If it didn’t already feel like Christmas in New York, it does now. A simple flick of a switch and possibly the world’s most famous festive tree is aglow once more.

Thousands of New Yorkers stood side by side with tourists in Midtown Manhattan this week to count down alongside a host of stars at the Rockefeller Center’s 76th tree lighting ceremony (read more below).

New York’s appeal for visiting Britons may have waned as the beleaguered pound has dropped but if shopping isn’t your main priority then the Big Apple in December is still hard to resist.

Brimming with holiday spirit that won’t cost you a dime, it really is the nicest time of year to go.

From the dinosaur-shaped Christmas trees that welcome visitors at the American Museum of National History to the Salvation Army bell ringers that seem to stand on every street corner, New York’s feel-good factor can melt the hardest of hearts.

And if you’re lucky, you’ll find it all under a dusting of snow too. So, earmuffs at the ready, here’s the best of the Big Apple’s must-see yuletide attractions.
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