United States
New York in December
🧥 WinterCold and often rainy.
🎒 Pack: warm jacket for evenings · compact umbrella or rain jacket
Why December scores 7.6What goes into the score
How it works- Weather comfort6.2
- !Cold (7.4°C highs / 2.8°C lows)
- ✓Comfortable humidity (dew point 2.2°C)
- !Wet: ~160 mm rain, ~5 heavy-rain days
- Air quality8.8
- ✓Good (within WHO guideline) (PM2.5 ~13 µg/m³)
- Seasonal hazards10.0
- ·No notable seasonal hazards
- Safety baseline7.5
- ·Increased caution
| Dec | Oct | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 7.6 Very good | 9.0 Excellent |
| Season | 🧥 Winter | 🍂 Autumn |
| High / low | 7° / 3° | 18° / 13° |
| Rain | 160 mm | 132 mm |
| Humidity | dew pt 2° | dew pt 12° |
| PM2.5 | 13 µg/m³ | 9 µg/m³ |
Typical-month data: NASA POWER (MERRA-2 reanalysis) 2015–2024 (modelled, not a forecast).
Holidays & crowdsDecember 2026
Long weekendThere's at least one long weekend. Domestic travel picks up and popular spots get busier over those days.
- Christmas Day 25–27 Dec · 3 days off in a row
National holidays only; regional holidays and school breaks aren't included. Source: holidays (open-source public-holiday calendar).
Explore New YorkEvents, sights, food & souvenirs
Check event dates locallyThe largest city in the United States, known for its skyline, world-class museums, Broadway theatre, diverse neighbourhoods and food from every culture.
New Year's Eve in Times SquareEvery year31 December every year
The ball drop at midnight with live performances.
Why go: Viewing areas fill hours ahead and there are no toilets or re-entry.
Where: Times Square
Coming up later
St. Patrick's Day ParadeDate variesUsually 17 March (moved when it falls on a Sunday)
One of the world's oldest and largest St. Patrick's Day parades.
Why go: Midtown is crowded and roads close.
Where: Fifth Avenue
US Open TennisDate variesUsually late August to early September
The final tennis Grand Slam of the year.
Why go: Early-round grounds passes are easier to get.
Where: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Queens
New York City MarathonDate variesUsually the first Sunday of November
The world's largest marathon by finishers.
Why go: Many roads close; it is lively to watch along the route.
Where: Through all five boroughs, finishing in Central Park
Central Park
A huge landscaped park in Manhattan with lakes, lawns and walking paths.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
One of the world's largest art museums, spanning 5,000 years of art.
Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
The famous statue and the former immigration station, reached by ferry from Battery Park.
💡 Buy ferry tickets only from the official operator.
Brooklyn Bridge
A 19th-century suspension bridge with a pedestrian walkway and skyline views.
9/11 Memorial and Museum
Reflecting pools in the footprints of the Twin Towers and a museum on the attacks.
Broadway
The Theater District around Times Square with major musicals and plays.
New York pizza
Large, thin, foldable slices sold at counters across the city.
Bagel with lox and cream cheese
Boiled and baked bagels topped with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Pastrami on rye
Spiced cured beef piled into a rye bread sandwich.
💡 Jewish delis such as Katz's on the Lower East Side, open since 1888
New York cheesecake
Dense, rich baked cream-cheese cake.
Halal cart chicken and rice
Chicken or lamb over rice with white sauce from street carts.
I Love NY merchandise
The famous logo designed by Milton Glaser on shirts and mugs.
Museum shop items
Prints, books and design objects.
💡 Shops at the Met and MoMA
Broadway souvenirs
Show programmes and merchandise.
💡 Theatre lobbies
Airport transfer Kiwitaxi
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