Things to Do in New York in January

January's thinner crowds mean you can often get same-week tickets to shows that are sold out months in advance during peak season. The TKTS booth in Father Duffy Square moves fast, and the Theater District itself feels less frantic. Worth noting, the post-holiday lull means understudies appear less frequently because leads aren't burning out from 8-show holiday weeks.

Booking tipCheck the TKTS app before walking over. Matinees on Wednesday and Thursday tend to have the deepest discounts.

The Met's 2 million square feet feel different without the shoulder-to-shoulder summer crowds. You can actually sit on the benches in the European Paintings galleries and study a Vermeer without someone's selfie stick in your peripheral vision. The Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing catches cool winter light through the glass wall facing Central Park.

Booking tipWeekday mornings before 11 AM are the emptiest. The rooftop garden is closed in winter, but the rest of the museum is fully open.

The rink at Rockefeller Center sits below the golden Prometheus statue and, in early January, the remnants of the Christmas tree. It's small, about 37 by 20 meters, and it gets crowded. The Wollman Rink in Central Park is larger and has the Midtown skyline as a backdrop. Both typically run through early April.

Booking tipBook Rockefeller Center sessions online in advance. Walk-up waits can still run 45-60 minutes on weekends.

Chelsea Market on 9th Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets is a converted Nabisco factory with vendors packed into an industrial corridor. The warm, enclosed space smells like baking bread and lobster bisque. In January, you'll notice the difference immediately. You can actually browse. Turnstyle Underground Market near Columbus Circle and the food hall inside Brookfield Place in Lower Manhattan offer similar shelter.

New York's longest-running dining promotion typically launches in late January and runs for several weeks. Hundreds of restaurants across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens participate, offering multi-course set menus at a steep discount from their regular prices. It tends to pull in restaurants you might not try otherwise.

Booking tipReservations open about a week before the promotion starts. Popular spots like Gramercy Tavern fill quickly, so book the day reservations open.

The elevated park on Manhattan's West Side runs 2.3 km from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. In January, the ornamental grasses turn golden and the deciduous plantings are bare, which opens up views of the Hudson River and the West Side rail yards that summer foliage hides. It's cold up there, exposed to wind. But on a clear afternoon, the 10th Avenue Square's glass window frames the traffic below like a living painting.

The Village Vanguard on 7th Avenue South has been hosting jazz since 1935. Blue Note on West 3rd Street books bigger names. Smalls Jazz Club on West 10th has late sets that run past midnight. January is when these rooms feel most essential. The cold outside, the warmth inside, the sound of a tenor saxophone echoing off basement walls. These are small venues. You can feel the vibration of the upright bass in your chest.

The AMNH on Central Park West covers 4 full city blocks. The blue whale in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life hangs from the ceiling above a darkened room. The Rose Center for Earth and Space feels like stepping inside a glass cube at night. January's low attendance means the dinosaur halls on the 4th floor, which can feel like rush hour in June, become almost contemplative.