NYC Holiday Train Show 2026: Dates, Tickets and the Easy Way to the Bronx

The 2026 Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden runs from Saturday, November 14, 2026 to Sunday, January 10, 2027. It’s ticketed, and 2026 prices aren’t out yet. Go on a weekday: tickets are untimed most Tuesdays to Fridays, so you can walk in when you’re ready.

This is the 35th year. Model trains run through the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory past nearly 200 New York landmarks, every one built from plant parts. The new one this year is One Vanderbilt, the tower next to Grand Central. Fitting, since Grand Central is where your trip starts.

The short answer

• When: November 14, 2026 to January 10, 2027. Members preview Friday, November 13.
• Best time: a Tuesday to Friday in mid-November or early December.
• Where: the New York Botanical Garden, 2900 Southern Boulevard, the Bronx.
• How: the Metro-North Harlem Line local from Grand Central, about 20 minutes.
• Cost: 2026 prices not yet published. Last season, $35 to $39 for adults.

When to go

Weekdays win. For 2026, tickets are untimed on most Tuesdays to Fridays. You can show up when you’re ready. The exceptions are Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, and the whole stretch from Monday, December 21 to Monday, January 4. Those days use timed entry like the weekends.

Weekends and the holiday weeks sell out. If those are your only days, buy a timed ticket as soon as you know your date.

The Garden is closed most Mondays. It’s open 10am to 6pm, Tuesday to Sunday, with some Monday holidays open. Check the calendar on nybg.org before you plan a Monday.

Evenings, on select dates. The conservatory stays open until 8pm on extended-hours dates: Thanksgiving weekend, select December dates and Saturday, January 2. The list is on nybg.org.

Sensory-friendly mornings run 9 to 11am on Saturday, November 21 and Saturday, January 9.

Tickets

The Botanical Garden hasn’t published 2026 prices yet. Last season, the price depended on the day:

• Adults: $35 on off-peak days, $39 on peak days.
• Children 2 to 12: $25 off-peak, $27 peak.

The ticket is an All-Garden Pass. It covers the train show, the rest of the conservatory, the tram tour and the outdoor gardens. Buy on nybg.org.

Holiday Train Nights are separate ticketed evening events, 7 to 10pm on select nights. Last year they were sold through Fever. The 2026 dates haven’t been announced.

How to get there

Take Metro-North. The Harlem Line local runs from Grand Central to Botanical Garden station in about 20 minutes. The station sits across the street from the Garden’s Mosholu Entrance. It’s the easiest trip to the Bronx you’ll ever make.

One catch for 2026. The MTA is rebuilding Botanical Garden station for accessibility, and its pedestrian overpass has been closed since July 21, 2026. Trains still stop. The Garden says to allow 10 to 15 extra minutes.

By subway: take the B, D or 4 to Bedford Park Blvd. Then walk about 20 minutes, eight blocks down the hill on Bedford Park Boulevard, and turn left on Southern Boulevard for one block to the Mosholu Entrance. The Bx26 bus covers the same stretch if you’d rather not walk.

Metro-North costs more than the subway, and it’s worth it. You trade a 20-minute walk in December for a 20-minute ride.

Make a day of it

Your ticket covers the whole Garden, not just the trains. Early in the run, walk the Thain Family Forest, the old forest our fall foliage guide recommends for fall color.

Check before you go

• 2026 ticket prices, once the Garden publishes them
• Holiday Train Nights dates, if you want an evening
• Metro-North Harlem Line service changes for your date
• Whether your Monday is one of the open holiday Mondays

The rest of the season

• NYC Christmas markets 2026: every market’s dates
• Rockefeller tree lighting 2026: December 2, and how to see it without the crowd
• Ice skating in NYC 2026: every rink and what it costs
• Dyker Heights Christmas lights 2026: the best free display in the city
• NYC holiday light shows 2026: Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and Lightscape
• NYC with kids: the rest of a family trip
• Things to do in NYC in December 2026

Questions about anything in this guide? Reach MUSEENYC at museenyc.art@gmail.com or @museenyc on Instagram.

Twenty minutes from Grand Central, and nobody tells you that. More December in the city → museenyc.com