🎟️ Free Culture & Outdoors in New York
Museum free nights and pay-what-you-wish hours, outdoor films and concerts, birding walks, public fishing and the park programmes that cost nothing. Residents-only and free-with-admission are both labelled where they apply.
DAILY · 5–6 PMPay What You Wish admission
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum · Upper Manhattan
Pay what you wish, 5–6 p.m. dailyDetails →
THRU SUN, SEP 27Molière in the Park presents: DON JUAN
Prospect Park · Brownstone Brooklyn
Free · registration requiredDetails →
WEEKDAYS · FREE · ANYONE CAN PLAYPiano in Bryant Park
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
MONDAYS · FREEBig City Folk at Greeley Square Park
Greeley Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
MON, SEP 28New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery
Central Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
DAILY · 11 AM–7 PMReading Room
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
MONDAYS · 11 AMBryant Park Tours
Bryant Park · Midtown
Free · Eventbrite registrationDetails →Ongoing Outdoor Museum Exhibit: Alice's Terracotta Garden
Conference House Park · Staten Island
FreeDetails →
WEEKDAYS · NOONJuggling
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →MON, SEP 28Piano in Bryant Park
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →Pétanque in the Park
Washington Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
MONDAYS · LAWN OPENS 5 PM · FREEBryant Park Movie Nights
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
MONDAYS · 5 PM · SEPTEMBEREvening Birding in Central Park with Gabriel Willow
Central Park · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
MONDAYS · LAWN 5 PM, FILM 8 PM · UNTIL 14 SEPParamount+ Movie Nights
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
TUESDAYS · FREE · BRING AN INSTRUMENTFolk Jams in Greeley Square Park
Greeley Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
TUE 8 AM · THU & FRI 5 PM · 1 SEP–10 OCTBirding Tours
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →TUE, SEP 29New Dendrology at the Arsenal Gallery
Central Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
DAILY · WHILE THEY LASTCommunity Tickets
Brooklyn Botanic Garden · Brownstone Brooklyn
FreeDetails →
SATURDAYS 10 AM · TUESDAYS 6:30 PMYoga in the Park
Randall's Island Park · Upper Manhattan
FreeDetails →Hart Island Tour (South Island)
Hart Island · The Bronx
FreeDetails →Ongoing Museum Exhibit: New York's Brick & Terra Cotta Industries
Conference House Park · Staten Island
FreeDetails →NYPL Storytime Under the Trees
Washington Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
TUE, SEP 29Ongoing Museum Exhibit: Still Waters: Reflections of a Maritime Community
Conference House Park · Staten Island
FreeDetails →Ongoing Outdoor Museum Exhibit: Alice's Terracotta Garden
Conference House Park · Staten Island
FreeDetails →TUE, SEP 29Piano in Bryant Park
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
TUE–SAT · SEE TIMESGames
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →Morris Mesa Playground Reconstruction Community Input Meeting
NYC Parks · Midtown
Free · registration requiredDetails →
TUESDAYS · 7 PM · FINAL SESSION 25 AUGSunset Meditation with Mindful Astoria
Socrates Sculpture Park · Western Queens
FreeDetails →
TUESDAYS · 8 PM · FREEMovie Nights at Bella Abzug Park: Clueles
Bella Abzug Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
TUE, SEP 29Stargazing on the High Line
The High Line · Midtown
FreeDetails →Salsa Social
Washington Square Park · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
WEDNESDAYS · FREEMidtown Music in Greeley Square Park
Greeley Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →Pa' La Calle Wednesdays - Free Salsa and Bachata Dancing
Bella Abzug Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
WEDNESDAYS · NYC RESIDENTS ALL DAYCommunity Free Wednesdays
New York Botanical Garden · The Bronx
FreeDetails →
WEDNESDAYS · 5–9 PM · UNTIL 2 SEPLate-Night Summer Wednesdays
Museum of the City of New York · Upper Manhattan
Free until 9 p.m.Details →
MOST EVENINGS · UNTIL 11 SEPBryant Park Picnic Performances presented by Bank of America
Bryant Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →
THURSDAYS · FREE · BEFORE SUNSETGolden Hour at Greeley Square Park
Greeley Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →THU–SUN · 11 AMSeasonal Highlights Tour
Brooklyn Botanic Garden · Brownstone Brooklyn
Free with garden admissionDetails →
THURSDAYS · SUNSET · FREEBrooklyn Bridge Park Movies With A View presented by Persol
Brooklyn Bridge Park · Brownstone Brooklyn
Free · registration requiredDetails →
THURSDAYS · AT DUSK · FREESummer on the Hudson: Movies on the Waterfront - Audience Choice!
Riverside Park · Upper Manhattan
FreeDetails →
FRIDAYS · FREE · LESSON THEN SOCIALSocial Salsa at Greeley Square Park
Greeley Square Park · Midtown
FreeDetails →FRIDAYS · 9 AM · SEPTEMBERMorning Birding at Prospect Park with Gabriel Willow
Prospect Park · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
FRIDAYS · 10 AM–9 PMFree admission every Friday
Poster House · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
FRIDAYS · 5:30–8:30 PMUNIQLO Friday Nights
MoMA · Midtown
Free for New York State residents (reservation required)Details →
SATURDAYS · 11 AM–3 PMBig City Fishing
Pier 51 · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
SATURDAYS · 11 AM–2 PMMCNY Kids Art Studio
Museum of the City of New York · Upper Manhattan
Included with admission; always free for childrenDetails →SATURDAYS · 2:15 PMGovernors Island Bird Tour
Governors Island · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
SUNDAYS · 10 AM · UNTIL 27 SEPYoga at Socrates with Astoria Yoga
Socrates Sculpture Park · Western Queens
FreeDetails →
2ND SUNDAY · 12–6 PMSecond Sundays
Pioneer Works · South Brooklyn
Free · RSVPDetails →3RD SUNDAY · 10 AM–6 PMFree admission on the third Sunday of every month
Poster House · Lower Manhattan
FreeDetails →
3RD WEDNESDAY & 1ST SATURDAY · 11 AMTiny Tours
Museum of the City of New York · Upper Manhattan
Included with admission; always free for childrenDetails →
SAT, OCT 31Spooky City: Faces and Places of NYC
Museum of the City of New York · Upper Manhattan
Included with museum admission; children are always freeDetails →
SAT, OCT 312026 Halloween Harvest Festival + Season Closeout
Socrates Sculpture Park · Western Queens
Free · RSVP requiredDetails →
WED, DEC 16Free Winter Admission
Queens Botanical Garden · Central Queens
Free · 16 December to 31 MarchDetails →What lands on this page
This is what most people mean by “free things to do”, and it is the largest of the three lists. Two warnings the cards carry and the aggregators do not: several of the museum nights are free only to residents of the city or the state, and “free with admission” means the talk is free once you have paid to get in. Both are labelled.
The rest of what’s free
The good ones sell out.
Follow a craft and we'll email you the moment a new class or registration window opens — before it's gone.