Welcome to our list of the top NYC holiday attractions — curated with help from friends — to sweeten the holiday spirit. My thanks go to the Museum of the City of New York, curators of Gingerbread NYC, the Great Borough Bake Off. The exhibit celebrates a competition among Big Apple bakers to immortalize their beloved city.
We’re grateful that one small and rich museum you can bite into is featuring more than 20 select destinations so we could design your holiday in New York itinerary around them.
Welcome to the Gingerbread Bake-Off, a Top New York Holiday Attraction
The 2025 theme challenged participants to reimagine a building, landmark, or symbol representing the heart of a city neighborhood, community, or borough. You can tell that bakers were passionate about creating an icon from their own New York reality and enshrining it in gingerbread.
The seasonal gingerbread exhibit celebrates professional and amateur pastry chefs from each borough, with awards for “Best Borough Spirit,” “Most Unique,” “Best Overall,” and more. The prize-winning baked sculptures were rewarded for their fine execution and stylistic flair.
A 4 or 5-Day Best of the Boroughs New York Holiday Itinerary
These wonderful sculptures, however, are not simply baked goods. They represent the heart and soul of each borough. Let the show be your first New York holiday stop so you can get oriented to this fantasy city.
Then follow along as we use it to guide tourists interested in seeing the “real” New York. Let’s taste what five of our favorite Gingerbread baked goods have to offer visitors.
Enjoy a Bagel, Lox and a Schmear in Queens
It’s hard to miss “Cawfee and a Bagel,” gingerbread breakfast treats with a broad New York accent. The baker Juliet Galea immortalizes a classic New York seeded bagel topped with cream cheese and thick slices of lox (a salty smoked salmon that’s a popular favorite.) It’s served, Greek coffeeshop style, with a blue, white and gold paper cup of coffee.
Did you know that the so-called Anthora Cup was designed in 1963 to appeal to coffeeshop owners of Greek heritage? In its heyday, more than 500 million sold in one year! I discovered that Fun Fact on the Gingerbread NYC Scavenger Hunt, a must-grab game sheet for anyone entering the exhibit!
Return visitors may remember when Greek coffeeshops stood at almost every corner of the city. (We had Two Brothers, Five Brothers, Utopia, Metro and Aristotle in our neighborhood alone.) Ms. Galea is from Queens, home to the new mayor Zohran Mamdani. Rents are a bit less onerous in that borough, so there are still many coffeeshops in her neighborhood.
No matter what part of the city you explore, use Google Maps to search for “Greek diner near me” or “best bagel in X neighborhood.” You must uncover the meal that no one should leave New York without trying. And, keep in mind that the ethnically diverse Queens has some of the best and most affordable restaurants in the city!
Tour Manhattan’s Greenwich Village and the Stonewall Center
Another piece I admired was “Christopher Street – Stonewall Station” in Manhattan’s West Village.
Advertising agency BBDO commissioned professional baker Zahra Sabir to whip up this realistic marvel for a non-profit client. Inspired by the work of the Ali Forney Center, which provides services to LGBTQ+ at-risk youth, she recreated the Stonewall Bar and street where the Gay Rights movement began.
Look for the tiny gingerbread people in rainbow colors seated on neighborhood benches! Ms. Sabir told me her Christopher Street monument, including a gingerbread-tiled ‘red brick’ IRT Subway stop with stairs leading below street level, took her an estimated 128 hours to do. (After the Museum of the City of New York’s exhibition, her work will be in the lobby of the AFC, as long as it lasts.)
It’s easy to take the subway to 38-64 Christopher Street. Entry to the Stonewall Bar (a recreation next door to the original one) and to the museum are free to all. Teens especially will love the funky and unique boutiques, and the hip anime shops along 8th Street and down MacDougal Street. Explore all of downtown to celebrate a wonderful cause, experience one of the National Park Service’s newest monuments, and soak up the charm of the historic West Village on this stop.
Explore Hipster Brooklyn and the Revitalized Gowanus Canal
I met Kate Sigrist, winner of “Best Overall.” She presented a startling confection inspired by the “Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant” on Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal.
As unappetizing as that sounds, her execution of the architectural details is remarkable. Picture the recently revitalized Gowanus Canal with its tranquil waterways. Silver candy-coated gas tanks and gas-release mechanisms that aid in treating sewage tower above. A tiny public park is built next to it, the very one that inspired her to honor this environmental remediation project.
To reach the Gowanus neighborhood, go green by taking New York City’s inexpensive public transit system. After you’ve visited Ms. Sigrist’s favorite public park, you can head to Brooklyn’s Prospect Park – also designed by Olmsted and Vaux — and explore more.
Inhale the Bronx Botanical Garden and the Train Show
Camaxtli (Max) Gallegos took on the challenge of building a glass-enclosed (sugar glass) greenhouse at the centerpiece of his “New York Botanical Garden.” Its heated dome welcomes winter visitors in the city’s chilly season. You’ll be amazed at how much there is to see and do at the BBG, even in snow.
Go to the Bronx by train from Grand Central Station – its own New York holiday attraction with a wonderful Christmas Market. Or, take the subway and walk a bit. Take either rail to the New York Botanical Garden as it’s formally known, one of the city’s top holiday treats.
Each winter, their huge model train set comes alive, racing down a track past New York landmarks and other monuments all made of plant matter. Look for the lions outside the New York Public Library at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue made of acorns. Ask everyone in the family to snap a picture of the structure they will try to build at home! We also love their Christmas Lights Trail, this year themed to Tim Burton’s Night Before Christmas. Both the Train Show and their very festive, after-dark illuminated garden are wildly popular. Be sure to buy tickets online in advance.
If you want to eat nearby, there’s a good café on site and terrific Italian fare in the Arthur Avenue neighborhood (try Dominick’s), just a quick Lyft ride away.
The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Ferry Ride Past Staten Island
Partners César Aldrete and Ricky Rotandi baked up a scrumptious looking “Statue of Liberty.” They were inspired by the statue’s upcoming 140th birthday! I’m so glad they brought their collective skills as schoolteacher and baker to highlight many travelers’ favorite New York experience.
Allow a day to take the ferry to, between and from both attractions. Be sure to wave to Staten Island as you pass by. Entry is free, but you’ll have to buy ferry tickets and really bundle up for the cruise! Everyone loves being at the feet of Lady Liberty but don’t miss the museum in her base. Be sure to book the ferry in advance and request tickets to climb the stairs inside her Crown. School age children and older find Ellis Island and its immigration museum fascinating. Both islands have snack bars where you can pause for lunch.
Go now, at a critical time when immigration policy is part of the daily news cycle.
How You Win a Gingerbread Baking Contest
So, how does one win a baking contest of this magnitude? Most bakers start with a concept, create a design, then frame their creation in cardboard or wire. Once the structure is steady, contestants assemble the pieces and face them with gingerbread walls, tiles, roofs and more.
Interestingly, the assembled pastry chefs were happy to discuss their decorating tips and tricks. Some consult with engineer and architect friends to make sure the framework will withstand the load of traditional gumdrops, icing, nuts and other sweet ornaments. Some use melted lollipops to make landscapes and rivers.
VIP Note: While the ingredients must be edible, the techniques used to color and strengthen the works are not very appetizing. Preservatives guarantee the sculptures can withstand the curious gaze of large crowds for the two-month display period.
I know anyone who’s young at heart or has a sweet tooth will find the show delicious. Plus, the exhibit teaches you about so many famous and little known New York holiday monuments. Be sure to add them to your Christmas holiday list as fun places to take the kids.
Get Your Tickets for the Sweetest New York Holiday Attraction
The exhibit teaches you about so many famous and little-known New York holiday monuments. Be sure to add them to your Christmas holiday list as fun places to take the kids.
The Museum of the City of New York is located at 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street. It’s open daily 10am-5pm, till 6pm Saturday and Sunday. New York residents may pay what they like to enter, ages 18 and under free.
Don’t forget to cast your vote for your favorite Gingerbread model. In addition to prizes bestowed by celebrity judges from Amy’s Bread, Make My Cake, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Magnolia Bakery, all museumgoers can vote the People’s Choice Award until January 19th when the show closes.
Tips to Enjoy the Gingerbread NYC Show the New Yorker Way!
While you’re on the Upper East Side, allow time to stroll the classic Conservatory Garden, across the street in Central Park. These formal gardens, designated a landmark in 1963, are divided into three parts: the French-style North Garden, the Italianate-style Center Garden, and the English-style South Garden.
Dining Tip: Don’t see this show hungry. Nearby Madison Avenue has several cafes. This avenue gets very chic as you stroll into the 90s – the territory of “Gossip Girl” for any fans out there.
Or, if it’s a nice day, buy picnic supplies from the Halal food truck right outside the museum and dine on a park bench.
It’s a real New Yorker thing to do!
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