today
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free tool · New York City, USA
New York City for couples: sunset and golden hour by date
Pick your date: the sunset, the golden hour, the blue hour and your hour at New York City, in local time.
next weekend
- golden hour
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- sunset
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next weekend
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Times are New York City local time (America/New_York), worked out from the sun’s position for this place (the NOAA method), good to about a minute on a flat horizon. Golden hour is the last hour before sunset; blue hour runs from sunset to the end of civil twilight.
the exact stay, spot and hour: the plan
$9- 4 stays
- 4 shots at the hour
- 2 days
- 3 tables
free, before you go
Snow coming down past a warm window, the Empire State lit up across the dark, and the whole loud city gone quiet for two.
In the reel: A couple slow-dancing in a lit apartment window with string lights, fire escapes, snow falling, the Empire State Building glowing in the skyline.
This is a window in Brooklyn or Long Island City looking back at Midtown, the Empire State Building lit at the centre of the skyline. You can get the frame two ways: a high room or a rooftop bar in Midtown where the tower fills the glass, or a riverside pier across the water at blue hour where the whole skyline switches on. The snow you cannot book; the rest you can.
When to go
Mid-December to mid-February. Central Park's first measurable snow averages 7 December and the first inch 24 December (National Weather Service records), so a January weekend is the best bet; the Bryant Park rink runs 28 October 2026 to 28 February 2027.
The hour: Blue hour, 16:45–17:15 in December and 17:05–17:35 in mid-January: sunset is 16:29 in mid-December, 16:52 in mid-January and 17:29 by mid-February (our own calculation). The tower lights come on at dusk and sparkle for five minutes at the top of every hour until 02:00.
Avoid: Christmas week if you want any table or a sane room rate; late February, when the snow turns to grey slush at every crossing. A clear, cold night has no flakes in the frame, but it is when the skyline is sharpest, so shoot anyway.
New York City, month by month
The 15th of each month, local time.
| date | sunrise | golden hour | sunset | blue hour ends |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | 07:07 | 17:15 | 18:15 | 18:43 |
| Nov 2026 | 06:42 | 15:37 | 16:37 | 17:07 |
| Dec 2026 | 07:12 | 15:29 | 16:29 | 17:00 |
| Jan 2027 | 07:17 | 15:53 | 16:53 | 17:23 |
| Feb 2027 | 06:50 | 16:30 | 17:30 | 17:58 |
| Mar 2027 | 07:07 | 18:02 | 19:02 | 19:29 |
| Apr 2027 | 06:17 | 18:35 | 19:35 | 20:03 |
| May 2027 | 05:39 | 19:06 | 20:06 | 20:37 |
| Jun 2027 | 05:24 | 19:28 | 20:28 | 21:02 |
| Jul 2027 | 05:37 | 19:25 | 20:25 | 20:58 |
| Aug 2027 | 06:06 | 18:54 | 19:54 | 20:23 |
| Sep 2027 | 06:36 | 18:05 | 19:05 | 19:32 |
the hour, every week
the weekly note: one place and its hour, one story, one tip. a tap in the first mail confirms it.