Holiday visitors to New York can explore the treasures of Lower Manhattan, the birthplace of New York City, at The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show® this year. The 27th annual show, which heralds the start of the Christmas season in New York, opens to the public on Saturday, November 17, 2018, and runs through Monday, January 21, 2019 at The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG).
Long treasured as a quintessential holiday experience for both New Yorkers and visitors to the city, the Holiday Train Show features more than 25 G-scale model trains, trolleys, and ferries that run along nearly a half-mile of track past re-creations of iconic sites from all five boroughs of New York City, the Hudson River Valley, and other locations in New York State. Replicas debuting this year include the historic Battery Maritime Building, vintage ferry boats, the Battery Park Control House, the Woolworth Building, One World Trade Center, the Oculus, and the Terminal Warehouse.
The new Lower Manhattan replicas will share the spotlight with old favorites including the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Immigration Station. Artistically crafted by founding visionary Paul Busse’s team at Applied Imagination, all of the New York landmarks are made from natural materials such as bark, twigs, stems, fruit, seeds, fungus, and pine cones. The display includes more than 175 New York landmarks under the dome of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.
BAR CAR NIGHTS
On these nights exclusively for adults 21 and over, the wintry landscape of NYBG sets the scene for festive outdoor adventures, with an after-dark viewing of the Holiday Train Show® as the centerpiece. Grab a drink from one of the seasonal bars and then set out to explore the night’s offerings. Relax and warm up around the fire pits in the Leon Levy Visitor Center, watch art emerge from giant blocks of ice during live ice-sculpting demonstrations, sing along to favorite tunes with dueling pianos in the Pine Tree Café, and listen to roving a cappella groups throughout the Garden.
Non-Member $38 / Member $28 (Adults 21 and over) November 17, 23, 24, & 30; December 1, 7, 8, 21, 22, 28, & 29, 2018; January 5 & 12, 2019; 7–10:30 p.m.
HOURS
During the Holiday Train Show, NYBG is open Tuesday–Sunday, and Monday, December 17, 24, and January 21, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Extended hours, 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturdays, November 24–January 19; Friday, November 23 (day after Thanksgiving); and December 26–January 1.The Garden is closed all day on November 22 (Thanksgiving) and December 25 (Christmas); it closes at 3 p.m. on December 14 and 24 (Christmas Eve). The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory closes at 2 p.m. on November 28 and December 6.
ADMISSION
All-Garden Pass tickets start at $23 for adults and $10 for children (ages 2–12) and differ during certain peak times and weekends. Members and children under 2 are free. Advance timed tickets are strongly recommended and are available at nybg.org. Discounts available for groups of 15 or more; contact Group Sales at 718.817.8687. For more information, please visit our Web site at nybg.org.
GETTING TO NYBG
NYBG is just 20 minutes from Midtown Manhattan, via Metro-North Railroad, which offers an NYBG Getaway Package that includes an All-Garden Pass and a round-trip train ticket from Grand Central Terminal (42nd Street) to the Botanical Garden Station. The package can be purchased at any Metro-North ticket window or kiosk in Grand Central Terminal. Visit Metro-North Railroad for more details. All-Garden Pass tickets start at $23 for adults and $10 for children (ages 2–12) and differ during certain peak times and weekends. Members and children under 2 are free. Advance timed tickets are strongly recommended and are available at nybg.org.
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is New York City’s museum of plants. NYBG is located just 20-minutes from Midtown Manhattan by Metro-North Railroad, on the Harlem Line and to the Botanical Garden stop. For more on admissions, visiting hours and travel information go to www.nybg.org/visit.
