City Lights
New York City
The city that never sleeps is never
busier than during the holiday season, when visitors
from every corner of the globe pack Manhattan’s streets.
Fortunately, recent transportation initiatives make the
mobs a little easier to handle. For example, the stretch of
Broadway crossing Times Square is now closed to cars,
so you can take a comfortable breather and gaze at the
maze of neon here any day of the year—not just during
the overcrowded New Year’s Eve celebration. For nearby
holiday shopping, 125 artists, artisans and food makers
show off their wares at Bryant Park’s holiday market
(where you can also find free ice skating), and even if you
can’t afford any of the designer stores along Fifth Avenue,
the boulevard is still worth a walk for the opulent holiday
window displays at shops such as Bergdorf Goodman and
Saks Fifth Avenue.
With 750,000 visitors a day, the iconic Rockefeller
Center Christmas tree and skating rink are certainly a
must-see, but it’s hardly the only show in town. Far from
the maddening crowds, the Brooklyn neighborhood of
Dyker Heights puts on one of the country’s most over-the-top residential light displays, with neighbors trying
to outdo each other by covering their homes in thousands of dazzling Christmas lights, oversized motorized
displays and even 30-foot toy soldiers.
Bryant Park holiday shops, 212-768-4242, bryantpark.org;
Rockefeller Center, rockefellercenter.com; Dyker Heights,
dykerheights.com
