4 Places to Have a Quintessential Northeast Christmas in the USA

New York City is at its most festive at Christmastime, and a great place to start any holiday tour is Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan. Stroll, skate or dine at the art deco office complex and adjacent promenade, which feature a stunning Norway spruce Christmas tree, sparkling lights and decorations, and a beloved ice-skating rink. For dazzling panoramic views of the city, take the elevator at 30 Rockefeller Center up 70 floors to the observation deck at Top of the Rock. Look for the Hanukkah or Christmas lights atop the Empire State Building, or have a cocktail on the 65th floor at Bar SixtyFive at the Rainbow Room.

From Rockefeller Center, take part in a time-honored New York City tradition: Admire the extravagant Christmas window displays at the city’s top department stores: Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys and Macy’s.

Finally, don’t miss nearby Bryant Park. At Christmastime, the park features a sprawling ice-skating rink and more than 100 boutique stalls selling crafts, artwork and snacks.

Featuring a towering Christmas tree and free nightly sound and light shows with more than 350,000 LED lights, Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall Marketplace is an ideal place to start your holiday visit. Walk the cobblestone promenade and enjoy performances by bell ringers and Christmas carolers. Warm up with chowder or a hot drink in Quincy Market, which is home to several restaurants and dozens of food merchants. Finally, don’t miss Boston Common, the oldest public park in the USA. It features a dazzling Christmas tree and ice-skating rink flanked by twinkling lights.

​Philadelphia is known as the City of Brotherly Love year-round, but, you can especially feel the love at Christmastime. Start at Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest, a seasonal park overlooking the Delaware River that has an Olympic-size ice-skating rink, fire pits, glittering holiday trees and a ski chalet-style lodge offering food and drinks, including hot apple cider. Then head to Macy’s in the historic Wanamaker Building. Dating to the 1950s, the Macy’s Christmas Lights Show includes more than 100,000 LED lights. It starts after Thanksgiving, the fourth Thursday in November, and begins anew every two hours daily.

The historic waterfront New England town of Portsmouth is the place to celebrate an old-fashioned U.S. Christmas. Horse-drawn carriages roll down streets lined with red brick buildings. The Music Hall offers a wide range of holiday performances. Ice skaters glide across the oval Puddle Duck Pond. And, perhaps most magically, the four-hectare Strawbery Banke living history museum hosts Candlelight Strolls through the grounds and historic houses, where costumed performers recreate Christmas traditions from the past.