(Photo: Getty Images)

Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Plaza at 49th St.; 212-332-6868.
The lighting of city’s most famous tree—which was first erected during the height of the Depression, before Rockefeller Center was even completed—marks the unofficial start of the winter holidays, particularly for tourists.
• Lighting ceremony: Dec. 3, 7 p.m.–9 p.m.
• On display: Dec. 3–Jan. 9

(Photo: Courtesy of 2wo One 2wo Group)

South Street Seaport
Fulton St. at South St.; 212-732-8257.
Nicknamed the “Seaport Chorus Tree,” this 50-foot Douglas fir has the Big Apple Chorus not only appearing at its unveiling but also performing every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday thereafter until Christmas Eve.
• Lighting ceremony: Nov. 28, 6 p.m.
• On display: Nov. 28–Jan. 2

(Photo: Courtesy of the Pond at Bryant Park)

Bryant Park
Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.; 866-221-5157.
The tree’s from Quebec. The decorator’s a designer from Toronto. And the on-site café is called Celsius: A Canadian Lounge. No wonder the skaters on the “pond” are beginning to summon visions of Wayne Gretzky and Elvis Stojko.
• Lighting ceremony: Dec. 2, 7 p.m.
• On display: Dec. 2–Jan. 7

(Photo: Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art)

Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Ave., at 82nd St.; 212-879-5500
If your taste is more romantic than gigantic, the twenty-foot-tall spruce at the Met is adorned with 50 eighteenth-century Neapolitan angels and flanked by hundreds of crèche figures.
• Lighting ceremonies: Nov. 25–Jan. 6; Tues.–Thurs. and Sun., 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.; Fri.–Sat., 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and 6:30 p.m.
• On display: Nov. 25–Jan. 6; Tues.–Thurs. and Sun. 9:30 a.m.–5:15 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 9:30 a.m.–8:45 p.m.

(Photo: R. Mickens/AMNH)

American Museum of Natural History
Central Park W. at 79th St.; 212-769-5100.
A team of 40 volunteers begins in July to create some 500 origami figures for this one. This year’s theme is "Folding the Museum," which means woolly mammoths, gorillas, and other animals representing the museum's exhibits are on display.
• Lighting ceremony: There's no official event; usually museum employees just gather informally as it's switched on for the first time.
• On display: Nov. 24–Jan. 1, 10 a.m.–5:45 p.m.

(Photo: Muriel Weinerman; courtesy of New York Botanical Garden)

New York Botanical Garden
Bronx River Pkwy. at Fordham Rd., the Bronx; 718-817-8700.
Though the train show and the gingerbread-house display are the main attractions, the 26-foot-tall Fraser fir is nothing to sneeze at.
• Lighting ceremony: Nov. 22, 4:30 p.m.
• On display: Nov. 22–Jan. 11; Tues.–Sun. 10 a.m.–5 p.m.