Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
buy tickets at the box office or via Ticketmaster's
Radio City Hot
Line
(
&
212/307-1000
), or visit
www.ticketmaster.com
.
November through early January.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The procession from Central
Park West and 77th Street and down Broadway to Herald Square
at 34th Street continues to be a national tradition. Huge hot-air
balloons in the forms of Rocky and Bullwinkle, Snoopy, the Pink
Panther, Bart Simpson, and other cartoon favorites are the best
part. The night before, you can usually see the big blow-up on
Central Park West at 79th Street; call in advance to see if it will be
open to the public. Call
&
212/484-1222
or Macy's Visitor Cen-
ter at 212/494-2922. November 27, 2008.
Lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
The annual
lighting ceremony is accompanied by ice skaters, singing, entertain-
ment, and a
huge
crowd. The tree stays lit 24/7 until after the New
Year. Call
&
212/332-6868,
or visit
www.rockefellercenter.com
.
Late November or early December.
December
Holiday Trimmings.
Stroll down Fifth Avenue and you'll see a
27-foot sparkling snowflake floating over the intersection outside
Tiffany's,
the
Cartier
building beribboned with red bows,
wreaths warming the necks of the
New York Public Library
's
lions, and fanciful figurines in the windows of
Saks Fifth Avenue
and
Lord & Taylor.
Madison Avenue between 55th and 60th
streets is also a good bet;
Sony Plaza
usually displays something
fabulous, as does
Ba rn ey's Ne w Yo rk .
Throughout December.
Christmas Traditions.
In addition to the
Radio City Music Hall
Christmas Spectacular
and the New York City Ballet's staging of
The Nutcracker,
traditional holiday events include
A Christmas
Carol
at
The Theater at Madison Square Garden
(
&
212/465-
6741
or www.thegarden.com; for tickets,
&
212/307-7171
or
www.ticketmaster.com). At
Avery Fisher Hall
is the National
Chorale's singalong performances of Handel's
Messiah
(
&
212/
875-5030;
www.lincolncenter.org) a week before Christmas.
Don't worry if the only words you know are “Alleluia, Alleluia!”—
you'll get a lyrics sheet. Throughout December.
Lighting of the Hanukkah Menorah.
The world's largest meno-
rah (32 ft. high) is at Manhattan's
Grand Army Plaza,
Fifth
Avenue and 59th Street. Hanukkah celebrations begin at sunset,
with the lighting of the giant electric candles. December 21, 2008.
New Year's Eve.
The biggest party of all is in
Times Square,
where raucous revelers count down the year's final seconds until
