If you ask any New Yorker what their favorite season is in the city, there’s a good chance they’ll say fall. There’s something magical about that time in the city when the air gets crisp, the temperature dips just enough that you can start wearing your favorite outfits and the leaves turn vibrant colors. However, there’s no doubt this fall is going to be very, very different from past ones in the city. Major cultural institutions are launching “virtual” fall seasons. Restaurants will only be allowing 25 percent of their normal crowds in to warm themselves by the fire. Broadway’s still dark. Luckily, those necessary changes don’t mean that there isn’t a ton of amazing things to do in the city this season. Here are 25 ways you can still make the most of fall in New York.
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This Queens County treasure is well worth the bus trek or car ride. As the city’s longest continually farmed site in the city (it’s been in operation since 1697), the 47 acres feels like an entirely different world compared to Manhattan.
Feed and pet the barnyard animals, including sheep, ponies and goats, hop aboard a hayride and take advantage of the fall harvest season when you can go pumpkin picking and attempt to find your way through the Amazing Maize Maze (yes, that’s a corn maze).
Grab an empty basket and don your best plaid for a fall PYO adventure. At local farms in the tristate area, you'll find a generous offering of apple varieties and fun seasonal activities like petting zoos and corn mazes. We guarantee you're bound to stumble upon some apple cider doughnuts along the way.
Going upstate to see fall leaves is great, but it's a trek. Luckily, if you know where to look here in NYC, there are some truly stunning foliage to see in many parks and gardens across the boroughs, including at Fort Tryon Park, the Greenbelt Nature Center, and Sunken Meadow State Park. Happy peeping!
As the fall rolls in, there are probably a few things you crave—no, no, not pumpkin spice lattes—apple cider donuts. NYC’s network of open-air markets have all-things apple, year after year. Snag the sugary confection and stock up on apple cider while you’re at it, too. You can hop over to grownyc.org to find a market nearest you.
Ah, the ’90s—a simpler time when grainy camcorder videos ruled the cultural zeitgeist, rather than slickly produced TikToks. An upcoming exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) will pay homage to that era through the lens of skater culture.
"Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos“ will honor DIY filmmaking with videos, vintage skate decks and other objects related to the formative years of the skate video in the 1980s and 1990s. See it in Astoria from September 7, 2024 through January 26, 2025.
Fittingly, a series of screenings and events will accompany the exhibition.
New York City residents have always cherished their pets, and the New-York Historical Society is here to document that. In the new special exhibition titled Pets and the City, they’ll feature an array of artwork—primarily obtained from the New-York Historical’s Museum and Library collections—that document the multidimensional roles animals have played to serve and coexist alongside human beings. See the exhibition from October 25 to April 27, 2025.
Through photographs, memorabilia, film and television clips, the exhibition explores how the relationship between humans and their pets has transformed alongside the ever-changing New York City landscape.
The cemetery's annual events include concerts in the catacombs, trolley tours and powerful discussions about grief.
Nightfall, a two-day spectacle with after-dark immersive experiences, is among the fan favorites, and it's coming back in October. Other stand-out events include the trolley tour Gay Gothic and Spirited Stroll, a pre-Halloween walking tour with tales of murder, mayhem, and captivating oddities. Here's the full list.
The city is full of legit spooky spots and haunted places, from cemeteries and haunted mansions to a crumbling hospital and tragedy-prone island.
These NYC ghost tours will take you through all the nooks and crannies where real-life horrors and paranormal sightings happened right in our own backyard. Whether you're a Broadway buff looking for theater lore or a history nerd up for touring historic buildings, there's a ghost tour for you.
The winter festivity has already begun even before the snow falls. The Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park returns to NYC with exciting holiday shops, food and activities from October 25 until March 2, 2025
Its 17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink that’s free to use (if you bring your own skates) is always the highlight, but its Winter Village in all its holiday spirit is a close second. This year, over 170 new and returning kiosks will be there for you to peruse through—all at one of the best NYC parks.
Now that temperatures are dropping, it's the perfect time to sip some hot tea. Afternoon tea in NYC is for those who fancy a scone or crumpet alongside a piping hot kettle of tea as a midday pick-me-up. From hotel restaurants to proper teahouses, here’s where to go for the best afternoon tea NYC’s got to offer.
Some might assume that sky-high imbibing is a spring and summertime affair, but it’s always rooftop season in NYC.
Even during rain, wind and lower temperatures, we simply swap the sunshine and frozen drinks for fireplaces and hot cocktails while still soaking up the skyline view. So grab a sweater and set your sights on the stars at the best cooler weather rooftops in NYC.
The Rockefeller Tree Lighting is an NYC holiday tradition that brings thousands of New Yorkers (and tourists) to the bright and brilliant nexus of town each Christmas. Sure, various tree lighting ceremonies take place all over New York, but the show at Rockefeller Center is by far the most renowned.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will be lit for the holiday season during a special ceremony on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. There will be fantastic performers and live music that evening.
After that, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will be lit daily from 5am to midnight daily. On Christmas Eve, the tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve it is lit from 5am to 9pm. The tree goes dark for the season in mid-January.
Carreau Club, the nation’s first pétanque bar now offers an indoor location with more space to get your game on while sipping a drink—even when temperatures get chilly.
For the uninitiated, pétanque (pronounced puh-TONK) is a bocce-ball style French boules sport gaining popularity in the U.S., starting here in NYC.
For those new to the sport, don't worry: Each court reservation comes with a lesson from a pétanque guide, plus equipment and a seating area. For the more competitive pétanque player, join a league to get in on weekly games.
A bucolic 1920s English country golf club is on its way to NYC's concrete jungle! But with a twist. Swingers NoMad, a "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London brought with it three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings.
"Crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course. Plus, there are plenty of food options to pair with your drinks.
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