Post-T-Day stroll

Start: E 4th St at Lafayette St
End: W 79th St at Central Park West
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 4 hours

1 Most people will eat too much on Thanksgiving, but Black Friday is a new day—and a good chance to walk off that stuffing while you take in the city’s wintry and holiday delights. Start your power stroll in the East Village at the Brooklyn Flea: Gifted Holiday Market (20 E 4th St at Lafayette St; 718-935-1052, brooklynflea.com), which is making its first foray into Manhattan. The flea, which will relocate to the former Tower Records Annex Friday 27–Sunday 29 (also Wednesday 2–December 6, December 9–13, then daily December 16–24; check website for hours), will be giving its holiday decorations a vintage twist, so watch for retro illuminated reindeer in the window display and a ’60s-era metal Christmas tree at the entrance. Among a roster of DIY-styled vendors, expect to find Reclaimed Home, which creates housewares out of salvaged materials.

2 Once you’ve finished shopping, go north up Lafayette to the Union Square Holiday Market (entrance at 14th St and Broadway, unionsquarenyc.org), where you can warm up with a steaming beverage. Breezy Hill Orchards will be serving locally produced hot cider with gingerbread cookies. As always, there will be an abundance of fresh organic vegetables—probably a wise purchase after your long day of turkey and whipped-cream-coated pumpkin pie. If you need gift ideas, hit up the new market concierge on site, who will be helping shoppers navigate the labyrinthine assortment of stalls selling handmade ornaments, gourmet food and much more.

3 Next, walk up Park Avenue South to Grand Central Terminal (87 E 42nd St at Park Ave, 212-340-2583). There, in the New York Transit Museum Gallery Annex (212-878-0106), you’ll find the eighth annual Holiday Train Show (through January 18), a realistic model-railroad display, with trains running through a miniature New York cityscape, into the countryside and up to the North Pole. You should also check out the Grand Central Holiday Fair (grandcentralterminal.com), in Vanderbilt Hall. The 76 vendors include Art Plush—designer Jitka Exler creates toys inspired by the art of Joan Miró, Pablo Picasso, and other artists ($35). If your walk happens to fall on Monday 30 or after, don’t forget to look up: Every 30 minutes, Grand Central will stage a five-minute laser show, featuring shiny snowflakes, flickering stars and zodiac figures on the main concourse ceiling, 125 feet above your bedazzled head.

4 You’ve now walked two and a half miles and burned off about 250 calories—barely enough to make up for one slice of pie. But don’t let that discourage you. Keep going, and diversify your workout by heading west to The Pond at Bryant Park (Sixth Ave between 40th and 42nd Sts, thepondatbryantpark.com), where you can trade your sensible walking shoes for ice skates (skate rentals $12, lockers $9). Bask in the glow of Bryant Park’s holiday tree as you gracefully glide or humbly stumble across the rink.

5 Put those shoes back on and resume your trek, heading northwest to the Time Warner Center (10 Columbus Circle at Broadway, 212-823-6300). You can’t see many celestial lights in the New York City sky, but here you can stare at 12 colorfully illuminated, 14-foot-wide, 1,000-pound LED-lit stars hanging from the glass ceiling from the “Holiday Under the Stars” show; they were designed by Matthew Schwam of Holiday Image, a Brooklyn company that specializes in seasonal displays.

6 You’ve almost walked far enough to banish those mashed potatoes from memory. Double-knot your laces and make a gravy-evaporating hustle up Central Park West, about 20 blocks north to the American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West at 79th St, 212-769-5100; $12–$16). Inside, you’ll be welcomed by two 19-foot-tall barosauruses, adorned with greenery and lights. On your stroll through this archaeologial treasure trove, make sure to pass the holiday tree, covered with origami decorations. You’ve now earned some guilt-free enjoyment: Take a seat in the Hayden Planetarium and watch Journey to the Stars ($14–$24, includes museum admission; every half hour from 10:30am to 4:30pm), a space show narrated by Whoopi Goldberg about the science behind the best holiday lights of all—the cosmos.

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