For many travelers, this holiday season includes a visit to New York City. We’ve gone many times, visiting the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, enjoying the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall and savoring great dining at the Big Apple’s great restaurants.
Here are some more unusual things we’ve discovered to do during New York holiday visits:
Coney Island Polar Bear Club
It’s insanity in the near-freezing winter surf, as people in swimsuits wade out from the beach into the Atlantic Ocean. Every Sunday from November through April, club members do their dip at 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome to join club members for the bracing swim. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club was founded in 1903 and the club has held a New Year’s Day event as a fundraiser for Special Olympics. Last year, 1,500 swimmers went into the January surf, while more than 7,500 came out to watch.
Coney Island, NY – Boardwalk at Stillwell Ave.
polarbearclub.org
Central Park historic walking tour
Take a trip back in time with a walking tour offering views from the past. The Central Park Conservancy is offering a free (donation suggested) “Views from the Past Tour”. Walk through the park on an hour-long tour and imagine the land as it existed in the 19th century before the park was developed. The walk is easy and the group meets at 2:30 p.m. outside the Dairy Gift Shop, mid-park at 65th Street on Saturday December 24.
Views from the Past Tour
Central Park, mid-park at 65th Street
centralparknyc.org
Bronx Zoo Clydesdale horse carriage rides
Bundle up in the Bronx and go for a trot around the zoo grounds with a team of Clydesdales, the biggest horses in the world. Cost is $3 for zoo members; $5 non-members and the rides are available every day, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. There’ll be other fun activities at the zoo for families, including watching polar bears, gorillas and other animals get holiday gifts. Local sculptors will compete in carving animal figures from blocks of ice. Nearby, kids can frolic on a 25-foot ice slide.
Bronx Zoo / The Wildlife Conservation Society
2300 Southern Boulevard Bronx, New York 10460
bronxzoo.com
Hike across the Brooklyn Bridge
For a delightful holiday stroll, cross the magnificent Brooklyn Bridge. Since 1873, it has been one of the most famous landmarks in New York. The one-mile journey across the East River at dusk gives the wonderful experience of watching the skyline lights begin to sparkle on both sides of the bridge. High up on the pedestrian walkway, you’ll tower over the busy roadway, train tracks and river traffic below. To get to the walkway from Manhattan, take the 4,5,6,J or Z train to the Brooklyn Bridge / City Hall stop. Take the 1,2 or 3 train, get off at Chambers Street, then walk east. When you see City Hall, cross Park Row and it’s right there.
Brooklyn Bridge – Brooklyn, NY
nyc.gov
Gingerbread Extravaganza
Kids and grownups who behave like kids at holiday time will enjoy this fun annual event at Le Parker Meridien Hotel in Manhattan. The entire hotel atrium is decorated with gingerbread houses, gingerbread men, gum drops, marshmallows, candy canes and hundreds of other delectable items. The hotel holds a contest each year to choose the most creative edible gingerbread by local bakers, who compete for best gingerbread creations. If you’ll be there this year, the contest theme is movies set in New York. Along with images of Santa, you may see cookies shaped like Brando in “The Godfather” and DeNiro in “Taxi Driver”. It’s a charity event, and visitors who want to vote for the winning gingerbread creation are asked to donate $1. Last year, more than $16,000 was collected for City Harvest, an organization that feeds New York’s poor.
Le Parker Meridien
119 W 56th St. New York, NY 10019
parkermeridien.com
You can follow travel writer Ted Sherman on twitter, @travel4seniors and check out his blog, travel4seniors.com
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