New York City: Couple's Christmas Trip
- Abbey Ansley
- Jan 5
- 13 min read
Travel Time: December 2025
In early November, I asked my husband what he wanted for Christmas. His response? Socks. I did, in fact, get him some socks—but I also decided to look into a long-weekend trip for the two of us. I had never been to New York City, and Ty had only spent a day and a half there years ago (he went to see the old Yankee Stadium before it was torn down). Christmas time felt like the perfect excuse to plan a quick getaway to NYC.
I studied a map of Manhattan religiously while planning this trip. There is so much to do and see in the city that I knew it would be important to group activities by neighborhood. I also knew I’d want both a plan and a solid backup plan so we could easily adjust for Christmas crowds or unpredictable winter weather. We ended up doing almost everything we hoped to, but it required flexibility—and a good understanding of what was geographically near us. I saved every location we wanted to visit in Google Maps and created a Plan A and Plan B for each neighborhood we planned to explore.
Let me preface all of this by saying that because this was our first time in New York, we covered a lot of ground quickly. We probably could have spent half a day at some of the stops where we only stayed an hour (or less). At the same time, I always keep the words of the great and wise Rick Steves in mind: Travel like you’ll be back again. I can’t get so caught up in trying to see everything that I forget to live in the moment and enjoy what’s right in front of me.
This quick trip to New York City ended up being a balancing act—trying to see as much as we could while still slowing down enough to truly enjoy it. I think we did a pretty great job of that…and I left with a long list of things I can’t wait to do on our next visit 😉.
Day 1: Sightseeing & a Broadway Show
We really hit the ground running on our first day! We landed in New York at 9:30 a.m. and took the subway to our hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It was too early to check in, so we dropped our bags with the bellhop and headed out to sightsee.
Here’s the order we went in:
Macy’s (to see the Christmas decorations)
The Empire State Building
New York Public Library
Bryant Park Winter Village
Grand Central Terminal
The Chrysler Building
By this point, we were ready for lunch. We hadn’t planned a specific stop because we knew we’d be on the move all afternoon and didn’t want to be tied to a reservation in a specific neighborhood. Since we were near the Chrysler Building and wanted something quick and cozy, we searched for nearby options and landed at Malone’s Irish Pub and Grill—and it ended up being our favorite meal of the day.
We shared tomato soup, a grilled cheese stuffed with roasted red peppers and tomatoes, and potato skins. It was the perfect lunch for a cold, blustery day.
After lunch, we continued on to:
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Shopping and Christmas window displays along Fifth Avenue
Rockefeller Center
The Plaza
Once our feet officially gave out, we took the subway back to the hotel to check in, rest for a bit, and get changed for dinner and a show.
Ty and I are huge Top Chef fans, and whenever we travel in the U.S., we love visiting restaurants owned by former cheftestants. New York City has so many options, but we narrowed it down to Tom Colicchio’s Craft New York or Buddha Lo’s Huso. We were really excited about Huso, but the three-hour dining experience felt like too big of a time commitment for such a quick trip. Ultimately, we decided on Craft NY.
Craft New York was good—everything was very well executed—but it wasn’t the most creative or exciting meal we’ve ever had. I think if I lived in New York, it would be a place I’d frequent for dinner, but it didn’t quite feel like a standout “vacation meal.”
When we left the restaurant, snow had started falling! For us Atlantans, this was incredibly exciting. We walked through the snow to the subway station and headed toward Times Square.
To end the night, we saw The Lion King at the Minskoff Theatre. The theater has incredible views of Times Square (without being in the middle of the crowds), and the show itself was absolutely stunning. The costumes, the props, and the performances completely blew me away. As self-proclaimed Disney adults, it was so fun to experience a little Disney magic while in New York City.
Day 2: Brooklyn Bridge, Secret Food Tour, The High Line & Drunk Shakespeare
After a late night (for me) seeing The Lion King, we slept in on our second day. We woke up without an alarm and headed to our first stop: Culture Espresso. One of Ty’s coworkers, Joey, told us he’d had the best chocolate chip cookie of his life there—and the coffee and cookie absolutely lived up to the hype.
Be prepared to wait. We grabbed our coffee and waited about 10 minutes for the next batch of cookies to come out of the oven. Each batch sold out before it even fully cooled.
It had snowed just over four inches overnight, which meant we got the special privilege of seeing the city blanketed in snow. The downside? Massive puddles of melted snow at nearly every crosswalk, resulting in lots of hopping and strategic sidewalk navigation. From there, we hopped on the subway and headed to the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked about halfway across, took in the views, and then turned back around to make it to our next stop on time—a tour departing from Chinatown.
At noon, we joined the Secret Food Tour: Chinatown & Little Italy. Our guide, Grace, was fantastic and shared so much insight into the history of these neighborhoods, along with what modern life looks like there today. Check out all of our stops in the video below!
The tour wrapped up around 3:00 p.m., and we hopped back on the subway toward Chelsea Market and The High Line. Our first stop was Starbucks Reserve to warm up and use the restroom before crossing the street to Chelsea Market.
Chelsea Market ended up being the most crowded place we encountered on the entire trip. There were tons of shoppers and long lines at the most popular food counters. At one intersection, people were literally shoulder to shoulder trying to move in opposite directions. Since we were already stuffed and not looking to eat, we made our way through the market quickly and exited toward the entrance of the High Line.
The High Line is an elevated park and walking path on Manhattan’s west side, stretching from the Meatpacking District through Chelsea and up to Hudson Yards. The gardens along the route were exquisite, covered in ice and snow, creating the feeling of a winter wonderland tucked right into the city. In another life, I hope to add a unit in the Lantern Building in West Chelsea to my real estate portfolio—this unique building is on full display from the High Line.
Our plan was to walk the High Line from Chelsea Market all the way to Hudson Yards, but that plan got the kibosh about 10 minutes in. A section of the park was closed due to the winter weather, and we had to exit via the stairs. As it turns out, this was incredibly kismet.
Ever since it started snowing the day before, Ty had been mentioning how much he hoped we’d come across some mulled wine. It sounded delicious, but I laughed it off, assuming it wasn’t something we’d just stumble upon while walking around the city. Well—just as we came down the stairs from the High Line into West Chelsea, we practically tumbled into Wildflower Restaurant.
We walked in, grabbed seats at the bar, and what do you think was on the very first page of the menu? Mulled wine. We couldn’t believe our luck. We immediately ordered two glasses, along with fried “pickles” made from cornichons dipped in tempura batter. Was I hungry? No. Did I happily snack on them anyway? Absolutely.
Sitting next to us at the bar was a sweet miniature Australian Shepherd named BeBe and her lovely parents. We struck up a conversation (with the humans) and chatted about our weekend plans. They live locally in West Chelsea and frequently attend shows around the city. After hearing what we’d already seen, they recommended Santa’s Secret, a Christmas cabaret and burlesque show they’d recently enjoyed. We didn’t have time to fit it into this trip, but it’s definitely on our list for a future visit. They also shared tips on using TodayTix and TKTS to score great deals on Broadway shows.
After about an hour with our new friends, we closed our tab and headed back out into the snow. We continued toward Hudson Yards—this time at street level rather than on the High Line. Once there, we took in views of The Vessel (closed due to snow and ice) and browsed the shops in the mall before walking back to our Midtown hotel to rest for a bit.
That evening, we walked to Nan Xiang for soup dumplings and then headed to Drunk Shakespeare, which I think ended up being my husband’s favorite entertainment of the entire trip. A friend from my book club back home recommended the show, and I’m so glad she did. It wasn’t on my original NYC radar, and honestly, I’m not sure it would have caught my attention if it had been—but it was a highlight.
The show fully embraces crude humor in the best way possible. If that’s your style, you’ll have an absolute blast. Highbrow patrons need not attend 🤣 (unless you’re ready to embrace your dark side for the night).
Day 3: Financial District, History & Memorial Stops, and Greenwich Village
We started our third day with breakfast at Apollo Bagels in the Financial District—another recommendation from Joey that absolutely delivered. From there, we walked to several of the major tourist spots in the area, including Federal Hall National Memorial, the New York Stock Exchange, the Charging Bull, and The Battery.
Next, we met up for our guided tour to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the 9/11 Memorial. This is one part of the trip I would handle differently in hindsight. I’m usually a big fan of guided tours—I love having a local expert share both historical context and side stories, and I appreciate not having to worry about logistics (especially since I have a truly terrible sense of direction). I booked this tour through Delta Vacations to build MQDs and to have transportation and tickets pre-arranged for three major sites we wanted to see.
It wasn’t that our guide wasn’t good—she was. The issue was the structure of the tour. Our guide, Gail, primarily guided us from location to location, but once we arrived, we were left to explore on our own. Had we been fully independent, we would have allocated our time differently. For example, we didn’t need much time at the Statue of Liberty but would have loved more time at Ellis Island. The biggest upside of having a guide was that she waited in all the ferry lines for us, ensuring no one got left behind during long waits.
After the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Gail led us to the 9/11 Memorial. Like anyone who was alive that day, we have a deep emotional connection to the Twin Towers despite never having seen them in person. We arrived just as the lights in the pools turned on, which made the experience even more moving. Seeing the white roses placed in the names of victims whose birthdays it was that day was especially powerful.
The security line to enter the 9/11 Museum was incredibly long. While our tour included timed-entry museum tickets, we didn’t have enough time to wait in the security line and get through the museum due to a 5:15 p.m. dinner reservation—and neither of us wanted to rush through such a meaningful experience or head straight from the memorial into dinner. I was 10 years old and Ty was 14 when 9/11 happened, a very formative time for both of us. We absolutely want to visit the museum, and we’ll be back in New York if for no other reason than to do just that.
From the memorial pools, we hopped on the subway at the Oculus and headed to Greenwich Village. As a lifelong Friends fan, you can imagine my pure joy when we emerged from the subway directly in front of the Village Cigars sign. From there, we walked to L’Industrie Pizzeria to wait in line for one of the most talked-about slices in the city.
The line was long—we waited about 45 minutes—so I left my wonderful husband holding our spot while I walked one block over to 90 Bedford Street, the exterior used for Monica, Rachel, Joey, and Chandler’s apartment building on Friends. I snapped a few giddy photos and then returned so Ty could take his turn checking it out. When he came back, we were still in the outdoor portion of the line for pizza, so I popped into Talea Beer Co. next door for a drink at the bar. I ordered something similar to a Bee’s Knees but made with pear juice instead of lemon, and it was absolutely scrumptious. By the time I returned, Ty was nearly at the front—and had made friends with a sweet couple from San Diego behind him in line.
L’Industrie was worth the wait, y’all. Since we were on our way to dinner, we just ordered one slice of pepperoni with hot honey to dip it in—and it was outstanding. We’ve been talking about it ever since. L’Industrie does have some standing room inside, but it’s limited. A great alternative: Talea Beer Co. allows patrons to bring their L’Industrie pizza inside, as long as everyone orders a drink and returns the empty pizza box to L’Industrie afterward.
From there, we headed to dinner at L’Artusi, which came highly recommended by both my book club friend and ChatGPT. This reservation was competitive—I had to be on Resy right when bookings opened and even lost my first attempt because I didn’t enter my information fast enough. After checking in, we watched multiple parties get turned away because reservations, the waitlist, and bar seating were completely full. If you want to dine here, set an alarm to book it. Reservations are released here two weeks out at 9:00 a.m. EST.
For dinner, we ordered the house-made focaccia, roasted mushrooms, pici cacio e pepe, the Iberian Duroc pork chop, and sorbetti for dessert (passion fruit-banana, lemon, and dark chocolate). Everything was delicious, but the pork chop was the clear standout—it was the most perfectly cooked, tender, and juicy pork chop either of us had ever had. The sorbet was a close second, with the passion fruit-banana being my favorite and the dark chocolate Ty’s.
After dinner, we wanted to catch a comedy show at either Comedy Cellar, Comedy Cellar at the Village Underground, or Fat Black Pussycat. These clubs are all affiliated and located within a few minutes walk of each other. This is where I made a planning mistake. I checked the Comedy Cellar website multiple times and saw all showtimes listed, assuming that meant availability. I didn’t realize that shows only appear as “sold out” once you click through to purchase your reservation.
We finished dinner around 7:30 p.m., thinking we could catch a 7:45 show—but the next available reservations weren’t until 11:30. We still walked over to join the standby line but didn’t make the first show. Instead, we put our names on the waitlist and headed to The Up & Up, a moody basement cocktail bar just a block away that had been recommended by the bartender at Talea. As 8:30 approached, we checked back at Comedy Cellar at the Village Underground and were able to get in off the waitlist.
The show was incredibly fun and a perfect way to end the night. I highly recommend adding a Comedy Cellar show to your New York City itinerary.
Day 4: Travel Home & Reflection
On our last day, we slept in and grabbed bagels for breakfast before heading to JFK. While waiting for our flight, we visited both the Centurion Lounge and the Delta Sky Club. We personally preferred the Centurion Lounge for its coffee bar and slightly smaller crowd.
All in all, our post-Christmas trip to New York City was a huge success. We did have to pivot our plans a few times to avoid large crowds or work around winter weather, but honestly, there was no more adjusting than on any other trip we’ve taken. I can’t emphasize this enough: something will always go off-plan when you’re traveling. The best way to keep it from ruining your day is to have a backup plan you’re just as excited about.
The closest we came to a true “big bummer” was thinking we might have to kill time until 11:30 p.m. to catch a comedy show (I am not a night owl 😴). That—and not being able to visit the 9/11 Museum—were really the only disappointments of the trip.
Looking back, the highlights of our time in New York were seeing a variety of shows and exploring so many different neighborhoods across Manhattan. If (and when) we make it back, here’s what’s high on my to do list:
Brooklyn
We originally planned to spend part of Saturday in Brooklyn—walking across the bridge and exploring Brooklyn Heights Promenade and the DUMBO area. With the winter weather, we opted to stay indoors instead (Chelsea Market and mulled wine at Wildflower felt like the right call). Brooklyn is definitely at the top of the list for our next visit.
Museums
First and foremost, I want to visit the 9/11 Museum. After experiencing the memorial pools, I know this is something I’ll want to dedicate a full day to. I expect it to be incredibly emotional, and I can’t imagine exiting the museum and immediately hopping on the subway to continue sightseeing—it deserves time to experience and reflect.
I’d also love to spend more time at:
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The American Museum of Natural History
The Guggenheim Museum
The Frick Collection
Shows
There are so many highly rated and recommended Broadway shows, and I’d love to see more of them. Ideally, I’ll convince my husband that we need to make more regular weekend trips to New York for dinner and a show. Up next might be something like Tatiana’s and Oh, Mary! or Huso and Six.
Lodging
This trip, we stayed in Midtown, which was a great location for sightseeing and walking to places like the Empire State Building and the Flatiron Building. On our next visit, I think we’d love to stay somewhere a bit cozier—perhaps Greenwich Village or West Chelsea.
If I Were Taking Kids
This trip would have been a much slower pace if we had taken our kids. Big cities can be overstimulating for them, so the first thing I’d prioritize is choosing a neighborhood near a park or playground. I’d also make sure we were close to a subway station, so we wouldn’t be facing long walks at the end of an already full day.
When it comes to activities, I’d focus on major historical highlights like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, along with a matinee Broadway show. Kid-friendly options like Aladdin, The Lion King, & Juliet, or MJ would all be great choices.
While my husband and I didn’t prioritize observation decks on this trip, I think kids would absolutely love them. I’d also plan to rent bikes in Central Park, visit the Central Park Zoo, and build in plenty of time for outdoor breaks.
For kids, I'd consider planning a trip during warmer weather so we could visit Coney Island. I’d also make a point to watch Night at the Museum before visiting the American Museum of Natural History—a fun way to build excitement and context ahead of time.
One thing that would be easy with kids in New York is dining. The city has no shortage of family-friendly Italian restaurants, and I’d also put places like Ellen’s Stardust Diner, Good Enough to Eat, Cowgirl, Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, Bubby’s, and Carmine’s on our list.
Comments