NYC and Chicago at Christmas vs San Francisco

This holiday lights trip pairs two of America's most festive winter cities: three days in New York, then a short flight to Chicago for two more. In Manhattan, stand beneath the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree as skaters circle the rink below, browse the glass kiosks and free-admission ice rink of Bryant Park's Winter Village and walk Fifth Avenue's elaborate department store windows and light shows. Ride the subway to Brooklyn for Dyker Heights, where homeowners cover entire houses in lights, inflatable Santas and animated nutcrackers. In Chicago, sip hot spiced wine from a boot-shaped mug at the German-style Christkindlmarket in Daley Plaza, stroll the Magnificent Mile beneath trees strung with more than a million lights, skate at the McCormick Tribune Ice Rink in Millennium Park and end at Lincoln Park ZooLights, a glowing, family-friendly tradition. The best window is mid-November to early January: markets generally run from mid-November to Christmas Eve, the Rockefeller tree is lit in early December and most displays stay up into the new year. Visit before December 23 to catch everything open. Pack a warm coat, hat and gloves, because Chicago nights often dip into the 20s, and book hotels early.

San Francisco packs world-famous sights into a compact, hilly peninsula wrapped in fog and bay views. Ride a clanging cable car up Nob Hill, then drop toward the water for sourdough bread bowls of clam chowder at Fisherman's Wharf. Book Alcatraz well ahead, because the ferry to the former prison island and its gripping audio tour sell out weeks in advance. Walk or bike across the Golden Gate Bridge, coast downhill into Sausalito for seafood by the bay and ride the ferry home past the skyline. Give a full day to wine country, sipping Cabernet in Napa Valley or Pinot Noir in laid-back Sonoma, and save a morning for the towering coast redwoods of Muir Woods, where parking or shuttle reservations are required, or swap in the cliffs and beaches of Half Moon Bay. The city itself rewards slow wandering: dim sum in Chinatown, espresso in North Beach, murals in the Mission and sunset at Ocean Beach. Pack layers whatever the month, since summer fog can drop temperatures into the 50s while the sun shines a few miles inland, and wear comfortable shoes for the steep hills. September and October usually bring the warmest, clearest days of the year.