Epic experience gifts in NYC for adventurous people

Even lifelong New Yorkers have never seen the city quite like this. Board a helicopter after dark to spend half an hour soaring high above the glittering skyline. The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, the Chrysler Building and countless other NYC landmarks will be on full display in all their glittering glory. The helicopter flight ends with a loop around the Statue of Liberty for one final moment of New York City pride.

$244 per person

We know every Gothamite loves a damn good cheeseburger, so we created this unreal deal at eight choice NYC burger palaces. Time Out's Table for Two Burger Box gives you cards to restaurants like Peter McManus Cafe and Corner Bistro, where, upon presentation you and a dining companion will have your food bill split in half. It is the perfect experiential gift for the metropolitan meat-eater in your life. 

$44.99

Unless you’re a donor, journalist or curator, you’ll likely never spend any one-on-one time with the Met—that is, until you sign up for the EmptyMet tour. This serene, 90-minute jaunt through the museum’s galleries happens first thing in the morning, before the Met opens to the public. It might be your only chance to spend a few quiet, and maybe even transcendent, moments with the Temple of Dendur or contemplate Johannes Vermeer’s Portrait of a Young Woman in silence.

$175 per person

This former high-society hangout offers an undeniably ritzy experience: the red banquettes, gilded friezes of birds, enormous crystal polar bear and grand chandeliers appear as ornate ever. Lean into the fancy ambience with a vodka and blini tasting. You’ll sip a flight of three vodkas while you nibble on buckwheat blinis topped with trout, salmon or whitefish roe. Nostrovia!

$185 per person

If you someone who's picked up a DSLR this year, give them a set of photography lessons to help make the most of his new toy. Start with the three-hour introductory session at the Art of Intuitive Photography, where the expert instructor will cover all the basics—including exposure, white balance and depth of field—and help the class decode all the complicated buttons and modes.

$150 per person

There’s a perfect Broadway show for everyone on your Christmas list. If your mom loves singing along to Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, get her tickets to The Phantom of the Opera. Your teenage sister who’s obsessed with Tina Fey will flip over the chance to see Mean Girls on Broadway and The Book of Mormon is a guaranteed crowd pleaser, as long as the person you take can handle some politically incorrect jokes.

Tickets start at $30

You can fly! Or at least get the sensation of soaring through the air during a flying trapeze lesson. For an hour and a half, your instructor will teach a 10-person class how to latch onto the bar with your legs, release your arms and fly across the field to a catcher. If you've ever dreamed of running away to the circus, now's your chance! 

$130 for two people

We’ve all got that friend who seems to run on caffeine and nervous energy. And that friend who swear by the power of crystals, salt lamps, and burning sage. Gift either (or both!) the chance to relax with a 45-minute session inside Montauk Salt Cave in the East Village. The Himalayan pink salt lining the room is purported to have anti-inflammatory benefits ranging from healing respiratory illnesses to reducing anxiety. Whether or not the treatment is scientifically valid, it’s a good excuse to unplug and close your eyes for the better part of an hour.

$25 for 45 minutes

Any suds lover would jump at the chance to taste beer from three New York City breweries. Treat the beer snob in your life to an afternoon tasting tour that traverses three boroughs on a quest to find the best craft beer in the city. Your day will begin at Eataly's La Birreria, and continue to Brooklyn Brewery and Singlecut Beersmiths before ending at Spuyten Duyvil for your final rounds and a charcuterie board. Tickets include all booze, bites, and transportation during the 4-hour tour.

$125 per person

Know a budding make-up artist? Give her a private, expert-led session to help take her skills to the next level. With more than 10 years of experience in industry, instructor Shara Strand knows all the tricks of the trade—from basic contouring and shadow skills to mastering a strobing palette. Plus, your bestie can purchase any of the brushes, kits, and skincare featured in the one-hour class.

$125 per person

Snag some of the best (and most romantic) seats in the city for you and your boo on New Year's Eve. During this three-hour cruise you'll enjoy an open bar, and nosh on complimentary hors d'oeuvres and delicious buffet-style dinner, while dancing the rest of the year away. On deck in New York Harbor as the clock strikes midnight, your unrivaled view of the fireworks bursting above the twinkling skyline will be one to remember for years to come.

$199 per person

Still can’t think of a suitable gift for the person who has everything? No one will say no to a gelato-making lesson. An expert dessert chef at this Murray Hill gelateria will explain the history of the frozen Italian dessert before helping you make your very first batch. Best of all, you get to take home all the gelato you make during the two-hour class. Now there’s only one question left: Will you make stracciatella or cherry?

$96 per person