23+ Free Things to Do in NYC in 2023 (Quick Guide)

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Free Things to Do in NYC
#24. Watch a Movie in Bryant Park.
Are Museums Free in NYC?
Is Times Square free?
Is Central Park NYC free?
Free Things to do in NYC: Related Articles
Free Things to do in NYC: References

It’s like striking gold to discover a New York City attraction that doesn’t cost money. It’s no secret that New York City is one of the world’s most expensive megalopolises. Broadway shows, and meals at the city’s most talked-about restaurants are not cheap. Fortunately, there is a great variety of free events available in the city, including museum days, walking tours, exhibits, comedy shows, and more. Continue reading our definitive guide for the top free things to do in NYC (New York City).

Free Things to Do in NYC

There’s no shortage of cool things to do in New York City, from visiting historical sites to sampling some of the world’s best food to snapping photos of the city’s magnificent skyline.

Unfortunately, many of the best things to do in New York are also extremely expensive. Going to the top of the Empire State Building, for example, will provide you with an amazing view of the city, but it will also cost you a pretty penny. A trip to Times Square to see a Broadway show is probably on everyone’s bucket list, but tickets to the most popular plays aren’t cheap.

So here are the top 24 free things to do in NYC.

#1. Take the ferry to Staten Island.

The Staten Island Ferry is a great way to get close to the Statue of Liberty without having to pay a high ticket price, making it one of the best free things to do in NYC. As the boat departs from Battery Park, find a good vantage point and enjoy the view of the city from the water. If you want to get off the ferry and explore Staten Island, go to Snug Harbor, which was once a retirement home for sailors and is now a cultural center and botanical garden. It’s a long walk (40 minutes on foot or 15 minutes by bus), but it’s well worth it.

#2. Relax in the Sand at the City’s Public Beaches

You don’t have to travel to the Hamptons to find a good beach close to the city. Visit Coney Island to combine a trip to the beach with a visit to the amusement park (the Coney Island Cyclone has been in operation since 1927). Alternatively, head down to Brighton Beach, where you’ll find some excellent Eastern European and Russian restaurants.

For the price of a MetroCard ticket, take the ferry to Rockaway Beach, where you can combine a day of sand and surf with good food (such as fish tacos from the Rockaway Beach Surf Club).

#3. Visit Central Park to go Bird Watching

Central Park is home to approximately 210 different bird species, with many stopping by to rest and feed during their spring and fall migrations along the Atlantic Flyway. In the Central Park Conservancy’s Birding Guide, beginners can find tips and a map of the best viewing spots throughout the park.

#4. Visit Socrates Sculpture Park to See the Public Art

Socrates Sculpture Park is a free outdoor museum in Astoria, Queens, located on an abandoned riverside landfill. Across its five waterfront acres, the public park hosts temporary exhibitions by emerging and internationally renowned artists. Many works are created on-site in a studio space, allowing visitors to see the creative process firsthand. The park is open year-round, and admission is always free. If possible, plan your visit around the special exhibitions or combine it with a visit to the nearby Noguchi Museum.

#5. Visit the 9/11 Memorial to Pay Your Respects

The 9/11 Memorial features two reflecting pools, one for each of the Twin Towers footprints. It remembers those who died in the terrorist attacks on the site in 1993 and 2001. On the edge of the memorial pools, the names of everyone who died in those attacks are inscribed. The memorial is always free to visit, and the museum is free from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays.

#6. Visit the Green-Wood Cemetery’s Mausoleums.

The Green-Wood Cemetery, founded in 1838, is a National Historic Landmark on 478 landscaped acres in Brooklyn. The cemetery is now a popular destination for history, art, and nature enthusiasts, and it houses one of the largest outdoor collections of 19th and 20th-century granite and brownstone mausoleums. Several notable artists, politicians, athletes, and musicians, including Leonard Bernstein and Jean-Michel Basquiat, are buried here. The cemetery is free to enter, but guided trolley tours and special events are not.

#7. Take a Stroll Across the Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of New York City’s most iconic attractions, and walking across it provides a dramatic perspective on its architecture. When it was completed in 1883, it was the world’s longest suspension bridge. The National Park Service has now designated the Brooklyn Bridge as a National Historic Landmark, and it is one of the best places to view the downtown skyline. Arrive early because the bridge becomes extremely crowded during the day.

#8. Take Advantage of a Free Walking Tour

A walking tour of New York City is one of the best ways to experience it from an insider’s perspective. Sandemans New Europe provides free two-and-a-half-hour tours of downtown Manhattan, which include stops at the Charging Bull sculpture, Wall Street, and the 9/11 Memorial. Although the tours are technically free, tips for the guides are appreciated, so bring some cash.

#9. Allow the Children to Run Wild in One of the City’s Inventive Playgrounds.

There are plenty of playgrounds in New York City for kids to burn off some energy, but some are better than others. Kids can explore pyramid-shaped climbers and check out the obelisk and sundial, both inspired by the Met’s collection of Egyptian art, at Ancient Playground, located next to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The Burling Slip Imagination Playground, designed by architect David Rockwell, encourages children to use their imaginations with giant foam blocks, fabric, and crates. Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park has playgrounds such as the Sandbox Village, where kids can play in little wooden houses in the sand, and the Water Lab, which will keep them soaked and cool on hot summer days.

#10. Hang With Farm Animals at the Queens County Farm Museum

The Queens County Farm Museum, which dates back to 1697 and is one of the state’s longest continuously farmed sites, houses cows, sheep, pigs, and other animals. The museum, which spans 47 acres and is free to enter (except on certain event days), allows visitors to learn about the area before it became a bustling city.

#11. Check out Shakespeare in the Park.

A great theater performance does not have to cost a lot of money. Every year, the Public Theater hosts Free Shakespeare in the Park, a summer series at Central Park’s open-air Delacorte Theater. The series attracts celebrity names and offers free tickets to each day’s performance via an in-person standby line in Central Park as well as digital and in-person lotteries.

#12. Take a tour of the Brooklyn Brewery.

Learn the art of brewing beer on one of Brooklyn Brewery’s free Sunday tours, which run every hour from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. You can sample the beers in the Williamsburg tasting room while you wait.

#13. Kayak through the Brooklyn Bridge Park.

During the summer, get out on the water and try kayaking from Brooklyn Bridge Park on any Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, or Sunday. Even inexperienced kayakers can have a good time; the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse will teach you everything you need to know, and you can paddle around its protected embayment for 20 minutes. Reservations are available two weeks in advance, with limited walk-in time slots available.

#14. Explore the New York Public Library.

The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library in Manhattan has a storied history that includes some of the most pivotal moments in world history. Allied military intelligence used the library’s Map Division for research during WWII, and despite objections, the library collected materials “from the left and the right” during the McCarthyism era.

Fans of Sex and the City may recall it as the location where Carrie desired to marry Big. A free one-hour tour of the iconic institution is now available.

#15. Admire craft creations at the American Folk Art Museum

The American Folk Art Museum, located on New York City’s Upper West Side, is the city’s only museum dedicated to self-taught artists from the United States and beyond. More than 7,000 works of art from four centuries are included in the collection, ranging from quilts to portraits to handcrafted board games. The museum is open from Wednesday to Sunday and admission is free, but visitors are encouraged to reserve tickets ahead of time.

#16. Walk around the floating art installation, Little Island

Little Island, a public park on stilts on the Hudson River, will open in 2021. The park combines art and outdoor recreation, with concrete “tulips” resembling oversized golf tees propping it up. Its 2.4 acres can be explored via pathways that ascend artificial hills and wind through curated gardens. During the summer, the island is likely to have live music, comedy, or theater.

The (fully accessible) floating urban oasis is open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later, depending on the season, at Pier 55. While tickets are required for shows at the amphitheater, admission to Little Island is always free.

#17. The Bronx Museum of the Arts Is a Great Place to Learn About the City’s Diverse Communities

The Bronx Museum of the Arts strives to reflect the spirit of the borough’s vibrant communities by exploring the intersection of contemporary art and social justice. The museum, which was founded on the belief that art should be accessible, offers free admission, which includes temporary exhibitions. The 16,000-square-foot structure, designed by Miami-based Arquitectonica, is a work of art in and of itself, with a main gallery, flexible event spaces, an outdoor terrace, and a floor dedicated to education programs.

#18. See Alexander Hamilton’s estate in Harlem.

Step back in time at Hamilton Grange National Memorial, which includes Alexander Hamilton’s restored home. It was finished in 1802, and Hamilton lived there for two years before being killed in a duel with his rival, then-vice president Aaron Burr. The house has been relocated twice, most recently in 2008 to its current location within St. Nicholas Park. A free 25-minute guided tour of The Grange’s historically furnished floor is available. Reservations are available on a first-come, first-served basis from Wednesday to Sunday, so arrive early to secure a spot.

#19. Channel your inner flower child at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.

Spend your morning at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, a quiet escape from the hustle and bustle of the city, surrounded by roses and water lilies. The garden is located on 52 acres of land on the northeastern edge of Prospect Park. Weekday admission is pay-what-you-want from December to February.

#20. Visit the High Line.

The famous High Line, an elevated freight line-turned-popular park, is always free to visit, but a free, docent-led tour can teach you more about the space and its history, design, and landscape. Tour dates and times vary depending on the season.

#21. Visit the Brooklyn Children’s Museum for a Memorable (and educational) Experience.

If you have children aged six months to ten years old, take them to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum for an afternoon of interactive and educational exhibits. Because of its partnership with Amazon, the museum is free to visit on Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

#22. Step Inside One of the World’s Most Beautiful Libraries

J.P. Morgan’s beautiful private library-turned-museum, The Morgan Library & Museum, is a must-see for bibliophiles (along with the obvious must-see New York Public Library). On Fridays between 5 and 7 p.m., admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets go on sale one week in advance.

#23. See an NBC Show Being Taped Live

Many NBC shows are filmed at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, including Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. You can also get a free seat in the studio audience if you work hard enough. Each show has its own system for distributing tickets to live tapings, ranging from lotteries to standby lines. Visit NBC’s website for a complete list of shows and information on how to get a coveted seat.

#24. Watch a Movie in Bryant Park.

A seasonal favorite rounds out this list of free things to do in NYC. Bryant Park hosts its free Movie Nights series every summer. Bring your own popcorn and candy (or buy some beer and wine), spread out a blanket, and settle in for an open-air movie. Arrive early because the lawn opens at 5 p.m. for blankets and picnics, and the movie begins at 8 p.m.

Are Museums Free in NYC?

Although New York is widely known as an expensive city, the number of ways in which it provides value to both locals and visitors can’t be overstated. There are a number of premier attractions, museums, galleries, and performances in the city that offer free entry or pay-what-you-wish options. These options may be available on a particular day of the month or during certain evening hours each week.

Is Times Square free?

Although there is no charge to enter Times Square or the celebration area on New Year’s Eve, visitors to certain areas of Times Square will be required to purchase entry tickets. This is the case despite the fact that there is no charge to enter the square itself. The cost of those entry tickets will range widely from location to location.

Is Central Park NYC free?

Although there are paid attractions within Central Park, admission to the park itself is free. Because of its size, you will most likely require the assistance of a guide in order to determine where to go and what to do while you are there, especially if you are short on time.