New York at Christmas and in winter 2026-2027: what to do, dates and safety

The essentials

The season starts on Thursday 26 November 2026 with the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and is fully switched on on Wednesday 2 December, when the Rockefeller Center tree is lit. The markets are already open: Bryant Park’s Winter Village since 28 October, the Grand Central fair since 9 November and Union Square since the 12th. The Rockettes perform at Radio City from 4 November to 4 January, and New Year’s Eve in Times Square is free, with no tickets, in exchange for many hours in the cold. The subway runs 24 hours a day every day, 25 December included.

It is properly cold and it can snow. In December, the average temperature in Central Park ranges from 1 °C to 6.8 °C, there is precipitation on about 11 days with 111 mm in total and 12 cm of snow on average, and about 139 hours of sunshine; in January, −2.3 °C to 4.2 °C, about 11 days of precipitation, 22 cm of snow and 163 hours of sunshine. These are the NOAA 1991-2020 normals at Central Park.

Official weather warnings and recent earthquakes in the United States are on Alerts in the United States.

Getting there and what you need to enter

• A biometric passport and an ESTA for citizens of the EU, the United Kingdom and the other Visa Waiver Program countries. The ESTA costs $40 per person since 30 September 2025, is valid for two years (or until your passport expires) for stays of up to 90 days and is applied for only at esta.cbp.dhs.gov. The authorities advise applying at least 72 hours before you fly.
• Without the visa waiver, you need a tourist visa issued by a United States consulate.
• Temporary restriction: Spain recalls that, because of the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa, the United States does not admit foreigners who have been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days.
• From JFK: the AirTrain costs $8.75 to Jamaica or Howard Beach, where it connects with the subway ($3). From Newark: AirTrain and NJ Transit train to Penn Station. From LaGuardia: bus to the subway or taxi.

Getting around

• Subway and buses: tap your contactless card or phone on the OMNY reader; a ride costs $3 since January 2026 and, with the same card, once you reach $35 in seven days the rest of your rides are free, according to the MTA. The subway runs 24 hours a day, 25 December and 1 January included.
• On New Year’s Eve, several Times Square stations close or restrict exits for hours; get off a few stops earlier and walk.
• On foot: Manhattan is easy to walk; the United Kingdom asks you not to be alone in quiet areas, especially at night.

What to see and do

Watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade

The 100th Macy’s parade is on Thursday 26 November 2026: it sets off at 8:30 am from West 77th Street and Central Park West and runs 4 kilometres to Macy’s Herald Square (34th Street and Seventh Avenue), where it ends at around 12 noon. It is free to watch from the pavement; the first people arrive at 6 am and camping is not allowed. The day before, on 25 November from 1 pm to 6 pm, the balloons are inflated next to the American Museum of Natural History, with the entrance at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue.

See the Rockefeller Center tree

The 2026 tree, a Norway spruce, arrived at the plaza on 7 November and is lit on Wednesday 2 December at the gala broadcast by NBC; that night 46th to 52nd Streets between Fifth and Sixth Avenues are closed and the plaza fills up from the afternoon. In the 2025-2026 season the tree was lit daily from 5 am to midnight, 24 hours on Christmas Eve and until 9 pm on New Year’s Eve, and it was taken down in early January; Rockefeller Center publishes the 2026 hours and date on its website. Seeing it is free; the plaza’s ice rink, open since 10 October, is paid.

Visit the holiday markets

The 2026 dates published by the organisers. All are outdoors: wrap up.

See the Rockettes at Radio City

The Christmas Spectacular has its longest season since 1933: 230 performances from 4 November 2026 to 4 January 2027 at Radio City Music Hall. Tickets are sold at rockettes.com and at the theatre box office; the dates close to Christmas sell out first.

Go inside the Met

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is open Sunday to Tuesday and on Thursdays from 10 am to 5 pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 9 pm; it is closed on Wednesdays, Thanksgiving Day, 25 December and 1 January. General admission costs $30, children under 12 do not pay and New York State residents pay what they wish; the same ticket is valid that day for the Met Cloisters.

Wait for the ball in Times Square

New Year’s Eve in Times Square is free and ticketless: you enter fenced viewing areas on a first-come, first-served basis and, once inside, you cannot leave and come back. In 2025 the viewing areas opened at 3 pm, with access points on Sixth and Eighth Avenues at 45th, 49th, 52nd and 56th Streets, and the party ran from 6 pm to midnight, when the ball drops; backpacks, large bags, chairs, alcohol and umbrellas were prohibited, and there are no toilets. The organisers publish the 2026 arrangements in December. From the street you cannot see anything outside the viewing areas; if you don’t want to spend eight hours standing in the cold, have dinner in the neighbourhood and watch the ball on television.

Shopping

Shop prices do not include sales tax, which in the city is 8.875% and is added at the till; clothing and footwear under $110 per item are exempt, according to the New York State Department of Taxation. Most department stores close on Thanksgiving Day and open early on Black Friday, 27 November; the post-Christmas sales start on 26 December.

Safety

What governments say

Checked on 12 November 2026.

• The United Kingdom does not advise against travel. It considers it very likely that terrorists will try to carry out attacks in the United States; it says violence and shootings rarely affect tourists, but asks for care in unfamiliar areas and to avoid quiet ones at night; it warns that protests are common and can turn violent, and that snowstorms cut transport and power.
• Spain sets no restrictions on travel. It recalls the Ebola entry restriction, that overstaying can mean arrest by the immigration police (ICE), that minors travelling without both parents need a notarised authorisation and that you must travel with medical insurance.
• Germany has no travel warning. It mentions attacks in recent years and a heightened risk according to the US authorities themselves, violent crime that is falling but remains above Germany’s, demonstrations with clashes with the immigration authorities, and the obligation to carry ID in several states.
• The United States, as the destination country, publishes no advice about itself.

Documents and theft

• Report it at the nearest NYPD precinct. You will get a report that your insurer and consulate will ask for.
• Stolen passport: your consulate can issue an emergency travel document to get you home. See which one serves you, according to your passport, in the United States safety guide.

Health and emergencies

• Phone number: 911 for police, ambulance and fire.
• Medical insurance, essential: there is no health agreement with the EU and no health card that works; a hospital emergency is billed in full. For minor complaints, “urgent care” clinics are cheaper and faster than hospital emergency rooms.
• Cold: with the wind, the wind chill can drop below −10 °C; hat, gloves and waterproof footwear if it snows.

Staying connected

• With a European plan, roaming in the United States is almost always charged separately: check the price per day or per megabyte before you leave.
• A data eSIM for the United States connects you as soon as you land and you keep your usual number: see plans for the United States.

Travellers’ questions about New York at Christmas

When is the Rockefeller Center tree lit in 2026?

On Wednesday 2 December 2026, at the gala broadcast by NBC. The tree arrived on 7 November and stays lit until early January.

Is it free to watch the Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve?

Yes, there are no tickets: you enter fenced viewing areas on a first-come basis; in 2025 they opened at 3 pm, with no backpacks, chairs, alcohol or umbrellas. Outside the viewing areas you cannot see it.

How much does the New York subway cost in 2026?

$3 per ride paying with a contactless card or phone on the OMNY reader; with the same card, once you reach $35 in seven days the other rides are free.

Do I need an ESTA to go to New York?

Yes, if you are from the EU, the United Kingdom or another visa-waiver country: it costs $40, is valid for two years and is applied for at esta.cbp.dhs.gov, ideally 72 hours ahead. If your country has no waiver, you need a visa.

What is open on 25 December in New York?

The subway runs all day and the Rockefeller Center tree is lit (in 2025, 24 hours on Christmas Eve). The Met is closed on 25 December and 1 January; many shops and restaurants close or shorten their hours.

What is the weather like in New York in December?

Cold: between 1 °C and 6.8 °C on average, about 11 days of precipitation and 12 cm of snow on average in the month (NOAA, 1991-2020 normals at Central Park). In January the average low drops to −2.3 °C.

When is the 2026 Thanksgiving Day Parade?

Thursday 26 November 2026, from 8:30 am to 12 noon, from 77th Street and Central Park West to Macy’s Herald Square. It is the parade’s 100th edition and it is free to watch from the pavement.

Where next

• Lisbon at Christmas and in winter 2026-2027: what to do, dates and safety
• Safety in the United States: what governments say today
• eSIM for the United States: prices and networks