It’s time to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah and the New Year as Midtown Manhattan lights up like no other place in the world. Mechanical window displays, synchronized light and sound shows, not to mention Santa Claus and toy soldiers surely await you in this winter wonderland. Check them all our on our New York Holiday Lights Tour, a 2-hour festive pay-what-you-like walking tour that you won’t forget. If you prefer to stay warm, there’s also On Location Tours Holiday Lights & Movie Sites bus tour. Get more information on the bus tour version here.
Join Free Tours by Foot as we experience the holidays in the city as only New York can offer. We will take advantage of the subway to beat the street traffic, keep warm and catch some underground holiday music. Learn about the artists and backgrounds to these wonderful displays. You can’t get that on a bus and you can’t beat the price.
Lighting and window displays we visit on the New York Holiday Lights Tour:
Where: The tour meets on the stairs of the New York Public Library’s Schwartzman Building (map).
When:Daily @7 pm (21:00) and Friday-Monday @7:30 pm (21:30) between Dec 1st until Jan 1st. View our full Calendar
Duration: Approximately 2 hours.
Cost: This tour is free to take, and you get to decide what, if anything, the tour was worth when it’s done. A name-your-own-price tour is a tour for anyone’s budget.
*Please have a subway Metro card with at least $2.75 for one subway ride.
This 2.5 hour guided bus tour takes you to sites throughout Manhattan, which served as setting in holiday movies that you’ll recognize right away. During the ride, clips from movies filmed at the sites are shown on TV screens so you can match the locations you visit with the movie scenes filmed there. You’ll see sites from wonderful holiday films such as Scrooged, Home Alone, Serendipity3, Miracle on 34th Street, Elf, New Year’s Eve, Mr. Popper’s Penguin, Eloise at Christmastime and The Family Man.
Along the ride you’ll the spectacular department store windows at Bloomingdales, Lord & Taylor, Barneys, Saks, Macy’s and Tiffany & Co. You’ll also get a glimpse of the of the giant Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center. The bus makes a few stops for you to de-board and see sights close-up and take pictures. This tour has great reviews with guests saying that guides are professional and also really entertaining. Many guests took the tour as a family and said that it was “multi-generational” and that adults, teens and children will all enjoy this tour.