Fun free things to do in manhattan

But even though it’s one of the most expensive cities in the world, there are loads of completely FREE things to do. If you’re paying the rent to live in a city this fantastic, you must take advantage of all there is to do and see.

1-5. Cool Off From the Summer Heat

🏖️ Explore an NYC beach: From Rockaway Beach to Coney Island, NYC has a beach that will surely fit your vibe. Put your toes in the sand and feel the fresh cool breeze on your face!

🏊 Take a dip into a pool: Odds are you’ve been feeling the effects of the heat this summer, and one of NYC’s pools can be the perfect way to cool off. No matter which borough you’re in, you can find a free pool near you to beat the heat.

🛶 Go kayaking in NYC waters: Tackle the Hudson or East River on a kayak with some friends, and do it all for free! There are tons of boathouses around the city that provide free reservations and equipment to have an enjoyable day on the water. Just some of them include Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse and the Manhattan Community Boathouse, but there are tons of options to choose from!

🌊 Escape the city to go to a swimming hole: Sure beaches and pools are great to cool off, but nothing is quite like taking a trip to a natural swimming hole. Most are located a few hours out of NYC and make for a great day trip.

💨 Take in the breeze of a waterfront park: Sometimes we forget we’re lucky to live in a city with some water, and our waterfront parks like Little Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park, and more are perfect to relax in. Grab a book, blanket, and go lounge away!

6-10. Enjoy Free Concerts

It’s no secret New York has one of the hottest music scenes in the world, and the summer amplifies it even more. Thanks to the warm weather and many outdoor venues and parks, the opportunity to see free concerts skyrockets. Here are some our favorites.

🎤 Rise Up NYC Concert Series: This new free concert series announced by the mayor is running through September 14 across all 5 boroughs. Artists include Mary Mary, Mr. Vegas, Funk Flex and more. The goal of the series is to reunite the city through music.

🎵 SummerStage: This concert series is a New York summer tradition organized by City Parks, and offers shows in 12 different parks across the city, with the largest stage being in Central Park. Booked artists range from Afrobeat to hip-hop to indie!

🎶 Various free concerts: Thanks to the many parks and outdoor venues, there are tons of free shows to see as summer closes. The most notable are Bryant Park’s Picnic Performances, musical events at Hudson River Park and “Backyard at Hudson Yards.”

11-20. Explore Museums During Free Hours

New York is full of the most prestigious art and history museums, but sometimes their entrance fees don’t feel quite accessible enough to the everyday New Yorker. Luckily, most have special “free” days when entrance fees are waived completely.

🏛 The Museum of Modern Art (First Friday of every month): Thanks to clothing store UNIQLO, museum admission to the Museum of Modern Art is free the first Friday of every month!

🖼 Bronx Museum of the Arts (Free everyday!): This uptown museum known for its innovative contemporary art exhibitions houses over 2,000 pieces of artwork in a variety of mediums.

🎨 Brooklyn Museum (First Saturday of the Month, 5-11 pm): Head to the outer boroughs to experience this historic museum whose roots trace all the way back to 1823.

🖌 El Museo del Barrio (Pay What You Wish): More casually known as simply “El Museo,” this museum specializes in the art of Latino, Caribbean, and Latin American cultures through comprehensive collections and exhibits.

🇪🇺 Guggenheim Museum (Pay What You Wish on Saturdays 6 pm–8 pm): Step into a world of modern and contemporary art at the Guggenheim Museum on the Upper East Side. The museum is typically $25 for adults, but hosts a “pay what you wish” program on Saturdays from 6 pm – 8 pm.

✨ Neue Gallerie (First Friday, 4-7 pm): For a more specialty European cultural experience, the Neue Gallerie’s main collection features German and Austrian art created between 1890 and 1940. There is also a Viennese-inspired café in-house! This museum is also pay-as-you-wish until November 10.

🧑‍🎨 Noguchi Museum (First Friday of Month): You may recognize the name of this museum from that line in the iconic film “The Devil Wears Prada,” but the museum is definitely worth an in-person visit. Depending where you live it could be a little out of the way in Queens, but the museum has many interesting sculptural works and performance art pieces you can experience for free on the first Friday of every month.

🚜 Queens County Farm Museum (Everyday, 10am-5pm): Say hello to farm animals, take part in a scavenger hunt to learn about the farm’s plants, animals, and history, or, weather permitting, hop on a hayride.

🗽 Chelsea Art Galleries: The Chelsea neighborhood has a rich cultural history for art and his home to tons of galleries. Spend a day crawling through famous galleries like the Gagosian Gallery and David Zwirner Gallery.

🚢 Intrepid Museum: Learn about nautical history and astronomy at the Intrepid Museum which hosts “Free Fridays” on select days. Check the schedule on their website to see when the next one is.

See also: 20 Free Museums In NYC To Up Your Art Intake

21-29. Spend Some Time Exercising

Take this summer to work on yourself! Exercising is a great way to get out and about and improve your health. Here in the city, there are so many out-of-the-box ways to break a sweat instead of going to a normal gym. Take a look!

🚴‍♂️ Summer Streets: Take advantage of the 7 mile stretch of shut down roads to break a sweat! During the first 3 Saturdays of August, Park Avenue will be closed for cars from Brooklyn Bridge to East Harlem. You can bike, walk, run or do what you wish!

🧘🏻‍♀️ Yoga: Throughout the summer and fall, most parks also have free exercise classes. Battery Park, Washington Square Park, Bryant Park, Astoria Park, Flatiron Plaza and Hudson River Park all offer free yoga classes in the summer season.

🏃 Go for a Run: Of course you can always create your own running path throughout the park, but these ones have dedicated tracks: Riverside Park, Randall’s Island, Astoria Park and Van Cortlandt Park.

🚲 Biking: Grab your bike and hit one of NYC’s bike routes to grab a scenic view of the city during your ride. You have so many options between parks, beaches, and more where you can ride!

See also: Sweat It Out This Summer With These Free Outdoor Fitness Classes In NYC

30-34. Tour Street Art Galleries

Besides museums, did you know there’s a ton of one-of-a-kind art to be seen right on the streets of NYC? Here are the best spots for street art in the city:

📸 First Street Green Art Park (this is where the Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Mural Popped Up): This special park on the Lower East Side celebrates art with murals, music, sculpture, workshops, photography and installations.

Address: 33 E 1st St.

🏙 The Bowery Wall: The history of this mural wall goes back to 1982, when Keith Haring created his first public work there. It moved back and forth between artistic endeavors and advertising space over the years, but now is reserved for murals by new NYC artists. Currently there is a mural that reflects the graffiti roots and history of NYC.

Address: 76 E Houston St.

🚶 Wellington Art Mural Project: This display in Astoria hosts over 100 murals by local and international artists alike spanning multiple blocks. See a full map on their website here.

Address: 11-98 Welling Ct., Astoria

🌆 The Bushwick Art Collective: This Brooklyn outdoor street art gallery is likely the largest in NYC, totaling about 100 blocks of art displays.

Address: 427 Troutman St., Brooklyn

⚡ Freeman Alley: You might pass this little alley, also on the Lower East Side, without a second glance, but it actually holds some of the most interesting layered displays of local artwork and graffiti. And, there’s even a restaurant hidden at the end of the alley!

Address: Between Bowery and Chrystie St. on the Lower East Side

35-38. Jump On a Walking Tour

Tours in NYC are known to be pricey, but there are actually a variety of walking tours given by volunteers that are completely free.

🍎 Flatiron District: If you’re interested in learning more about NYC’s most iconic triangle-shaped building, the Flatiron/23rd Street Partnership sponsors free 90-minute walking tours around the neighborhood on Sundays at 11am. Meet on the southwest corner of Madison Square Park.

🚂 Grand Central (Suspended until further notice but will hopefully be up and running again soon!): Similarly, the Grand Central Partnership hosts a 90-minute guided walking tour led by an urban historian in and around Grand Central and the surrounding neighborhoods. They meet Fridays at 12:30pm.

🌃 Free Tours By Foot.com: Though not completely free, these walking tours are unique in the fact that you pay-as-you-wish. There is no upfront cost and after the tour, you decide how much to give the guide based on the quality of the tour/what you think it was worth.

🌳 Central Park Conservancy: The Central Park Conservancy offers a few free tours. They are: The Southern Welcome Tour, which highlights the noteworthy aspects in the southern part of the park, admiring the Pond, Gapstow Bridge, and the Dairy Visitor Center which used to serve children fresh milk in 1871; the Memorial Tour, which showcases monuments and statues in the park honoring veterans; and the Discovery Walks for Families, which is perfect for children of all ages. Plus they have a few virtual tours to choose from, all which have a suggested donation of $5. See more on their website here.

39-50. Try Everything NYC Parks Have to Offer

Speaking of Central Park, taking a walk in one of our green NYC parks is always free! No matter the time of year, they are perfect for a stroll. And even more than that, there are so many free activities in the parks you may not even know about.

🎾 Play Tennis: Hudson River Park, which runs from Chambers St. all the way to 59th St. on the west side, has free tennis courts that are available on a first come, first served basis, all year-round! You can find them at Pier 40 (at W Houston St. in Greenwich Village).

🎣 Go Fishing: Hudson River Park also offers catch-and-release fishing from July through September at Pier 25 (N. Moore St.), Pier 84 (E 44th St.), and Pier 51 (Jane St.). They provide the rods, reels, bait and instruction for participants to drop in a line. You can also learn about the Hudson River water quality (!) from chatting with environmental educators.

🌺 Frolic through lavender and wildflowers: Flower season is in full bloom and you can find the most gorgeous flowers around the city. Some of our favorites include Central Park’s wildflower meadow, Long Island’s sweeping lavender fields, and Brooklyn’s rooftop meadow garden.

🎥 Watch a Free Movie: Hudson River Park also has free outdoor movie screenings in the summer, as with most of the other parks in NYC (Central Park Great Lawn, Washington Square Park, Bryant Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Tompkins Square Park, Thomas Jefferson Park, etc). Check each park’s website come summertime for the schedule.

See also: Check Out All These NYC Parks That Are Showing Free Movies This Summer

51-91. Enjoy Free Things You’ll Only Find in NYC

😲 Check out 10 Extraordinary Places You Wouldn’t Even Believe Are in NYC: (a few of these are museums that cost a *suggested* admission to enter, but you can still walk around the grounds for free!).

🥾 In the mood for a hike? Here are 11 Stunning Hikes Around NYC You Can Get To With Public Transportation

🤸🏻‍♂️ While we’re speaking of childhood fun, ride on these giant swings at Pier 35 on the Lower East Side.

🛤 Visit The High Line, a park atop an old railroad line running from the Meatpacking District to W 34th Street.

🪴 Take a stroll through this hidden indoor garden in Midtown.

🐘 Pay a visit to your furry friends; the Bronx Zoo offers free admission on Wednesdays.

💣 The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park is also always free to enter, Monday-Friday from 9-5 p.m.

🏢 While you can no longer climb the wacky Vessel at Hudson Yards, access to the ground-level base is open to the public.

🕺🏻 Lincoln Center’s “Summer For the City”: Head to the Lincoln Center to enjoy their “Summer For the City” series which includes a pop-up disco ball and dance floor, speakeasy, and different events throughout the summer!

🌉 Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge…and think about all of the hidden fun facts while you’re doing it.

🍽️ Stroll through Chelsea Market, a food hall located in the Chelsea neighborhood.

🍴 Visit the Union Square Greenmarket open year-round to peruse goods from regional farmers, fishermen, and bakers.

⛴️ Ride the Staten Island Ferry: This free boat ride has a great view of the Statue of Liberty! Find out the schedule here.

🌿 Visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, which is not necessarily *free* but offers pay-what-you-wish daytime admission.

🎭 Attend Shakespeare in the Park, the 60-year-old tradition in Central Park.

⚰️ Visit General Ulysses S. Grant’s tomb in Morningside Heights. Who knew we had such a rich piece of history right here in the city? It’s also the largest mausoleum in North America.

🪦 Another rich piece of history, the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn was founded in 1838 and is 478 acres!

🌭 Walk the Coney Island Boardwalk: Take a trip to Coney Island to Brooklyn to grab a Nathan’s hotdog, play carnival games, and ride rollercoasters. It’s the perfect day trip!

🇺🇸 Explore 9/11 Memorial: Learn about the events of 9/11 at the Memorial Pools and 9/11 Museum. The pools are open to the public and the museum offers free admission on Mondays (need to reserve tickets online).

🛍️ Go window shopping in SoHo: Walk around the streets of SoHo and bask in the beauty of brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton!

📖 Grab a book from an NYC library: In need of a good read? Head to New York Public Library for some peace and quiet with your newest book.

92-100. Eat and Drink!

🎡 Stroll around one of NYC’s street fairs: From now until the fall, all 5 boroughs are having street fairs consisting of food from tons of different vendors. Try out samples and bounce around street fairs like Harlem’s Uptown Night Market or the Ferragosto Festival.

🍺 Tour Brooklyn Brewery: Walkthrough the Brooklyn Brewery and learn how beer is made with a free tour every Sunday from 1 pm – 6pm. We can’t promise you won’t buy a beer on the way though!

🍕 Technically not free, but $1 comes veryclose! Find out our top picks for NYC’s dollar slices here.

🛒 Load up on samples from food markets like Despana in SoHo or the Union Square Farmers Market.

🍦 Tour the Ample Hills ice cream factory/museum in Brooklyn.

🍫 Hershey’s World in Times Square routinely hands out free sample chocolates when you enter the store.

☕ Grab a free coffee at Blank Street: Need a kick of caffeine? Earn a free coffee at any Blank Street Coffee location when you download their app!