You don’t have to look far and wide for free things to do in NYC. There’s plenty of them that even as a New Yorker, I haven’t been able to do all.
I’ve divided this list of free things to do by borough and Manhattan by neighborhood so you can pick a few things you want to see and experience during your trip.
Contents
- Free Things to Do in Manhattan
- Free Things to Do in Brooklyn
- Free Things to Do in Queens
- Free Things to Do in the Bronx
- Free Things to Do in Staten Island
Free Things to Do in Manhattan
Chelsea / Hudson Yards
- Walk the The High Line, a 1.45-mile-long elevated linear park on a former railroad track.
- Climb the Vessel, made of 154 flights of stairs equal to 2,500 steps. Tickets must be reserved in advance.
- Visit a contemporary art gallery in Chelsea. Two are Alexander Gray Associates Gallery near the High Line and Petzel Gallery.
Central Park
- View Central Park from Belvedere Castle, located in the middle of Central Park at 79th Street. Open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, and 9 am to 7 pm during summer.
- Walk around Bethesda Terrace and Fountain, considered the heart of Central Park.
- Remember John Lennon at Strawberry Fields and see the mosaic memorial with the word Imagine, the title of one of his most famous songs.
Upper East Side / Yorkville
- Tour Gracie Mansion, a historic home and official residence of mayors of New York City since 1942. Read More: How to Visit the Mayor of New York City’s Home.
- Browse for books in French at Albertine, a French bookstore located in the landmark Payne Whitney Mansion. Don’t forget to look up at the ceiling.
- See the only surviving mural open to the public by Ludwig Bemelmans at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel. He’s the creator of the Madeline children’s books.
- Get free admission to several of the museums along the Museum Mile located along Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side on certain days and times of the week. Read More: Best Free (or Almost Free) Museums in NYC
Financial District / Tribeca / Lower Manhattan
- Take the Staten Island Ferry to Staten Island to see the Statue of Liberty.
- Pay your respects to those who have passed away at the 911 Memorial.
- Join a free tour of City Hall, the seat of New York City government completed in 1812. Individual tours are available on Wednesdays and Thursdays and must be reserved in advance.
- Do a self-guided or join a free tour of Federal Hall on Wall Street, where the first Congress, Supreme Court and Executive Branch offices were located.
- Visit Trinity Church on Wall Street.
- Make a stop at Alexander Hamilton’s final resting place at Trinity Church Cemetery.
- Visit the African Burial Ground, the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America.
- Take a photo with the Charging Bull at Bowling Green in the Financial District.
- Join a free 2.5 hour walking tour of the Financial District with Sandemans.
- Or choose what you see on a self-guided tour of Lower Manhattan.
- Learn about The Federal Reserve Bank of New York while on a Museum & Gold Vault Tour.
- See the facade of the New York Stock Exchange at 11 Wall Street.
- For Ghostbusters fans, stop by Hook & Ladder 8 at 14 North Moore Street, the base for Ghostbusters in the 1984 movie and has made appearances in other movies and TV shows.
- Walk through Battery Park at the southern tip of Manhattan for views of the Statue of Liberty and the Hudson River.
- Learn about Native American history at the Museum of the American Indian.
- And see significant monuments and sculptures at Battery Park, like the Immigrant, Admiral George Dewey Memorial, The Battery Cannon, and more that commemorate events and people in history.
- Tour Castle Clinton National Monument, known as the place where NYC began.
- Walk through Stone Street, a narrow cobblestone street in the Financial District and one of the oldest streets in NYC.
West Village
- People watch and see the iconic arch and fountain of Washington Square, where many movies including When Harry Met Sally and I am Legend were filmed.
- Check out the Friends apartment building on 90 Bedford Street.
- Take a free walking tour of Greenwich Village.
- If one of those tours doesn’t fall on a day you’re visiting, go on a self-guided walking tour of the West Village.
- See an example of Victorian Gothic architecture which was a former courthouse that now houses a library, Jefferson Market Library.
Midtown Manhattan
- Go window shopping on Fifth Avenue.
- Browse inside iconic luxury department stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdales.
- Visit Trump Tower. The lobby has a restaurant and cafe and is open to the public.
- Attend a live TV show like LIVE with Kelly & Ryan. Tickets must be requested in advance. Or find out how to get tickets to some live NBC shows, including Saturday Night Live.
- See the Rose Room and architecture at Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the flagship of the New York Public Library system.
- Join the crowd in Times Square and feel the pulsating energy.
- Play ping pong or people watch at Bryant Park.
- Visit Rockefeller Center (and during the holidays, see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree.)
- Join a free Grand Central walking tour with Grand Central Partnership and learn more about Grand Central Station and surrounding points of interest.
- Check out the United Nations Visitors’ Lobby exhibitions. (You’ll need to pay for a guided tour to see more beyond the lobby.)
- Visit the Empire State Building lobby for free. Take a snapshot of yourself with the 2-story architectural model of the Empire State Building.
- See the stained glass windows inside St. Patrick Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.
- Admire the facade of Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes.
- Check out a few famous sculptures in Manhattan: LOVE at the corner of the MoMA, Gay Liberation at Christopher Park, Red Cube by Noguchi on 140 Broadway.
- Spot artwork by street artist Banksy all over NYC. Look out for Hammer Boy at 233 W 79th St.
- Visit the lobby of the Chrysler Building. This is the only area that is open to the public from Monday to Friday during office hours.
- Attend Times Square Church, housed in the former Mark Hellinger Theatre. There’s a choir performance every Sunday at 10 am.
Lower East Side / East Village
- Experience the food scene in the Lower East Side at Market Line and historic Essex Market.
- Walk on Saint Marks Place in the East Village and check out the quirky shops and tattoo parlors.
- Visit America’s oldest continuously operated bar, McSorley’s Old Ale House, established in 1854 and located on 15 East 7th Street.
Soho / Little Italy / Chinatown
- Admire the historic cast-iron architecture in Soho and go window shopping.
- Visit Paula Cooper Gallery, the first art gallery in Soho, which opened in 1968.
- Walk around Little Italy and search for the best Italian restaurant.
- And walk around neighboring Chinatown in search of restaurants and shops.
Flatiron / Union Square
- Try samples from regional farmers and bakers who have booths at Union Square Greenmarket.
- Walk the perimeter of Gramercy Park, the only fenced private park in Manhattan. Keys are only given to residents of nearby buildings.
- Take a photo of the Flatiron Building.
- See rare books and collectibles at Strand Bookstore, one of the largest bookstores in NYC and home to 18 miles of books.
- Window shop for comics, films and pop figures at Forbidden Planet located at 832 Broadway.
- Discover Madison Square Park’s seasonal art installations and see the Flatiron Building from the park.
- Attend a wine tasting on Saturdays at Union Square Wines and Spirits at 140 4th Avenue.
Upper West Side / Lincoln Square / Morningside Heights
- Attend a free performance at Lincoln Center.
- Visit the American Museum of Natural History. Tickets are pay what you wish at the counter.
- Visit The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the largest Cathedral in the world located at Morningside Heights.
Read More: A Guide to the Best Free Museums in NYC
Free Things to Do in Brooklyn
- Walk the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge, totaling around 1.1 miles.
- Join a free brewery tour hosted by Brooklyn Brewery on Saturdays and Sundays.
- Relax at Coney Island’s boardwalk and beach.
- Enjoy views of Brooklyn Bridge, Lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty from Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
- Walk along the waterfront of the East River at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
- See art exhibitions at BRIC House in Brooklyn’s cultural district.
- Walk around Green-Wood Heights, a National Historic Landmark and one of the first rural cemeteries in America.
- Search for street art in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn.
- Hear the Grammy award winning choir at Brooklyn Tabernacle during a worship service.
- Take one of many hiking trails at Prospect Park.
- And visit Lefferts Historic House located in Prospect Park and built in the 18th-century by a Dutch family. There is a suggested donation amount to enter.
- Also stop by Prospect Park Audubon Center.
Free Things to Do in Queens
- Enjoy views of Manhattan from Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.
- Explore the 897 acres of Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Don’t miss the icon of Queens, the 140-foot stainless steel Unisphere.
- Check out the preserved Civil War Fortress in Fort Totten Park
- Visit Queens County Farm Museum, NYC’s largest remaining tract of undisturbed farmland dating back to 1697 with historic farm buildings, a greenhouse complex, plants and livestock.
- Head to the beach and enjoy the sand and water at Rockaway Beach and Boardwalk.
- See sculptures and a view of Manhattan from Queens at Socrates Sculpture Park.
- Enjoy free outdoor pools during the summer at Astoria Park.
- Relax at Jacob Riis Park, Far Rockaway. You may be able to spot a few dolphins too.
- Love tennis? Check out Arthur Ashe Kids Day at Billie Jean King National Stadium during USTA in summer.
- Check out Little India in Jackson Heights on 74th Street between Roosevelt and 37th Avenue.
- Observe migrating bird species at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge.
Free Things to Do in the Bronx
- Visit the Bronx’s only beach, Orchard Beach, known as “The Riviera of NYC.” It’s 1.1 miles long and has lots of space for outdoor activities.
- Walk through the “real” Little Italy on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx.
- For fans of poet and author Edgar Allan Poe, visit Poe Park, where his home Poe Cottage is located and where he wrote.
- Get free admission to see works by artists of African, Asian and Latin American ancestry at The Bronx Museum of the Arts.
- Join a free tour on Saturdays and Sundays of The Bronx Brewery.
- See the Hall of Fame for Great Americans created in 1900 at Bronx Community College showcasing 630-foot Colonnade lined with 96 portrait busts.
- Visit the final resting place of many artists, writers, business moguls, civic leaders, entertainers and more at Woodland Cemetery and Conservancy.
- Enjoy nature and quiet at Van Cortlandt Park, NYC’s third largest park.
Free Things to Do in Staten Island
- See an outdoor sculpture, Postcards, which is a 9/11 Memorial honoring the Staten Island residents who were killed during the attacks.
- Walk along the 2.5 miles boardwalk of Franklin D. Roosevelt Boardwalk and Beach.
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