New York Night in One Evening: A Plan from Sunset to Late

A night tour of new york city works best when it is planned round one fact: the sun. It sets at 4:28pm in early December and 8:31pm at the end of June, so the same evening starts four hours apart depending on the month. Here is an evening in four parts, the view at sunset, dinner, something on foot after dark and the way home, with the timings for your month.

When should the evening start?

Start with the sunset for your dates, then work outwards. The table gives the sunset and the time it is fully dark on the 15th of each month, with the average evening low in Central Park.

Aim to be at the water or on a deck half an hour before sunset. In December that is about 4pm, and you have a long dark evening ahead. In June it is about 8pm, and the dark does not come until after nine, so the evening is shorter and later.

Sunset on a deck or on the water?

You cannot do both at one sunset, so choose. A sunset cruise sails at sunset and brings you back under the lights, with the statue on the way: our night boat tours page lists them. NY Waterway's golden hour cruise from West 39th Street is set to sail through the sunset, and runs a free bus to its pier.

A deck gives you the city from above. One World Observatory is open from 9am to 9pm and suggests a ticket for at least an hour before sunset. Top of the Rock and the other Midtown decks stay open later; our guide to what is open after dark has their hours. A deck suits a winter evening best, when sunset comes early and the decks are open for hours after it.

Where does dinner fit?

It depends on the month. In winter the sunset cruise is back in the early evening, so eat afterwards. In summer the sun sets so late that you eat first, then go out on the water.

Plan on eating off the boat. Circle Line allows no outside food and drink, and the boats sell drinks and snacks rather than meals. If you would rather make dinner the tour, the mafia walk serves tastings that add up to a two-course meal; it publishes no start time, so check it when you book.

What should you do after dark?

• A ghost walk: the Greenwich Village walk from 6th Avenue at Waverly Place starts promptly at 8pm, and the haunted walk meets at Washington Square Park. Both end in the Village.
• A bar walk: for over-21s, three venues or more from 8th Avenue at 49th Street, with free entry and drinks you buy as you go.
• A far shore: a skyline tour to Dumbo, Queens or the Jersey waterfront, to look back at the lights you just sailed past. See the skyline night tours page.
• The open top: TopView's 8pm bus loops the lit streets for 90 minutes.

Can you fit a cruise and an 8pm walk into one evening?

Only from November to February. In those months the sun sets by about 5:30pm, so a two-hour sunset cruise is back in time to cross town for the 8pm ghost walk. From March the sun sets later, and by summer the cruise is still out on the water at eight.

In summer, pair the cruise with something that starts later, or save the walk for a second evening.

How do you cross to Brooklyn?

On foot, over the Brooklyn Bridge. The city keeps its promenade open at all times, though parts may be narrowed for works. From the Brooklyn end, walk down to Dumbo for the view back under the Manhattan Bridge.

To come back without walking, York Street station in Dumbo has trains at all times. Or let a tour do it: the closed-top bus stops in Dumbo for 20 minutes, and the Dumbo and Queens skyline tour spends about 70 minutes there. Our post on Dumbo at night has the details.

What does a whole evening look like?

Here is a December evening and a June evening, built from the tours on sale. Swap any part for the one that suits you.

Where should the evening finish?

Somewhere that stays open. Times Square is a public square on Broadway and 7th Avenue between 42nd and 47th Streets, so it never closes. The Staten Island Ferry is free and runs all night, about 25 minutes each way across the harbor, with a boat at least every 30 minutes through the evening.

If you ride the ferry late, stay aboard or catch the next boat back; it is a view of the lit downtown towers for nothing. Our page of things to do at night has more free evenings.

Where does a flight fit in the evening?

Early, because the airfields are in New Jersey. HeliNY flies from Linden Airport, which you reach by train from Penn Station and then a free shuttle on request or a short taxi, and it asks you to check in 50 minutes before your slot. You choose the flight time when you book, so choose one after dark: after 4:59pm in early December, after 9:02pm in mid-June.

In winter that leaves the rest of the evening free. Fly at six, be back in Manhattan for dinner, and still make the 8pm ghost walk. In summer a flight after dark is a late night in itself, so make it the evening's one event. Charm and Zip fly from Fairfield, about 45 minutes by taxi, which is harder to fit round dinner. Our night helicopter tours page compares the flights.

What if it rains?

Move under a roof. The cruise boats all have indoor cabins, and the closed-top bus is heated and cooled. The 8pm ghost walk goes ahead rain or shine, so bring a layer that sheds water.

The open-top buses are open in the rain, and the Jersey skyline van may ask you to move to another night in poor visibility. Flights may be cancelled for bad weather, with a new date or a refund.

How does the plan change with children?

In summer, the late sunset is the problem: a cruise that turns to lights at nine ends past many bedtimes. Choose winter evenings, or a daytime deck and an early cruise.

For the walk, the gangsters and ghosts tour calls itself family-friendly, with children six and under free. The 8pm ghost walk takes under-18s only with an adult of 21 or over, and the bar walks are for adults only.

What would a second evening add?

The air or the far shore. A helicopter flight from New Jersey gives you the whole city from above in 25 to 30 minutes; see the night helicopter tours page. A skyline van spends three or four hours at the waterfronts across the rivers. In December, a second evening is for the Christmas lights.

How do you get back?

Most tours end where they began: the buses in Midtown, the cruises at their pier, the vans back in Manhattan. The Spanish-guided van ends on 34th Street at about 10:30pm. The Village walks end near West 4th Street, a station with trains at all times.

For anything else about the night itself, see what to expect on the night.

Frequently asked questions

Tours that fit one evening

NYC Golden Hour Cruise (2hr)

Two hours from the NY Waterway terminal on West 39th Street, timed to sail through the sunset, round the statue and back with a live guide. A free bus runs to the pier.

From $38 per person

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Greenwich Village Haunted Tour

One hour 40 minutes on foot from the south-west corner of Washington Square Park, more than a dozen stops in the Village, ending at the arch. Up to 13 walkers.

From $35 per person

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ICONIC New York City Skyline Night Tour: Dumbo & Long Island City

Three to four hours in a vehicle sized to the group, collected in Manhattan: about 70 minutes on foot in Dumbo and an hour on the Queens waterfront, skyline across the river.

From $38 per person

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