CORNING—Corning, dubbed the “Crystal City” in honor of its spectacular glass works, adds an extra sparkle during the holiday season. A two-hour drive from Western New York, it has enough places to see and shop in to fill a day.

The Corning Museum of Glass is the main destination, which makes perfect sense since the museum is among the most popular tourist attractions in upstate New York. The museum houses more than 45,000 glass objects whose history spans 35 centuries, making it the largest glass collection in the world.

The museum celebrates the season with a 14-foot Christmas tree, adorned with more than 1,200 ornaments made by glass-makers during the museum’s hot glass show.

The 18,000-square-foot GlassMarket on the lower level of the museum is a shopper’s paradise. And one does not have to pay museum admission to get to the retail shop.

The shop is divided into seven boutique areas: Art Glass, with handmade works from local and national studio artists; World Glass, featuring items from around the globe; Jewelry, made by local and international artists; Innovations, unique items, along with children’s educational toys; Collectibles, a selection of handmade collectibles, ornaments and paperweights; The Museum Shop, which features books, DVDs and other gift items; and Corning Home, stocked with kitchen products such as Corelle dinnerware and Pyrex ovenware.

The GlassMarket’s After Thanksgiving Sale takes place Friday to next Sunday, accompanied by special tours and activities in the museum.

Admission is free during the museum’s annual open house on Dec. 5 and 6, when there will be holiday music and craft activities.

Market Street

One of my favorite places to go in Corning is the historic Market Street district, a four-block area containing restored 19th century buildings housing more than 100 stores, art studios and restaurants.

At Vitrix Hot Glass (77 W. Market St.; 607-936-8707,

www.vitrixhotglass.com

), you can watch craftsmen blow glass items right in the studio. One of the more popular items—and definitely the cutest—during the holiday season is their snowmen, which retail for $42 and $55. “We sell about 500 snowmen a season out of our gallery,” said Bob Kelly, business manager of the studio. “We also sell them wholesale to other galleries all over the country.”

Imagine That (86 W. Market St.; 607-937-4242;

www.imaginethatkids.com

) has a large selection of upscale children’s clothing, along with gifts and toys. This is a perfect place to shop for holiday gifts for children. A few blocks down, on East Market Street, stop by the Glass Menagerie (37 E. Market St.; 607-962-6300,

www.corningmenagerie.com

). I refer to it as “the kaleidoscope store” because of the shop’s large selection of kaleidoscopes, which range in price from $4 to $4,000. The shop’s proprietor, Richard Pope, is a part-time professional magician who specializes in glass magic. Also on East Market Street, Connors Market Street Mercantile (16 E. Market St.; 607-937-4438,

www.connorsmercantile.com

) is like a country store in the city. It carries a wide variety of items, including Vera Bradley merchandise, Lang cards, Byers Choice figurines, collectibles, gourmet foods and Corning souvenirs. Around the corner from Market Street, the Rockwell Museum of Western Art features the art collection of the Robert Rockwell Family, one of the most comprehensive Western art collections in the country. Its gift shop, the Trading Post, features Western and Native American items, including silver and turquoise jewelry, pottery, books, music and more.

Make your own

If you want to get creative, you can try your hand at glassmaking. The Museum of Glass offers a “make your own glass experience,” including holiday ornaments formed from hot glass, along with projects using fusing, flamework and sandblasting. These sessions sell out quickly, especially during the holidays, so be sure to make reservations. Advance reservations can be made online; tickets also are available on a first-come, first-served basis when you purchase museum admission tickets.

Visitors can also make an appointment to create a one-of-a- kind ornament or paperweight at the Hands-on-Glass Studio (124 Crystal Lane; 607-962-3044,

www.handsonglass.com

), operated by glass-maker Rodi Rovner. My family had a lot of fun creating our own glass items here. Rovner guides you through the glassmaking process. The finished pieces have to go though an overnight annealing (slow-cooling) process, so they can be picked up the next day or you can arrange to have them shipped. The Gaffer District

Downtown Corning, which includes historic Market Street, is referred to as the Gaffer District (607-937-6292,

www.gafferdistrict.com

). (A gaffer is a term for a master glassblower.) This holiday season the Gaffer District will be sponsoring the 35th annual Sparkle on Dec. 5 from 5 to 9 p. m. Market Street will be closed to traffic, and activities include horse and carriage rides, food vendors, live entertainment, ice sculptures and more. The Christmas tree at Centerway Square will be lit on Saturday at 4 p. m., followed by a parade of lights at 6:30 p. m. along historic Market Street.

If you go:

From Buffalo, take the New York State Thruway east to the I-390 South. Follow that until it ends at the I-86 East to Corning and Elmira.

The past few times we went to Corning we stayed at the Staybridge Suites (201 Townley Ave.; 607-936-7800;

www.staybridge.com

), which is within walking distance of the Corning Museum of Glass. There is also a Radisson hotel just steps away from Market Street, along with several bed-and-breakfast inns. Corning Museum of Glass (800-732-6845,

www.cmog.org

) is open daily 9 a. m. to 5:30 p. m. Admission: adults, $12.50; children 19 and under are free. Rockwell Museum (607-937-5386,

www.rockwellmuseum.org

) 111 Cedar St., is open 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. daily. Admission is $6.50 for adults; children 19 and under are free.