New York Explorer Pass: save 15% instantly on 5, 7 and 10 NYC attractions!

LINCOLN CENTER TREE
During construction of Lincoln Center, there was no tree set up last year if I recall correctly, but the tree is back! It is located at a park across the street from Lincoln Center at Columbus between 63rd and 64th street. The picture below was during the lighting of the tree, so there is a stage in front of it making it appear smaller. Still, if you’re looking for the grandest tree, Rockefeller Center’s tree is still the biggest, but this is a nice one if you’re in the area.

COLUMBUS CIRCLE
From Lincoln Center, you can walk on down south to Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center (58th Street and 8th Ave.) to see the holiday stars in the lobby. This is a consistent yearly display where “stars” that are multi-paneled change colors in sync with Christmas songs. They play hourly until 5 pm, after which, they play continuously. This is a great place to warm up indoors.

BLOOMINGDALE’S
The next stop is heading way east to Bloomingdale’s which is at 59th Street between Lexington Avenue and 3rd Avenue. If the walk is too far, you can pick up a crosstown bus (M31 or M57) on 57th Street using a Metro Card. If you’re there during the right hours, go in and check out Forty Carrots inside for some great frozen yogurt.

This year they have improved their Holiday Windows quite a bit. They have a theme honoring Christmas shopping bags from various years that turn or open up with a Christmas theme within each. You can also get your picture captured with cameras you can trigger from the outside. The windows are upping the interactivity!

There are stars on the side to touch to trigger the camera, and it is displayed on video screens above the window.

BARNEYS
Barneys is located on 61st Street and Madison Avenue a short walk away from Bloomingdales. As last year, they seem to have very interesting themes. You almost wouldn’t be able to tell that it is the holidays outside of one section with a TV screen to make your holiday wishes via Tweets. Again, interactivity. The other Holiday Windows have a Lady Gaga theme.

BERGDORF GOODMAN
Bergdorf Goodman is on 5th Avenue between 57th Street and 58th Street. Bergdorf has nice, showy windows again. They definitely class it up using an animal theme “Carnival of the Animals”. It is one of the most stylish and best windows for adults though not as kid-fun.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER TREE
For 2011, they once again brought out a BIG tree. This is the must-do Christmas activity since it is one of the most well known and largest Christmas trees in New York City. You can overlook the Rockefeller Center skating rink for a great view of both. Though the lines can be long, you can even ice skate there! Otherwise, you can try other ice skating rinks. See our recommended rinks here: New York Christmas 2011 Activities. Expect to see large crowds of tourists for this worthwhile sight.

Take a look at the view from Top of the Rock while you are here: Info on Top of the Rock Observation Deck

SAKS FIFTH AVENUE
Saks is obviously on Fifth Avenue between 49th Street and 50th Street. Right across the street from the Lincoln Center tree, you get both an interesting projector light show along with their holiday windows. They project the show on the face of the building on the 5th Avenue side. Someone there likes bubbles as it is the theme again this year.

They have stylish windows though different than Bergdorf’s styling. They have some great clothing and presentation. Beautiful.

LORD & TAYLOR
Lord & Taylor is on 5th Avenue between 38th Street and 39th Street. After having a strong showing last year, Lord & Taylor was a bit of a let down though the theme is great. They created windows inspired by children’s drawings. They are nice as well, but it didn’t have the same wow factor of last year. It’s worth a visit though as you can see.

MACY’S
Macy’s on 34th Street and 6th Avenue has the most improved windows. After very slow rotating windows, they come up with many amazing scenes and interactive activities. They may even win the very best! Stay tuned until we complete our reviews.

There is a two-sided theme as always with the 6th Avenue side being the most interesting as always, but with some scenes on 34th Street as well. They are sponsors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation with an emphasis on ornaments. So what’s so special? There is a 3-D TV that doesn’t require glasses creating a cool effect watching a rocket ride (though temper your expectations). The windows are dynamic and beautiful with a lot of white colors. There is also an interactive station to design an ornament.

The 34th Street side is so-so but features a TV character from a CBS Special, Yes, Virginia.

SUMMARY
Dress warmly, wear comfortable shoes, and get ready for some fun windows. Definitely stop by Rockefeller Center, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks and Macys for some of the best this year! For best family fun, our winner is Macy’s. For most stylish and interesting for adults, we like Bergdorf Goodman.

Image from 2010:

Check out Canstruction! Official details here: http://canstruction.org/cities/new-york

1) Empire State Building
2) Metropolitan Museum of Art
3) American Museum of Natural History
4) MOMA (Museum of Modern Art)
5) Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island (or Circle Line Cruise)
6) Top of the Rock OR Guggenheim Museum

Click the image below for more details and to purchase your New York City Pass.

COLUMBUS CIRCLE
Off the map, we started at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center (58th Street and 8th Ave.) with their holiday stars in the lobby. If you’ve been there prior years, it’s similar with “stars” that are multi-paneled and change in sync with Christmas songs in a multi-colored display. They play hourly until 5 pm, after which, they play continuously. One of the greatest advantages here is that you can enjoy the warmth indoors.

BLOOMINGDALE’S
This was one of the disappointing holiday windows though they are owned by Macy’s which is more well known for their windows. You can tell the investment went into the Macy’s brand and tradition. Most sides didn’t contain much, and the most prominent displays were on the Lexington Avenue side which were basically a bunch of flat panel TVs. You can skip it though if you are there, check out Forty Carrots inside for some great frozen yogurt.

BARNEYS
They know how to speak to the foodies in this world. The Christmas windows consisted of Food Network stars and other top chefs in the area. The scenes are amusing though maybe the creator wasn’t a Batali fan.

BERGDORF GOODMAN
There is definitely an explorer theme with these windows which were interesting. Though it wasn’t the most dynamic, they had some nice looking displays. They would get the stylish award from us.

ROCKEFELLER CENTER TREE
This is a classic which will never go out of style. One of the most well known and largest Christmas trees in New York City. Though the lines are insane for the Rockefeller Skating Rink, it’s a nice part of the scenery even if you aren’t skating. Expect to see large crowds of tourists for this worthwhile sight.

Take a look at the view from Top of the Rock while you are here: Info on Top of the Rock Observation Deck

SAKS
Saks give you the most bang for your buck by having a projector light show on the face of the building on the 5th Avenue side. This years theme is the snowflake and the bubble. In addition, they have Christmas windows which were decent though not as great as prior years. For the Lady Gaga fans, they do have a window with one of the dresses she wore.

LORD & TAYLOR
This is the WINNER of InfoForNYC.com’s best Christmas window. This one has a nice element of nostalgia, detailed elements, and a dynamic display with a lot of action. The theme was to contrast an “older” Christmas scene with a “modern” Christmas scene such as the two below by morphing from one to the other with displays of the garage, kitchen, and more. It’s a great one for both the young and the old.

MACY’S
Of course there is Macy’s which is perhaps the most well known Christmas window. As usual, there were the Miracle on 34th Street windows, and the rotating windows showed a few various scenes though frankly, they were quite slow. It took quite a while for the rotation to happen that we were bored waiting for the scene to change. In this Internet age, we don’t want to wait around too long waiting for scenes to shift.

SUMMARY
Though there may have been some budget cuts, the windows are definitely fun with the family as well as with friends. Go out and enjoy but definitely make sure you stop by the Lord & Taylor display.

So, we are now filling out our Tourist Attractions area starting with the Empire State Building Observation Deck. Find out more there and look for upcoming attractions.

New York Pass is a great way to see it along with many other sites: