Day 1 – Welcome to New York City

Day 1 – Welcome to New York City

Schedule your flight to arrive into New York City no later than 2:00pm to have time to transfer to the hotel and check in. Should you arrive earlier in the day, go exploring or relax. Our tour begins at 4:00pm in the lobby of the hotel. We will meet as a group and enjoy a Welcome Reception to get acquainted and then enjoy a dinner at the hotel before our Christmas lights walking tour.

Starting in Times Square, we’ll take the subway to 61st St & 5th Av. We can pop into the lobby of the Plaza Hotel to view their beautiful Christmas tree. We’ll then walk down 5th Av to view the holiday windows of Bergdorf-Goodman, Versace, & Tiffany. And of course, we’ll see other designer flagship stores like Gucci, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, & Cartier. Our next stop is St. Patrick’s Cathedral, home of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, completed in 1878. Then we come to Rockefeller Center, a complex of 19 buildings, the first 14 were built by John D. Rockefeller Jr. between 1930 and 1938. We’ll see the magnificent Radio City Music Hall, a part of Rockefeller Center, and of course the legendary Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The Rock Center Christmas Tree is a live tree that must be a minimum of 65 feet tall and they are always donated by landowners, usually from within a 250-mile range of NYC. The tree is covered with over 40, 000 led lights and topped with a 9. 5-foot Swarovski crystal star!
Accommodations: Riu Plaza NY Times Square