Things to do at NYC's Grand Central Madison and nearby this holiday season

Saks’ Fifth Avenue’s light show is a rising star of the Manhattan holiday scene with this year’s Christian Dior design splashing across the 10-story facade expected to rival the Rockefeller Center tree for eyeball traffic.
But Long Islanders have further reason to stroll Fifth Avenue’s decorated byways this holiday season with another splashy newcomer on track: Grand Central Madison, offering direct East Side Access on the Long Island Rail Road. If you’ve navigated Penn Station and the subways in the past, or fought traffic for a parking space, now take a straight through ride to the sparkling new terminal a block from Fifth Avenue's holiday heart.

Here’s a guide to taking a hassle-free holiday season bite out of the Big Apple at family-friendly attractions on the street, in Rockefeller Plaza and inside Grand Central’s historic 42nd Street station.

First stop: Tour Grand Central Terminal

"Meet me at the clock" is a time-honored invitation when you want to regroup in Grand Central Terminal. The four-sided opal glass information booth clock (seen weekly in the "Saturday Night Live" stage set) is the eye of the rush-hour storm in the middle of the Main Concourse. The booth’s information experts can help you get your bearings on a self-guided tour exploring the terminal.

Crane your neck to the vaulted celestial ceiling, decorated with zodiac signs depicting the constellations. A dark spot on the ceiling shows the cigarette smoke damage cleaned away a quarter-century ago in a major expansion and renovation.

A national landmark still running on schedule after 110 years, this architectural gem of a commuter rail terminal has survived more than a century of changing tastes in travel and a near miss with the wrecking ball.

The terminal (never “Grand Central Station,” which refers to the nearby U.S. Post Office or the subway stop, according to MTA officials) was built in 1913, in the luxury travel era of sumptuous dining cars, luggage-carrying redcaps and carpets rolled out for passengers.

Grand Central nearly went the way of the old Pennsylvania station, which was demolished in 1963, but a successful 1970s preservation campaign led by Southampton native Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis added the terminal to the National Register of Historic Places. A bronze plaque commemorates the former first lady’s efforts in the Onassis Foyer at the Pershing Square entrance. Step outside to see the station’s 14 feet-in-diameter Tiffany glass clock adorned with Greek God statuary representing the virtues of speed, strength and intellect, and the holiday light-decorated Pershing Square Viaduct.

Head to the Biltmore Room, also known as the Kissing Gallery, where long distance travelers and returning soldiers reunited joyously with loved ones. Stop at the Whispering Gallery where, because of an acoustic oddity, two people can be on opposite corners, face the walls and whisper words heard — even amid the rush hour buzz — as if you were face to face. 

At Grand Central Madison visitors can see one of the MTA Arts & Design-commissioned installations for an amusing distraction. “Platform,” mixed-media artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo’s life-scale portraits of 40 New Yorkers at the north end of the Madison Concourse, are part of an exhibit of mosaics, poetry on LED screens, and a rotating photography lightbox and video artwork.

Events not to miss: The Grand Central Holiday Fair features 36 vendors, Nov. 13 through Dec. 24 (E. 42nd Street entrance); Holiday Train Show at the station's New York Transit Museum begins Nov. 16 and continues through early 2024 ($5, advance ticket purchase required). Dior’s Carousel of Dreams at Saks light show, Nov. 20 through Jan. 5 (611 Fifth Ave.).

Dining and shopping near Grand Central Madison

The variety fits all pocketbooks, from pizza, sandwiches and vino at City Winery, to shakes, lobster rolls, waffles or borscht at booths in the Dining Concourse. A stroll through the European-style market surrounds you with the sights and smells of mountains of cheese, caviar and other goodies. Sweeten the ride home at Jacques Torres Chocolate (17 Grand Central Terminal).

For many, a bucket-list experience is dining at the Oyster Bar, where bivalves are slurped on the half shell or in stew, lunch-counter style bar, or craft cocktails are quaffed in the intimate beehive known as the saloon. Dinner for two costs about $125, including sparkling water, in the quieter, red-and-white checkered tablecloth dining room.

NYC's Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller Center

Getting to street level requires a 1 minute, 38-second ride on one of Grand Central Madison’s 17 steep escalators — the MTA’s longest in the city and the subject of viral social media videos. Walk one block west, and just like that, stroll Fifth Avenue. 

The avenue is home to landmarks like the marble Patience and Fortitude lions in front of the New York Public Library at 40th to 42nd Streets, and the Fifth Avenue Snowflake, glowing like a star above 57th Street.

If you haven’t strolled Fifth Avenue recently, you may discover that Manhattan’s most celebrated shopping district has changed in the post-pandemic era, local officials say. 

“Fifth Avenue is really leading the way in how retailers connect with, entertain and support their customers,” said Marie Boster, President of the Fifth Avenue Association Business Improvement District.

The newer amenities give visitors an opportunity to actually have breakfast at Tiffany’s, in the Blue Box Café at The Landmark Store (727 Fifth Ave., 6th floor, tiffany.com). After nibbling your croissant or sipping tea in the robins egg blue cafe, stay to see a display of Audrey Hepburn’s black Givenchy gown from the 1961 movie classic and a Jean-Michel Basquiat masterwork. 

If you’re taking the kids, Fifth Avenue offers experiences that may just make them put down their cellphones. At the PUMA NYC flagship store (609 Fifth Ave., at 49th St., stores.puma.com), they can try their hand at driving an F-1 car simulator and personalize sneakers and apparel. Head to The LEGO Store and check out the The Mosaic Maker that takes your photo and turns it into a mosaic keepsake ($59.99). (636 Fifth Ave., lego.com). 

Walk a few blocks to Rockefeller Center, where toy stores offer family-friendly experiences. An FAO Schwarz stylist booth will help outfit a new Barbie and Ken at the three-level flagship (30 Rockefeller Plaza, near the tree). Or choose from more than 50 different dolls with accessories, clothing and furniture at the American Girl store. (75 Rockefeller Plaza, americangirl.com). Catch the Rockefeller Center annual tree lighting on Nov. 29 and daily through Jan. 13 (30 Rockefeller Plaza, rockefellercenter.com).

GRAND CENTRAL THROUGH THE YEARS