New York trip in December

If you do the Statue Of Liberty/Ellis Island tour it really else pends on you, you could do 3 hours, you could do 8. I'll say I spend a ton of time at Ellis Island because i found it fascinating.


If you go early in the morning you could then walk Broadway/Wall Street and see those sights. On that walk you can easily hit the 9/11 Memorial as well as it isn't far from where you get dropped off from the previous tour.

Now to see Times Square/Empire State building you really only need about two hours. So you need to book tickets for empire State building so you can go to the top floor. Then after you finish walk around times square. After you can walk to 20 minutes to Vent all Park and hang out

Have spent a lot of time in NYC for work and pleasure.
The time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is very expensive. Since you are essentially there for a weekend, you may find the downtown financial district much more reasonable for hotel rooms. Century 21 is a huge store that has top designer brands at substantial discounts. Note all stores will be crowded. There is a lot to see in that area and it is very easy to get anywhere you want to go via subway or the Hop on Hop off Take the Hop on Hop off bus. It will give you a perspective and is a great way to get around. I waited for years to do this and am sorry I waited.
Don’t miss Ferrari’s Bakery in Little Italy. Great place for lunch. Buy a variety of mini cannolis to take home. I buy multiple flavors and freeze them when I get home.
There are outstanding and very reasonable Chinese places in Chinatown. Don’t waste your time at Carnegie Deli…tourist trap. Instead in mid town or Brooklyn, Juniors is great. The one in mid town is adjacent to the rear of the Marriott Marquis near Theater Alley. If you are in Financial District, George’s is one of the best for breakfast or lunch and is where locals go. The Metro Diner (not a chain) is also very good.
Bobby Van’s is a smaller more upscale steakhouse in the financial center. Del Fritos is more midtown and is one of our favorites. Both are expensive but worth it. Tavern on the Green in Central Park is an iconic restaurant and worth a visit just to see it.
Have a drink at the top of the Marriott Marquis at night. It revolves and is beautiful. I am not a huge fan of the food.
Try the street dogs and pretzel. We have been eating them since the 1980s and that is one of the first things we do on arrival is find one.
If you are into art, don’t miss The Met, but choose a small part such as Impressionists or the Eqytian exhibit. The Museum of Natural History is a must. Both it and the Met have Christmas trees worth a visit just to see them. There is, of course, the tree at Rockefeller Center.
The 5th Ave storefronts have beautiful Christmas windows as does Macy’s on 34th St. BTW this is still very much a flagship store and very.
Let me know if you have further questions and I will try to answer.
If you enjoy theater, which we do, that is always a good bet.

If you stay downtown, I can recommend the Hyatt Centric on Wall St. Rates in the downtown area tend to be less on the weekends.

If you'd prefer staying closer to Greenwich Village, look up the Washington Square Hotel. It's a boutique hotel with a great little restaurant. I stayed there last year at the beginning of December and the rates were less than $300/night.

Try to book tickets for the Rockettes Christmas show. It was spectacular!

We did a NY architecture tour on a boat. My wife is an architect so we did it for her and it was fantastic.
Leaves from the piers on lower manhattan and goes around the SoL and then circles the whole island.
Super interesting. Comes with glass of wine and you can purchase more.
Restored vintage boat. Only holds about 20 people.
You can go in the deck if it’s nice out but fully enclosed.