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In this guide12 sections
- The short answer
- 31 December 2026: what the Alliance has published
- Inside the closures: the Ball from your room
- East of Sixth Avenue: Bryant Park and Fifth Avenue
- West and south of the zone: Hell’s Kitchen and Penn Station
- Brooklyn: the quiet option
- Getting around on the night
- New York’s hotel tax
- How to book New Year’s Eve in New York
- All 12 at a glance
- Before you go
- Frequently asked questions
Times Square’s New Year’s Eve is free, needs no ticket and is open to anyone who gets there early. On the Times Square Alliance’s published arrangements for its last edition, the viewing areas open at 3pm, first come, first served, and the Ball starts its 60-second descent at 11:59pm. That makes the hotel a question of logistics as much as comfort: inside the closed streets it is your warm room, and outside them it is where you walk back to after midnight. Some hotels sell the view as a room type, with a minimum stay to match: the New York Marriott Marquis’s Ball Drop View Room offer needs three to four or more nights for any stay between 25 December and 1 January.
This guide covers what the Alliance has and has not published for Thursday 31 December 2026, four areas matched to how close you are to the closed streets, 12 hotels, and the terms that catch people out. For the rest of your trip, where to stay in New York covers six areas and 12 hotels, four of which also appear here. The hotels are researched picks, chosen for location, what each property publishes and consistent guest feedback, and each was checked as operating in October 2026. No hotel pays to appear here.
The short answer
| If you want… | Stay in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| the Ball from your room | Inside the closures | Hotels on the Alliance’s list of buildings with a view of the Ball, and one that sells a Ball Drop View Room |
| a short walk to the viewing areas, and a bed outside the closed streets | East of Sixth Avenue | Bryant Park and Fifth Avenue, one avenue from the Sixth Avenue access points |
| lower prices, and the Eighth Avenue entrance | West and south of the zone | Hell’s Kitchen and the streets by Penn Station, outside the closures |
| a quiet bed and the skyline across the river | Brooklyn | No closures, and Manhattan a subway ride away |
Not sure which area? Rank these areas for your trip: pick what matters and see the reasons.
31 December 2026: what the Alliance has published
The Alliance has not yet published the 2026 timetable or performers. In October 2026 its FAQ and its live schedule still describe the 31 December 2025 edition, which ran from 6pm to 12:15am. Last year’s pattern is the best guide to the shape of the night. The Alliance’s FAQ says the Ball is best seen along Broadway from 43rd to 50th Street and along Seventh Avenue as far north as 59th Street. Check timessquarenyc.org/nye before you go.
| Time | What the Alliance published for the 2025 edition |
|---|---|
| 4am | Seventh Avenue closes to vehicles from 42nd to 48th Street, with the side streets from 43rd to 48th closed between Sixth and Eighth Avenues |
| About 11am | Seventh Avenue and Broadway close to traffic from 38th to 59th Street |
| 3pm | The viewing areas open, through access points on 45th, 49th, 52nd and 56th Streets from Sixth and Eighth Avenues |
| 4pm | Sixth and Eighth Avenues close to pedestrians and vehicles, with pedestrian crossings at 41st, 44th, 47th, 50th, 54th and 57th Streets |
| Shortly before 6pm | The celebration begins, and at about 6pm the Ball is raised to the top of One Times Square |
| Each hour | A ten-second countdown to the hour, with pyrotechnic effects above One Times Square |
| 11:59pm | The Mayor presses the button, and the Ball descends 90 feet in 60 seconds |
| Midnight | The year’s numerals light up and confetti is released from the rooftops |
| 12:15am | End of show |
The rules matter as much as the times. The Alliance says no tickets are needed and there are no public viewing spaces for sale, and it warns that passes promising access to several venues were refused at police checkpoints in past years. All bags are searched, and backpacks, large bags, umbrellas, folding chairs, picnic blankets, large coolers, alcohol and drones are not permitted; public drinking is illegal in New York City. There are no portable toilets and no licensed food or drink vendors. If you leave your viewing area, you will not be able to return to your spot. Once the streets close, no one may cross Broadway and Seventh Avenue, so you enter from Sixth Avenue if you are east of them and from Eighth Avenue if you are west.
For a hotel inside the closed streets, the Alliance says to contact the business for instructions on reaching its entrance. None of the hotels below published how guests are admitted through the checkpoints, so ask in writing before you book.
Inside the closures: the Ball from your room
Staying here means you watch from a room instead of a pen, and the Alliance lists the businesses with a view of the Ball “from portions of their building”: the Renaissance New York, the Marriott Marquis and The Knickerbocker are on it, along with the Hyatt Centric and Tempo by Hilton at TSX Broadway. A view from part of a building is not a view from your room, so ask which rooms face the square.
Where to stay inside the closures
How the hotel links work: a hotel’s name goes to its own website. “Check rates” opens it on Booking.com through our partner Stay22, which pays us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you.
- The Knickerbocker, splurge. At 6 Times Square, on the south-east corner of 42nd Street and Broadway, with the St. Cloud rooftop bar, which the hotel calls the closest rooftop to the Ball Drop. On 31 December 2026 it holds a ticketed party, Saints & Sinners, with outdoor Ball Drop viewing from the rooftop; its cheapest tier, Silver, was sold out on 22 October, and the hotel says party purchases are final and nonrefundable. Choose it to be on the square itself. Watch out: the party is a separate ticket from a room. Check rates on Booking.com →
- The Times Square EDITION, splurge. 452 guest rooms at 20 Times Square, 701 Seventh Avenue, with floor-to-ceiling windows the hotel says give views of Times Square and the city, a performance venue and three dining venues developed by chef John Fraser. Choose it for polish inside the closures. Watch out: it is not on the Alliance’s list of buildings with a view of the Ball. Check rates on Booking.com →
- New York Marriott Marquis, comfortable. At 1535 Broadway, on the Alliance’s list. To ring in 2027 it sells a Times Square Ball Drop View Room, described as front-row views of the Ball Drop from the room, through an offer for stays between 18 December and 9 January. Under it, 31 December is not an eligible check-in date, and stays between 25 December and 1 January need a minimum of three to four or more nights, depending on dates. A one-night room and tax deposit is due a day after booking, and cancelling within 14 days of arrival forfeits the full stay. Choose it to watch the Ball from the room. Watch out: those cancellation terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
- Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel, comfortable. At Two Times Square, 714 Seventh Avenue at West 48th Street, on the Alliance’s list, with Times Square Terrace Rooms that have a private terrace, and the Bowtie Bar, which the hotel says has Times Square views. Choose it for a terrace room on the square. Watch out: its site publishes no New Year’s Eve terms, so ask about terrace rooms and the minimum stay. Check rates on Booking.com →
East of Sixth Avenue: Bryant Park and Fifth Avenue
Last year Sixth Avenue closed to pedestrians and vehicles from 4pm, and the Sixth Avenue access points at 45th, 49th, 52nd and 56th Streets are the way in from the east. A hotel here puts you a few minutes from them, with a bed outside the closed streets to come back to.
Where to stay east of Sixth Avenue
- The Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection, comfortable, historic. At 59 West 44th Street, a hotel that opened in 1902, with the Blue Bar restaurant and renovated rooms, a short walk from the Sixth Avenue access points. Choose it for a historic hotel just outside the closed streets. Watch out: its site publishes no New Year’s Eve terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
- The Peninsula New York, splurge. At 700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street. The hotel describes itself as a Forbes Travel Guide Five Star hotel, with newly refurbished rooms and a reimagined rooftop lounge, Pen Top. Choose it for Fifth Avenue quiet, one avenue from the Sixth Avenue access points. Watch out: Sixth Avenue is the closure line, so you are on the far side of it from Times Square, and the price. Check rates on Booking.com →
West and south of the zone: Hell’s Kitchen and Penn Station
These hotels sit outside the streets the Alliance says close: west of Eighth Avenue, or south of the Seventh Avenue closure at 38th Street. Eighth Avenue closed to pedestrians and vehicles from 4pm last year, with the Eighth Avenue access points at the same four streets. These four are our good-value and budget picks.
Where to stay west and south of the zone
- Arlo Midtown, good value. At 351 West 38th Street, with a restaurant, Altair, and a rooftop bar, ART Midtown, with views over the city. Choose it for a modern hotel west of the closures at a lower price. Watch out: breakfast comes only with the rate that includes it, and its site publishes no New Year’s Eve terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
- Moxy NYC Times Square, good value. At 485 Seventh Avenue, two blocks from Penn Station by the hotel’s count, with 612 rooms and Magic Hour, a rooftop bar with Empire State Building views. Choose it for a large hotel south of the stretch of Seventh Avenue the Alliance says closes, from 38th to 59th Street. Watch out: it is the farthest of the four from the viewing areas. Check rates on Booking.com →
- Pod Times Square, budget. At 400 West 42nd Street, a block from the Port Authority bus terminal, with compact “pods”: Bunk Pods with twin bunks, Queen Pods, and Pod Pads with kitchens for longer stays. Choose it to keep money for the night itself. Watch out: the Full Pod sleeps two but is recommended for one; two people should book a Queen or Bunk Pod. Check rates on Booking.com →
- YOTEL New York Times Square, budget. At 570 Tenth Avenue, between Times Square and the Jacob Javits Center, with rooms from the 10.6 sq m Solo to a Penthouse King Suite with a terrace, and a rooftop with skyline views. Choose it for compact rooms and a rooftop at a budget price. Watch out: the hotel’s own FAQ puts the Times Square plaza at a 15 to 20 minute walk, and the walk will be longer on a night of closed streets. Check rates on Booking.com →
Brooklyn: the quiet option
Across the East River none of the Times Square closures apply, and the skyline is the view. It is a subway ride from Times Square, and you will not see the Ball from here. We found no organiser announcing midnight fireworks in Central Park or Prospect Park for 2026, so we have not planned the night around either.
Where to stay in Brooklyn
- 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, splurge. At 60 Furman Street, in Brooklyn Bridge Park, with skyline and bridge views, Harriet’s Rooftop bar and a rooftop pool. Choose it for the skyline across the water. Watch out: price, and its site lists no New Year’s Eve terms. Check rates on Booking.com →
- Wythe Hotel, comfortable. At 80 Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, in a former factory built in 1901, with Le Crocodile restaurant and Bar Blondeau, which pairs Manhattan’s skyline with spirits. Its FAQ says a standard booking can be cancelled up to 48 hours in advance, and a booking of four or more rooms has a one-week policy. Choose it for a Brooklyn base with the restaurant downstairs. Watch out: the FAQ does not mention New Year’s Eve, so ask whether the holiday terms differ. Check rates on Booking.com →
Getting around on the night
- Take the subway, and plan the exit. The Alliance says public transport is the best way to Times Square, and that in the past the MTA has advised revellers not to use the 42nd Street station; exit at a surrounding station and walk in.
- Last year’s MTA notice is the latest published. On 31 December 2025 the subway ran a weekday schedule, with extra service on the C, D, G, L, N, Q, R and 1 to 7 lines and the 42 St Shuttle from the evening until the early morning; the A ran express until about 2:30am, and the 42 St Shuttle ran all night. Uptown 1 trains skipped 50 St, and N, Q, R and W trains skipped 57 St–7 Av and 49 St, from 11:45am to 12:15am. Street exits at Times Sq–42 St were closed, and the passageway to 42 St–Bryant Park was one-way from 2pm. The 2026 notice was not yet posted when we checked; look at mta.info before you go.
- The fare is $3 a ride on the subway and local buses in 2026, paid by tapping a contactless card or phone.
- Leave the car. Sixth and Eighth Avenues close to vehicles as well as pedestrians, and the Alliance says police close the streets northward from 43rd Street as revellers arrive.
- Sign up for alerts. Last year the Alliance’s FAQ pointed to a city text service for the night, keyword NEWYEARSEVE to 692692; check its page for 2026.
New York’s hotel tax
Three taxes and a fee apply to every hotel room in the city:
| Charge | Rate |
|---|---|
| New York State and City sales tax | 8.875% of the room rate |
| New York City hotel room occupancy tax | 5.875% of the room rate |
| City occupancy charge, rooms of $40 or more | $2 a room a night |
| New York State hotel unit fee | $1.50 a room a night |
Together that is 14.75% of the room rate plus $3.50 a room a night. By state rule the hotel must show the taxes separately on your bill, so compare totals, not headline prices. As our arithmetic, a $300 room costs $347.75 a night, so a four-night minimum stay at $300 a night comes to $1,391 before any resort or service fees.
How to book New Year’s Eve in New York
- Check the minimum stay first. The Marriott Marquis’s Ball Drop View Room offer needs three to four or more nights for stays between 25 December and 1 January, and 31 December cannot be your check-in date. The other hotels here publish no New Year’s Eve minimum that we found, so ask.
- Read the cancellation terms before you pay. Under the Marquis’s offer, cancelling within 14 days of arrival forfeits the full stay. The Knickerbocker’s party tickets are separate from a room, and nonrefundable; on 22 October its Silver tier was already sold out.
- Book a room that faces the square. The Alliance’s list says “portions” of a building have a view of the Ball. Ask for the room, not the hotel.
- Ignore passes that promise Times Square access. The Alliance warns that multiple-venue passes were refused at police checkpoints in past years, and that some sold on the street were counterfeit.
- Book as early as your plans allow. We can’t tell you when each hotel sells out; the only data points we found are the sold-out party tier and the Marquis offer’s date window.
- Compare totals. Our hotel booking sites compared goes through where to book, and hotel taxes around the world puts New York’s 14.75% beside other cities.
All 12 at a glance
| Hotel | Area | Tier | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Knickerbocker | Inside the closures | Splurge | On the square, with a rooftop party | Party is a separate ticket |
| The Times Square EDITION | Inside the closures | Splurge | Polish and high windows | Not on the Alliance’s view list |
| New York Marriott Marquis | Inside the closures | Comfortable | A Ball Drop View Room | 3 to 4+ night minimum |
| Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel | Inside the closures | Comfortable | A private terrace | No published NYE terms |
| The Algonquin Hotel Times Square, Autograph Collection | East of Sixth Avenue | Comfortable | History outside the closures | No published NYE terms |
| The Peninsula New York | East of Sixth Avenue | Splurge | Fifth Avenue quiet | Price |
| Arlo Midtown | West of Eighth Avenue | Good value | A modern base for less | Breakfast extra |
| Moxy NYC Times Square | South of the zone | Good value | A large hotel with a rooftop | The longest walk in |
| Pod Times Square | West of Eighth Avenue | Budget | Money for the night | Full Pods suit one |
| YOTEL New York Times Square | Hell’s Kitchen | Budget | A rooftop at a budget price | A 15 to 20 minute walk to the plaza |
| 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge | Brooklyn Bridge Park | Splurge | The skyline across the water | Price |
| Wythe Hotel | Williamsburg | Comfortable | A Brooklyn base | Holiday terms unstated |
Before you go
- Before you fly, sort out mobile data (the best eSIM for the USA) and cover (the best travel insurance). For more hotels across the city, see where to stay in New York.
Frequently asked questions
What time is the Times Square Ball Drop on New Year's Eve 2026?
The Times Square Alliance has not yet published the 2026 timetable. Last year's edition ran from 6pm to 12:15am, with the Ball raised at about 6pm and the 60-second descent starting at 11:59pm. The viewing areas opened at 3pm.
Do you need tickets to watch the Ball Drop in Times Square?
No. The Alliance says the event is free, open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis, and that there are no public viewing spaces for sale. It warns that passes promising access to several venues were refused at police checkpoints in past years.
Where is the best place to stay for New Year's Eve in Times Square?
Inside the closed streets if you want to watch the Ball from your room: the Alliance lists the Renaissance New York, the Marriott Marquis and The Knickerbocker among the buildings with a view of it. If you would rather stay outside the closures, east of Sixth Avenue, west of Eighth Avenue or Brooklyn all work, with the viewing-area access points on Sixth and Eighth Avenues.
Do New York hotels have minimum stays over New Year's Eve?
Some do. The New York Marriott Marquis's Ball Drop View Room offer needs a minimum of three to four or more nights for stays between 25 December and 1 January, and 31 December is not an eligible check-in date. The other hotels in this guide publish no New Year's Eve minimum that we found, so ask before you book.
Can you leave Times Square and come back on New Year's Eve?
Not to the same spot. The Alliance says that if you leave your viewing area you will not be able to return to it. It also says there are no portable toilets or licensed food and drink vendors, all bags are searched, and backpacks, large bags, umbrellas, chairs, picnic blankets, large coolers and alcohol are not permitted.
How does the subway run on New Year's Eve in New York?
Last year the MTA ran a weekday schedule with extra service on the C, D, G, L, N, Q, R and 1 to 7 lines and the 42 St Shuttle, which ran all night. Some trains skipped 49 St, 50 St and 57 St–7 Av from 11:45am to 12:15am, and the street exits at Times Sq–42 St were closed. The 2026 notice was not yet posted; check mta.info.
Sources & further reading
- Times Square Alliance: New Year’s Eve FAQ (the edition of 31 December 2025)
- Times Square Alliance: New Year’s Eve live schedule (31 December 2025)
- Times Square Alliance: New Year’s Eve
- MTA: service for New Year’s 2026 (31 December 2025 to 1 January 2026)
- MTA: fares and tolls
- New York Marriott Marquis: New Year’s Eve 2026
- The Knickerbocker: New Year’s Eve 2026, Saints & Sinners
- Wythe Hotel: FAQs
- YOTEL New York Times Square: hotel page and FAQs
- New York City Department of Finance: hotel room occupancy tax
- New York State: hotel and motel occupancy, including the New York City unit fee
- New York State: sales and use tax rates, Publication 718 (PDF)
- Official websites of each hotel named above, checked in October 2026
Dates, rules, rates and hotel terms change, and the Times Square Alliance’s 2026 arrangements were not yet published when we checked; where we describe last year’s arrangements we say so. Every hotel detail here was checked in October 2026; confirm minimum stays, rates and cancellation terms with the hotel before booking. These are researched picks, not reviews. This article contains affiliate links: hotel rates on Booking.com and other booking sites through Stay22, and tours, transfers and eSIMs through our partners; if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No hotel pays to be included.
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