neighborhood.
The coquettish houses of this uptown new york they are covered with lights and decorated with endless Christmas motifs. 'Dyker Lights' , with its 40 years of history, is a picturesque open-air museum that you can visit from December 1 to 30 . Of course, wrap up well for the walk .
The wonderful lighting of Dyker Heights
The Rockettes, the Radio City Music Hall show you shouldn't miss. One more year tradition and music go hand in hand in a performance that has been marking New York Christmas for decades. The Rockettes , the prestigious company of precision dancers, once again dominates the Radio City Music Hall with its iconic Christmas show. The dancers will impress us with their rhythm and their extravagant costumes until January 1 , acting up to five times a day all week long.
A ballet classic? Delight yourself with The Nutcracker in Brooklyn. A reinvented ballet classic will conquer the December 14th to all the lucky ones who come to the emblematic King's Theater , in Flatbush.
This modern version of The Nutcracker combines classical dance with hip-hop and dances from around the world in spectacular representation that is defined as a love letter to the multicultural and vibrant Brooklyn.
CONCERTS! Traveling music lovers, the city that never sleeps has a Christmas agenda of musical performances that you should not miss. rock will flood Madison Square Garden from December 28 to 31 thanks to the improvisations and jam sessions of the American band Phish.
For the most classical, the opera singer Renee Fleming will join the conductor Jaap van Zweden to make us enjoy the New York Philharmonic's New Year's Eve concert.**
O sweet Christmas!
Ginger paradise at the Science Hall in New York. Sweet tooth attention: until January 21 , a village of cute gingerbread houses , icing and candies (which has set the Guinness world record) once again colonize the Hall of Science in New York, located in Flushing Meadows Corona Park , in the district of **Queens.**
This spectacular work of art from Chef Jon Lovitch Turn gumballs into brick walls, candy canes into stair railings, and Lacquers into colored roof tiles. An ideal plan for the little ones at home.
A train exhibit at the New York Botanical Garden. Also until January 21 , in the Bronx we find another small universe where the rails are the protagonists. The New York Botanical Garden celebrates the 27th edition of an exhibition of classic model trains that circulate through the most emblematic places of New York (on a small scale, of course).
More than 175 famous miniature structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge or the Statue of Liberty they will give life to a railway show that will be complemented by other events such as a cappella performances.
The chacacha of the train...
An afternoon of shopping? If you have already traveled ** Fifth Avenue ** from top to bottom, we propose another shopping plan that is a little more affordable. Visit ** the first outlet ** from New York , which is located just 25 minutes by ferry from Manhattan, in the district of Staten Island .
Restaurants facing the sea and a hundred shops are the perfect combination to take shelter from the cold for a while.
**American Museum of Natural History.** The cultural events and Christmas decorations will flood the museum rooms until January 7. Starting with your quirky origami christmas tree , in which some 800 paper figures in the shape of dinosaurs, whales, insects, birds and other animals adorn the branches, until the 40th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration , a secular festival of African-American heritage taking place on December 29. And, of course, it will also have musical performances and activities for the whole family.
The wishing wall in Times Square. Preparations for the most epic night of the year in Times Square begin on December 1st : those who faithfully believe in the magic of Christmas will be able to write your wishes for 2019 on a note and hang it on the wall.
On New Year's Eve, after the ball has dropped, the thousands of colored ballots will be thrown as confetti. They say that in New York dreams come true, right?
Ball Drop: New Years in Times Square. Welcoming a new year in another country is something to do once in a lifetime. In 1904 three events marked the history of New York:
5,4, 3, 2, 1...
The former owner of the newspaper New York Times convinced the city to Rename Longacre Square to Times Square ; was inaugurated New York's first subway line ; and began to celebrate New Year's Eve in Times Square , where each year around a million people gather to watch the descent of the iconic ball.
If you want to be part of that tide of people who spend the last minutes of the year under **the shower of confetti, fireworks and musical performances that engulf Times Square ** (and enjoy the drop of the glass sphere from a place with visibility) , you will have to undergo a long wait: the crowd begins to dominate the area at two in the afternoon!
Also very close to there, about a ten minute walk, the Empire State will be dressed in colored light bulbs and will shoot confetti a few minutes before midnight, when the entire skyscraper will be covered in white lights in honor of the newly arrived year. A Christmas postcard that will not leave you indifferent.
An aquatic alternative to New Year's Eve in Times Square. The Hudson River it becomes a kaleidoscope as the fireworks that kick off yet another year paint the New York sky with color. You can witness this show thanks to Circle Lines New Year's Eve Cruise , the perfect New Year's Eve proposal for those who prefer a more intimate and original party.
Have a magical New Year's Eve
this cruise will depart at 9:00 p.m. from the city port and, with the dazzling skyline of the metropolis as a backdrop, it will offer passengers the opportunity to spend a memorable night, in which **(until 1:00 a.m.) ** snacks, drinks and a DJ livening up the atmosphere. _(Price: $179 per person. Only suitable for adults) _
NYRR Midnight Run: a plan for athletes. Running lovers, say goodbye to the year as God intended: running through a New York park as if there were no tomorrow. At 10:00 p.m. on December 31, the starting signal will be given for the last race of the Big Apple of 2018.
The meeting point for the participants will be at Central Park , where, after running for two hours, they will be able to see a magnificent fireworks display accompanied by music at the finish line to celebrate the beginning of a new stage.
Coney Island Beach
Refrain from colds: day 1 at Coney Island. A great hangover remedy is a nice cold water bath. And in Coney Island they know it better than anyone. The bravest can join the tradition of taking the first dip of the year in this beach neighborhood in southwest Brooklyn . The mass bath is free ( ** with prior registration ** ) and starts at 1:00 p.m.