NYC Christmas Markets 2026: Bryant Park, Union Square & More

The Grand Central Holiday Fair fills Vanderbilt Hall, a grand room within Grand Central Terminal, with stalls selling jewellery, crafts, art and gifts. It is an indoor market, making it a welcome option on cold or wet days.

Listings give a 2026 opening date of 9 November, with the fair running until shortly before Christmas. Check Grand Central's website for confirmed dates and opening hours.

While you are there, look up at the celestial ceiling in the Main Concourse and visit the New York Transit Museum's holiday train show at the terminal, when it runs. It is one of the most atmospheric NYC Christmas markets.

Pro Tip: Combine the Grand Central Holiday Fair with Bryant Park, just three blocks west, and stop for a drink at one of the terminal's historic bars or the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, a giant Norway spruce covered in thousands of lights and topped by a Swarovski star, is one of the most famous Christmas sights in the world. The tree lighting ceremony usually takes place on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving, broadcast live on television.

Beneath the tree, the Rink at Rockefeller Center is one of the city's most iconic places to skate, with tickets booked in advance. Along nearby Fifth Avenue, department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue unveil elaborate Christmas window displays.

Expect very large crowds, especially in the evenings and at weekends, and allow extra time to get close to the tree.

Pro Tip: Visit the tree early in the morning or late at night to avoid the biggest crowds. Walk down Fifth Avenue afterwards to see the Christmas window displays.

Macy's flagship store on Herald Square is a fixture of Christmas in New York, and in recent seasons it has added its own indoor market. Holiday Square, run with Urbanspace, the company behind the Bryant Park Christmas market and the Union Square Holiday Market, filled the store's lower level with local makers, gift stalls and food vendors from 1 November 2025 to early January 2026.

Upstairs, Macy's Santaland has welcomed families for decades, and the animated holiday windows along 34th Street and Broadway are free to view from the pavement. The store occupies an entire block between 34th and 35th Streets, so it is easy to spend an hour here even before you reach the market.

Holiday Square's 2026 dates had not been published at the time of writing, so check the Macy's website before you go.

Pro Tip: Reserve a free Santaland visit online as soon as booking opens, because weekend slots in December go quickly. See the windows after 5pm, when they are lit and the daytime shopping crowds have thinned.

The Columbus Circle Holiday Market, often called the Columbus Circle Christmas market, sets up at the south-west corner of Central Park, with around 100 European-style booths selling artisan crafts, jewellery, toys, home decor and food. In 2025, it ran from 2 to 31 December, closing on Christmas Day, and Urbanspace has confirmed it will return in December 2026.

The market is a perfect start or finish to a winter walk in Central Park, and the Wollman Rink, where visitors can skate with views of the Manhattan skyline, is nearby.

The Shops at Columbus Circle, an indoor mall overlooking the market, are a good place to warm up. Check the 2026 dates before you go, as they are usually announced in the autumn.

Pro Tip: Combine the Columbus Circle market with a walk through Central Park to Wollman Rink, then warm up with hot chocolate inside the Shops at Columbus Circle.

There is no permanent Christmas market inside Central Park itself, but if you search for a Central Park Christmas market, the experience you want is here: the Columbus Circle Holiday Market at the park's south-west gate and Wollman Rink a short walk inside. Wollman Rink sits in the southern part of Central Park, with the hotels of Central Park South and the towers of Billionaires' Row rising behind the ice.

Unlike the free rink at Bryant Park's Winter Village, Wollman Rink is ticketed, and prices rise at weekends and on holidays. Timed entry tickets and skate rental can be booked online, and the rink usually opens in late October and runs until March.

After skating, walk north along The Mall, the elm-lined promenade, or take a horse-drawn carriage ride for a classic winter view of the park.

Pro Tip: Book a weekday morning session, when tickets are cheaper and the ice is far less crowded. Combine it with the Columbus Circle Holiday Market in December for a half-day around the south end of Central Park.

Grand Bazaar NYC is one of the oldest weekly markets in New York, held every Sunday in the schoolyard and halls at Columbus Avenue and West 77th Street. Around the holidays, it adds extra seasonal vendors and festive food, so it works as a Christmas market for anyone who wants local makers without the Midtown crowds.

Expect around 100 stalls selling vintage clothing, antiques, jewellery, art, handmade gifts and street food, with both indoor and outdoor sections. Opening hours are usually 10am to 5:30pm, and entry is free. Profits go to local public schools, so your shopping supports the neighbourhood.

The market sits directly across from the American Museum of Natural History, which has its own holiday traditions, including the Origami Holiday Tree.

Pro Tip: Arrive before 11am for the best pick of vintage stock, then cross the street to the American Museum of Natural History. Check the Grand Bazaar website for special holiday editions in December, which have run at other venues in past seasons.

The Union Square Holiday Market is one of the longest-running NYC Christmas markets, with more than 25 years of history. Its layout was originally modelled on European Christmas markets, and more than 150 vendors sell clothing, decor, home goods, candles, soaps and festive food.

The Union Square Christmas market is listed for 12 November to 24 December 2026, and it closes on Christmas Eve. It is a great place to find NYC-themed souvenirs and gifts from local makers.

The market is also close to the Union Square Greenmarket, which sells seasonal produce on several days a week. Check the 2026 dates closer to the season, as they are usually announced in the autumn.

Pro Tip: Visit on a weekday afternoon to avoid the weekend crowds, and look for local makers selling NYC-themed gifts. Try the food stalls for lunch.

The Brooklyn Flea is the closest thing to a Brooklyn Christmas market, and its holiday edition is one of the best places in New York for one-off gifts. In the 2025 season, it ran under the Manhattan Bridge Archway in Dumbo on Saturdays and Sundays until 21 December, from 10am to 5pm, with local shop owners from the neighbourhood joining the regular vendors.

Stalls focus on vintage clothing, antiques, records, furniture, jewellery and handmade crafts, so this is the place for a present nobody else will have. Entry is free.

Dumbo itself is worth the trip: the cobbled Washington Street view of the Manhattan Bridge, Jane's Carousel and the waterfront paths of Brooklyn Bridge Park are all within a few minutes' walk.

Pro Tip: Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge from Manhattan in the morning, shop the Brooklyn Flea, and finish with sunset views of the Lower Manhattan skyline from Pebble Beach in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Check the 2026 dates on the Brooklyn Flea website from November.

Dyker Heights, a residential neighbourhood in Brooklyn, is famous for its extravagant Christmas light displays, with homeowners decorating their houses with giant inflatables, animated figures and thousands of lights. The tradition has turned the area into one of the most popular Christmas attractions in New York.

The best displays are concentrated around 11th to 13th Avenues between 83rd and 86th Streets. The lights are usually up from late November or early December until the new year, and viewing them is free.

Remember that these are private homes, so stay on the pavement, keep noise down and be respectful of residents.

Pro Tip: Visit on a weekday evening to avoid the weekend crowds and traffic. A guided bus tour from Manhattan is the easiest way to get there and back.