You’ve seen the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree on television, scenes of busy holiday shoppers on Fifth Avenue and glimpses of the Radio City Music Hall Christmas show. This could be the year you see it all in person, with a little Internet-speed help from some select Web sites.
www.nycvisit.com
The official NYC &Company has information on just about everything the city has to see and do. Click on “Visitors” to access details on shopping, maps and suggested itineraries, and a link to a service that can help you track down a hotel room. Click on “Things to Do” to get to their directories of the city’s many museums, info on performing arts and other features that bring people to the Big Apple.
The “Things to Do” page also has a section titled “Theater Tickets,” where you’ll find a link to Broadway.com and directions to the TKTS booths, where a little time standing in line can get you elusive same-day tickets to some of the top shows – at half-price.
www.radiocity.com
Go straight to the Box Office at Radio City Music Hall and see what tickets are still available for the Christmas Spectacular on the dates when you plan to visit. And before you move on to another Web site, take time to click on “The Music Hall” for a brief illustrated description of the theater’s history and extensive restoration.
www.rockefellercenter.com
All visitors at this time of year gravitate to the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and skating rink, a quick stroll around the corner from Radio City. Check Directions and then click on “Web Cam” for a live view of the tree and its surroundings. Be prepared for big crowds and chilly weather. There are warm restaurants in the concourse below street level.
www.ny-archdiocese.org/pastoral
www.stjohndivine.org
Across Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick’s Cathedral is another holiday highlight in New York. It’s too late to get a seat for Christmas Eve, but you can visit at other times. You might also consider the holiday season concerts at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine on the Upper West Side. Click on “Worship &Ministries” for schedules.
www.moma.org
A few blocks from St. Patrick’s, the Museum of Modern Art is reopening in its newly enlarged and remodeled home just in time for Christmas. Click on “Visiting the Museum” and buy your tickets online to avoid some of the rush.
www.metmuseum.org/home.asp
There are Christmas concerts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, along with its annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Creche. Click on “Now at the Met” for details on these and other current exhibits.
www.centralpark.org
If snow falls during your visit, the Metropolitan is on the edge of Central Park, a great place for quiet daytime strolls or horse-drawn carriage rides in the middle of the noisy city. Click on “Find It” for maps.
www.esbnyc.com/tourism
Prefer to be above the noise? See the city, maybe with a backdrop of snowflakes, from the observation deck of the Empire State Building, 86 floors above the pavement. Look for “Visiting the ESB” for security information.
www.graylinenewyork.com
www.circleline42.com
Take in some of the other sights the easy way, on one of the Gray Line tours aboard everything from buses to helicopters. An alternative, if the weather cooperates, is the Gray Line or Circle Line cruises of the rivers and harbor.
Roger Petterson, Associated Press
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