NYC is magical any time of year, especially at the holidays, when there are sparkling lights everywhere.
Here are the best decorations, including department store windows, Christmas trees and other delights, around Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Fifth Ave., Columbus Circle.
It’s an easy itinerary that can take two hours or two days, depending on what else you take in, such as ice skating or a Broadway show, or shopping.
Unless otherwise noted, everything on this list is FREE.
What to See around Times Square
Bryant Park
The Bryant Park Christmas Tree and ice skating in its glow. Skating is FREE, but not skate rentals.
There also is a sprawling European-stye holiday market filled with handmade crafts and gift items.
See our full list of holiday crafts markets
New York Public Library
Visit the grand tree in the grand rotunda of this historic building on Fifth Ave., between 42nd and 40th Streets.
And go upstairs to visit the equally grand Rose Reading Room, so familiar from so many films and TV shows.
Sofitel Hotel
A Christmas tree made entirely of French vintage Louis Vuitton trunks is on display in the hotel lobby. Every piece is more than 100 years old., and every piece is for sale, so get there before the tree is picked bare.
The pieces have stories of the royalty and great explorers who used the trunks to travel the world.
- Sofitel New York is at 45 West 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth Avenues
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