overwhelm you with the crazy amount of things to experience but what is there

to do in New York City during the winter my name is Eric Conover and in this

video I'm going to share with you my comprehensive expert list of the top

things to do when living or visiting in New York City

during those long cold winter months

number one on my list is visit the Rockefeller tree the Rockefeller tree is

a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and the 750,000 that daily visitors expected the

first tree was put up in the 1930s during the Depression era construction

of Rockefeller Center when workers decorated a small 20 foot tall fir tree

this year's tree is a towering 72 foot tall Norway spruce from the town of

wallkill New York the tree is lit either during the first week of December or the

last week of November and stays up until January 7th and when the tree is taken

down the lumber is donated to Habitat for Humanity now the best times to visit

the tree are super early in the morning or very very late at night as it's the

most visited spot in New York during the holiday season

oh thank you I've actually fallen over there right now the Rockefeller tree is

definitely something that everyone should experience at least once in their

lifetime next on my list right across from Rockefeller Center is the Saks

Fifth Avenue the tradition started in 2004 and has continued now for over two

decades the theme this year is the theater of dreams and it was worked on

for about ten months leading up to the installation with nearly 200 people

working on the project the light show made my list mainly because it's right

across from the tree although it's not a personal favor of mine it's for sure a

must-see if it's your first time in New York City

during the holiday season number three on my list is ice-skating now there are

three main rinks to skate on during the winter season the most iconic is the

woman rink in Central Park the rink was opened in 1949 and it's been a fixture

in New York City culture ever since

yeah hands down the best thing to do New York City in the winter go to Central

Park go ice-skating there's nothing better than this pricing and operating

hours vary so make sure to pause right now and screenshot this next clip the

second is the rink at Rockefeller Center skating here is on a first-come

first-served basis which means that some days you might have to wait a very long

time and during peak holiday hours it costs $33 to enter and eight dollars to

rent skates and my personal favorite rink is the winter Village at Bryant

Park this is the only free ice-skating rink in the entire city

but it's not technically free skate rentals will cost you twenty dollars

large bag check $15 and $10 for a locker the winter village is open 8 a.m.

through 10:00 p.m. daily through March 3rd it's just about 8 o'clock in the

morning and my number one tip for Bryant Park get here early if you come here

around 4 5 o'clock in the evening this place is packed you won't even be able

to see the ice but right now you've got the place yourself lots of people

enjoying the beautiful New York weather if you can't make it there that early

and you don't mind the crowds there is nothing like going for skates surrounded

by the towering buildings of midtown Manhattan after a few hours of

ice-skating out in the cold warm up with some world famous hot chocolate at the

next spot on my list the city bakery hey could I have a hot chocolate please on a

marshmallow test a place with a combined 141 years of baking experience City

Bakery is my go-to spot during the winter the hot chocolate is an

exquisitely rich tree crafted from an assortment of dark chocolate bars and

dairy from farms mostly located in upstate New York topped off with a

gigantic homemade marshmallow here we have the world-famous hot chocolate from

the city bakery you can't even really call this hot chocolate it's more like a

chocolate soup you dip in the pretzel croissant into the hot chocolate and

enjoy we get the salt from the the pretzel croissant

you get the notes at the cocoa of course the homemade marshmallow which is kind

of hard to break apart you need like a fork to really get into this thing the

best way to warm up in the city on a cold day now if you're really trying to

go all out with the holiday spirit head it to the next spot on my list

Rolf's Christmas bar it's a snug German restaurant and bar with an old-world

vibe and it's known around the world for its elaborate holiday decorations but

don't be surprised to see a line down the block busy is an understatement

just to show you how packed this place actually gets I'm gonna try to walk back

through the bar so making my way back through the decorations excuse me Rolf's

was so packed that we headed down the street to patti McGuire's

Ale House the drinks are offs for a beer $18 here nine dollars half off you still

get that good New York City Christmas vibe without the crazy amounts of

tourists my protip go to Ralph's check it out look at all the decorations then

leave it go to pati McGuire's Ale House and actually kick back relax have a few

drinks with friends and truly enjoy that New York City holiday feeling another

alternative to keeping warm at during the long cold winter months is with some

of the best ramen that New York City has to offer we are now at Jun men ramen

right in the heart of Chelsea and the reason why I love this place especially

during the winter is the fact that it's so cozy it's basically a

hole-in-the-wall restaurant that just happens that world-class ramen it is the

perfect bar to get all nice and cozy and watch the snow fall outside on the

streets or if you're feeling adventurous the best way to enjoy in New York City

during the cold winter months is to fully embrace it and explore the city

during a snowstorm on average New York City gets around 3 feet of snowfall per

winter season there's really nothing quite like that first snowfall in the

city the snow itself sort of acts to absorb most of the sound and the city

can become completely silent hold your breath make a wish

countess this is the Magic Hour in New York City during the snowstorm city's

pretty much shut down once it starts getting dark people come out people

start drinking they go on the snow everyone's happy had become kids again

it just transforms the city and it makes for a very very unique experience if you

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more high quality New York City content and with that I will see you in the next

video

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