RT2 – Day 4 – Christmas in New York: Top of the Rock, Rockefeller Center, Central Park and Grand Central

After the lit-up houses of Dyker Heights the night before, we were giving the day over to Midtown and all the great symbols of Christmas in New York: the Rockefeller Center tree, Central Park, the Fifth Avenue windows and Grand Central.

25 December really is the big day for Americans, much more so than Christmas Eve: people stay at home with their families, and quite a few places are closed. You can feel that it’s a public holiday.

Times Square on Christmas morning

Another sunrise over the Empire State Building from the room, then we headed out early. Walking through Times Square at around 8am, a surprise: there was almost nobody there. The square was all lit up as usual, though. After the crowds of the previous evenings it felt strange, but it’s the right time to enjoy the place and take photos in peace.

Top of the Rock, the view with the Empire State in it

First visit of the day: Top of the Rock, the observation deck at the top of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, which was part of our Go City Pass. We had booked the 8.15am slot. Before going up, you walk through a small exhibition on the history of Rockefeller Center, with a large model of the complex and screens retracing its construction in the 1930s, then take a fast lift up to the terraces.

The view from Top of the Rock has one advantage over the one from the Empire State: the Empire State Building is in it. To the south, it stands in the middle of Midtown, with One World Trade Center in the distance and a sky that still had a little dawn colour in it. It was a bit cloudy, but that wasn’t a problem: the clouds stayed above the rooftops.

If you lean over, you can see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, tiny among the skyscrapers. And on the other side, the view drops down onto Central Park, a huge green rectangle (well, more of a brown one in winter) in the middle of the city. From up there you really grasp how vast the park is in a city like New York. It’s crazy.

At the edge of the park, you can make out the ultra-thin towers of Billionaires’ Row, on 57th Street: very tall, very narrow luxury buildings, including 111 West 57th Street, often described as the world’s skinniest skyscraper. The two observation decks are as good as each other. Our advice: do more than one, at different times of day. One in the morning and another at night, as we did with the Empire State Building, so that you also see the city lit up.

The Rockefeller Center tree and ice rink

Coming back down, we were right at the foot of the most famous Christmas tree in New York. Every year a large spruce is put up in front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, covered in tens of thousands of LEDs and topped with a Swarovski star. The tradition goes back to the 1930s. Just below are the ice rink and the golden statue of Prometheus: it’s exactly as in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York 🎬.

We didn’t skate, but we took the time to watch the skaters circling at the foot of the tree. The rink is very popular: there are a lot of people, and you have to pay.

Right next door is FAO Schwarz, the oldest toy store in the United States, known for its giant floor piano, as seen in the film Big 🎬 with Tom Hanks. It was closed, since it was 25 December. And if you want to go in during the days before Christmas, bring your patience: people queue for hours for their last presents. We then walked up the Channel Gardens, the walkway leading to the tree, lined with illuminated angels blowing their trumpets.

Fifth Avenue and St. Patrick’s Cathedral

We then crossed Fifth Avenue, where St. Patrick’s Cathedral faces the Saks Fifth Avenue department store, whose façade is entirely decorated for the holidays.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, in neo-Gothic style, was completed at the end of the 19th century. At the time it was the tallest building in the area. Today, seen from outside, it makes an odd impression: a huge cathedral made tiny by the tall buildings around it. It really is striking.

When we went in that morning it was quiet, and we were able to admire the nave and the vaults, decorated with red Christmas wreaths. When we walked past again later in the day, there was a queue to get in.

Walking up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park, we came across a building entirely wrapped up like a giant Louis Vuitton trunk, while their store is being renovated.

Central Park in winter

We entered Central Park at the south-east corner, near The Pond, a small pond surrounded by rocks with, just behind it, the Plaza Hotel, the one where Kevin spends his Christmas holidays 🎬.

A little further on is Wollman Rink, with the 57th Street skyscrapers in the background. It’s another of the best-known ice rinks in the city. That day the skaters had room to move: it can be far more crowded than in our photo.

We carried on to The Lake, the park’s large lake, which reflects the two towers of the San Remo, a legendary apartment building on the Upper West Side.

The squirrels and the Canada geese were out, and despite the grey sky there were plenty of families out for a walk. You can see why New Yorkers care so much about this park: you almost forget the city. In winter, Central Park isn’t especially green. It must be nicer to stroll there, and even to picnic, in spring or summer.

We left the park level with the natural history museum, which we had visited on the second day, to get back on the subway. We’d recommend combining the two visits, Central Park and the museum. On Christmas Day it was closed, so there was no going back in.

A slice at Joe’s Pizza

For lunch we ate at Joe’s Pizza, an institution opened in 1975 and regarded by many as one of the best slices in New York. It also appears in Spider-Man 2 🎬, where Peter Parker works there as a delivery boy. We went to the one on Broadway, near Times Square. The queue ran out onto the pavement: we waited a good forty minutes, and we were lucky, because just afterwards it was easily more than an hour. Once you’re inside, it goes very quickly: you order at the counter, pay, and eat standing up or take it away. The atmosphere alone, and the pace at which they serve everyone at rush hour, are worth the detour.

We had a pepperoni, the classic, and one with fresh mozzarella, basil and red onions. A thin, crisp crust that you fold in half to eat, as you should. They were good, but not exceptional: it’s mostly the Spider-Man connection that made the place’s reputation. The ones we had eaten on Wall Street were just as good.

Bryant Park and the New York Public Library

In the afternoon the sky finally cleared and we went to Bryant Park, which hosts the Winter Village every winter: a large tree, a Christmas market with little chalets like the ones you find in Europe, and a free ice rink (if you have your own skates; otherwise you pay for hire). On Christmas Day it was extremely busy, to the point of having to elbow your way forward. We did a lap of the market, but with that many people we didn’t really enjoy it.

Right next door is the New York Public Library and its monumental marble façade, guarded by two stone lions nicknamed Patience and Fortitude. It was closed on Christmas Day, so we made do with a few photos from outside. Admission is free: if it’s open when you come by, the main reading room is worth a look.

Grand Central Terminal

Last big stop: Grand Central Terminal, the most famous station in New York, opened in 1913. We came in through the main concourse, and it’s impressive: the green ceiling decorated with constellations, the huge arched windows, the American flag hanging overhead and, in the centre, the famous golden clock on the information booth.

The balconies around the concourse give you an overall view of the crowd crossing it. We went up there, Gossip Girl style 🎬. We also tried out the Whispering Gallery, near the Oyster Bar: under its vaults, you whisper facing the wall in one corner and the person standing in the opposite corner hears you perfectly. Even if you’re not catching a train, the station is one to see. You don’t spend a huge amount of time there: half an hour is enough to look around.

Leaving Grand Central, you come out at the foot of One Vanderbilt. You can go up to the top of this tower for a view over the city, but we didn’t.

The Rockefeller Center tree by night

Once night had fallen, we couldn’t end Christmas Day without seeing the Rockefeller Center tree again, all lit up. There were even more people than in the morning, with barriers and staff to manage the flow of pedestrians, but seeing it lit up for real was the moment we had been waiting for. Once you’re caught up in the crowd it can be hard to get out: take care if you’re uncomfortable in crowds.

The rest of our stay in New York is on day 5 (coming out on October 29, 2026).