• Rockefeller Center, Macy’s, and Bryant Park are some of NYC’s most popular tourist destinations.

• However, the crowds seem to quadruple at these locations the day after Thanksgiving.

• Some of the city’s iconic attractions were so crowded when I visited that I could barely move.

When you’re a native New Yorker, one thing you learn is that while the holiday season in New York City is magical, you should avoid tourist attractions.

There are plenty of other things to do during the holidays — for every Rolf’s, there’s a less crowded, more fun bar like Paddy Maguire’s Ale House.

But I wanted to see if it was all that bad, so in December 2022, I set out on a journey to some of the biggest holiday tourist attractions.

I started at Wollman Rink in Central Park, walked to the Plaza Hotel and the Pulitzer Fountain, strolled down Fifth Avenue to Saks Fifth Avenue, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Rockefeller Center, continued west towards Bryant Park, and concluded my journey at Macy’s Herald Square.

First up was the Wollman Rink at Central Park. I could see people climbing on rocks to stare at the rink before I could spot the rink itself.

Wollman Rink, which is in the southern part of the park, is open October through March. It’s been a popular holiday destination for decades and has featured in numerous holiday movies, including “Serendipity.”

I knew I was getting close to the rink, but even though I came to skate here last year, I had no recollection of seeing people peering down at me from a giant rock ledge.

But, lo and behold, when I climbed up to see what everyone was looking at, I was staring directly at the rink.

There were also people lined up around the gates — I felt like I was at the zoo.

You can just make them out, but there are even more people across the ice at the other gate.

The ice was also swarming with people.

When I skated at Wollman Rink last year, I found it was very disorganized compared to other rinks in the city, and I don’t think I’ll go back to skate.

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I wanted something from the refreshments stand, but most of the benches where I would sit to eat were full so I skipped a snack.

Instead, I decided on a hot drink.

I bought a hot chocolate and my spirits immediately lifted.

Turns out, hot chocolate was just the thing to help me out.

Feeling sufficiently warmed — though apprehensive about the crowds I had already witnessed — I headed to the Plaza Hotel.

I’ve never stayed inside the Plaza Hotel before, but you can imagine what an amazing view of the park guests have just by looking at the building.

The Plaza opened in 1907 and is one of the most famous hotels in the world. It’s also been the location of holiday movies, such as “Home Alone 2” — Kevin stays at the hotel and famously asks Donald Trump for directions to the lobby.

The Plaza used to be covered in scaffolding, but most of it is gone. However, I was disappointed to learn I couldn’t get inside.

In front of the door, there was a sign that said only guests of the hotel or patrons of the restaurant were allowed in the building.

I watched as the hotel employee stopped anyone who was walking in to see what their business was and turned a few people away.

Across the street, the Pulitzer Fountain, which you might recognize from “Home Alone 2,” was decorated as well. A musician was singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

For the last few years, the Pulitzer Fountain has been transformed into an ice-skating rink with polar bears and penguins. This year, they toned it down with some giant ornaments and lights.

I walked down Fifth Avenue, which goes all out for the holidays, and is usually packed with people …

This is the Peninsula Hotel, another New York City landmark.

There’s also lots of legendary shopping on Fifth Avenue, from Bergdorf Goodman to Harry Winston to Cartier to Louis Vuitton, and more.

And, as usual, it was. I felt like I was being swept away by the crowd.

I shouldn’t have been surprised by the crowds — it turns out New York City’s visitor numbers have almost fully rebounded since pandemic lows. In November, the city’s tourist bureau, NYC & Company, predicted that 6.5 million people would visit New York City in the six weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, Time Out reported.

While the multiple holiday installations lining the street bring festive cheer, it also means people are constantly stopping to take pictures, sometimes right in front of you.

You have to be prepared for people to stop.

I soon arrived at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one of the most famous cathedrals in the US.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the largest Gothic Catholic cathedral in the US, opened in 1879. More than 5 million people visit each year.

I was grateful for a break from the cold, but I was also stunned by the beautiful architecture and the holiday decorations.

Entry is free, which makes this a solid activity for anyone on a budget. Plus the church was totally decorated — there were wreaths and Christmas trees, and the main altar was covered in poinsettias.

But I was taken aback by just how many people were filing into the church to see its decorations and nativity scene. Every way I turned, I watched people snap picture after picture.

The manger also happened to be near an exit, meaning that stopping to take pictures here held up a significant amount of traffic.

You can see just how many people I was surrounded by.

One visitor ducked out of my way when he saw I was about to snap a photo — this was a common theme.

I ventured back into the cold to check out Saks Fifth Avenue, which has beautiful lights.

The Saks Fifth Avenue I visited, which is actually on Fifth Avenue, is the department store’s flagship. It opened in 1924 and has remained there for almost a century.

Here’s one of the beautiful display windows.

The windows are filled with popular games and toys to fit this year’s theme of “reconnecting with family and loved ones during the holiday season,” according to Saks’ website.

Here’s what the display looks like at night.

This year’s light show consists entirely of Elton John songs.

But inside, I was disappointed to see Saks wasn’t really decorated for the holidays, besides a small holiday market in the back of the store.

The store was selling ornaments and other holiday goodies back here, but I had to walk through the entire store just to get to it.

Saks is across the street from Rockefeller Center. I could already tell it was overrun with visitors just by looking at the line outside the nearby Lego store.

Admittedly, I’m not a Lego person (unless it’s in video-game form), but it’s a huge draw for parents looking to entertain their kids.

I couldn’t really get close to the tree, with all the crowds around me.

This year’s tree is an 82-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide, 14-ton Norway Spruce from Queensbury, New York, as Insider previously reported.

Everywhere I turned, I felt like I was in the background of some poor tourist’s photo, looking annoyed.

It was all getting a bit claustrophobic for me.

So I gave up and headed west towards the Bryant Park Winter Village. Along the way, I saw Radio City Music Hall, home of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. But the street looked too crowded for me to even attempt getting closer.

The Rockettes’ signature show is the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. I’d recommend going at least once. It’s playing through January 2.

Once I arrived at Bryant Park, I spotted the Empire State Building in the distance.

Bryant Park is home to one of the two largest holiday markets in Manhattan, the other being Union Square. I prefer Bryant Park since it’s more open, has a better view, and is closer to where I live.

I enjoy visiting the Winter Village at Bryant Park around this time of year. The last time I was there, it wasn’t too crowded, but the same couldn’t be said for this visit.

I went to the Winter Village two weeks ago, and there was barely anyone there. But, as you inch closer to Christmas, it understandably gets more crowded.

There are pages and pages of shops worth checking out in the market’s directory.

I originally planned on eating at Bryant Park, but it was so overwhelmingly packed, I gave up.

The lines were so long and densely packed that I decided I could wait.

The final stop on my tour was Macy’s Herald Square, the brand’s flagship location and the largest department store in the US.

According to the 34th Street Partnership, the store has 1.25 million square feet of retail space across 12 floors and takes up an entire city block. Macy’s moved to this location in 1902.

The Macy’s display windows are famous, but it was hard to get a good look at them between all the visitors. I also felt guilty for getting in the way of other people’s photos.

When I came back an hour later, it was easier to sneak a peek.

This year, the store ditched its traditional “Believe” sign, a reference to “A Miracle on 34th Street,” and is displaying a large “Give Love” instead.

The “Believe” sign has been such a consistent in my life that I walked around the entire Macy’s to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.

When I went inside, I was met by an overwhelming sea of people. I felt like I was going to get swept away.

I just had to let the crowd take me where I needed to go.

Once I got a second to breathe, though, I could appreciate the decor.

They spare no expense decorating at Macy’s.

I walked around the first floor for a minute before I checked out one of the new attractions: Toys ‘R’ Us.

Macy’s announced that Toys ‘R’ Us would be incorporated into its existing stores in 2021, ahead of the 2022 holiday season.

The Toys ‘R’ Us was on the seventh floor. I had to take an old-fashioned escalator to get there.

The first few floors of Macy’s have the classic steel escalators you’d expect. But once you get up higher, you take a wood-paneled escalator.

But when I finally arrived, I was met with a scene that filled me with nostalgia: a horde of screaming kids running around a toy store.

There were crowds of kids (not pictured) in the various aisles, at the play place, and inspecting the Funko Pops.

But I could only handle that for so long, so I hopped on the escalator to Santaland.

The toys were on the seventh floor, while Santa was up on the eighth floor.

There was a line to meet the big guy himself, which takes place behind closed doors.

There was a long line to meet Santa, even though you have to reserve a time to meet him.

After the chaos of those floors, I checked out a random floor to find it almost totally empty. It was refreshing after a day of huge crowds.

This was the sixth floor, which was mostly dedicated to home and kitchen goods. I felt like I could finally breathe.

As I left Macy’s, I reflected on my day. According to the fitness tracker on my phone, I took over 19,000 steps — all in the name of holiday cheer.

It was a very long day.

After a long day spent navigating crowds, I was exhausted. But it was ultimately worth it to see the tree at the Rockefeller Center and New York City is still my favorite place — and maybe everyone else’s — to be during the holidays.

Being in the best city for the most wonderful time of the year will still be my favorite holiday activity.

Read the original article on Insider