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This going to be long, but I’m thorough, if anything. I do think we need to do our own homework when we visit anyplace. I agree the best way to explore this city is on foot. Some of my favorite neighborhoods and parks for walking are Greenwich Village, Chinatown (but get off Canal Street and into the actual smaller streets of Chinatown proper), the Lower East Side, East Village, Central Park, Inwood Park, Chelsea, Soho, Harlem, Battery Park/Battery City, High Line, Hell's Kitchen and that's just a fraction of Manhattan. I suggest you do a little research and decide where you want to walk the most because each of these places has something different to offer. I don't agree with the person who says to avoid all of the major sites and equates them as tourist traps. What sets you aside from the general tourist population is actually doing some research on these places before you visit them so you know a thing or two about them historically. New York has an extremely rich history as do most of its sites, as many are historical. Read a few of the stories. Learn why nobody calls Sixth Ave. “Ave. of the Americas.” Discover the proper pronunciation for Houston St. You'll appear more NY-savvy to locals and will walk away with a greater appreciation of the places you visit. I promise you. If you're only here for a short period, you might want to consider a guided walking tour or two.You actually should spend a few minutes in Times Square, but that's all you need there unless you're exploring the Theater District because that's in Times Square and seeing a Broadway show, which I do recommend to every single person who comes here. It's the number one cultural attraction that the City offers. I'm actually putting together a sing-along tour of Broadway theaters. Whatever you do, don't eat at any of the Times Square chain restaurants. I'll never understand why people come to the city with its thousands of restaurants and eat at the junk food dumps. My favorite places in this area are Sardis for before-and-after Theatre drinks. Sardi's is the iconic theater bar where you're likely to rub elbows with Broadway Stars who have their caricatures on the wall, which is what this restaurant is most famous for. It's also where the Tony Awards was first conceived. Yes, its a bit touristy, but a lot of locals go here also. Did you know it's original owner, George Sardi, loved actors so much and hated the idea of a starving actor that he created an Actor's Menu of deeply discounted selections? You show your union card and order. This generous tradition is still practiced. Sardi’s also hosts many opening night parties. For pizza, down the street from Sardis, go to John's Pizza. It's the largest pizza joint in the country, if not the world, and no two pizzas come out exactly the same. It's housed in a renovated old church and in my opinion has the best pizza in the city. Chez Josephine is a French restaurant (with a pianist) established by Jean-Claude Baker, son of The legendary Josephine Baker, as a living tribute to his mother. He died s few years back, but handed it down to one of his associates who has carried the torch with the same theatrical flare. For Italian food with an urban, creative flare go to Etcetera Restaurant, also on 44th Street. Upstairs at Ecetera, on most Sunday evenings, is the Salon, a wonderful open mic for both professional singers (mostly Broadway and cabaret) as well as hobbyists. It was started by my musical director and it wins a lot of awards. You might even find me singing here some nights.NOTE: Never engage the costumed characters in Times Sq. They will try to solicit you to have pictures taken, may even make you feel obligated, then hit you up for tips. Well except maybe the Naked Cowboy he's nuts, but authentic) and Cowgirl. (Sidenote: My personal trainer was his former girlfriend and the original Naked Cowgirl).A five-minute walk from Time Square over to 9th Avenue will lead you to an actual neighborhood where people actually live called Hell's Kitchen. A lot of actors live in Hell's Kitchen. It's also undergone considerable gentrification and has all kinds of restaurants along 9th Avenue. On 42nd Street between 9th and 10th is Theatre Row, a complex of Off Broadway Theatre houses. 46th Street between 8th and 9th is Restaurant Row, once again, with just about every kind of restaurant you could possibly want. There's even a famed piano bar, Don't Tell Mama, in the middle of it.Forget the Empire State Building, One World Trade and Top of the Rock for views. To avoid crowds and exorbitant prices to see a view, here is a better View that costs nothing and there won't be very many people around. It's fairly easy to get to. The best view of Manhattan is not in Manhattan. It's across the Hudson River in New Jersey. Go to south terminal at Port Authority and take a Boulevard East bus to Weehawken. Get off around Fulton Street. It generally takes 10 to 15 minutes to get there . You’ll see a magnificent, sweeping view of the Manhattan skyline from the George Washington Bridge all the way down to the Statue of Liberty. The view is on one side and stately mansions dot the street behind you. I used to occupy the top floor of one of those houses and had the view. Now consider the historic aspect of where you're standing. Walk a couple blocks along Boulevard East back to a sign that says Hamilton Park. You can ask somebody if you don't see it. This is the famous dueling ground where Alexander Hamilton was killed by Aaron Burr. There are some restaurants here also. Walk a few blocks along Boulevard East to 48th Street. There is a fabulous, authentic Mexican restaurant, once again with that same view. Or you can walk (or take an Uber) down the hill to the river and there are other restaurants around there. Also on the river in the summer are weekly jazz festivals. You can take the ferry from there back to Manhattan. The ferry takes about 5 minutes to cross the river.A good walk through Midtown might start at the United Nations building all the way over by the East River on 42nd St. Walk a few blocks west to the Chrysler Building, go inside and check out the murals. Next door at Grand Central Station, so go inside all the way to the main room and climb the grand staircase to really take in the magnificence of this building, one of the finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture. On the ceiling, note the mural of the Zodiac. It's upside down. No one knows why but some speculate it was meant as God would see it lookong down. Understand that this all was saved from demolition by Jackie Onassis Kennedy back in the 90s. She spearheaded its restoration to its former glory. 700,000 commuters pass through Grand Central Station every day.Continue on 42nd Street to the New York Public Library. Google why the famous lion statues are named Patience and Fortitude. The grand interior houses the original Gutenberg Bible and the Declaration of Independence, both on display. Be sure towalk into The Rose Reading Room. Before you reach 6th Avenue you will see, in the “backyard” of the library, Bryant Park. Is a great place for people-watching. People playing chess, sunbathing, jugglers, you name it. This park fell to rack and ruin but was renovated in the 90s into a prize-winning respite from 42nd Street . Once a week in the summer, the park hosts a popular film series on the ground. In the winter, there's free ice skating (You'll pay $15 or $20 for skate rentals.) During the renovation , the library extended its stacks underneath the park , so when your in the park you're actually on top of thousands of books . Before this was a park it was the pond for the Croton Aqueduct.One more block and you'll be in Times Square. Don't avoid it, but continue down 42nd Street. Do, however, avoid at all costs Madame Tussauds, one of the biggest tourist traps in the city. Go inside the AMC movie theater. Not too many people know this, but a Broadway theater the Empire, was literally moved down the street from 41st Street into this space and renovated into this movie theater. You can see remnants of the old theater when you get inside. Google it so you know what to look for for. Keep walking west all the way over to the river to the Intrepid, an old battleship that is now a maritime space & air Museum.For history buffs, visit the Financial District. This is where it all began in the seventeenth century, at the southernmost tip of Manhattan. When the Dutch settled, the settlement of New Amsterdam was established. I'll just point out a few important items. Start with a ride on the Staten Island ferry. Don't waste time and money on actually going to Liberty Island. The ferry sails right past the Statue and Ellis Island. And the ferry is FREE. You can get out and ealk around Staten Island. There are a few interesting sites such as the National Lighthouse Museum and Snug Harbor Cultural Center. SI is actually becoming a popular destination with lots of museums and , for abamdoned building enthusiasts, lots of them, including an abandoned fort. But that's a tour for another day. When you return, a walk around Battery Park will take you past Castle Clinton, built just before the War of 1812 as a fort. In future, it will become an entertainment complex, most famous for the American debut of Jenny Lind, a wildly popular opera star known as the Swedish Nightengale. Next it was an immigration hub (pre-Ellis Island) and an aquarium for Beluga whales. Now, after such a fabled past, it's been downsized to ticket stand for the Statue of Liberty. Cross State St and explore the historic streets. If if has a black street sign, it's a colonial street. Frauncis Tavern is perhaps the city's oldest surviving pub (great food) dating back to the early 1700's. It figured heavy into the Revolutionary War, as it was both a meeting place for the resistance (our Founding Fathers) and the site where Washington bid an emotional farewell to his troops. There is a small Museum upstairs. Head to Broadway and Bowling Green, the first public park. It was both a cattle market and a place for bowling. A statue of King George dominated here until they hacked it down during the Revolutionary War. You'll have to google these sites (or this would otherwise go on forever) all ong fhe stretch of Broadway known as the Canyon of Heroes: Charging Bull, Trinity Church (where Alexander Hamton is buried), take a detour down Wall St. for one block to Federal Hall and the Stock Exchange. Federal Hall is our nation's first Capitol Bldg. Now it's a museum. Back on Broadway, stop in St. Paul Chapel, where Washington prayed the night of his inauguration. At Vesey St., you can get a good view of One World Trade. You can detour if you wish. It's only a couple blocks, but bear in mind if you want to visit the observation deck or the 9/11 Museum, the lines will be long and it will cost. Continuing along Broadway is the iconic Woolworth Bldg, a gothic beauty that was the tallest building in the world from 1913 to 1931, when it was topped by the Empire State Bldg. From here, you’re just around the corner from our beautiful City Hall and Brooklyn Bridge and a little further along, Chinatown, the cast-iron architecture of Soho with it's trendy stores and restaurants and the Village.Take a walk around the Lower East Side and explore the street art, the boutiques, the shops, the cafes and bars, tenement buildings. Developers haven't completely destroyed this area. It's still has a strong creative edge and has emerged as a major nightlife scene. While you're there visit the small but wonderful Tenement Museum. You'll learn about the early immigrants from the mid-nineteenth century into the mid-twentieth century. These are very worthwhile tours that take you into actual tenement buildings that have not been changed. The lives of actual existing family that lived in these buildings is brought to life.Walk up to the East Village and take a walk along Saint Mark's Place(8th St bet. 2nd/3rd Aves). Although it no longer has the edge that it used to it's still a great walk that's only a block long. Once the center of the punk scene is now a colorful mishmash of bars, tattoo parlors, Etc. Walk to the Strand Bookstore, probably New York's largest independent Bookseller. Three levels of books, old and new, on every subject. Walk back down to 8th Street and continue west, through the buildings of NYU (which are marked with purple and white banners), to 6th Avenue. Notice the old, historic Jefferson Library, another building that has been able to sidestep the wrecking ball. A couple blocks down on Christopher St., you'll be in what was once the epicenter of gay New York, and in front of the now-landmarked Stonewall Inn, birthplace of the GLBTQ Rights movement. Although the gay scene has moved further up into Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen, there is still a significant presence in Greenwich Village along Christopher Street and environs.Another worthwhile walking tour to give yourself is a stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge into the downtown neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Here you will explore the Promenade of Brooklyn Heights with its grandiose views. Other neighborhoods are DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), Brooklyn Navy Yard, Williamsburg, Atlantic Ave. and Fort Greene Park. Further in are Prospect Park and Grand Army Plaza Arch, the wofld-class Brooklyn Museum and Greenwood Cemetery, where many cele rities are buried. I'll leave you to Google these areas because there's too much; each neighborhood has a lot to offer and its own uniqueness.In Queens, a couple of worthwhile visits are the Museum of the Moving Image, and Queens Museum with its Panorama, a 3-D diorama of the entire city of New York. This is in Flushing-Corona Park next to the iconic Unisphere, a relic from the 1964 World's Fair. Also nearby are the New York Hall of Science; the Queens Zoo; Billie Jean King Nat’l Tennis Center (US Open); and Citi Field, home of the Mets. In summer, on Saturday nights is the Queens Night Market (next to Queens Museum) with over a hundred food vendors from all over the world, live music and art. In N the same general area, you'll find an impressive Hindu Temple devoted to Ganesh (they serve free dosas in the basement) and, for Jazz enthusiasts, the former home of Louos Armstrong, now a house museum.If you like Indian food, take the PATH train to Journal Square, across the river in Jersey City. Walk a few blocks along Kennedy Blvd. to Newark Ave. and cross the street. You are standing at the beginning of India Square, or Little India, with Indian shops, supermarkets, Hindi temples and many, many Indian restaurants lined up one after the other. These aren't fancy by any means, but all offer authentic cuisine at affordable prices. Many are cheaply priced all-you-can-eat buffets and the food is delicious.Uptown: A walk through Harlem, home of the Harlem Renaissance period which produced an explosion of African-American creativity, writing and arts during the 20s/30s and the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement. Here are also great restaurants such as Sylvia's (soul food). Also, Malcolm Shabazz Mosque and Malcolm Shabazz Market, the Abyssinian Baptist Church, entertainment venues like The Red Rooster and The Apollo, as well as a plethora of intimate jazz clubs. A short walk from Harlem is The Cathedral of St. John the Divine, Tom's Diner (of Seinfeld fame), Riverside Church, Grants Tomb and Columbia University.Further uptown (Take the subway) is The Cloisters, a cluster of medieval buildings imported stone-by-stone from Europe. This celebrated museum, run by the Met, houses mostly medieval sculpture and decorative art. It's located in one of our most beautiful parks Fort Tryon Park ( site of the Revolutionary War Battle of Fort Washington), and is surrounded by lush greenery, hiking trails and Gardens. It's a great place to go when you want to forget you're in the city. Only a few blocks from the north side of fhis park is a neigjborhood called Inwood, home to another nearby park, Inwood Park, with it's Native American Caves and more hiking trails. This is the alleged location where Peter Minuit purchased the isle of Manhattan from the Lenape Indians for 60 Dutch gilders ($24) worth of trinkets. A ten minute walk from here is the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum, the last surviving farmhouse in Manhattan.These are but a few of a long list and combination of sites I've put together for myself and others to explore this vibrant, dynamic city. I've tried to give a choice of places for different tastes, moods and schedules and hope this has helped.

Hello,The best time to visit New York City is from April to June and September to early November when the weather is warm and pleasant but the tourist crowds are not overwhelming. The cheapest time to visit New York is on weekends from mid-January to the end of February. My favorite month in New York is September.Best Time to See Shows: It’s easiest to find show tickets during the quieter months of January and February, and in the early fall after the summer tourists have gone home. 2-for-1 tickets to over twenty of Broadway’s most popular shows are available during Broadway Week, held twice yearly in September and January. Summer travelers will have the best luck over the Fourth of July weekend, which generally sees a massive drop in ticket sales. Show tickets are hardest to come by during the last two weeks of the year, when blockbusters are reliably and constantly sold out. The Broadway season starts in September, making that month a great time to score tickets to new shows that haven’t yet generated a lot of buzz. (Tickets to these same shows can be a lot harder to come by in May and June, after the Tony Award nominees have been announced.) Theaters are typically closed on Mondays (though there are plenty of exceptions), and travelers hoping to attend a live TV show taping should note that many late night shows go on hiatus in mid-to-late August and April.Best Time for Shopping: Shopping bargains can be found year-round in New York City. Sale season at high-end boutiques occurs twice annually, in November-December and April-May while outlet stores like Century 21, Loehmann’s, and Feline's Basement offer discounted designer goods daily. Other retailers stick to a pretty dependable seasonal schedule: fall and winter items get discounted in November and December, with spring apparel at lowest prices in April and May, and summer clothing sales beginning around July Fourth. The combination of post-holiday sales and January’s slight dip in tourism make that month great for finding deals across the board in shopping, hotel rates, and airfare. International travelers take note: you receive a 10% discount at Macy’s, Bloomingdale's, and Lord & Taylor all year long – just show your passport and ask for it.Best Time for Museums: Expect museums to be at their most crowded during the holiday rush surrounding Christmas and New Year’s. Because museums are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas, the heavily-traveled days around them can be particularly packed. The slight lull in tourism in January and February means quieter galleries and shorter lines. Special exhibitions are commonly debuted in the early fall, once the summer throngs have subsided, making October a great time to explore New York City museums and galleries.Best Time for Restaurants: Along with the slow mid-winter tourism months, reservations at New York’s best restaurants can be surprisingly easy to come by in July and August, when locals escape the city on the weekends. December travelers, on the other hand, will find it all but impossible to get a good table without reserving well in advance. Great deals and special menus can be found at more than 300 of the city’s finest eateries during New York’s Restaurant Week, held twice annually in late January/early February and late July/early August.Best Time for Holiday Displays: Stores along 5th Avenue begin unveiling their holiday window displays in mid-November, with all decorations up by Thanksgiving. The spectacular tree at Rockefeller Center isn’t lit until the Wednesday following Thanksgiving, when tourism crowds are at their peak. Those looking to enjoy New York’s holiday cheer would do best to visit during the week before Christmas, when festivity is high but hotel and airfare rates take a slight dip. Decorations and displays stay up through early January.Best Time for Kids and Families: Summer is a particularly popular time for families to visit New York City. While there’s not the tourism lull you’ll find in January and February, crowds are much thinner than during the school holidays that surround Thanksgiving and Christmas, and airfare and hotel rates will be lower. The city offers loads for kids to do during the summer, from outdoor concerts and movies (many of them free) to bike rental, boating, and playgrounds in Central Park. While the busy holiday season can be magical for kids, the hordes of travelers can make Times Square overwhelming – and impossible to navigate with a stroller.Best Time to Avoid Crowds: The deep winter months of January through early March offer your best chance to see the city without being mobbed by tourists, though you’ll trade lower airfare and hotel rates for frigid temperatures. Despite the increase in family tourism, the summer months can also be surprisingly quiet in New York, as many locals head for the coast. Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends are best bets for calmer crowds minus the cold.New York Travel SeasonsHigh Season (June-August & November-December): Vacationing families and European travelers on extended holiday make the summer months one of the most popular times to visit New York. Many locals leave the city during this time, however, which means that it can feel less crowded even while tourism is high. The Thanksgiving-New Year holiday season is a huge draw for tourists, festivity is high and the city is at its most packed. During both of these busy tourism periods, expect airfare and hotel rates to be at their peak and availability to be low. Book well in advanceShoulder Season (March-May & September-October): Though tourism isn’t quite peaking during these months, they are still incredibly popular times to visit New York. Mild weather makes the spring and fall seasons ideal for exploring the city on foot, whether to a backdrop of blooms and open-air markets in the springtime, or the changing colors of Central Park trees in the fall. High prices and low availability for both flights and hotels is to be expected.Low Season (January-Early March): New York City is at its quietest during these cold mid-winter months, when snow is common and temperatures hover between 1 and 4°C. Hotel occupancy rates dip below 90%, and restaurant reservations and theater tickets are easier to come by. The drop in temperature means a drop in both airfare and hotel rates, which makes this a great time to visit the city if you’re looking for a bargain and are not bothered by a little cold.New York City Events and FestivalsJanuary in New YorkWinter Jazzfest NYC — Over 100 acts at 11 venues in and around Greenwich Village.Broadway Week — 2-for-1 tickets for over 20 of Broadway’s most popular shows.NYC Restaurant Week — Three-course dining deals for lunch and dinner at over 300 of the city’s best eateries.February in New YorkLunar New Year Festival/Parade and Firecracker Ceremony/Cultural Festival — Annual two-part Chinatown celebration of the Lunar New Year, featuring a street fair, fireworks, and a parade through the main streets of Chinatown and Little Italy.Westminster Kennel Club Show — The grand-daddy of dog shows, an all-breed competition held over two days at The Piers 92/94 and Madison Square Garden.New York Fashion Week — The fashion industry converges on Lincoln Center, where the best designers in the world show off their fall collections in a week of invitation-only exhibitions and parties.March in New YorkSt. Patrick’s Day Parade — Bands, bagpipers, and politicians march up Fifth Avenue past Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in this 250-year-old annual celebration of Irish heritage.April in New YorkEaster Parade and Bonnet Festival — An unorganized Easter Sunday celebration of fancy hats and outlandish accessories. Fashionable and festive folk stroll Fifth Avenue from 49th to 57th, and the rest of us experience some great people-watching.Tribeca Film Festival — Celebration and judged competition of independent film, including panel discussions, a family festival street fair, and thousands of independent, documentary, and foreign film screenings across lower Manhattan.May in New YorkNinth Avenue International Food Festival — Ethnic cuisine, international music and dance, and more than a million hungry festival goers in Hell’s Kitchen between 42nd and 57th Streets.Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit — Hundreds of local and international artists and artisans hawk their wares at this massive sidewalk art fair over Memorial Day weekend.Fleet Week — The Hudson River Parade of Ships kicks off a week of musical performances, military demonstrations, and Memorial Day observances that celebrate the U.S. Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard.June in New YorkBelmont Stakes — Annual thoroughbred horse race that is the third and final leg of the Triple Crown. Held in Belmont Park, about 14 miles east of Manhattan.Pride Festival and March — GLBT pride celebration and civil rights rally with floats, bands, dancing and celebratory parade from Fifth Avenue and 36th Street to the West Village. Ends in the ultimate bash on Hudson Street, from 14th Street to Abingdon Square.Shakespeare in the Park (June/July) — Tickets are free (2 per person), but you’ll have to line up at the box office before noon to score seats to these extremely popular Public Theater shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.July in New YorkMacy’s Fourth of July Fireworks — This spectacular display over the East River near the Brooklyn Bridge draws crowds of thousands each year, and is viewable from many locations in Manhattan, as well as Brooklyn and Queens.Bastille Day on 60th Street — Annual celebration of French food, culture, and entertainment, held the Sunday before July 14th. On 60th Street, between Lexington and 15th Avenues, on the Upper East Side.NYC Restaurant Week — Three-course dining deals for lunch ($25) and dinner ($38) at over 300 of the city’s best eateries.Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (July/August) — Three weeks of world-class music and dance performances, free and under the stars, in the plazas of Lincoln Center.August in New YorkNew York International Fringe Festival — 16-day long fringe theater and multi-arts festival: 1300 performances by over 200 multi-multinational companies at over 20 stages around Midtown Manhattan.September in New YorkU.S. Open — American tennis pros compete in this two-week-long championship tournament held in Flushing Meadows, Queens.Electric Zoo Festival — Electronic Dance Music festival held over Labor Day weekend, featuring top international DJs and live acts from around the world. Takes place on Randall’s Island.Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit — Hundreds of local and international artists and artisans hawk their wares at this massive sidewalk art fair over Labor Day weekend.Broadway Week — 2-for-1 tickets for over 20 of Broadway’s most popular shows.New York Fall Fashion Week — The fashion industry converges on Lincoln Center, where the best designers in the world show off their spring collections in a week of invitation-only exhibitions and parties.New York Film Festival (September/October) — The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual fall celebration of cinema, showing critically acclaimed international works and Hollywood premiers at various Lincoln Center event halls.October in New YorkColumbus Day Parade — New York’s yearly celebration of Italian-American heritage, with floats and bands traversing Fifth Avenue from 47th to 72nd Streets. Held the second Monday in October.Open House New York — A weekend-long architecture and design event, in which over 300 usually off-limit historic buildings and architecturally important sites are opened to the public for touring. Generally free, with some sites requiring advanced registration and a cover charge. Takes place across all five boroughs.Village Halloween Parade — Halloween night festival and parade, featuring floats, circus performers, musical acts, fantastic giant-sized puppets, and over two million annual spectators. Runs along 6th Avenue, from Spring to 16th streets in Greenwich Village.November in New YorkNew York City Marathon — The world’s largest and most popular marathon event. Over 50,000 runners from around the world wind their way through all five New York boroughs on the first Sunday in November.Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — Over 3 million spectators line the streets as hundreds of floats, marching bands, dancers, celebrity performers, giant balloons, and of course Santa Claus usher in the holiday season along Central Park West and through the heart of Midtown Manhattan.Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Ceremony — After a celebrity-studded holiday show and in front of thousands of spectators, Rockefeller Plaza’s iconic Christmas tree is set aglow. Held the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.December in New YorkIce Skating Rinks — The Rink at Rockefeller Center is the most iconic and has the longest lines. Wollman Rink in Central Park is the largest and has the best view. The rink at Bryant Park is free (with skate rental fee) and adjacent to the park’s festive holiday market.Holiday Window Displays — Department stores on and around Fifth Avenue get decked out for the holidays starting in mid-November, and stay dressed up through the New Year. Best seen after sundown for maximum festive effect.The Nutcracker — So many to choose from. Take your pick between the classic George Balanchine show put on by the New York City Ballet, Alexei Ratmansky’s contemporary American Ballet Theatre interpretation, or any of the other dozens of traditional and themed versions performed annually around the city.Radio City Christmas Spectacular — The Radio City Rockettes star in this ultimate and iconic holiday extravaganza, a New York City tradition since 1933. Shows from mid-November through New Year’s at Rockefeller Center’s Radio City Music Hall.New Year’s Eve at Times Square — Two performance stages and hourly fireworks displays entertain the reveling masses from 6pm until the famous ball drops at midnight. On Broadway, between 40th and 53rd Streets.New Year’s Eve Fireworks — Ooh and aah at the big display in Central Park (set off near Bethesda Fountain), or head east to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to hang with the mellower crowd. Both spots have live music starting at 10pm, with fireworks welcoming the New Year at midnight.— 16-day long fringe theater and multi-arts festival: 1300 performances by over 200 multi-multinational companies at over 20 stages around Midtown Manhattan.