Free museums in NYC on Tuesday
Every free and pay-what-you-wish window on a Tuesday at the 48 museums and gardens in our free museum guide, the ones that never charge, and the ones that are shut on Tuesdays so you do not cross town to a locked door.
The short answer
1 NYC museum has a free or pay-what-you-wish window on Tuesdays, and 4 always-free museums are open.
Free for everyone: Guggenheim (pay what you wish, 4–5:30pm).
26 of 48 are closed on Tuesdays, including Brooklyn Museum, MoMI, The Frick, The Jewish Museum.
Free on Tuesday
Each free or pay-what-you-wish window that falls on this day, with who qualifies and how to get in.
| Museum | When | Who | Booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guggenheim | Pay what you wish, 4–5:30pm | Everyone | Advance booking strongly recommended |
Windows marked first, second or third are monthly; the rest are weekly.
Always free, and open on Tuesday
No ticket price at any hour. Some ask you to reserve a free timed ticket.
| Museum | Where | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Smithsonian NMAI, George Gustav Heye Center | Bowling Green / Financial District, Manhattan | Daily 10am–5pm · closed December 25 only |
| Queens County Farm Museum | Floral Park / Glen Oaks, Queens | Daily 10am–5pm · closed New Year's Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas; closes 3pm Christmas Eve |
| Snug Harbor | Livingston / North Shore, Staten Island | Grounds and gardens open seven days a week, dawn to dusk (earlier gate closures October–March) |
| Socrates Sculpture Park | Long Island City / Astoria, Queens | 365 days a year, 9am–sunset |
Pay what you wish, any Tuesday
Not a free window, but on any day they are open these let qualifying visitors set their own price.
| Museum | Who | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| AMNH | Adult (NY State resident) | $37 adult |
| MCNY | New York City residents (with ID) | $23 adult |
| The Met Cloisters | New York State residents | $30 adult |
| The Met Fifth Avenue | New York State residents | $30 adult |
Closed on Tuesday
Checked against each museum's regular opening days; holidays are not included.
26 museums closed on Tuesdays
9/11 Memorial & Museum · BCM · Brooklyn Museum · El Museo · Federal Hall National Memorial · Hispanic Society of America · Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art · Louis Armstrong House Museum · MoMA PS1 · MOCA · Museum of Jewish Heritage · MoMI · New York Transit Museum · Poster House · Queens Museum · South Street Seaport Museum · Staten Island Museum · Bronx Museum · The Drawing Center · The Frick · The Jewish Museum · MFIT · Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum · The Skyscraper Museum · Studio Museum · The Whitney
Other days
Questions people ask
Which NYC museums are free on Tuesday?＋
Is MoMA free on Tuesday?＋
Is the Met open on Tuesday?＋
Which museums are closed on Tuesday in NYC?＋
Free windows and hours were read off each museum's own visit page in September 2026. Regular opening days only; holidays and special closures are on each museum's card in the full guide.