Did you know there were holiday markets outside Europe? Where can you find holiday markets in New York City? One location is at the southwest corner of Central Park at Columbus Circle.
Hours
Monday- Saturday 10-8 Sunday 10-7
Items
More than 100 vendors sell hand crafted items and specialty foods. Some items are environmentally friendly. There is a food court area with vendors and tables to sit at. In other areas vendors sell hot drinks and other food items as well.
Clocks were made of various vintage books.Chocolate covered soft meringues- ItalianLanterns of many colorsMeditating Santa
If you are interested in buying a unique handmade item, head over to Columbus Circle- 59th Street and Central Park West by December 24th. You may be surprised what catches your eye.
Do you plan to visit New York around Thanksgiving? Do you want to see the floats up close before the Macy’s parade? There is an opportunity to do that.
In the afternoon and evening on the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving you can go to between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue between 74th and 82nd street and see the floats blown up and waiting to be used. The actual streets the balloons are on are around the Museum of Natural History. This year the winds are supposed to be bad the day of the parade, so they may not use the floats.
Ronald McDonaldPikachuCBS NYC at the siteCrowds walking by the view the floatsYou get more of an idea of the scale from this distance. You can see the people in relation to the floats.
It would be hard to get a cab to this location. They close down Central Park West near it and several streets running into it. You can access it via subway/underground. A lot of walking is involved, so if you have issues walking, I do not recommend this. You walk a couple of blocks slowly at night with a large crowd until you arrive at the bag check. After that you walk another block or so to see the floats. I have been able to do this previously in the early afternoon. I highly recommend going then instead of at night. There are less crowds in the afternoon.
If you think you may not pick the best spot to view the parade, this is an option to add to your itinerary. It is a New York City pre-Thanksgiving tradition.
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