Bottom line: pick Rockefeller Center for the classic landmark + ice rink + department-store windows; head to Brooklyn's Dyker Heights to see whole blocks of houses dripping in lights. 1) The Rockefeller Center tree is a New York icon - erected in mid-November and lit on the first Wednesday after Thanksgiving (December 2, 2026) - with an ice rink below and the Fifth Avenue department-store windows (Saks, Bergdorf) as must-sees. 2) The lighting ceremony is packed; for photos, any other evening is fine and far more comfortable. 3) Dyker Heights is a Brooklyn neighborhood where residents turn entire blocks into light displays - often called the most over-the-top residential lights in America - free to visit, but reached by subway plus a transfer/walk, best after dark. 4) Short on time? Do Rockefeller + Fifth Avenue first, then Dyker Heights if you can - the two are completely different and both worth seeing.