Hi friends, welcome back to the final New York Christmas post. Hard to believe that Christmas is just two days away!! I so hope you’ve enjoyed all my festive posts and that they’ve made your day a little more jolly 🙂 This year Jon and I made it out to the New York Botanical Garden for the thirtieth annual Holiday Train Show inside the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory. This holiday exhibit showcases model trains that weave through over 175 NYC landmarks all created out of natural materials like pine cones, walnuts, and seeds. You can catch the train show from November 20th through January 23rd and I’d highly recommend visiting!
The drive took us about forty-five minutes and we parked onsite, but you could also take the Metro North-Harlem local line to the Botanical Garden Station, about a twenty-minute train ride from Grand Central. You can also take the subway or bus and then have a short walk.
Once we checked in, Jon and I made a beeline for the Conservatory to see the train show. We watched a short video about how the exhibit was created, and then we were free to wander through at our leisure.
Over 25 model trains circle through the exhibit on about half a mile of train tracks.
I couldn’t believe how intricate each structure is, and it amazes me how creative people can be.
The grand finale stole the show featuring the most famous landmarks in NYC. My favorite was the Freedom Tower, but they all looked beautiful all lit up. The Statue of Liberty seemed to be having some electrical issues, but she still looked magnificent.
After taking in the train show, we wandered throughout the 1.5 mile GLOW show.
These trees looked stunning at night reflecting on the water with the conservatory in the background.
I loved how the trees lit up with different colors, so pretty!
The Mertz Library Building ended our tour and it looked magical all dressed in lights.
I’d highly recommend checking out the New York Botanical Garden Holiday Train Show! It has something for everyone of all ages to enjoy, and it puts you right into the holiday spirit. I want to come back next year during the day to get a better view of all the trains and greenery, but I also enjoyed it all lit up at night. We went the second Saturday in December and it was a little crowded inside the conservatory, but outside wasn’t super crowded. That completes my NYC holiday bucket list! I hope you all enjoyed 🙂
