MIDTOWN, the wide belt of Manhattan that spans from 34th Street to 57th Street, is often called the heart of the city. But New Yorkers view it as more of a spleen—a part you can definitely live without. Though the district was largely abandoned during the Covid pandemic—even the blinding throb that is Times Square—it’s had time to reimagine itself.

Good timing, too: At the most wonderful time of the year, bells, boughs, lights and holly fill this patch, with a giant Christmas tree shimmering in the middle of it all.