Visitors & residents of N.Y.C. alike can all find something great to do below that's entirely free or very cheap. And when almost every attraction etc. in N.Y.C. is over $40 something free to is needed.
Please check with each location to confirm before you visit, & note that many also offer free access for Active Duty Military, Veterans, SNAP & WIC recipients, people with disabilities & their caregivers, seniors, students, & children under certain ages.
Keep checking back as we'll be updating this list often.
Events, Music, Theater, & Shows
Popup & Event Calendar via NYCForFree
NY Classical Theater: Free performances outside in summer & indoors in winter.
Broadway on a Budget: Find Broadway tickets for at least half off.
TDF’s TKTS Booth: The booths in Times Square or Lincoln Center have half-off Broadway tickets.
Playbill Off-Broadway Guide: Guide to Off-Broadway show implemented rush, lottery, & inexpensive tickets.
Trinity Wall Street: Free classical music performances.
Juliard Performances: 700+ performances in music, dance, & drama each year - most free of charge.
Lincoln Center: Free musical performances of all genres.
Manhattan School of Music: Free musical performances including opera.
Museums & More
Please check with all museums & make reservation in advance if needed.
Always Free/Pay What You Wish
Bronx Museum of the Arts | The Polonsky Exhibition at the NYPL | The Hispanic Society Museum & Library | The Museum at FIT | The American Folk Art Museum | Queens County Farm Museum | El Museo del Barrio | MoMA PS1 | Mmuseumm
NY Aquarium: Free after 3 PM Wednesdays with advance timed tickets. The ticket store opens Monday at 3 PM for the upcoming Wednesday.
The Bronx Zoo: Free Wednesdays with reservations. Store opens at 5pm on Mondays.
Staten Island Zoo: Free after 2 PM Wednesdays.
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum: Pay what you wish Saturdays from 6–8 PM.
The Jewish Museum: Always free on Saturdays / Shabbat.
The Met's 81st Street Studio: Always free for kids & caregivers, this art & science play space is designed for kids ages 3-11.
The Morgan Library & Museum: Free Fridays, 5-7pm. Reservations required.
Museum of Arts & Design: Half-price on Thursdays & free for kids under 18.
Rubin Museum: K2 Friday Nights featuring cocktails, art, music, special programs, & more. Tickets are released on the 15th of every month.
Brooklyn Public Library: Always features free exhibits.
Neue Gallerie: Free the 1st Friday of every month, 4-7 PM.
The Noguchi Museum: Free on the 1st Friday of every month.
Intrepid Museum: Free admission on the last Friday of the month from May to August featuring an outdoor movie sitting among fighter jets.
The New-York Historical Society & Museum: Pay-as-you-wish from 6–8 pm on Fridays.
New York Hall of Science: Free Fridays 2-5 PM. Reserve Thursday mornings 9 AM.
Brooklyn Museum: Free the 1st Saturday of February–August & October, 5–11 PM. Free for those under 19.
Free for NY (or NYC) Residents Only
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA): Free first Friday of the month from 4-8 PM for NYC residents.
American Museum of Natural History: Suggested donation for residents of NY, NJ, & CT.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pay what you wish for NY residents.
New York Public Library Card: Access to over 79 local museums for free to NYC residents.
The Met Cloisters: Free for NY residents & children under 12.
Parks & Gardens
Before visiting these parks check them out as many offer different unique recreational activities, free concerts, & more.
Manhattan
Central Park | Little Island | Washington Square Park | Carl Schurz Park | Battery Park | Ford Foundation Center for Social Justice Indoor Atrium | High Line in New York Elevated Park | Governors Island ($4 Ferry Tickets) | New York Botanical Garden (Free to NYC residents Wed with reservation, 10-11 AM for others.) | Wave Hill Public Garden (Free on Thursdays) | Elevated Acre
Queens
Socrates Sculpture Park | “Home for Retired Playground Animals” | Rockaway Beach & Boardwalk Beaches | Queens Botanical Garden (Free Wed 3 - 6 PM & Sun 9 - 11 AM. Free all day Dec - Mar.)
Brooklyn
Green-Wood Cemetery | Brooklyn Botanical Garden (Pay What You Wish Weekdays Dec–Feb) | Brooklyn Bridge Park | Prospect Park | Brighton Beach
Tours & Ferries
Staten Island Ferry: Views of lower Manhattan, 25 minutes each way. Free WiFi.
East River Ferry: $2.75. Views of lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, Freedom Tower, Brooklyn Bridge & more.
NY Waterway Free Ikea Ferry: Every weekend from Midtown, to Wall Street, & IKEA in Brooklyn. Views of the Statue of Liberty & Brooklyn Erie Basin Park.
Flatiron-Nomad Walking Tour: Every Sunday at 11 AM. No RSVP/registration required.
Art in DUMBO: Walking tour of art galleries the 1st Thursday monthly in Brooklyn.
Big Apple Greeter: Walking tours provided by N.Y.C. volunteers.
Brooklyn Brewery: Hourly every Sundays from 1-6 PM.
Self-Guided Walking Tours
Village Alliance (Greenwich Village) | Brooklyn Public Library Self-Guided Literary Walking Tour
Art
Chelsea Art Galleries: All Free. Petzel Gallery | Hauser & Wirth | David Zwirner | Elizabeth Dee | Tanya Bonakdar | Casey Kaplan | Paula Cooper | Morgan Lehman | 303 Gallery | Marianne Boesky | Barbara Gladstone | Luhring Augustine | Fredericks & Freiser | Gagosian | Cheim & Read | Greene Naftali | Lehmann Maupin | Sean Kelly
Street Art
First Street Green Art Park, N.Y.C. | The Bowery Wall, Manhattan
Wellington Art Mural Project, Astoria | The Bushwick Art Collective, Brooklyn
Freeman Alley, Lower East Side
Recreation
Free Yoga Class at Chelsea Piers Fitness: Every Thursday morning at 7 AM.
Citi Bike Rentals: Bicycle rentals from $4.50 per hour & $19 daily.
15 Lovely Spots For A Relaxing Summer Bike Ride In NYC via SecretNYC
Oddities & More
Grand Central Terminal’s Whispering Gallery: Unique architecture that creates a space where whispering can be heard by others far away over the crowd.
Roosevelt Island’s Smallpox Hospital Ruins
5 Beekman Street: Beautiful historic 1940's Manhattan building trapped in time. It's now the luxury hotel The Beekman, but visiting the lobby is free of charge.
Mysterious Bookshop: The World's Oldest Mystery Fiction Specialty Store
GhostBusters Firestation: This fully functional firehouse is home to New York City’s Hook & Ladder Company 8.
Tannen’s Magic Store: New York’s oldest operating magic shop.
Live TV Show Tickets
Saturday Night Live Tickets: Request a free ticket yearly in August for the upcoming season. Winners are chosen randomly & given 2 tickets to a random SNL show. You can also book a SNL standby reservation 10 AM the Thursday before a show day.
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tickets: Tickets go on sale the first week of the month before.
Late Night with Seth Meyers: Request up to 4 free tickets online a month in advance.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Request up to 4 free tickets online a month in advance.
The View: Request up to 4 free tickets online a week in advance.
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