Hi friends, welcome back! Today I’ve got a festive Fifth Avenue walking tour for you with slight detours down 57th and 51st Street. Fifth Avenue always has the best decorations and is anchored by Bergdorfs on 58thStreet and Saks Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller on 49th Street. I did something new this year and got to Rockefeller at 6:30am. After I got my pictures, I walked up and down Fifth Avenue with a coffee and all the windows and decorations to myself. It was definitely worth the early morning wake up! Another perk was that I was able to walk right into the Plaza at 7am on a Sunday. The Plaza Hotel was closed off to the public when I first strolled down Fifth Avenue before Thanksgiving, and I saw them checking at the door to confirm you have a reservation. Seems if you go early you can get in, otherwise it’ll cost a pretty penny to get inside.
I’ve got a full tour of the intricate Bergdorf’s windows here.
On the corner of 57th and Fifth, the Louis Vuitton flagship is under construction. Instead of ugly scaffolding, they’ve covered the building to make it look like their iconic trunks. I believe they are adding five stories and completely renovating all the interiors.
The UNICEF Snowflake shines on the corner of 57th and Fifth. It changes color and is made of Swarovski crystals.
We are making our first detour down 57th Street to first admire Chanel.
I thought these Dior windows were very cute! I didn’t attempt to find out but this looked like real gingerbread to me.
Louis Vuitton is temporarily on 57th Street until their renovations are done.
We’re heading back to Fifth Avenue to see Tiffanys. They completed their remodel and had some gorgeous jewelry on display in their windows.
Gucci’s windows featured this interactive advent calendar, and doors would open to reveal different gifts.
Dolce & Gabbana had some beautiful Christmas trees.
Harry Winston with some classic lights.
There are also some festive photo stops along the way 🙂
The Peninsula Hotel always has a beautiful display and is very welcoming to the public!
The Coach store had a fun conveyor belt.
I always enjoy seeing the Cartier facade. I actually thought the panther at the top was holding a construction cone, but it is a Christmas tree.
The Lego store always has some fun windows! I think they keep this intact because it looks exactly the same every year.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral looks especially beautiful at Christmas. I enjoy that they have a Golden Retriever in the manger.
Now for our second detour from Fifth Avenue down 51st Street to Lotte Palace on Madison Avenue. This tree is gorgeous and in my early morning walk it was snowing those big, fluffy flakes making for a magical morning. My mom joined me on my first stroll down Fifth Avenue. I gave her the full tour of decorations from Bloomingdales to Macys!
Saks Fifth Avenue and Rockefeller bookend this festive tour and by now you’ll have run into the massive crowds if you go later in the day or at night.
You sure get a lot of bang for your buck walking down Fifth Avenue! What’s your favorite decoration of the tour?
So many wonderful Christmas displays. It’s really hard to pick favourites, but the Dolce and Gabana’s stands out to me as the most Christmasy. I also love that Louis Vitton did something beautiful with the scaffolding! If only more places did that. Maggie
Dolce & Gabbana was a good one, I don’t think I’d ever had them in my tour before. There’s so much scaffolding in the city it would be nice if every place made it pretty!
Every time I thought I’d seen my favourite, along comes something even more festive and beautiful. Love the Dior and the stairs in the Peninsula, but also agree with Maggie that D&G is beautifully, boldly festive.
Those are great favorites. The shops along Fifth Avenue really did a great job this year!
They’re all so fabulous it’s hard to pick a favourite. Great tour, thank you Lyssy.
I agree! Glad you enjoyed the tour.
I always enjoy your posts particularly these as I’ve not been to NY for a while
Thank you! It’s hard when there’s so many great places to visit.
So true
Oh my gosh, they’re all so pretty and colorful,and creative! I do really like the gingerbread though (and I laughed at the image of you testing to see if it’s real), as well as the Louis Vuitton building covering.
There is a nice variety of Fifth Ave! I do have a sweet tooth ha!! I suppose it’s probably stale by now anyways.
What a great idea to set off at the crack of dawn Lyssy and beat the crowds. I think these decorations look much more festive than some of the earlier ones and it’s great that your mum could join you on the tour. I’m sure she loves spending time with her granddaughter too!
I keep seeing videos of how crowded it is on social media and I’m very glad with my decision to go early! It is more fun seeing the decorations with someone else. All the grandparents were in town recently for Violet’s birthday and she was loving all the extra attention!
That is a great way to beat the crowds; and how neat to get to see the inside of the Plaza! Oh and according to Google those are all real gingerbread pieces at Dior.
Thank you for solving the mystery!
Gosh, NYC really goes all-out in holiday decorations! Fifth Avenue is no exception. We have festive décor here in LA, but not nearly as much as in your city. Looks like a whirlwind of a tour, and I’m glad you had a wonderful time, Lyssy!
It always seems like there’s more every year in NYC! it’s the best time of year minus the crowds, but it’s nice having to luxury to go at any time.
Wow – no place like it! I’d spend hours looking at that lego but the Louis Vuitton trunks are the best ever!!!
Would be a fun job to work on that lego display! I first thought the trunks were AI but they are real!
And all for free! They’re fabulous, Lyssy xx
It’s great free entertainment for sure! They are really great decorations.
Amazing tour. Great to see Mama Sue with you this year. Two questions, where is the baby Jesus at St Patrick’s Cathedral and do you not go get your monthly cronut anymore?
They were in town for Violet’s bday so we left her with the dads to see some sights. That is a good question that someone pointed out while we were there. Maybe they are making it factually accurate and not putting him in there until Christmas. Ah no I gave up on the cronuts. I didn’t really miss them after I stopped getting them.
Wow, New York City really is exceptional for Christmas decor. From intricate store window displays and statuesque Christmas trees to iconic ice skating rinks, holiday markets, magical decorations and more, New York City looks like an amazing place to be around the festive season. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
It really goes all out at Christmastime! There’s something for everyone and endless decorations to take it 🙂
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How smart is that. Get up and out before the city (or the little one) wakes up. Gorgeous shots Lyssy. 5th Avenue is a show stopper for sure. So glad your Mom could join. Parents just want quality time with their children. Have a great evening. Allan
The early bird really gets the worm! I keep seeing videos of the miserable crowds and am very happy I went early. All the grandparents were in town for Violet’s birthday and she really loved all the extra attention. The guys didn’t care about the decorations os my mom and I had fun!
Good call on going early to get into the Plaza Hotel without a reservation and get some good pictures without the crowds. Love all the elaborate displays and decorations.
What beautiful decorations. As for Louis Vuitton, I wonder if they are actually doing renovation work or just pretending to in order to put up a huge advertisement. They have been doing the same thing on the Champs Elysées for what seems like years to me.