Best Places to Visit for Christmas in the USA
In December 1931, a group of construction workers pooled their pay and bought a 20-foot balsam fir. They strung it with paper garlands and raised it on the site of a half-built Rockefeller Center. That tree is why a plaza in Midtown Manhattan still stops traffic every December.
Christmas travel in the US covers a lot of ground beyond that one tree. Small towns string half a million lights, department-store-sized shops sell nothing but ornaments and a Texas river walk turns into a candlelit parade route.
From that 1931 tree to Bavarian lights in Washington State, these are the best places to visit for Christmas across the US. Each stop below has one reason to go in December and the details to plan around.
The Best Places to Visit for Christmas This Year
| Place | State | Known For |
|---|---|---|
| Rockefeller Center | New York | The original tree-lighting tradition |
| Leavenworth | Washington | A Bavarian village under half a million lights |
| McAdenville | North Carolina | Christmas Town USA, red, white and green lights only |
| Frankenmuth | Michigan | The world’s largest Christmas store |
| Branson | Missouri | Family-sized holiday shows and lights |
| San Antonio | Texas | A candlelit river walk for warm-weather Christmas |
Where the Rockefeller Center Tree Tradition Started
Construction on Rockefeller Center began in 1930, in the middle of the Great Depression. It employed tens of thousands of workers who badly needed the jobs.
That December, workers on the site pooled their money for a 20-foot balsam fir and decorated it themselves with paper garlands and a few ornaments. The first official tree lighting followed two years later, in 1933, with a 50-foot pine strung with 700 lights. The 2026 ceremony date had not been announced when this was written, with late November or early December expected.
Fun Fact
The 1931 construction workers’ tree had no official ceremony. The now-famous lighting tradition did not start until 1933, two years later.
Spending extra days in the city? Our guide to things to do in Chinatown, NYC covers another side of Manhattan.
Leavenworth Trades Snow for a Bavarian Backdrop
Leavenworth sits in the Cascade Mountains of central Washington. In 1965, two Seattle businessmen suggested remaking the struggling logging town as a Bavarian village. The transformation stuck.
The first Christmas Lighting Festival followed in 1966. Today the town glows with more than half a million lights from Thanksgiving through February, drawing about two million visitors a year. Christmastown festivities run from November 27 through December 24 this year.
McAdenville Runs on Red, White and Green Only
McAdenville is a small mill town outside Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1956, the local men’s club and the town’s textile company decided to string its trees in just three colors: red, white and green. The tradition never stopped.
A 1980 CBS special nicknamed the town Christmas Town USA. The name stuck along with the lights. More than 375 trees and 200 wreaths now line the streets each December, and the 2026 display is listed from December 1 to 26.
Frankenmuth Built a Store the Size of a Small Town
Frankenmuth is a Bavarian-style town in mid-Michigan. Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland is the reason most people visit in December.
Wally Bronner opened it as a sign-painting business in 1945 and grew it into what is now billed as the world’s largest Christmas store. The building covers more than 7 acres, lit by roughly 100,000 lights along a half-mile Christmas Lane.
Branson Keeps the Whole Family Busy
Branson, Missouri, built its reputation on family-friendly entertainment. Silver Dollar City’s holiday season is the town’s biggest draw each winter.
The theme park strings more than 6.5 million lights across its holiday event, alongside shows built for kids and parents alike. Silver Dollar City’s An Old Time Christmas is listed from November 7, 2026 to January 2, 2027.
San Antonio Lights Up the River Walk Instead of the Snow
San Antonio skips the snow and still shows up on most Christmas lists. Thousands of lights cover the bald cypress trees along the River Walk every winter, turning the water into a mirror for the display.
The lights go up the day after Thanksgiving with the Ford Holiday River Parade, an illuminated float procession that has run for more than four decades. They usually stay lit through early January.
Other places keep turning up on 2026 Christmas lists. Edgartown in Massachusetts, Durango in Colorado and Charleston in West Virginia appear on one December roundup, and Kennebunkport in Maine starts decorating in late November before its Christmas Prelude. Gaylord Opryland in Nashville and Waikiki in Hawaii suit travelers who want holiday lights without snow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Book early if your dates are Christmas week, because families posting this month say hotel prices for December 25 to 30 are already steep. Travelers also suggest a trip in early December before the holiday rush for lower rates and shorter lines.
Six Very Different Ways to Do Christmas
Snow or no snow, small town or Midtown Manhattan, each of these places built its own version of the holiday and kept it running for decades.
Your next trip is probably hiding in North America and Things to Do.
