Rainy day · 15 places in all
Museums for less
Free museums, pay-what-you-wish days, and the big ones worth paying for.
New York has some of the world’s great museums, and you don’t have to pay full price at all of them: several are always free, and the Met and Natural History let residents of the region pay what they wish.
For visitors, the big ones are worth the ticket; book online to skip the lines.
2 ways to do it
EThe editorsFree and pay-what-you-wish museumsMuseums that are always free, and the big ones where New Yorkers pay what they like.11 placesTwo or three days8 freeUptownLower ManhattanMidtownUse this list →
EThe editorsThe big museums, and two small onesThe Met and the Cloisters, Natural History and the Morgan, with the Transit Museum and MOCA for something different.7 placesTwo or three daysUptownMidtownChelsea & the HudsonUse this list →Questions people ask
Is the Met free?
Pay what you wish for New York State residents with proof, and NY, NJ and CT students. Everyone else pays $30 for adults; children 12 and under are free.
Which museums in New York are always free?
Among others: the National Museum of the American Indian, Federal Hall, the Museum at FIT, the American Folk Art Museum, the Bronx Museum and the Studio Museum in Harlem.
Which museum is best on a rainy day?
The Met or Natural History: both can fill a whole day.