Vogue’s guide to navigating New York during Christmas
Holiday season in the Big Apple is like none other
New York is electric at any time of the year, but during the holiday season, the city is pure magic. Here’s our guide to navigating the lights and sights, with bells on!
Make for the markets
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Get your party hat on at New York’s various pop-up holiday markets. Bryant Park hosts a popular one, as do Union Square and Columbus Circle, and all offer perfect chances to cross everyone off your holiday shopping list. Walk around with hot apple cider or gingerbread as you peruse the artisanal and handmade jewellery, leather goods, quirky artwork, innovative puzzles and games and toys for kids. If you’ve come unprepared for the city’s winters, you can stockpile cute hats, scarves and gloves here too.
Burn a few calories
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Step out on thin ice and thinner blades at the city’s outdoor skating rinks. The best known are The Rink at Rockefeller Center (expect to see wedding proposals here) and Winter Village at Bryant Park (prepare for lines). This year, a breathtaking new addition with fantastic views is in play—Winterland Rink at The Rooftop at Pier 17 offers views of iconic city sights like the Brooklyn Bridge and Empire State Building. Unaccomplished skaters might have a few bumps and bruises at the end of the night, but it’s an essential NYC experience.
Window shop
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Go on a self-guided walking tour of the city’s holiday decorations and famed window displays. Start your tour with lunch and a hot bevvy at the elegant Blue Box Café at Tiffany & Co, and take an Audrey Hepburn-esque peek at their holiday windows. Next on your list should be the spectacular displays at Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s and Bloomingdale’s. Amble a few blocks downtown to check out Saks Fifth Avenue and take in the tree and lights at Rockefeller Center, and head back up to tea at The Plaza before you round the evening off with a romantic horse carriage ride through Central Park. If it has snowed the day of or the day before your trip, the park will be a winter dreamscape, so keep your fingers crossed for a strategically-timed snow dump.
Warm up the vocal chords
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Make time for that most heartwarming tradition on Christmas Eve—carolling. If you’re downtown, start out at the Dominique Ansel Bakery for a blooming hot chocolate—a flower-shaped marshmallow unfurls as it hits piping hot cocoa; it’s a Christmas miracle! Walk a few blocks north to Washington Square Park and huddle under the iconic arch to join accomplished and amateur carollers. Those based in Midtown have an even better meeting point. Gramercy Park, one of the city’s most exclusive outdoor spaces that is accessible only to residents of the area who hold special keys, opens its gates only on one night of the year to let the music—and general public—in.
Do it for the ’Gram
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If you’re a compulsive Instagrammer, you’re going to want to hit these spots. Line up to get into Rolf’s German Restaurant, which resembles Santa’s workshop on (very strong) hallucinogens. The drinks of choice should be eggnog, mulled wine or schnapps, which you will very much need as your corneas adjust to take in the walls, ceilings and every conceivable surface encrusted with Christmas ornamentation. If you’re willing to schlep to Brooklyn, head to Dyker Heights for a crash course in electrical engineering. The residents of this neighbourhood consider the holidays to be a blood sport—expect a very serious blitzkrieg of reindeer, snowmen and Santas, as well as enough fairy lights to power a small kingdom.
Feed the soul
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For Christmas lunch or dinner, make sure you’ve done your research and have a reservation well in advance, because many restaurants are closed for the holidays. One option is to embrace an endearing Jewish tradition and have Chinese food for Christmas dinner. If you want to stick to a more traditionally holiday meal, book a table at one of the following beloved establishments—Tiny’s & The Bar Upstairs, Tavern on the Green, Gotham Bar and Grill or Red Rooster Harlem. Try and get in a drink at the elegant library in The NoMad, so you can bask in their gorgeous tree before the magic ends at midnight.
