16 Things to Do in NYC This Winter
December brings holiday markets and twinkling lights, and April brings the relief of warmer weather, but what are we supposed to do for that bleak stretch in between? A lot, actually: Here’s everything that’s worth bundling up and leaving your apartment for.
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1. Head to the Garment District to stroll through an iceberg—or an art installation inspired by one, anyway. The aptly named Iceberg (free and on view through February 24) emits light and sound timed to your movements.
2. Join activists, musicians and civic leaders at BAM’s annual tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 21).
3. Your post-holiday budget and your appetite can happily coexist during NYC Restaurant Week (January 21 to February 8), when you can score lunch and dinner deals at spots like Temple Court, Claudette and Rahi.
4. Spend the ultimate #selfcaresaturday soaking, steaming and sauna-ing at SoJo Spa Club, a soothing oasis right across the Hudson. (It’s just one of many luxe bathhouses across the city.)
5. Take a field trip to outer space with Spheres, a virtual reality experience at Rockefeller Center (January 18 to March 3). The three-part series features narration by Millie Bobby Brown, Jessica Chastain and Patti Smith, along with stunning visuals and original music.
6. Grab your most outraged friend to see Rebecca Traister, author of Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger, chat with short-story writer Kristen Roupenian—who penned a little story called “Cat Person”—on January 17, and with Eloquent Rage author Brittney Cooper on January 23.
7. Celebrate the Year of the Pig at Chinatown’s annual Firecracker Ceremony (February 5) and again at the Lunar New Year Parade (February 17).
8. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 92Y talk (February 6) is sold out, but that won’t stop us from adding ourselves to the wait list, keeping our fingers crossed and hovering outside the building in the hopes of absorbing some of her wisdom.
9. Get better acquainted with a legendary painter at the Brooklyn Museum’s Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving (opening February 8). Along with artwork, the exhibition will display clothing, jewelry and other artifacts from Kahlo’s personal collection.
10. Warm up with sahlab, a rich, pudding-like drink popular in the Middle East, at Republic of Booza. The beverage itself is centuries old, but flavors like Hot Salted Oreo are decidedly of-the-moment (and delicious).
11. Hit the slopes (even if “the slopes” really means a cozy armchair in the lodge) at one of our favorite ski resorts near the city.
12. Spare your heating bill for a few hours and step into the climate-controlled paradise of the New York Botanical Garden’s Orchid Show (opening February 23).
13. Throw on your most disco-worthy getup and take a spin at Industry City’s new indoor Dreamland Roller Rink. It’ll host everything from family skate classes to Hula-Hoophappy hours Thursdays to Sundays through April 21.
14. Practice your looking-at-art face while rubbing elbows with art collectors and gallery owners at the 25th annual Armory Show (March 7 to 10).
15. What’s grilled pizza, you ask? Allow the experts behind Emily and Emmy Squared to show you at their new East Village spot, Violet, which focuses on the lesser-known Rhode Island–style pie.
16. Or cozy up at On, a new restaurant from the team behind Her Name Is Han and Izakaya Mew, opening in February. The specialty here is seasonal induction-cooked meals, made right on the high-tech tables—for winter, that means jeongol (Korean-style hot pot).
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