Without a doubt, the holiday season is one of the best times to visit New York City. Maybe it’s because this is a city that thrives on events—dining, parties, concerts, shows—all excellent excuses to raise the energy when the holidays are upon us. Or maybe it’s because this is a city built on its street culture—made all the more impressive when it’s bathed in glittering lights. Or is it simply the impression that a quintessential NYC lifestyle involves a cold-weather jacket, a hot coffee in hand, and a winter street-walking scene?

Undeniably, some of the best films set in New York City take place during the wintertime, and for good reason: the city comes alive during the holidays. With that in mind, we’d like to explore some of our favorite films set during NYC’s most beloved season, along with a few notable locations you can still visit today.

Metropolitan (1990), dir. Walt Stillman

Whit Stillman’s first film, Metropolitan, follows the lives of several of Manhattan’s wealthy young socialites during the debutante season taking place over Christmas break. While the film itself is not explicitly about the holidays, the presence of the season is inherent in the various parties and events they attend. There’s something about the combination of obvious cold weather, party ensembles, and the city backdrop that feels deeply cozy, all while these young Upper East Siders discuss philosophy and ponder the social scene they occupy.

Set in a time “not so long ago,” Stillman originally wanted the film to take place in pre-Woodstock–era NYC. But with the financial constraints of a largely self-financed movie, he settled for incorporating as many relics of the past as he could (watch out for some checkered cabs!) in an effort to make the film feel as timeless as possible. The presence of some of NYC’s most iconic locations—The Plaza Hotel and the Waldorf-Astoria New York, for example—gives the film a sense of agelessness. At this point, The Plaza and the Waldorf are almost as eternal as the city itself.

Moonstruck (1987), dir. Norman Jewison

A romantic comedy with several Oscars to back up its appeal, Moonstruck is another film where the holiday season isn’t the focus but exists so prominently in the background of the characters’ lives that it feels like a holiday movie. Set in Brooklyn, the film follows Loretta (Cher), an Italian-American widow who falls in love with her fiancé’s younger brother, Ronny (Nicolas Cage). (Fortunately for the fashion-hungry among us, the holiday season in which the film is set means Cher’s Academy Award–winning performance sees the actress donning some seriously chic winter jackets.)

Filmed partially in Toronto, Moonstruck is set in Brooklyn Heights. And while many of the street scenes are sneakily Canadian, the house in which Loretta lives does exist and is actually located in DUMBO. However, if you have even the vaguest love of opera, the more exciting Moonstruck-inspired venture would be to follow in Loretta and Ronny’s footsteps and attend La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera House in your best holiday attire.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999), dir. Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut, follows Bill, a wealthy Manhattan doctor, as he embarks on a dreamlike journey through an erotic underworld after a disturbing confession from his wife. Married in real life at the time, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman worked for 15 months on the film with Kubrick—holding the Guinness World Record for the longest continuous film shoot at 400 straight days. Sadly, Kubrick died just six days after screening his cut to Warner Bros.

With such meticulous direction from one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, it’s no coincidence that Eyes Wide Shut takes place during NYC’s Christmas season. In the book that inspired the film (Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler), the events take place in Vienna and the main characters are Jewish. But, for Kubrick, the story had to unfold with well-to-do all-American capitalists at the helm—and what better setting than NYC’s wealthiest during the holiday season?

In fact, Eyes Wide Shut begins at a Christmas party, setting a visual tone that permeates the entire film: hazy, glitzy Christmas lights glitter in the background of nearly every scene. The film’s cinematographer, Larry Smith (who had first worked with Kubrick as a gaffer on Barry Lyndon—a film famously lit primarily with candlelight), utilized practical sources to illuminate Eyes Wide Shut, including Christmas trees and their twinkling lights.

While the holidays are not a key theme by any stretch, their presence is crucial to the film’s effectiveness. The familiar coziness of the season creates a stark contrast to the dark worlds Bill enters on his journey. And importantly, the cold streets of NYC in the wintertime play a huge role in Cruise’s odyssey. However, despite the film’s crucial New York setting, Kubrick’s fear of flying kept him in England, where a detailed recreation of Greenwich Village was built—so authentic that a crew was sent to Manhattan to measure the street widths for accuracy. While it might be impossible to visit any single filming location, real New York City street footage was supposedly projected behind Cruise during his walking scenes—making a nighttime stroll through Greenwich Village a worthy alternative.

When Harry Met Sally (1989), dir. Rob Reiner

Another holiday film that isn’t exactly about the holidays, When Harry Met Sally follows a man and a woman as they grapple with whether their friendship “will ever strictly be platonic”—over the course of 12 years. While the film’s events take place during every season, it famously features the main characters at Christmastime twice, with the film’s very romantic culmination occurring during a New Year’s Eve party. With the holiday season ever-present onscreen, it’s hard not to associate the film with this time of year.

More importantly, it’s impossible not to associate the film with New York. Its most iconic scene takes place at the Lower East Side’s Katz’s Delicatessen, where Meg Ryan supposedly demonstrated her fake orgasms to Billy Crystal for hours. Today, Katz’s still hangs a sign above the table reading, “Where Harry met Sally… hope you have what she had!”

Carol (2015), dir. Todd Haynes

Set in 1950s NYC during the holiday season, Carol (based on Patricia Highsmith’s novel of the same name) tells the story of Therese, an aspiring photographer, as she develops an intimate relationship with Carol, an older woman going through a difficult divorce. Critically acclaimed, Carol is not only ranked by the British Film Institute as the best LGBT film of all time but also as one of the greatest films of the 21st century by the BBC.

Aside from those undeniable accolades, there’s an argument to be made for Carol being one of the best holiday films as well. The fateful meeting of Carol and Therese occurs during routine holiday shopping. The iconography of Manhattan’s old department stores is undisputed, and seeing this amplified during the holidays adds a certain lift to the film’s already romantic setting. Christmas is so present in the film—“Santa Bells” plays softly in the background of snowy New York streets, and shop workers wear Santa hats. There’s an added coziness that deepens the intimacy between the characters.

While the city itself plays a large part in the film, Todd Haynes actually shot most of it in Cincinnati for budgetary reasons. However, if you want to recreate some of that ’50s-inspired Gotham magic, there are plenty of spots left in the city that evoke the era. To start, try sipping a martini at The Campbell, a bar and lounge inside Grand Central Terminal that once served as the office of American financier John W. Campbell in the 1920s. Or head to the original NYC department store, Bloomingdale’s, which has stood at 59th and Lexington since 1886.

200 Cigarettes (1999), dir. Risa Bramon Garcia

Okay, so this one didn’t make the critically acclaimed lists, but there’s something about this famously “unstreamable” film that has solidified its status as a cult classic—with a soundtrack to match. The movie features 49 songs, including tracks by Blondie and Elvis Costello. Taking place over a single night on New Year’s Eve in early-’80s New York, it’s hard not to view 200 Cigarettes as a holiday film.

The plot follows several groups of friends en route to a NYE party as they navigate the city’s (thankfully) pre-digital setting. There’s something comforting about watching characters find their way to a party without a smartphone—and imagining what it would be like to inhabit those not-yet-gentrified streets.

While some of the film’s locations (Gem Spa, Odessa, Leshkos) have sadly closed, you can still tap into that fake-’80s energy at the still-standing Ace Bar or even Milon, an Indian restaurant eternally covered in Christmas lights and gift-wrapped walls. Holidays or not, we’re here for it.

WORDS Hillary Sproul

IMAGERY Rooney Mara in Carol (2015)