When people think about Christmas lights and holiday decorations in New York City, they usually think of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and the lavish store window displays of Midtown Manhattan.
But some of the best lights and decorations to be seen are in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.
Starting in the 1980s, Christmas started getting bigger and brighter in this neighborhood with each passing year.
There is an unspoken competition among the homeowners in the neighborhood, so some have added huge lawn ornaments and motorized displays, making for a lavish holiday spectacle.
Most of the displays are not actually done by the homeowners, but rather by local professional decorating companies.
In 2024, expect to see massive, professionally done light displays (some costing upwards of $20,000!).
Dyker Heights has truly become a “must-see” for many people during the holidays.
You will see visitors walking through the neighborhood as well as people in their cars rolling by at a few miles per hour all around the area.
And if you are considering visiting at least 2 of NYC's most popular paid attractions, then you can save at least 15% - 50% off on ticket and admission fees with a tourist attractions pass.
HOW TO GET TO THE DYKER HEIGHTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
The best lights are on 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue and from 83rd to 86th Street.
Most people see the lights on foot but it is possible to see them from your car if you have one.
Getting to Dyker Heights from Times Square takes roughly 45-50 minutes of travel time on the subway plus 15-20 minutes of walking from the subway station to the neighborhood.
There are three subway lines (the R, N, and D trains), that can get you to the neighborhood.
Each line goes to a different station, so you need to pay attention to which train you take.
Regardless of which subway you take, you will still need to walk 15-20 minutes as the main concentration of homes is about a mile (1.6 km) from each subway station.
You can take a bus or an Uber from the subway if you'd like.
We recommend taking the R train to 86th Street Station in Brooklyn (it's the station with the red arrow in the image above). Here is a Google Maps link to help you.
When you are finished, you can either retrace your steps back to the R train or walk through the neighborhood and take the D train back, or vice versa.
For those with a car, you may be wondering if you can see the lights from inside the warmth of your car. The answer is: yes.
But many locals choose this option which is why you will find yourself in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
If you are considering driving to Dyker Heights and then exploring on foot, know that parking is very hard to find.
Your best chances to find parking are between 79th to 86th Street.
However, we recommend public transportation to avoid any vehicular hassles.
BEST TIME TO SEE THE LIGHTS
The Dyker Heights lights start to appear the day after Thanksgiving, which is the third Thursday in November.
But if you want to ensure that you see the most number of lights, go mid-December through December 31st.
By then, most homeowners will have flicked the switch! The lights and decorations are generally gone after New Year's Day.
Starting at dusk every day (4:30/5-ish), the lights are turned on. Most are turned off by 10 pm.
As for the best days of the week, if you want to avoid large crowds, go on a weekday. But even on weekdays, you will be among many other folks who have come to see the lights.
TIPS FOR YOUR VISIT
Here are some tips for your visit to make sure you have the jolliest time possible!
Bring some $1 and $5 with you. Many of the families who put on these displays for your enjoyment also collect money for local charities.
The best lights are located about a mile walk (15-20 minutes) from the subways, so be prepared! Or take a taxi or Uber.
December in NYC can be very chilly and you will be outside for a while. Dress warmly! Read our post on December weather in the Big Apple.
Consider making a stop for hot chocolate or warm drinks. Several reviewers suggest that hot drinks can help keep you warm while seeing the holiday displays in this neighborhood. Near 12th Avenue, there are often people selling hot cocoa and Christmas sweets.
Several visitors recommend stopping at some of the restaurants along 86th Street for a quick bite to eat before or after your walk around the neighborhood. (See recommendations below).
Remember, this is a neighborhood. Do not litter or scream and do not ring people's doorbells and ask to go to the bathroom.
The Dyker Lights are always wonderful, but for a really fantastic (and easier!) experience, there is an organized bus tour that takes visitors out to Dyker Heights and shows them around. This is a good option for anyone who is worried about finding their way around. Plus, it is always great to get a little extra information on a tour! Of course, our pay-what-you-like tour is the best way to go.
DYKER HEIGHTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS TOUR
We are happy once again to offer our very own walking tour of the Christmas lights in Dyker Heights Brooklyn.
We also list two well-reviewed bus tour operators below.
Or you can take our self guided audio version if you want to tour Dyker Heights on your own.
Here is how it works:
Purchase an audio tour below.
Get a confirmation email with .mp3, .pdf, and embeddable Google Map
Enjoy the tour(s).
For our walking tour, meet your tour guide in Brooklyn, where we will take the subway as a group to the main "show".
There, your tour guide will show you all the important light displays and tell you the history behind each of them.
It's a great experience and a great way to make some new friends.
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GUIDED WALKING TOUR OF THE LIGHTS
Reservations: Required.
Duration: Tour is 2 hours (4 hours total if coming from Midtown Manhattan). In total, you can expect to walk approximately 3 miles (4.8 km).
PLEASE NOTE THE COMMUTE FROM MIDTOWN MANHATTAN!
When: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:15 pm
Cost: $25/person (48 hours notice needed for refund)
Where: Meet your guide outside the Taco Bell on 4th Ave and 87th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. (map).
ExcellentFree Tours by Foot4.9★★★★★ Based on 2383 reviews fromSee all reviews review us onPasquale S. ★★★★★ My guide was John Gallagher, who toured us in Little Italy, Soho, Chinatown. We had a beautiful experience, John was interesting and entertaining, and also managed to deal with politeness and savoir faire with an annoying lady who disturbed us while we were visiting Soho. The only thing I would change is that I would have liked to walk longer (the tour has many short stops so you don't walk that much), but I guess it's very subjective.Very Recommended!Gucci G. ★★★★★ Great tour with a lovely guide. We had so much fun exploring Brooklyn Bridge and Dumbo!Robert S. ★★★★★ John was an amazing guide in our Soho, Little Italy, Chinatown tour.Remington B. ★★★★★ Cannot state enough good things about Ryan and the Harlem walking tour. Signed up for this one hoping to see a bit of Harlem, and learn a bit about the area, but we were blown away by how much history Ryan shared. His passion for the Harlem area is evident and infectious. Tour was very educational and very enjoyable!Rita P. ★★★★★ Wir hatten in drei Tagen drei Touren gebucht: die erste ging mit Garett durch SoHo, China Town und Little Italy. Gerettet war unglaublich unterhaltsam, hatte Spaß an dem was er tut und uns sehr viel Geschichte aber auch Kurioses berichten können.Die beiden anderen Touren gingen mit Renee nach Brooklyn, DUMBO und Brooklyn Heights und am nächsten Tag furchtbar Greenwich Village.Renee hat ein unfassbares Wissen über historische Ereignisse und weiß diese mit Humor zu kombinieren. Man kann ihr sehr gut zuhören und es bleibt eine Menge (nicht alles) an Informationen hängen.Beide Tourguides haben neben ihren geschichtlichen Kenntnissen viele Geschichten über die besuchten Orte parat, ob es sich um Filmkulissen handelt oder auch, wo man die besten Dumplings in China Town oder die beste Pizza, Schokolade und/oder Eis, Cupcakes in Greenwich bekommt.Wir haben uns nicht eine einzige Sekunde der jeweiligen Tour gelangweilt sondern alles Wissen und die Geschichten aufgesogen.Klar ist: bei unserem nächsten NY Besuch werden wir auf jeden Fall wieder free tours by foot machen😁Victor ★★★★★ We had a fantastic time on John Gallagher's free tour, and it was a pleasant experience. He knows the area well and made exploring SoHo, Little Italy, and Chinatown a blast. From excellent shops in SoHo to tasty treats in Little Italy and the bustling vibe of Chinatown, John showed us all the best spots. Super friendly and full of fun facts, he made the tour feel like a walk with a friend who knows all the most incredible places. I recommend tagging along if you want to see NYC from a local's perspectiveGisele T. ★★★★★ John was our guide, April 13, 2024. I lived in New York and came with out of town friends. I learned so much during this visit on the town I thought I knew well! John is highly knowledgeable, a wealth of historical, architectural facts delivered with a plethora of anecdotes and good humor. Being on a budget this was an amazing option and John made that day one for my memories trunk!Holly N. ★★★★★ I had an amazing Brooklyn Bridge tour with Lori! She was friendly and knowledgeable, the tour was a good pace and had a lot of information without being overwhelming. I will definitely be booking a different tour the next time I am in town and would throughly recommend to anyone. Hopefully I'll get Lori again!Cassie C. ★★★★★ Lori was an awesome guide!! The SOHO, Little Italy and Chinatown walking tour was fun and full of great information!!! I highly recommend this tour with Lori!!Susan O. ★★★★★ This tour was great and Jon was a terrific guide. I highly recommended itAriela A. ★★★★★ The tour was informative educational clear and funny. Thanks to John Gallagher who made everything possible and giving us wonderful recommendations 👏👏👏Cathy S. ★★★★★ Went on the Lower East Side Food Tour with Jon. Very knowledgeable history buff. Enjoyed the tour, the food and the people on the tour were friendly!Anushree S. ★★★★★ The Brooklyn Bridge walking tour was so incredible! Learning the history behind how it was built, and New York’s architecture was so interesting to me. John was an incredible tour guide and he really made the whole experience engrossing. I would recommend the morning walking tour 🙂Julie W. ★★★★★ We were on the Harlem and Grand Central Station tours. Both were excellent. Would highly recommend Free Tours by Foot.Nuno Tiago Pires dos Santos P. ★★★★★ Renée was a wonderful tour guide. Recommend the tour very muchU R. ★★★★★ We had an absolutely fantastic morning with Lori walking from City Hall Park over Brooklyn Bridge into DUMBO and then Brooklyn Heights. Lori has so much historical knowledge and great storytelling ability so it was an absolutely lovely way to spend a few hours in New York. Highly recommend!Fergus D. ★★★★★ A very high quality tour with excellent levels of insight and an appropriate but entertaining delivery from the guide, who seemed to know every other person in the neighbourhood. One of the highlights of the ten busy tourist days I’ve spent in NYC.Jen B. ★★★★★ We had a great walking tour of the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Hts, DUMBO and the area. John Gallagher was funny and engaging, and his anecdotes enhanced the experience. My teenagers even had fun. His recommendations for dinner were also great.Melissa W. ★★★★★ Had a Brooklyn Bridge tour today with Katie. She was brilliant. Utterly miserable weather, raining and cold, but Katie was energetic, interesting and super informative.We went with a 9 and 13 year old and they didn’t complain at all (except about the rain, which Katie had no control over!)Highly recommend! Thanks so much Katie.Domenic S. ★★★★★ John was a fantastic tour guide - we had a great tour, learned so much and had a lot of fun. Thanks John, especially for making it so enjoyable for our kids too!Christian A. ★★★★★ HiMy tour with Jon was exceptional.Jon is knowledgeable and picked fabulous eating establishments with a rich history and delicious tasting tidbits. The split pea soup at Cozis was to die for. I went back for dinner that night for a full bowl. The Ukrainian kitchen was quirky and fun and the Cabbage rolls were super delicious.The Brooklyn dumplings were delicious and the finale, a dessert cafe had the richest yummist Cannoli.Jons knowledge ie the history, culture and choice of venues in East Village was top notch.Jon was kind enough to share his mobile if we had and further queries (which I did) about places to see or eat and he answered my texts immediately.Jon was a sensational tour guide. 10/10.When I’m back in NY again from Australia I’ll be doing another of his tours!Marzena ★★★★★ I had a tour (Chinatown, Little Italy etc.) with Jon - absolutely perfect! Jon's enthusiasm, fascinating stories and his sense of humour just made to me the NYC really "alive"! Hope to repeat a tour guided by Jon!Pa Q ★★★★★ We’re native NY’ers who love being tourists in our own city; there’s so much to see and learn. We took the Meatpacking District tour and had the pleasure of having Ron as our tour guide. We walked through the Highline, visited Little Island, and learned fun historical facts about the neighborhood, including Ron’s own stories about celebrities that grew up in the area. So glad we took the tour. Be sure to tip generously for your tour guide. They work hard to make your tour fun and personalized.Thanks again, Ron. We will see you on the Harlem tour.Anna M. ★★★★★ Had a great tour with Lori as a guide. She introduced us to some of Greenwhich village best food and dessert spots. Definitely would recommend!Ayla G. ★★★★★ I really enjoyed the tour. Garret told really interesting storys and kept us engaged for six hours which is pretty incredibleKathy F. ★★★★★ Tour of Brooklyn with John Gallagher was amazing! Very knowledgeable and friendly guide. Followed up with a group photo and tips on where to eat in NYC.Jessa F. ★★★★★ Jon, our tour guide for the walking food tour of Chinatown and Little Italy, did amazing! He was very descriptive and did great about explaining the food we were going to eat at the beginning of the tour. He also made sure everyone was present after we ate at each place. I would definitely go to him again!Victorious Word M. ★★★★★ We took New York Little Italy walking tour with Jon and Jon exceeded our expectations of an excellent tour guide. Jon is very knowledgeable about history, New York in general and this particular route. Jon delivered this tour featuring interesting facts, appropriate jokes and humor, and perfect verbal delivery (100% no repetitive words such as "like” or ”you know”, which is very important to fully enjoy the tour). At any given moment he knew where is each member of his group, he watched the speed of walking and was mindful of everyone's safety. Jon is very nice, polite, relatable and thoughtful. We are greatly impressed and enjoyed it so much! Thank you!Evghenia B. ★★★★★ We had such an amazing experience with Meredith on the Brooklyn bridge tour. Thank you, Meredith, for sharing your knowledge about NY with us!Patricia Anne C. ★★★★★ Entertaining and very informative tour. John was a fantastic guide. Highly recommend.Miriam L. ★★★★★ John was awesome during our Grand Central tour! His knowledge of the building and the area was exceptional.We will definitely take another tour with John in the future!Lyudmila A. ★★★★★ Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights & DUMBO. We had a wonderful time touring Brooklyn Bridge, Heights and Dumbo.. John, our guide, was excellent and knowledgeable. We learned so much from John the history of this area, architecture and had a lot of suggestions for great food and site seeing. If you want to discover more about Brooklyn i very recommended have this tour with John. Much thanks to John!Miguel de la O ★★★★★ Took a tour of Grand Central Station with John and of lower Manhattan with Renee. Learned all about Grand Central, the surrounding area, and the history of NYC. Highly recommend these tours!Celeste F. ★★★★★ John has been a delightful tour guide of New York City.My husband and myself got an amazing time being taught about NYC history, architecture, urbane design, and curious facts. Mister Gallagher was both, a fantastic and engaging storyteller as well as a city savvy.Thanks for all the tips, and for showing around the city you’ve resided for some many years.Big pleasure!Celeste and GustavoTerra R. ★★★★★ We have such an amazing tour guide-Garrett-which gave historical insight to the city of New York. I love his enthusiasm and energy. My family and I booked this tour with hopes of learning about particular sites such as the 911 Memorial, China Town and Little Italy, but learned so much more. Being an Army veteran, I was emotional when we went to the 911 memorial because I served in the Operation Iraqi Freedom. He embraced that and gave me a chance to share my story with the group. Garrett kept the tour interesting and loved the red umbrella idea which kept us all from getting lost. We had a great time.Joanna and Glen A. ★★★★★ We booked a full day NYC walking tour for March break, and were SO thrilled to have had Garrett show us around the city. He was amazing - we loved his personality and depth of insight about NY. He made the tour better than we could ever have imagined! Thank you!Ryan W. ★★★★★ Renee was a fanatic guide, highly recommend taking the Greenwich Village tour!Marla S. ★★★★★ The Harlem tour with Ron was great. The tour was well paced and interesting. Ron has an obvious love for the neighborhood and shared his stories with enthusiasm. It was a great introduction to a part of the city that was unfamiliar to us.Anne R. ★★★★★ Great tour with John in Brooklyn, thank you!shirley E. ★★★★★ We came to NYC for my birthday and took the 6hr tour of NY with Garrett. We have taken walking tours all over Europe and I can say that Garrett was among the top tour guides we have had. He was full of wonderful information and stories and gave the tour a wonderful flavor of NYC. He made my birthday extra special. I am so glad that we took the tour with him,Julie C. ★★★★★ We did the full day NYC tour with Garrett and he was amazing. The tour is loaded with information and Garrett did a great job of sharing information and adding personal insights. The pace was great and accommodating for the entire group. I highly recommend this tour, especially if you can get an amazing guide like Garrett!Emil A. ★★★★★ great soho. little italy and china town tour with John.really funny and nice, and addon bonus we went for 2 good places to eat, one in little italy and the second in china townFiona W. ★★★★★ We had a lovely, almost private tour with only 4 people in the group. John was full of info, with some tasty side notes thrown into the mix too. Highly recommend doing this tour, it's a fun and informative 2 hours of your day.Anthony J. ★★★★★ John was an excellent guide. Very friendly and knowledgeable!Emelia C. ★★★★★ John was absolutely amazing on our Chinatown/ Little Italy/ Soho tour!! There were so many new things that I learned, John makes you appreciate New York City way more than I thought I ever could! My friends and I will 100% be returning and will do a John tour again.Teagan K. ★★★★★ I did a tour with John Gallagher a year and a half ago, and I knew I had to do another one when my friends came with this time! We did the Wall st, 9/11, Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy tour and it was amazing! He is so informative, kind and hilarious. We learned and laughed a lot got to experience the churches and he recommended the best restaurants! I will do a tour with him each time in New York because he makes such an amazing experience!Evan L. ★★★★★ Took three tours with FTBF during my time in NYC: East Village food w/Jon, Little Italy/Chinatown food w/Kathleen, and NY in one day with Garrett. All were amazing experiences!Jon's East Village food tour really gives you the local flavor of the area, the portions are small but just enough for a taste of various things. You can also pay a little more for extra samples of things if you'd like. Also, food bought on the tour is a bit cheaper than just walking in off the street, so it's well worth it. Jon has a great way of sharing the history of the area which is engaging.Kathleen's food tour through Chinatown and Little Italy was filled with yummy food and lots of history. This was probably the most detailed tour, as Kathleen provides unique perspective on the area and the history behind each stop. The food was really good and she makes sure everyone is taken care of! What I appreciated about her is how she related the historical pieces to the city as a whole and described where the city is currently which was really interesting to learn about.Garrett's full day NYC tour is not to be missed. The tour has a bit of a feeling of Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka as Garrett brings such high energy, humor, and fun to the day. His great personality enhances the very fascinating history he covers at each stop. Most stops are brief but there is plenty of time to take in the scenery. Especially poignant is his first hand stories about 9/11 and the many stories of heroism and tragedy that day. He'll make you laugh, cry, and truly enjoy the big apple as you tour from Wall St. to Greenwich Village and the Meatpacking District. A wonderful tour.One final note, the guides are all really good about not being pushy about what to donate for each tour, but with the high quality of each one these experiences are priceless! Be sure to take care of your guides at the end!Jodie H. ★★★★★ A group of 4 of us did the china town and little italy food tour, it was fantastic. The guide was very knowledgeable and passionate. The food was cheap and delicious, you bought what you wanted from the places you were taken too. The recommendations were perfect, we tried dumplings and pizza, plus much more. Me and my husband and I go back this year, and we are booked on to the east village food tour and Greenwich village food tour.Laurel W. ★★★★★ Absolutely wonderful tour of Grand Central Station!John was extremely knowledgeable and a lot of fun. Thanks!Maja E. ★★★★★ I’ve done three tours with this company since moving to New York: Lower East Side food tour with Kathleen, Brooklyn Bridge/Brooklyn Heights/Dumbo with Onel and Soho/Little Italy/Chinatown with John. All have been great experiences with knowledgeable and kind guides who truly love the city! My son (11) joined the food tour and my daughter (12) the two other ones and they loved it as well! Highly recommend!
DYKER HEIGHTS BUS TOURS
We are also partnering with our friends at A Slice of Brooklyn Tours and Tour America to offer a guided bus tour of the Dyker Heights Christmas lights displays.
These excursions are part bus and part walking, but the tours are guided throughout.
Some even make bonus stops at the Brooklyn Bridge and/or the Brooklyn Heights Promenade and DUMBO.
With an overall rating of 5 out of 5 stars on TripAdvisor, it's safe to say that this company offers excellent bus tours.
Reviews for their Dyker Heights trip are especially positive, as most customers agree that the experience was wonderful.
Guests appreciated their fun and informative tour guides, indicating that they provided a lot of significant details about the light show and the neighborhood.
GUIDED TOUR OF THE LIGHTS
Reservations: Reservations are required. Book Now.
Where: The tour begins at Union Square. The exact location and directions are provided upon booking.
Duration: Approximately 3.5 hours.
When: Every day from December 1 - 30, 2024. Multiple departures daily from 5 pm to 8 pm.
Costs:
Priority Adult: $75
Priority Children: $65
Standard Adult: $65
Standard Children: $55
Blackout dates – Dec 24 and Dec 25 as well as Dec 31st and January 1st.
Overall ratings for this bus tour are very positive (read reviews here).
Most customers agree that Tour America runs an excellent service, indicating that they actually provided a lot of useful information about the city while driving toward their destination.
Guests were pleased that they had the opportunity to hop off for 45 minutes and walk around Dyker Heights to see the lights up close.
DYKER HEIGHTS CHRISTMAS LIGHTS
Like Tour America's bus tour above, the Dyker Heights Christmas Lights (DHCL) tour provides round-trip transportation to see the lights.
You depart from Midtown Manhattan and enjoy Christmas tunes, free Wi-Fi, and TV on the bus ride to Brooklyn.
Upon arrival in Dyker Heights, you have exclusive access to the Dyker Lights Lounge to warm up or use the restrooms before heading out for your guided walking tour of the holiday displays.
Before boarding your bus back to Manhattan, you will again stop at the lounge for a complimentary cup of hot chocolate and a treat.
The drop-off location is at Bryant Park in Midtown so if you want to enjoy more of the holiday season you can go to the Christmas market which is open until 10 pm.
Alfred Polizzotto first decorated his house more than 20 years ago as a way to celebrate some pretty great news: Polizzotto’s cancer had gone into remission.
He hired a Brooklyn local to deck out his lawn in thousands of lights, several one-ton mechanical horses, and automatronic toy soldiers.
Though he passed away several years ago, Polizzotto’s family has kept the tradition alive.
The holiday lights have not only brought joy to family and neighbors, but they also deliver happiness to the thousands of children that visit each season.
And the patriarch’s contribution to the hood was not forgotten. The year Alfred Senior passed away, all the Dyker Lights went dark for one night.
Visitors can make donations to the National Cancer Society by way of donation boxes set up all over the Polizzotto’s lawn.
Located about 10 blocks from the Spata home, Sam Livos (Sam the Greek) owns a 3 story house decorated with approximately 300,000 lights.
A few houses down are giant Nutcrackers.
Let us also not forget about the twin houses, one decked out in red and another in green with lighting completely enveloping the homes and even running 20 feet into the air into the trees.
Oh, and depending on the day and time, there is a DJ spinning Christmas music right at the corner of 84th Street and 12th Avenue. It's a fun time even for the tour guides.
WHERE TO EAT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Should you get hungry after your tour of the neighborhood or want to grab a snack beforehand, there are plenty of places to get food in the area.
There are many fast food chains like Chipotle and Starbucks along 86th Street between the subway and the beginning of the Christmas Lights houses.
If you like Italian food you are in luck! It's the cuisine that Dyker Heights is best known for! Here are some of the best places to go.
Stephen is the CEO of Free Tours by Foot and has overseen the transformation of a local walking tour company into a global tour community and traveler’s advice platform. He has personally led thousands of group tours in the US and Europe, and is an expert in trip planning and sightseeing, with a focus on budget travelers.
Stephen has been published and featured in dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Yahoo, Washington.org, and more.
