No matter how many times you have been to New York. the city can always 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 Neel Solanki and in this ar 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 to 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. 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. 
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. 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. it 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.