Things to do on a Sunday in New York

Back in 1987, an art amusement park—featuring works from Keith Haring, Salvador Dalí, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and more—delighted visitors in Germany. There were plans for a world tour, but it never happened, and the art was abandoned. Until now, that is.

Now, you can walk through Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, a wonderland featuring a Basquiat Ferris wheel, a Haring carousel, a Lichtenstein labyrinth, puppets and other immersive experiences in this limited-time installation at The Shed. Luna Luna is, hands down, the coolest art exhibition to open in New York City this year, and it's on view through January 5, 2025 with tickets starting at $44/person.

As Andy Williams croons in the iconic song, "It's the holiday season. And Santa Claus is coming 'round." But you know what else is coming 'round? STRESS. Finding gifts for everyone on your list. Baking dozens of cookies. Mailing greeting cards. The list goes on. 

This holiday season, Chelsea's ARTECHOUSE strives to create a space of calm amid the chaos with their newest immersive exhibit. Tingle Bells: An ASMR-Inspired Holiday Special will debut Thursday, November 21, and run through Sunday, January 5; general admission tickets start at $25. Equal parts wonder and calm, the experience blends nostalgic holiday warmth with cutting-edge digital art. 

Tingle Bells was inspired by the powers of ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), which is known for eliciting tingling sensations through auditory and visual stimuli. It's designed to be, "oddly satisfying," as event organizers explain. 

Before you even see these gingerbread creations, you’ll smell their sweet-spicy aromas wafting through the halls. Gingerbread NYC: The Great Borough Bake-Off has taken over the Museum of the City of New York once again bringing holiday cheer with 20 stunningly beautiful gingerbread structures.

Each one emulates an iconic part of the city, from the Wonder Wheel to the Prospect Park Boathouse to a bodega (complete with a bodega cat, of course). Feast your eyes upon them this holiday season. Go see them all at Museum of the City of New York in East Harlem now through January 12. 

Sure, the holidays are something to be enjoyed, but sometimes, they're something to be endured. Opening on November 22 and running until December 28, The Second City New York will present their new Mainstage comedy show, "Wreck the Halls: The Second City New York’s Guide to Surviving the Holidays."

Packed with original sketches, improv and variety delights, the spirited show will gift plenty of laughs as it roasts all of the things we love to loathe about the "festive" season, from the dreaded family obligations to the boring office parties to the ad nauseum Mariah Carey songs. 

If these 4:30pm sunsets in NYC are getting you down, this new immersive experience at Genesis House might be just the antidote. Called STARSCAPE, this light installation explores the beauty of darkness and the wonders of the cosmos.  

The walk-through exhibit was designed by Ethan Tobman, who is known for his visual storytelling as creative director of The Eras Tour. But unlike Taylor Swift's concerts, this experience is completely free to see with no tickets required. Tobman drew inspiration from Dongji, the Korean Winter Solstice, to craft an awe-inspiring journey through the longest night of the year.

STARSCAPE is now open to the public through January 12. No reservations are needed; just show up. Public operating hours are Tuesday–Sunday, 11am–7pm. Find it at 40A 10th Ave. in the Meatpacking District.

Coney Island isn't just a summertime destination anymore. Luna Park's Frost Fest is home to a 35-foot tree sure to get you into the holiday spirit, plus photo opps with Santa, a holiday market, and an ice skating rink. 

New in 2024 is the Candy Cane Chute rapid slide that you are sure to want to ride down endlessly. Don't forget that the iconic Coney Island Cyclone will also be open during select days this season, so make sure to save some time to experience the thrilling ride as well.

Frost Fest will take over Coney Island from November 23-January 1, 2025 on select weekdays and holidays, plus Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Read more about the offerings right here.

This weekly Upper West Side marketplace, one of NYC’s oldest, goes all out every holiday season with holiday treats and special holiday vendors. From November 24 through December 22, drop by any Sunday from 10am to 5:30pm, to shop photographs, jewelry, furniture, beauty products, antiques and tasty eats from more than 150+ local merchants selling across the holiday season—and feel really good doing it: the market supports local businesses by donating 100 percent of its profits to four of the neighborhood’s public schools.

The Bazaar is open all year round, indoors and outdoors, and over 70% of the vendors can change from one week to another, so there’s always something new to see!

In NYBG's wildly popular diorama, more than a dozen model railway trains traverse an incredibly detailed New York City scene, including such landmarks as the Empire State Building and Radio City Music Hall, made of natural materials such as leaves, twigs, bark and berries.

Each year, artist Laura Busse Dolan and her team at Applied Imagination work on the awe-inspiring structures using plant materials to build "botanical architecture." It's been a beloved tradition since 1992.

The production usually consists of nearly 200 scaled NYC buildings and structures like the Statute of Liberty and Grand Central Station, re-created using barks, leaves, branches and other materials you might spot while strolling through a garden. 

As if a miniature plant-based New York City wasn't cool enough, 25 tiny trains will snake along the entire space, including some on overhead towering bridges. Don't expect them to look like your standard subway car, either: the tiny modes of transportation include replicas of American steam engines and streetcars from the 1800s, so there's something for fans of every commute era. 

The destination is ideal for children, but there are also 21+ nights to check out.

This year's holiday train show will take place from November 16 through January 20, 2025, starting at 10am until 6pm, at the Bronx destination.

The on-screen version pops with vibrancy and energy, effervescence and sincerity, adding the odd tweak, expanding the occasional storyline, but largely visualizing the musical in a way that will delight the many millions who have seen it on stage since its Broadway premiere in 2003. 

And the songs – especially the ceiling-plaster-loosening Defying Gravity – are belted out via vocal cords you’d pay top dollar to hear in concert, with Cynthia Erivo and a scene-stealing Ariana Grande the powerhouse double-act at the movie’s heart: one providing steel and soul as Shiz University’s ostracised green-skinned student Elphaba; the other with a nice line in perky superficiality as Galinda, a Tracy Flick type whose manifesto for life is captured in a wittily staged Popular. Of course, they’ll grow up to become the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch of the North respectively.

See it in theaters this weekend.

Within Grand Central Terminal, find the New York Transit Museum's 20th annual Holiday Train Show, an ode to all kinds of locomotives. You'll feel positively giant while wandering around the 34-foot-long display, festooned with miniature versions of city landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Empire State Building. Watch as Lionel model trains depart from a miniature replica of Grand Central. Then they travel over the river (the East River, to be exact) and through the wood to reach their final destination, the North Pole.

The Holiday Train Show will be on view at Grand Central Terminal through February 2025. The free show is open Monday-Friday, 10am-7:30pm; Saturday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; and closed major holidays. Find it in the shuttle passage on 42nd Street and Park Avenue, adjacent to the Station Master’s Office.