Holiday Train Show, NYBG — Attraction in New York

Visited during on a late Tuesday morning in early December.

Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for children 2-12 and free for children under 2. There are also a few nights where the space is lit...those tickets are about $10-15 more.

There is a parking lot available for $22 per vehicle. There is also street parking available along Southern Blvd. (Street cleaning restrictions are Monday and Thursday, 9:30am - 11am) All other times, you can park there for free!

While there were a few waves of class trips, the exhibition wasn't overcrowded as I would expect them to be on the weekends.

There is a small outdoor area with some decorations and trains open to everyone visiting the NYBG, even those that don't have the Train Show tickets.

You then enter into a tent, where your Train Show tickets are scanned. There are a few Christmas trees in this area making it good for some photos.

You then walk through a few areas throughout the conservatory containing lovely displays of iconic New York buildings and structures, all made from various preserved woods and plants. Of course there are trains running through these creative displays.

I was really amazed with the amount of details in the displays. It was also great to see so many familiar structures throughout each of the boroughs (Grand Central, Penn Station, Library, Coney Island, Yankee Stadium, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge) and some further outside the city (Kykuit and Vanderbilt Mansions). Walking underneath the numerous bridges in and around NYC and the display of the complete NYC skyline "on the water" are simply amazing.

While walking through the exhibit, you are also welcome to see the rest of the conservatory that does NOT have the Train Show. I would highly suggest doing this as the conservatory itself contains some lovely displays of plants and flowers.

Overall we had a great time at the Train Show. While I was always skeptical in justifying the cost of this event in the past, seeing all the displays and the hard work that goes into it made me realize the price isn't so unreasonable. Also, having the ability to see the rest of the conservatory is a...

I have never been before so I went in open minded. Based on the description, I was ready for festive and trains. It was pretty crowded at 8:30 on a Saturday night, not surprisingly, but I felt like people were working together to let each other see things. It was about $40. I thought that was a little bit expensive, but supporting a garden feels great. It was unlike what I normally do in life; it was fun to branch out and try something new and see a garden in a different light, with these adorable trains going every which way.

Getting there from Manhattan was OK: There was an issue with the D train so I switched to a bus and was glad I had built-in extra time to get there. It’s often a little bit nerve-racking to try to figure out a new part of town/the transit in that area. There was a 10 to 15 minute walk from the bus stop, and I think the best way to put this is that I didn’t feel unsafe. I feel like there’s still a bit of a reputation for the Bronx and I was making a point of paying attention, was walking...

It was lovely! I go every year and still marveled at the creations like it was the first time. People of all ages can appreciate and enjoy the display. There were some trains that can be controlled with a button, which was a delight to both kids and adults. The level of details on the structures was simply astounding. I would suggest going after the holidays if you want to avoid the crowd, but definitely reserve tickets in advance regardless. Parking is $22 at the NYBG, consider arriving early if you want to find free street parking and walk the rest of the way.

If you decide to take a detour and veer off the path of the train exhibit to look at plants in the other part of the conservatory (you’ll know when you get to this part) the path does lead back to the train exhibit BUT you’ll have skipped one significant part of the display, so be sure to turn right back and check out that part before exiting the exhibit, since you can’t re-enter once...