The New York Botanical Garden’s Holiday Train Show® Returns for Its 33rd Year of Enchanting Model Train Displays and Cherished Seasonal Traditions
The beloved Holiday Train Show® returns to The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) for its 33rd year of enchanting train displays and cherished seasonal traditions opening November 16. You enter a winter wonderland unlike any other as the timeless holiday magic of rail travels the historic Enid A. Haupt Conservatory with nostalgia. Model locomotives and trolleys trundle through a showcase of nearly 200 twinkling, plant-based replicas of famed local architecture, creating a cityscape in miniature. Here’s a sneek peek into the classic holiday show:
From the warmth of NYBG’s landmark glasshouse to the picture-perfect outdoor display, witness by day or night a meticulously crafted world brimming with the lively energy of New York City during the holidays.
New this year is the Hearst Tower, which will be added in December.
This year’s Holiday Train Show also celebrates the 60th Anniversary of New York City’s Landmark’s Law, the legislation that protects Gotham’s architectural heritage and the rich stories it teaches us.
From the starry skies of Grand Central Terminal to the shimmering Hearst Tower, many of the places that make New York special remain standing thanks to the protection of the Landmarks Law. This year’s newest building in the Holiday Train Show, Hearst Tower, demonstrates how preservation and future-facing design can go hand in hand.
The Holiday Train Show is renowned for its vignettes of G-scale model trains enlivening botanical replicas of famous New York landmarks in miniature—some no longer around, like the first Yankee Stadium or the original Penn Station—each delightfully re-created from natural materials such as leaves, seeds, twigs, bark, acorns, and cinnamon sticks by the creative team at Applied Imagination in Alexandria, Kentucky. American steam engines, streetcars from the late 1800s, and modern freight and passenger trains travel indoors in the Conservatory’s galleries along overhead trestles, through tunnels, across soaring structures such as the Brooklyn Bridge, and in an enchanting woodland outdoor display over towering mountains with forest animals, winter-interest plants, and fungi on the Conservatory Lawn, providing merriment for young and old alike.
The New York Botanical Garden and Tea Around Town, a sightseeing tour bus that serves afternoon tea, are partnering to bring the magic of the holidays from Manhattan to NYBG. Join Tea Around Town’s festive journey to the Holiday Train Show at NYBG. Enjoy special teas, delicious treats, and holiday fun with elves aboard a beautifully decorated bus.
Upon arrival at NYBG, experience the exhibition’s unforgettable scenes of charm and wonder. The Tea Around Town bus will run Tuesdays in November and December, and Thursdays and Sundays from November 19 through January 20, departing from Central Park South at 11 a.m. and leaving NYBG at 3 p.m. to return to Manhattan. Also in November and December, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1–2:30 p.m., Santa and an elf will be on-site in NYBG’s Leon Levy Visitor Center for photo opportunities with visitors.
The new story is the addition of Holiday Train Nights, colorful lighting throughout the Conservatory on select evenings.
Journey through the exhibition with friends and loved ones after dark and see the show in a charming new light on select evenings during Holiday Train Nights.
Whether reliving favorite memories or creating new ones, the Holiday Train Show at NYBG invites everyone to discover the joyful spirit of the season.
Roaming train conductors welcome visitors to Holiday Train Nights, a chance to see the show in a whole new light. Experience the warm glow of the Haupt Conservatory with colorful lighting that brings the holiday spirit under glass. Marvel at multiple beautifully lit Conservatory scenes, from the cactus-filled desert to the lush rainforest galleries, which ofer truly card-worthy holiday photo opportunities at every turn.
Keep time listening to holiday classics and Christmas pop favorites sung by performers in the Locomotive Lounge of the Visitor Center. The night is made complete with sweet and savory bites, spiked cider cocktails and mocktails, and hands-on gingerbread fun for purchase. Holiday Train Nights take place on 16 select evenings—10 of them for adults-only from 7 to 10 p.m. and six of them for all ages from 6 to 9 p.m. Holiday Train Nights are ticketed through NYBG’s presenting partner Fever.
• Adults age 21 and over can enjoy nighttime viewing of the Holiday Train Show at Holiday Train Nights, with festive food and curated cocktails available for purchase, on the following dates: Saturday, November 23; Friday, November 29; Saturday, November 30; Saturday, December 7; Friday, December 13; Saturday, December 14; Saturday, December 28; Saturday, January 4; Saturday, January 11; and Saturday, January 18.
• All ages can enjoy Holiday Train Nights with hands-on activities on the following dates: Friday, December 20; Saturday, December 21; Sunday, December 22; Monday, December 23; Thursday, December 26; and Friday, December 27.
If out on the town with friends or bringing the whole family, make new holiday memories while discovering the magic of New York City’s favorite holiday experience. The Holiday Train Show and Holiday Train Nights at NYBG are sure to be unforgettable, offering visitors of all ages the chance to create new traditions.
The exhibition opens on Saturday, November 16, 2024, and runs through Monday, January 20, 2025.
For more information, visit nybg.org.
Tickets are available at https://www.nybg.org/visit/admission/.
About The New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) has been a connective hub among people, plants, and the shared planet since 1891. For more than 130 years, NYBG has been rooted in the cultural fabric of New York City, in the heart of the Bronx, its greenest borough. NYBG has invited millions of visitors to make the Garden a part of their lives, exploring the joy, beauty, and respite of nature. NYBG’s 250 acres are home to renowned exhibitions, immersive botanical experiences, art and music, and events with some of the most infuential fgures in plant and fungal science, horticulture, and the humanities. NYBG is also a steward of globally significant research collections, from the LuEsther T. Mertz Library collection to the plant and fungal specimens in the William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, the largest such collection in the Western Hemisphere.
The plant people of NYBG—dedicated horticulturists, enthusiastic educators, and scientific adventurers—are committed to helping nature thrive so that humanity can thrive. They believe in their ability to make things better, teaching tens of thousands of kids and families each year about the importance of safeguarding the environment and healthy eating. Expert scientists work across the city, the nation, and the globe to document the plants and fungi of the world—and find actionable, nature-based solutions to the planet’s dual climate and biodiversity crises. With eyes always looking forward, they train the next generation of botanists, gardeners, landscape designers, and environmental stewards, ensuring a green future for all. At NYBG, it’s nature—or nowhere
