This year, New York City Tourism + Conventions predicts more than 68 million travelers will descend upon the Big Apple, a new record. If you’re going to be one of them, then know that there’s no bad time to visit NYC. But there may be a best one: winter. After the holidays, the city sees a dip in visitors, and to lure them back, discounts abound. “Winter is the best time to take advantage of city-wide deals in New York City,” says Tiffany Townsend, the executive vice president of New York City Tourism + Conventions. The annual tourism campaign NYC Winter Outing (January 21 to February 9) is reason alone to come, offering discounted hotel stays, two-for-one tickets to museums and Broadway shows, and specially priced prix-fixe menus at hundreds of restaurants.
That’s not all, of course. The cold temperatures mean lines are shorter, reservations are easier to nab, and—maybe best of all—New Yorkers are grateful you’re here. As Townsend notes, a winter visit “supports the city in a meaningful way . . . and helps drive economic activity across all five boroughs.” Here’s how to take advantage of the season.
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On top of offering 25 percent off stays during NYC Hotel Week, The Moxy NYC Lower East Side has a special winter menu at its restaurant Sake No Hana.
Photo by Michael Kleinberg
Get a good night’s rest for less
In September, the average price of a New York City hotel room rocketed to $417 per night, the highest rate ever recorded by the real-estate analytics company CoStar, according to The New York Times. January and February room rates are noticeably lower, even for luxury properties; for example, a king room on a Friday night at the St. Regis New York cost $1,854 in November and $1,404 in January (both including taxes and fees), a 24 percent savings. The Four Seasons New York Downtown, meanwhile, is offering a Winter Escape package, with 20 percent off select rooms and 30 percent off select suites, with a minimum three-night stay until April 13.
This year, 141 hotels are participating in NYC Hotel Week, offering 25 percent off stays from January 21 to February 9. Among them are the iconic Plaza Hotel, where you can score a king room for $895 (and use the money you saved to order Kevin McCallister’s epic, 16-scoop Home Alone sundae), and Marriott’s Moxy Hotels, where a family-friendly quad bunk with four twin beds at the Williamsburg location could cost $178.
According to Leo Glazer, the area general manager for Moxy Hotels New York City, winter stays are more than great deals. “January and February are among the few months when visitors can truly experience the city like a local,” Glazer says. “After the holiday crowds have dissipated, the streets grow quieter, yet the energy remains festive with the lingering excitement of the new year.” Of course, the winter perks are nice—such as complimentary daily breakfast for two at the Moxy Lower East Side through March. “This added bonus is the perfect way to fuel up before a day of exploring all that the city has to offer, helping to ease your travel budget and giving you more room to splurge on other New York City attractions and events,” Glazer says.
The Restaurant Week menu at Benoit includes beef Parmentier and pan-seared skate wing, followed by a choice of crème caramel or ice cream.
Photo by Amy Lombard
Dig into a delicious deal at some of the city’s best restaurants
Nearly 600 restaurants across the five boroughs are participating in Restaurant Week, which runs through February 9. The promotion first launched in 1992, with the price of a three-course lunch matching the year: $19.92. Now, two-course lunches and three-course dinners cost $30, $45, or $60—but that still can be quite a deal. “Restaurant Week is such a great way to check out new spots you’ve been meaning to try,” says Fariyal Abdullahi, the executive chef of Hav & Mar, a seafood-focused spot in Chelsea from chef Marcus Samuelsson. “We see a healthy mix of both locals and tourists taking advantage of it, and it’s always fun putting together a kind of greatest-hits menu so guests get a sense of who we are.” This year’s menu includes a “Hav classic,” Swediopian, a berbere-cured salmon with cucumber and avocado; Havatini, a pasta dish made with campanelle, shrimp, crab, and uni butter that Abdullahi is “super obsessed with”; and chocolate cake, a dangerously rich concoction of dark chocolate, white chocolate, and caramel.
Other good Restaurant Week deals? At Four Twenty Five, chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s midtown palace of fine dining, dig into a lunch of butternut squash soup with kohlrabi sauerkraut and pumpkin seed tapenade and pan-roasted hake served with a hakurei turnip–jalapeno emulsion. Or dress up for dinner at Angie Mar’s supper club–style West Village spot Le B, which is offering a $60 three-course dinner, including its famous Le Burger, made with a 45-day dry-aged Angus blend.
Many of these spots can be booked via OpenTable. Their data shows that dining out in NYC decreased more than 30 percent from December to January, and the company’s CEO, Debby Soo, says that means there are “even more chances to snag that hard-to-get reservation.”
Aladdin, which picked up rave reviews from the New York Times, Variety, and others, is part of Broadway Week.
Photo by Matthew Murphy
See a Broadway show—or three
Broadway is broken into two seasons: fall and spring. But winter is the sweet spot when theatergoers can see a majority of Tony contenders in one fell swoop: Big fall openings are well-oiled machines come January, and spring’s biggest shows often start preview performances in winter. For example, the new musical Redwood, starring Wicked OG Idina Menzel, begins January 24, and Othello, starring none other than Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, kicks off February 24.
Broadway Week (January 21 to February 9) promises two-for-one tickets to everything from perennial favorite Chicago to madcap newcomer Oh, Mary!. And cold temperatures mean that lines for discounted tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square are inevitably shorter. Ditto lines for in-person, day-of rush tickets for shows such as Gypsy and Death Becomes Her. (Check the super-handy rush ticket schedule on NYTIX.) With fewer people in the city, your chances of winning an online ticket lottery—on the TodayTix app, Broadway Direct, or Telecharge—are also higher.
The Guggenheim is participating in Must-See Week. The famous museum is running a show titled Harmony and Dissonance: Orphism in Paris, 1910–1930 as well as a retrospective of Piet Mondrian’s work.
Photo by David Heald
Visit the best museums without waiting in line
Broadway shows aren’t the only BOGO deal in town. NYC Must-See Week (also January 21 to February 9) means visitors can score two-for-one tickets to more than 60 experiences, from museums, like the Intrepid Museum and the Alice Austen House Museum on Staten Island, to guided tours, such as the A Man & His Sandwich roving food tour and the informative Circle Line Sightseeing Cruise.
One of the most beautiful annual to-dos is the Orchid Show at the New York Botanical Garden. This year’s exhibit, which opens February 15, is inspired by the designs of Mexican modernist architect Luis Barragán. Wander the (warm) greenhouse and marvel at the thousands of flowers—or come on select Saturday evenings for Orchid Nights and dance to cumbia and toast the blooms with a glass of sangria.
In the summer, lines for The Metropolitan Museum of Art stretch down the grand staircase and past the granite fountains. In winter, be prepared to walk right in. (Coat check is free and located downstairs, by the way.) February 8 sees the opening of Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature, the first comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the German Romantic painter’s work held in the United States.
Afterward, head to Wollman Rink in Central Park to ice-skate (it runs through March 15). The $15 off-peak price is way more affordable than December’s $38 holiday ticket, and the perks are the same: taking in the New York City skyline as you coast across the ice. Worth every penny.
