A holiday weekend in New York: a two-day December plan, and where to stay for it

• Best weekends Dec 5-6, 12-13, 19-20
• Tree Lit Dec 2; on view to mid-January
• Markets close Union Square and Grand Central Dec 24
• Base Midtown East or West; or Long Island City

Which weekend

The tree is lit on Wednesday, December 2, so a plan built around it starts the weekend of December 5. From then until December 20, every stop below is open on both days. After that the season starts closing: the Union Square and Grand Central markets end on Christmas Eve, Bryant Park's shops run to January 3 and Macy's windows to January 4. If your only free weekend is Thanksgiving's, see the parade guide instead; the tree is up then but not lit.

Day one: Midtown on foot

Start at Bryant Park when the shops open at 10, before the paths fill. The rink there is free if you bring skates and opens at 8 a.m. through the holidays; rental and the other rinks are priced in the skating guide. Walk up Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center for the tree in daylight, then cross to Saks for the windows. Spend the afternoon somewhere warm, then come back after dark, when the tree and the Saks light show earn the crowd.

Book one show for the evening. The Christmas Spectacular is across Sixth Avenue from the tree and runs 90 minutes. The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center is about two hours, with Saturday curtains at 2 and 8 p.m. Buy the tickets before you book the room, so the show sets the date.

Day two: markets by day, lights by night

Sunday morning, take the 4, 5 or 6 to Union Square, the biggest of the markets with nearly 200 vendors, open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. If it rains, Grand Central's fair in Vanderbilt Hall is indoors, open Sunday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. until December 16. In the afternoon, Macy's windows at Herald Square are a short ride up Broadway on the N, Q, R or W.

Spend the evening on a light trail. Lightscape at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is timed entry and ticketed; Dyker Heights in Brooklyn is free and has no schedule at all, so read the windows and lights guide before you go. Both are a long ride from Midtown, which is the case for staying central: you will not be crossing the city twice in one day for a bed.

Where to stay for it

A December weekend is a walking trip, and the base decides how much of it you walk. Midtown East and Midtown West put the tree, the windows and both theaters within a few blocks. Long Island City trades the walk for one stop on the 7 from Grand Central, and is worth pricing against Midtown. Whatever you pick, book a rate you can cancel and check the hotel's own site for the same room before you pay. Our full neighborhood guide is where to stay in NYC.

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• Midtown East, near Grand Central

  4567S

  Rockefeller Center, Saks and the Grand Central fair are all a walk, and the 4, 5 and 6 run straight down to Union Square for day two. Quieter at night than the West Side.

  What to know: These are neighborhood searches, not hotel rankings. Compare the hotel's own site for the same room and cancellation terms.

  Midtown East hotels on Booking.com

• Midtown West and Times Square

  1237ACENQRWS

  The most rooms in the city, a walk to Radio City and Bryant Park, and a short ride to Lincoln Center on the 1. The pick if your evening is a show.

  What to know: Crowds and noise run late. Ask for a high floor away from Seventh Avenue and Broadway.

  Midtown West hotels on Booking.com

• Long Island City, Queens, one stop out

  7EMGNW

  Vernon Blvd-Jackson Av is one stop from Grand Central on the 7, so day one starts a few minutes from Fifth Avenue. Price a room here against Midtown before you decide.

  What to know: Check the walk from the hotel to the station on a map before you book; a few sit a long way from any train.

  Long Island City hotels on Booking.com