Playing the Empire State of Mind song while being in New York, we all do it if we have the chance to ! The Big Apple has always proven to be the perfect representation of the American dream. But we can still ask, when can I go to New York to make the most of my experience ?
Are you the kind of person who likes a good margarita on a sunny rooftop ? Or more the active one who just enjoys ice skating in Bryant Park ?
But without the Christmas decorations, what are the other differences ?
I had the chance to visit New York twice, one in the summer a couple of years ago, and once in the winter last year. I obviously loved both. But if you want to be sure, I wrote here the three most important things I would look if I wanted to choose between the two seasons.
The weather :
For people who just like to have the "true" seasons in a year, New York is a really good example. You can have a warm sunny weather in the summer, beautiful colors of the fall season, a cold, snowy winter, and a flourishing spring.
In the Summer, a city in general can always be warmer. When I went in New York for the first time, it was in late August. During this period you can easily have temperatures between 23°C to 30°C.
But it is well known in the US that the air conditioning can also be cold in the shops if you are not used to it. So if you are planning a shopping spree and you don't like to have that little difference in temperature, I would recommend taking a little cardigan or just something with long sleeves with you. Don't worry if you forget it, it is not that cold and you get used to it quickly ! To give an idea, it is just around 18°C to 20° inside a shop sometimes when it is 25°C to 30°C outside.
If you plan to do some activities outside, you won't need that cardigan.
For people who don't easily tolerate warm weather, a good point about America is the free water that restaurants provide. You can also see a lot of people selling fresh-cut fruits in the streets. Most of the time, I saw them around tourist places (like the Brooklyn Bridge, for example), and these are really not expensive.
Tip: Don't forget an umbrella or a good jacket for the rain; you may have a good summer rainy day there. And it is not just three tears going down for a couple of minutes. It can also be for a couple of hours and a lot.
In the Winter, you can experience more cold wind when you are waiting to cross the road (when the buildings are not blocking the wind anymore). Be sure you have a good scarf and a beanie with you for it. It will also be better if you plan a visit to the Top of the Rock or the Empire State Building, for example, because you will be higher. Winter in New York can be different; you can have a lot of snow with a snowstorm because it is a place where it happens more frequently now, at least once a year. Or you can have cold temperatures without too much snow. If you are not used to a lot of snow and cold weather (negative temperatures), you can, of course, choose summer.
You normally won't have extremely low temperatures there (not like you can have in Canada); you will usually have between 0°C and 5°C, or -1°C to -10°C if there is snow, I would say. As someone who has already been to Canada in winter, I found it colder there than in New York.
There are a lot of places where you can enjoy a hot chocolate if you need (like Bryant Park if you also go ice skating). These are also not expensive if you want to change a little from Starbucks.
The vibe :
If you go to New York for the summer, you will enjoy the little terraces around the Flatiron or just a good rooftop bar to catch every ray of the sun. You will also enjoy walking in the nature of Central Park with a good ice cream you can buy almost everywhere for a small price.
For me, in the summer, there is no 'special' vibe. There is no difference from any other city in the summer, I would say. You can actually just do whatever you want because you have good weather (if it rains, there are a lot of activities and visits happening inside).
You might see more people dancing in the streets with loud music and just enjoying the moment (but many of them may ask you to leave money afterward, so enjoy, but not too much, I would say).
If you are a person who just loves the Christmas vibe, you already know that New York is magical during this time. Now I can say it is true! You can enjoy special decorations outside the luxe designer shops, you will see the legendary Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center, and you will go ice skating wherever you want...
You will see fewer people dancing and singing in the street, but you may meet one or two Santa Claus-type people singing or dancing to well-known Christmas songs.
For the activities, if you have the right clothes with you, you will also be able to do almost whatever you want.
The crowd :
I went to New York outside the 'top' of the seasons both times. When I went in the summer, it was almost the end of the high season. It was also the case for the winter; I went just after the Christmas holidays.
The Big Apple is a mythical place, so of course, you will always have quite a lot of people. The good thing about the USA is that everything is bigger. Streets are wider, sidewalks are bigger, and it is easy to move around.
Particularly in New York, everything is straight (just not in Downtown New York), which makes it 100 times easier to walk than in Europe. And then, it's easier for people to be everywhere. You will really rarely experience that kind of moment when you are walking and someone is crossing the street just in front of you and stopping you from going straight forward.
I would say for the crowd, I didn't see that much difference between the two seasons. This place just stays famous around the world, so you will always have people. But if you go outside the high season, it will, of course, be less crowded.
America is also more efficient than Europe when it comes to letting you enter a museum or a famous spot. Most of the places are designed for a lot of people to visit. Most of the time, they make sure everything can go as fast as possible.
So what is the best ? Summer or Winter ?
Outside of those little differences I wrote here, New York has that thing that just tells you to go. Because you will enjoy it anyway if you are already a fan of big city life.
I would just say, the right time to go there is the right time for you and your habits, the visits you want to make, and the kind of person you actually are.
If you can't make a choice, you can always choose Fall or Spring, the perfect in-between, and with both, you can enjoy some wonderful different colors in Central Park. It is also sometimes a little cheaper (depends on which month you want to go).
New York is magical; whenever you go, you may just fall in love with it.
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