Christmas in New York

[LAJennifer]

My husband and I will be spending Christmas in New York this year! I haven''t been to NYC since 1997. Any suggestions for things to see and do?

 

[Madam Bijoux]

Hi! There is so much to see and do in NY. There are great Broadway shows and the Radio City Christmas show, art museums, the natural history museum, clothes shopping and (of course) the jewelry stores on 5th Avenue. Where will you be staying and for how long? If you want to see any shows, it would be a good idea to get a New York Times and get tickets for the ones you want to see now.

 

[KimberlyH]

My husband and I went to NY about a month ago and had a blast. Here''s a link to a thread I started regarding restaurants to visit while in NYC. It has lots of good food recommendations.

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/new-york-city-good-eats.51442/=

The last post is my review of the restaurants we went to as well as what we did while we were there. We spent a lot of time just walking around, which isn''t easy in winter! If you want to see a show get tickets early!

 

[Allisonfaye]

Hmmm...if I were going to NY I would want to: Shop - check out Harry Winston''s and other diamond stores, Balenciaga (how could I not at this point) and just window shop, go see a show (my current wishlist show is Spam-a-lot although I have no idea what the best ones are these days), eat at my favorite restaurant in the U.S. which is called Veritas.

 

[monarch64]

Rockefeller Center opened a new observatory last year called "Top of the Rock." I went last fall with my best friend and it was very, very cool.

 

[scarlet16]

Xmas is NY is awesome. You should definitely see the tree in Rockefeller Center (and they recently opened the "Top of the Rock" back up so you can up to the top of the building). Then you can walk down 5th and look at the windows - I forget who has them (Macy''s, Saks, Lord & Taylors). You can go ice-skating (either at Rockefeller Ctr - but that''s expensive, or in Central Park or Bryant Park). Take a carriage ride around Central Park bundled up in a blanket is very romantic...

If you give us an idea of types of food you want to have, we can suggest restaurants to you.

 

[curlygirl]

Ah, NYC at Christmas time is the best. Be warned, if you''re going to hit the tourist spots they will be extremely crowded! I work in Rockefeller Center and it''s already starting to get busy around here. There are soooo many wonderful things to do which have already been mentioned. The view from the top of the Empire State Building is absolutely amazing but the lines may be long. The museums are wonderful, Radio City Christmas show, Broadway shows, oh so much to see and do! My favorite thing is just walking around and taking it all in--and I live here! Fifth Avenue is just glorious with all the lights and decorations. And of course, we have the best restaurants here and love to give suggestions! Give us some ideas of what you''d like to see/do/eat and we''ll help you out!

 

[diamondfan]

As Curly stated most of the obvious places will be so crowded. Last year my dh and I could not even breathe walking near the skating rink, it like a mass of humanity. My favorite thing in NY is to have a great meal, see a show and be bundled up to walk and walk and look at things. I finally am looking at comfortable stylish waterproof warm boots that I can walk a lot in, my dh is so into it and yells if I wear my heels when we go...where are you staying? I love the sense of the city at the holidays...

 

[LAJennifer]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! We will be staying at The Hilton New York, right near Rockefeller Center - so we will definitley check out Top of the Rock (sounds fun) and we definitely want to check out some shows! I love all kinds of food - so all suggestions are welcome, though we probably prefer places without dress codes. That''s another thing - I haven''t been in cold weather for so long that I have no closed-toe shoes - guess I need to go shopping. What is the best way to dress?

 

[CrownJewel]

Date: 11/16/2006 6:39:24 PM
Author: LAJennifer
Thanks for all of the suggestions! We will be staying at The Hilton New York, right near Rockefeller Center - so we will definitley check out Top of the Rock (sounds fun) and we definitely want to check out some shows! I love all kinds of food - so all suggestions are welcome, though we probably prefer places without dress codes. That''s another thing - I haven''t been in cold weather for so long that I have no closed-toe shoes - guess I need to go shopping. What is the best way to dress?

Comfortable stylish waterproof warm boots (CSWWBs) like diamondfan said!!! Actually, I live in NY and still need to find CSWWBs. I think diamondfan should let us know AS SOON AS SHE finds a pair. I wanted to find something that feels like Uggs, but looks more polished. I saw these /svenbeach.com/ecom/productdetail.php?id="661&category=78"> and I''m still thinking about them. Expensive though. Anyone own a pair of Svens?

 

[diamondfan]

Crwon, I found a few. Stuart Weitzman has a couple that are weather resistent and warm, flatter heel, and then they have a couple in the gore tex which is guaranteed waterproof but not lined in fluff. La Canadienne (Embrace) and Aquitalia (Maddy, but cannot remember the name of the short one I liked) on the Nordstrom site are both stylish warm waterproof and not flat. Embrace has a wedge heel which I like. Look at them...I have seriously bought and returned 10 pairs to find the couple I like...I have yet to find ONE that captures it, meaning, comfy for a lot of walking, truly waterproof, lined with warm stuff and stylish enough for dressier times. I have come close with a couple...

 

[nespa]

i''d recommend checking out timeoutny.com. Time Out mag. was started in (England?)...and has been a great resource for the last...10 years or so. Lots of off-broadway, comedy shows, even shows that are specific to the days you''ll be here - check it out!

No matter what you do, you''ll HAVE to take a walk to/from Central Park area (72nd street & Central Park west) all the way to Rockefeller Center''s skating rink (48th st). it''s a great walk & plenty to do & see.

have fun!

 

[scarlet16]

Date: 11/17/2006 12:50:51 AM
Author: diamondfan
Crwon, I found a few. Stuart Weitzman has a couple that are weather resistent and warm, flatter heel, and then they have a couple in the gore tex which is guaranteed waterproof but not lined in fluff. La Canadienne (Embrace) and Aquitalia (Maddy, but cannot remember the name of the short one I liked) on the Nordstrom site are both stylish warm waterproof and not flat. Embrace has a wedge heel which I like. Look at them...I have seriously bought and returned 10 pairs to find the couple I like...I have yet to find ONE that captures it, meaning, comfy for a lot of walking, truly waterproof, lined with warm stuff and stylish enough for dressier times. I have come close with a couple...

I am having a problem finding a good boot too. I love my Uggs but they certainly aren''t going-out boots and aren''t waterproof at all. Unfortunately Stuart Weitzman is slightly (a lot) out of my price range!

 

[lost on 5th]

you picked a wonderful time to visit NYC!

and a lot of great ideas so far.

of course visit the department store windows. (i would add bergdorf to the list as well) one thing to note. Lord and Taylor may be moving out of the city, so might be the last year to take a look at their windows!. see link here.

the new top of the rock is AMAZING! much more than a quick trip to the top of 30 rock. they have a pretty nice setup there... and of course i think the best views in the city!

i know there is no shortage of restaurant advice about NYC, but here are a couple that i havent seen mentioned in a while.

dinner:
the red cat still one of my favorite dinner places. nice and quiet

dinner or brunch:
isabella''s upper west side favorite (a popular weekend brunch spot)
ocean grill same restaurant group as isabella''s always good food.

wine bar:
Bin 71 a short walk up broadway from your hotel.. always great wine and service. (fills up quick tho)

i think the best thing for a happy trip at that time of year.. is enjoy the energy of midtown with the lights/sounds/people/SHOPPING! and still take time to escape and relax