Skate for free at the Bryant Park Winter Village

What it is like

Why I rate it over the famous rink two blocks north: the setting is the back of the New York Public Library with the skyscrapers lit up around it, the holiday shops are right there for the hot chocolate negotiation, and a family that brings its own skates pays nothing at all. The skate aids (the penguin-shaped frames a five-year-old clings to) are $26 for a session but free before 10:30am if there are any left, which is the single best reason to be in Midtown at 9am in November.

Honest limits: children under 14 must have an adult with them at all times, and the rink does not allow carrying a child while skating, so a toddler on your hip is out. Bag check is $6.24 an item and an oversized item such as a stroller is $18.72, so travel light. The two public restrooms in the park (42nd Street behind the library, 40th Street by the carousel) are staffed, have changing tables, and the 40th Street one is accessible; in November and December they are open from 7am until midnight Thursday to Sunday.

Best time to go

A weekday before 10:30am, when the skate aids are free and the ice is empty; December evenings are packed.

Tips before you go

• Reserve the free wristband online before you travel; you cannot walk onto the ice without one.
• Go before 10:30am on a weekday for free skate aids and space to fall over in peace.
• Bring your own skates and a padlock for the lockers, and leave the stroller at home if you can.
• The 42nd Street restroom behind the library is the good one; the line moves.