The best fall activities in NYC to do with the arrival of Autumn

This Queens County treasure is well worth the bus trek or car ride. As the city’s longest continually farmed site in the city (it’s been in operation since 1697), the 47 acres feels like an entirely different world compared to Manhattan.

Feed and pet the barnyard animals, including sheep, ponies and goats, hop aboard a hayride and take advantage of the fall harvest season when you can go pumpkin picking and attempt to find your way through the Amazing Maize Maze (yes, that’s a corn maze).

Grab an empty basket and don your best plaid for a fall PYO adventure. At local farms in the tristate area, you'll find a generous offering of apple varieties and fun seasonal activities like petting zoos and corn mazes. We guarantee you're bound to stumble upon some apple cider doughnuts along the way.

Going upstate to see fall leaves is great, but it's a trek. Luckily, if you know where to look here in NYC, there are some truly stunning foliage to see in many parks and gardens across the boroughs, including at Fort Tryon Park, the Greenbelt Nature Center, and Sunken Meadow State Park. Happy peeping!

As the fall rolls in, there are probably a few things you crave—no, no, not pumpkin spice lattes—apple cider donuts. NYC’s network of open-air markets have all-things apple, year after year. Snag the sugary confection and stock up on apple cider while you’re at it, too. You can hop over to grownyc.org to find a market nearest you. 

Carving a jack-o'-lantern may be a time-honored American tradition for many, but nobody—and we mean nobody—does pumpkin carving quite like Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze.

Every fall, pumpkins aplenty decorate two locations of this festive, family-friendly attraction. This year promises thousands of intricately carved jack-o'-lanterns in mesmerizing displays, plus dazzling new experiences in honor of the event's founding 20 years ago. 

Blaze: Hudson Valley runs at Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson in Westchester County from September 13 through November 17. Blaze: Long Island runs at Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Old Bethpage, Long Island from October 4 through November 3. Tickets are on sale now.

This fall, you'll get a chance to feel like you're inside the mind of the one and only Tim Burton. The New York Botanical Garden is hosting the worldwide debut of a new light trail entirely inspired by the 1993 classic Disney film Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The trail is comprised of over 8,300 square feet of light installations with interactive video projections, intelligent LED lighting and 3D printed sculptures of the film's iconic characters. 

The outdoor adventure runs from September 27 through November 30; get tickets here. 

After the sun goes down, the Bronx Zoo will light up this fall with more than 5,000 animal-themed jack-o’-lanterns in incredible displays. Officially called Pumpkin Nights, this festivity is back for its second year after a popular debut in 2023. 

Expect to see intricately carved jack-o'-lanterns set up in different animal ecosystem scenes, such as the Amazon rainforest, Himalayas, Congo, bioluminescent deep-sea, an African Savanna waterhole and many more. Pumpkin Nights will be held on select dates from September 26 through October 27 with tickets on sale here. 

This year's festivities include an expanded and enhanced jack-o'-lantern trail that stretches for half a mile. As you walk through the experience, you'll be met with atmospheric sounds, music, costumed characters, fog, bubbles and colored lights. Last year's carved creations included a furry bear, a wrinkly elephant and a dramatically decorated leopard.

Ah, the ’90s—a simpler time when grainy camcorder videos ruled the cultural zeitgeist, rather than slickly produced TikToks. An upcoming exhibit at Museum of the Moving Image (MoMI) will pay homage to that era through the lens of skater culture. 

"Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos“ will honor DIY filmmaking with videos, vintage skate decks and other objects related to the formative years of the skate video in the 1980s and 1990s. See it in Astoria from September 7, 2024 through January 26, 2025. 

Fittingly, a series of screenings and events will accompany the exhibition. 

Explore the extraordinary life of Lord Byron—the famous scribe known for his lengthy narratives Don Juan and Childe Harold's Pilgrimage—at this new exhibition at the New York Public Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building. Running from September 7 through January 12, the collection of personal letters, literary manuscripts, illustrated biographies, paintings, prints, and even wine bills traces Byron’s movements, from his youth in Aberdeen, to his sudden fame after the publication of Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage, to his death in Greece at the age of 36. 

And his seeming contradictions will be delved into just as much as his storied life, library officials promise. 

Global Citizen Festival, the uber-popular annual music festival that has been taking over Central Park's Great Lawn since 2012, has announced this year's musical lineup: Post Malone, Doja Cat, Jelly Roll and Rauw Alejandro will headline this fall's festivities on September 28, with additional performers set to be revealed in the upcoming weeks.

The festival focuses on ways to end extreme poverty around the world. As usual, tickets to the massive concert are free. To earn them, though, you must take action on the Global Citizen app or on the festival's website right here to "demand change from governments and private sector leaders." 

Headliners Fisher, Kaskade and Monolink are coming to NYC this fall for We Belong Here, a brand new music festival at Central Park's historic Wollman Rink. The festival is happening Friday, October 4 until Sunday, October 6, and it's definitely one that was worthy of the hype.

Even though we're all excited about Kaskade, don't sleep on the other headliners: Monolink is a Berlin-based DJ whose melodic techno and captivating live performances have earned him a cult following with underground music enthusiasts. Fisher, the Australian house DJ, has an upbeat sound characterized by powerful bass lines and vocal samples that have earned him multiple Grammy nominations.  

You can register your email and get first access to festival tickets here. 

When it returns to New York on October 17 to 20, the beloved Food Network New York City Wine & Food Festival (NYCWFF) is going to take up residence in Brooklyn. For the first time ever, all of the festival's main events—from the Grand Tasting to pier parties—will take place at a single location: a new 450,000-square-foot culinary campus that will debut at Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park.

Get tickets for this massive foodie fest right here. 

The New York Comedy Festival is where the best of the best comedians of NYC gather each year, and this year, it’s celebrating its 20th anniversary with more than 200 comedians performing more than 100 shows at venues throughout the five boroughs.

The line-up will feature more than 200 comedians performing in more than 100 shows at venues throughout the five boroughs, including Judd Apatow, Jeff Arcuri, Dave Attell, Zarna Garg, Gabriel Iglesias, Joe List, Bill Maher, Matt McCusker, Tracy Morgan, Nurse John, Ms. Pat, Adam Ray is Dr. Phil, Justin Silva, and JB Smoove. 

The official dates for the New York Comedy Festival are November 8-17, 2024. 

New York City residents have always cherished their pets, and the New-York Historical Society is here to document that. In the new special exhibition titled Pets and the City, they’ll feature an array of artwork—primarily obtained from the New-York Historical’s Museum and Library collections—that document the multidimensional roles animals have played to serve and coexist alongside human beings. See the exhibition from October 25 to April 27, 2025. 

Through photographs, memorabilia, film and television clips, the exhibition explores how the relationship between humans and their pets has transformed alongside the ever-changing New York City landscape. 

Spooky season is upon us! Whether you're looking for a family-friendly celebration or a terrifying haunted house or a raucous party, there's plenty to do this season. 

From the Village Halloween Parade to pumpkin carving demos, it's time to get into the spirits (or spirit) of the season. 

The cemetery's annual events include concerts in the catacombs, trolley tours and powerful discussions about grief.  

Nightfall, a two-day spectacle with after-dark immersive experiences, is among the fan favorites, and it's coming back in October. Other stand-out events include the trolley tour Gay Gothic and Spirited Stroll, a pre-Halloween walking tour with tales of murder, mayhem, and captivating oddities. Here's the full list.

The city is full of legit spooky spots and haunted places, from cemeteries and haunted mansions to a crumbling hospital and tragedy-prone island. 

These NYC ghost tours will take you through all the nooks and crannies where real-life horrors and paranormal sightings happened right in our own backyard. Whether you're a Broadway buff looking for theater lore or a history nerd up for touring historic buildings, there's a ghost tour for you.

The winter festivity has already begun even before the snow falls. The Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park returns to NYC with exciting holiday shops, food and activities from October 25 until March 2, 2025

Its 17,000-square-foot ice-skating rink that’s free to use (if you bring your own skates) is always the highlight, but its Winter Village in all its holiday spirit is a close second. This year, over 170 new and returning kiosks will be there for you to peruse through—all at one of the best NYC parks.

Now that temperatures are dropping, it's the perfect time to sip some hot tea. Afternoon tea in NYC is for those who fancy a scone or crumpet alongside a piping hot kettle of tea as a midday pick-me-up. From hotel restaurants to proper teahouses, here’s where to go for the best afternoon tea NYC’s got to offer.

Some might assume that sky-high imbibing is a spring and summertime affair, but it’s always rooftop season in NYC.

Even during rain, wind and lower temperatures, we simply swap the sunshine and frozen drinks for fireplaces and hot cocktails while still soaking up the skyline view. So grab a sweater and set your sights on the stars at the best cooler weather rooftops in NYC.

Carreau Club, the nation’s first pétanque bar now offers an indoor location with more space to get your game on while sipping a drink—even when temperatures get chilly.

For the uninitiated, pétanque (pronounced puh-TONK) is a bocce-ball style French boules sport gaining popularity in the U.S., starting here in NYC.

For those new to the sport, don't worry: Each court reservation comes with a lesson from a pétanque guide, plus equipment and a seating area. For the more competitive pétanque player, join a league to get in on weekly games.

A bucolic 1920s English country golf club is on its way to NYC's concrete jungle! But with a twist. Swingers NoMad, a "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London brought with it three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings.

"Crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course. Plus, there are plenty of food options to pair with your drinks.