New York events & things to do in December 2026
Start with Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building, plus Top of the Rock & Rockefeller Center. December in New York averages 6°C / 43°F highs, 0°C / 33°F nights, and about 13 rainy days.
Expect 6°C/43°F days and about 13 rainy ones in December. Start with these:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art★ 4.8 · 92.8k reviewsThe Met was founded in 1870 and anchors Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, beside Central Park and the Museum Mile stretch of the Upper East Side.
- Empire State Building★ 4.7 · 127.1k reviewsThe 1931 Art Deco tower rises at 350 Fifth Avenue, two blocks south of Herald Square and a short walk from Bryant Park.
- Hamilton (NY)Dec 1 – Dec 30Richard Rodgers Theatre · Source: Ticketmaster
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By TripSapien Research · Updated June 3, 2026
New York in December 2026
Weather
TempTemperature
43°F / 33°F
6.3°C / 0.4°C
RainPrecipitation
13d
3.9in · 99.8mm
LightDaylight
9.1h
Sea
39.6°F
4.2°C
December is cold and damp, but Bryant Park Winter Village, Rockefeller Center tree lights, Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop define the Midtown calendar.
Events & festivals
Event calendar- Dec 1
- Dec 1 – Dec 31
Holiday Train Show at New York Botanical Garden
An intricate model train display featuring replicas of New York landmarks made from natural materials, set in the Botanical Garden's conservatory.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 1 – Dec 30
Show all 39 events for December
- Dec 1 – Dec 31
Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
A neighborhood-wide display of extravagant Christmas lights and decorations in Brooklyn's Dyker Heights.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 1 – Dec 30
- Dec 1
- Dec 1
- Dec 1 – Dec 31
Winter Village at Bryant Park
A seasonal market with holiday shops, food vendors, and an ice skating rink in Midtown Manhattan.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 1
- Dec 1
- Dec 1
- Dec 1 – Dec 24
Holiday Markets at Union Square
A festive market featuring local artisans, crafts, and seasonal foods.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 1
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- Dec 10 – Dec 31
The Nutcracker by New York City Ballet
The classic holiday ballet performed at Lincoln Center, a New York City tradition.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 13
NYC Downtown Short Film Festival
International Short Film Festival in New York.
Source: festival calendar
- Dec 16 – Dec 17
- Dec 17
- Dec 18 – Dec 31
New York Philharmonic Holiday Concerts
Seasonal concerts featuring holiday classics and symphonic performances at Lincoln Center.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
- Dec 31
New Year's Eve Ball Drop Viewing Events
Official and organized viewing events around Times Square for the iconic New Year's Eve ball drop.
Planning lead · dates set closer in · Source: festival research
Holidays, observances & long weekends
Holiday and observance schedules can affect services and venue hours; confirm each place directly.
- Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday
- Dec 25-Dec 27Long weekend
About New York
City overview
New York is a five-borough harbor city where Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island sit between the Hudson River, East River, and Upper New York Bay. For first-time planning, Manhattan is the spine: the numbered grid begins above 14th Street, while Greenwich Village, SoHo, the Lower East Side, Chinatown, and Lower Manhattan keep older pre-grid lanes closer to the harbor.
Food & drink
New York food is tied to blocks: NY-style pizza by the slice, bagels with lox and cream cheese, pastrami on rye, halal-cart chicken-and-rice, Chinatown dim sum, black-and-white cookies, cheesecake, and deli pickles all have local routes. Russ & Daughters at 179 East Houston Street, Katz's Delicatessen at 205 East Houston Street, Mott Street and Mulberry Street in Chinatown and Little Italy, Chelsea Market, and Smorgasburg in Williamsburg make a practical first food map.
Top sights
Ranked for December suitability using weather, setting, ratings, and review volume.
- 1Top of the Rock & Rockefeller Center
- 2American Museum of Natural History
- 39/11 Memorial & Museum
- 4Central Park
- 5Brooklyn Bridge
- 6Times Square & Theater District
- 7The High Line
- 8Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
1Top of the Rock & Rockefeller Center
4.7★ · 82,606indoorOpen dailyRockefeller Center opened in 1933 around 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, Channel Gardens, and the Fifth Avenue side of Midtown. The 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center station on the B/D/F/M is underneath the complex, with St. Patrick's Cathedral and MoMA close by.
Top of the Rock sunset tickets are the scarce window; daytime visits give clearer views toward Central Park.
2American Museum of Natural History
4.6★ · 24,639indoorOpen dailyFounded in 1869, AMNH fills the Central Park West and 79th Street block with dinosaur halls, the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. The 81 St-Museum of Natural History station on the B/C opens beside the museum, across Central Park from the Met.
Wikipedia
39/11 Memorial & Museum
4.8★ · 93,715mixedClosed TueThe memorial pools opened in 2011 on the World Trade Center site, and the underground museum opened in 2014 at Greenwich and Liberty streets. WTC Cortlandt on the 1, Cortlandt Street on the R/W, Fulton Street, and the Oculus PATH hall all put you within a short walk.
Reserve a timed museum ticket and leave time for the outdoor pools, St. Paul's Chapel, and the Oculus.
Show 3 more sights
- 4Central Park
- 5Brooklyn Bridge
- 6Times Square & Theater District
Neighborhoods
1Lower Manhattan, Financial District, Battery Park & Tribeca
The harbor end of Manhattan feels older and tighter, with Wall Street, Stone Street, the Battery, the Staten Island Ferry terminal, One World Trade Center, and cobbled Tribeca blocks around Harrison Street. It is the best base for the Statue of Liberty ferry, the 9/11 Memorial, and a Brooklyn Bridge walk.
2SoHo, NoLita & Lower East Side
SoHo is cast-iron lofts on Greene, Mercer, and Broadway; NoLita shifts smaller around Elizabeth and Mulberry streets; the Lower East Side adds Orchard Street, Ludlow Street, Essex Market, and the Tenement Museum. The Delancey Street-Essex Street F/J/M/Z hub makes this side easy to pair with Chinatown.
3Greenwich Village, West Village & Meatpacking District
Greenwich Village keeps the crooked pre-grid street pattern around Washington Square Park, MacDougal Street, Bleecker Street, and Christopher Street-Sheridan Square. West of Seventh Avenue, the West Village narrows into townhouse lanes before the Meatpacking District reaches Gansevoort Street, the Whitney, and the High Line entrance.
Day trips
95km / 80-90min by Metro-North Hudson Line from Grand Central to Beacon
Hudson Valley: Beacon, Dia Beacon & Storm King
Beacon gives a rail-simple Hudson River day with Dia Beacon in a former Nabisco box-printing factory and Main Street cafes uphill from the station. Storm King Art Center near New Windsor needs a shuttle, taxi, or car, but its large-scale sculpture fields pair naturally with the same Hudson Valley corridor.
185km / about 3h by LIRR from Penn Station or Grand Central Madison to Montauk
The Hamptons & Montauk
South Fork towns such as Southampton, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, and Montauk trade Manhattan density for beaches, marinas, and Atlantic light. Summer Fridays are the hardest travel window, so reserve LIRR seats or rental cars early.
150km / about 1h15 by Amtrak Acela from Penn Station to 30th Street Station
Philadelphia
Philadelphia is the easiest out-of-state rail day, with Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Reading Terminal Market, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art all reachable from 30th Street by transit or taxi. It works best as a full day because the historic district and museum axis sit on opposite sides of Center City.
Getting around
The MTA subway is the visitor backbone: OMNY tap-to-pay works with contactless cards, phones, watches, and OMNY Cards, the current subway and local bus fare is $3, and using the same card or device caps subway/local bus rides at $35 after 12 paid fares in 7 days. Subway trains run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but late-night service patterns change; Penn Station, Grand Central, Atlantic Terminal, JFK, LGA, and EWR all need separate airport or rail timing.
Planning a New York trip?
Add your dates and we'll check every place for closures, limited hours, and booking needs in December.
Common questions about New York in December
- What's on in NYC in December 2026?
- New York has 33 dated events listed for December 2026. Dates and details are in the events and festivals section.
- Is it worth going to NYC in December?
- Yes. December in New York averages 6°C / 43°F highs, 0°C / 33°F nights, and about 13 rainy days.
- Is $1000 enough for 4 days in New York?
- New York in December works best around Metropolitan Museum of Art, Empire State Building, and Top of the Rock & Rockefeller Center. December is cold and damp, but Bryant Park Winter Village, Rockefeller Center tree lights, Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop define the Midtown calendar.
- Best rainy-day things to do in New York in December
December averages 13 rainy days in New York, so keep these indoor stops as realistic backups.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art — The Met was founded in 1870 and anchors Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street, beside Central Park and the Museum Mile stretch of the Upper East Side. The 86 St station on the 4/5/6 is the closest major subway stop, with a crosstown walk past the park wall.
- Empire State Building — The 1931 Art Deco tower rises at 350 Fifth Avenue, two blocks south of Herald Square and a short walk from Bryant Park. The nearest subway cluster is 34 St-Herald Sq on the B/D/F/M/N/Q/R/W, with 33 St on the 6 train another practical arrival.
- Top of the Rock & Rockefeller Center — Rockefeller Center opened in 1933 around 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall, Channel Gardens, and the Fifth Avenue side of Midtown. The 47-50 Sts-Rockefeller Center station on the B/D/F/M is underneath the complex, with St. Patrick's Cathedral and MoMA close by.
- American Museum of Natural History — Founded in 1869, AMNH fills the Central Park West and 79th Street block with dinosaur halls, the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. The 81 St-Museum of Natural History station on the B/C opens beside the museum, across Central Park from the Met.
- What to pack for New York in December
Pack for December's weather, not a generic New York checklist.
- A warm coat and insulating layers for average highs around 6°C / 43°F.
- A heavier evening layer because nights average 0°C / 33°F.
- Compact rain gear and shoes that handle wet pavement across about 13 rainy days.
- How many days do you need in New York
- 4 days covers the main New York highlights at a realistic pace. Add 3 extra days if you want the listed day trips.
Ready to plan New York?
You've seen what's on — now get a day-by-day New York plan for December 2026, every place checked for your exact dates.