Festivals and events in New York: Cheap NYC activities

Free and cheap tickets to New York City's best museums? They exist! One of the benefits of living in or visiting NYC is the plethora of incredible cultural institutions at your fingertips. The Metropolitan Museum Of Art, MoMA and the Guggenheim are among the finest in the world. The only downside: pricey admissions fees. Unlike cities such as London or Washington, D.C., New York isn’t big on publicly funded museums, which is too bad—especially if you actually live here and have to spend most of your wages on food and rent. Granted, there are senior and student discounts, and memberships that let you get in gratis if you’re willing to pay the annual fee up front. There is a workaround. Most museums offer some free hours throughout the week or month, and some have pay-what-you-wish admission—you just have to know where and when they are. In our guide to all the free museum days and cheap admission hacks in NYC, we’ve got the info you need—whether you live here or are planning a visit. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best museums in NYC

You have a few more weeks to take a fresh look at one of America’s most complicated artistic chroniclers with Thomas Hart Benton: A Picture of America in Its Entirety. It's the first solo exhibition of the artist’s work in New York in more than 10 years. Spanning five decades of Benton’s career, the free Schoelkopf Gallery exhibition brings together major paintings, rarely seen works and studies for his celebrated murals, offering a sweeping look at his depictions of American life, labor, politics, race, industry and popular culture. The show also goes Hollywood, with two studies made for the 1955 Burt Lancaster film The Kentuckian, an original movie poster and a later Beam’s Choice bottle featuring Benton’s artwork. Coinciding with Schoelkopf Gallery’s 25th anniversary and the United States Semiquincentennial, the exhibition runs through October 16.

Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival beneath the Brooklyn Bridge at Welcome to Chinatown’s annual event, which moves to Gotham Park for the first time this year. The free, three-day festival brings more than 25 AAPI-owned small businesses and artists together for a pan-Asian celebration of food, art and culture. Expect Vietnamese, Chinese, Filipino, Thai and Malaysian food and drinks alongside handmade goods, live performances and interactive programming. Among the things to look forward to are K-pop dance performances and classes from KPulse, dance performances from KAŌS, cultural performances and origami workshops from the New York Chinese Cultural Center, mahjong and kids’ activities with Potluck America. The free festival runs from 1pm to 7pm, October 2 through 4, at Gotham Park (1 Rose St.) against the Manhattan-side base of the Brooklyn Bridge.

We really like eating around the city, and we're guessing you do, too. So lucky for all of us, we've packed all our favorite restaurants under one roof at the Time Out Market New York. The DUMBO location in Empire Stores has fried chicken from Jacob’s Pickles, pizza from Fornino, delicious bagels from Ess-a-bagel and more amazing eateries—all cherry-picked by us. Chow down over two floors with views of the East River, Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline.  RECOMMENDED: The best things do in NYC

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is an extraordinarily unusual and endearing place. The two-level space—which stocks a range of literary fiction, nonfiction, rare books and collectibles—is a peaceful spot for solo relaxation or for meeting friends over coffee or wine. All proceeds from the café go to providing support services for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS. The premises also host an interesting array of literary events.

Though not as easily accessible by public transit as most NYC museums, this Queens County treasure is well worth the bus trek or car ride. As the city’s longest continually farmed site in the city (it’s been in operation since 1697), the 47 acres feels like an entirely different world compared to Manhattan. Feed and pet the barnyard animals, including sheep, ponies and goats, hop aboard a hayride and come back during the fall harvest season when you can go pumpkin picking and attempt to find your way through the Amazing Maize Maze (yes, that’s a corn maze). Don’t forget to stop by the store on your way out for fresh fruits and veggies grown on the premises!

No matter where you are or where you work in New York, you’re probably stressed out. As great as our fair city is—with so many amazing things to do, fabulous restaurants and top-notch bars—it’s hard to find time to chill out. Taking a weekend getaway or relaxing on a nearby beach are good ways to relax, but often we need serenity NOW (and let’s face it: sometimes planning that beach trip or weekend getaway can lead to even more stress!). A relaxing spa treatment can be just the thing for a quick fix. Problem is, most of us can’t afford the luxurious spas that promise instant bliss. Fortunately there are a number of spots for affordable spa treatments in NYC. Whether it’s a facial, a massage, a mani-pedi or a body scrub, one to two hours at a spa will give you the re-set you need. You’ll feel refreshed and glowing in no time. RECOMMENDED: Find more spas in NYC

Rare works by French master Pierre Soulages are coming to the Upper East Side in a new exhibition at the Lévy Gorvy Dayan gallery (19 E. 64th St.). Organized with the artist’s widow, the show features more than 20 paintings on paper, including works drawn directly from Soulages’s estate that have never been exhibited publicly. Spanning decades of work, the exhibition explores a medium he prized for its immediacy and unforgiving nature, using walnut stain, gouache, ink and improvised tools to experiment with light, texture and transparency. 

This cozy Upper East Side bookstore was reportedly one of the inspirations for the film You've Got Mail, and has a well-chosen selection of classic and contemporary literary fiction and nonfiction. If you're craving the experience of wandering through a shop that's clearly been around for decades (since 1978 to be exact), and that's filled with books of all kinds, you can't get more idyllic than this.

Grand Bazaar is one of NYC's oldest and largest marketplaces where you can buy vintage treasures, antiques, clothing and more goodies from more than 150 local merchants. Photographers, jewelers and furniture designers sell their best on Sundays between 10am and 5pm on the Upper West Side (77th Street at Columbus Avenue), rain or shine. Each week offers a different theme, from featuring women-owned businesses to focusing on handmade items to spotlighting international wares. The market runs both indoors and outdoors each week all year long. As a testament to the beloved Grand Bazaar's staying power, the market is celebrating 40 years in 2025. Grand Bazaar also has a mission to give back with 100% of its profits from booth rentals supporting four local public schools, helping with everything from school supplies through teaching assistants.

Groups! Can’t live with ‘em, can’t try almost everything on the menu in one sitting without 'em! Ok, maybe some can, but many will, at one point, still need to find restaurants perfect for large parties celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, big promotions, belated or pre-lated holidays and general getting the band back together events.  Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island each have options for your next fête, and these are our favorites for those expanded occasions. Most allow you to book space for up to six via conventional platforms, save for noted exceptions that go up to about ten, and all have room for more when you connect via email or phone. RECOMMENDED: See all of the best restaurants in NYC

Bouncing back from Hurricane Sandy, Abraham Merchant (Merchant Rivers House) unveiled a beer-focused waterfront bar on the restored Pier 15. On offer are sea-inspired bar bites like lobster rolls, fish-and-chips, crab cakes and shrimp cocktail with heirloom tomato gazpacho. Sip local craft beers like Bluepoint on red bar stools as you watch sports games on seven flatscreens or, better yet, take in scenic skyline views through the floor-to-ceiling windows. During the day, the bar also doles out cones of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, sorbets and frozen yogurt, fit for indulging your inner kid as you soak up rays on the outdoor deck.

New York is a hotbed of artistic expression. The city’s art museums—including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum—display some of the best artists spanning centuries. And with more than 1,000 galleries, you can check out the latest and greatest artists at any time, in all mediums from painting to sculpture. You’ll find the best galleries in NYC concentrated in Chelsea, but also Brooklyn and Queens to the Upper and Lower East Sides of Manhattan. Visit NYC’s legendary art galleries and you’ll see some of the best artists from around the world.

Getting around New York City isn't necessarily cheap or easy. A quick cross-town Uber ride can cost over $30. A cross-town bus ride is a fraction of the price but will take you a lot longer. And getting from borough to borough can prove to be even more of a feat.  When we chose this year's coolest neighborhood in NYC, we knew that getting there could be a challenge. In some ways, that semi-remoteness is what makes Red Hook so alluring, after all. The bus is an option, bike share works and the NYC Ferry will get you there (no subway service, unfortunately!). Believe it or not, though, there's an even more direct, totally free option that comes way of the kind merchants of Sweden: the IKEA Ferry. Never heard of it? Allow us to explain.  RECOMMENDED: This vibrant Brooklyn waterfront neighborhood is officially the coolest in NYC for 2025 What is the IKEA Ferry? The IKEA Ferry, operated by NY Waterway, offers boat transportation from two points in Manhattan to IKEA along the waterfront on the southwestern edge of Brooklyn.  Photograph: By yuriyt / Shutterstock Where does it pick up and drop off? The IKEA Ferry has two Manhattan stops. The first is in Midtown West at 39th Street's Pier 79 (that's 459 12th Avenue). The second is in Lower Manhattan at Pier 11/Wall Street (that's Pier 11 at South Street). In Brooklyn, it stops at IKEA (1 Beard Street).  When does it run? The IKEA Ferry runs on the weekends from morning until early evening approximately every hour-and-a-half. You...

With New York City named as the second-most expensive city in the world, you know we’re on the hunt for deals. While it basically costs $20 just to walk outside here, sometimes it’s worth the splurge if you’re visiting some of the best restaurants in NYC or seeing that hyped-up Broadway show. But more often than not, we have to choose between going out and paying rent, which just freaking sucks. That’s why Time Out New York is dedicated to helping you find cheap eats and happy hour deals as well as plenty of cheap things to do in NYC to fill your days without emptying your wallet. The good news is that you don’t have to skip NYC’s top attractions or events at its beautiful parks. You can catch free shows from up-and-coming bands, or catch a movie for under $10. Some are even worthy cheap date ideas, if you’re looking. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best things to do in NYC 

Admit it, are you a nosy New Yorker? Same here. Then you can't miss Open House New York this year. The annual event opens the doors of typically off-limit spaces during its festival running from October 17 through 19. This year, more than 300 sites are on the roster, including an exclusive rooftop garden in Rockefeller Center, a city compost facility, an Ellis Island boat and a private gallery in the World Trade Center. Even sites that are public, like Wagner Park and Astoria Pool, offer special behind-the-scenes experiences. Nearly half of the festival is fully free and open to the public—no advance registration or tickets are required. But select venues do require tickets, which are released on October 3 at noon (and they typically go fast!). RECOMMENDED: The best NYC events in October 2025 Every year since 2003, Open House New York has tapped architects, engineers, historians and curators to give everyday New Yorkers a glimpse into the spaces they create and work in. The event was founded in the wake of 9/11 by a grassroots group of architects, led by Scott Lauer, on the belief that "the openness of our shared urban fabric is the foundation of civil society," event organizers explained. "Open House New York Weekend is rooted in the simple but radical act of sharing the city," Kristin LaBuz, executive director of Open House New York, said in a press release. "This festival gives curious New Yorkers a hall pass to explore the people, projects, and places that make this...

A new installation popping up this weekend will make you really scream for ice cream.  You can jump into the world’s largest outdoor sprinkle pool at Hudson Yards Public Square and Gardens on Saturday, July 15 and Sunday, July 16 in celebration of National Ice Cream Day. The event's hosted by Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC) with Friendly's ice cream, which will serve free scoops.  RECOMMENDED: The 12 best ice cream shops in NYC So what exactly is a sprinkle pool? It's an above-ground pool that replaces water with multi-colored antimicrobial biodegradable plastic "sprinkles." Definitely not edible but definitely extremely cute. Think of it like a ball pit but even more delightful. You'll even find inner tubes and inflatable balls to play (and pose) with.  Photograph: Courtesy of Museum of Ice Cream In addition to playing in the pool and snapping some fun photos, also grab a free scoop from Friendly’s Restaurants. They’ll be serving classic favorites like Original Fudge, Chocolate Fudge, and Cookies ’n Cream. Also, expect games and giveaways at the ice cream soiree.  All-ages activities run from 11am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday at Hudson Yards just off of 11th Avenue. The Museum of Ice Cream will also host Ice Cream Day festivities in Chicago, Austin and Singapore making this a truly global celebration. If you haven’t been to the Museum of Ice Cream yet, this Soho spot offers a chance to experience 13 multi-sensory installations, including a three-story indoor slide, the...

Located at the top of Museum Mile, the Museum of the City of New York is the place to explore the city’s past, celebrate its present, and imagine its future. The institution’s entire first floor is devoted to "New York at Its Core," a sprawling exhibition including two galleries taking visitors on a tour of all 400 years of New York City history and a flagship space known as the Future City Lab where visitors use interactive technology to design the NYC of the future. Rotating exhibitions throughout the rest of the Museum focus on issues ranging from the city’s history of social activism to New York’s built environment, and include objects from the Museum’s extensive collections of vintage photographs, costumes and textiles, theater memorabilia, furniture and decorative arts, and more. Don’t miss the amazing Stettheimer Dollhouse, created during the 1920s by Carrie Stettheimer, whose artist friends re-created their masterpieces in miniature to hang on the walls. Look closely and you’ll even spy a tiny version of Marcel Duchamp’s famous Nude Descending a Staircase.

Under the sticky heat of the afternoon sun yesterday, dozens of fully nude models and artists (some of them nude, as well), gathered in Union Square for the final NYC Bodypainting Day. Each painter brought their artistic vision to life on the exquisite canvas of the human body, with some designs featuring intricate patterns and others with bold sweeping decorations.  Artist Andy Golub founded the annual event a decade ago and said this year would be the last for NYC Bodypainting Day in this form. It's likely that the news of the last hurrah attracted some of the throngs of onlookers who gathered around to watch the painters at work. Other attendees stumbled upon the event as they passed through the park, some suppressing surprised gasps or nervous giggles.  RECOMMENDED: This NYC vegan dinner party requires you to have dinner naked The event celebrates the human body in all of its beautiful shapes, sizes, genders, ethnicities and ages (ranging from the 20s to the 80s at the event). Artists carefully wield paintbrushes to cover their subjects from head to toe in theatrical makeup.  "I wanted people to take a moment and really celebrate humanity," Golub told Time Out New York. "I think the event is really about spreading joy and feeling joy." When thinking back on the first bodypainting day, Golub describes it as "magical" with "this incredible feeling of positivity."  Ten years later, that energy imbued this year's event as well. While this is farewell to NYC Bodypainting...

PaddlesIn search of public options for curious newbies, I visit NYC's holdout nonprivate dungeon. The simple setup, found behind a marked door under an inconspicuous Chelsea awning, isn't intimidating. There's a bar selling soft drinks and a few rooms full of contraptions catering to individual interests—such as a chair to help fetishists get a faceful of a partner's feet. Unadorned corridors of cages and Saint Andrew's crosses are scattered around. My friend and I arrive just before 3am on a Saturday, as the space was converting from a well-lit coed atmosphere to the darker men-only party. Still, a half-dozen suburban types linger on a stage with a giant mirror behind it, setting up one last "scene" (a fantasy scenario). Everyone I meet is helpful, down-to-earth and eager to talk, including the Brit who'd arrived in town with a mind to getting caned. He met a German couple outside the club, took them for a drink and convinced the woman to do the honors. There's no pressure here; everything that you do or have done to you is consensual. Quietly watching is permissible; if you witness an act between two people who intrigue you, etiquette dictates you wait until they're through to approach them. There's no penetration or booze—stipulations that have helped the club avoid being shut down—so it's about leaving your street clothes at the door ($2) to reveal your leather skivvies; purchasing a cat-o'-nine-tails ($50--$70) from a spread of switches, whips and paddles on a lighted...

Floorboards creak as classical music softly fills this cozy bookstore, lined with heavy shelves jam-packed with a skillfully chosen range of titles. Founded in 1978, the shop focuses on literature (primarily fiction and narrative nonfiction). Three Lives also has a dedicated NYC section and an especially large travel shelf. Straight out of a bygone era, the store tracks its inventory by pen and paper, as well as its in-store sales. The incredibly knowledgeable and well-read staff will not only help you pick out your next beach read, they’ll also fulfill custom orders.

Trailer Park Lounge serves as a tribute to midcentury roadside junk. Twenty-third Street doesn’t exactly scream “Americana,” but its being out of place is, in a lot of ways, the point. A row of bowling alley seats faces a wall plastered with Elvis memorabilia and there are mannequins posed in compromised states. The bar is trash-themed. Not literally garbage, but kitsch, camp; the tragically ludicrous/ludicrously tragic. The unique American pride in being low-rent. It’s a glorious mess. The garage sale aesthetic doesn't distract from the core objective: inexpensive, unfussy drinks and greasy-spoon eats. The kitchen pumps out burgers and tater tots and the like while bartenders pour oversized pitchers of frozen margaritas laced with cheap tequila. The diner booth seating, the smell of hot fryer oil, the rockabilly soundtrack–it all makes good sense after a few. It gets busy on weekends for amateur hour, but that’s the nature of going out in Chelsea. The salty bartenders have seen it all and know exactly how to handle it–a comfort in these trying times. If you’re in the neighborhood and don’t feel like shelling out big bucks for an evening, park yourself at Trailer Park.

The West Indian Day Parade and carnival, the culmination of New York Caribbean Carnival Week, is consistently one of the best things to do over the summer. The event draws close to two million people, so, yeah, you could consider this the most exciting Labor Day Parade NYC has to offer. Spend Saturday and Sunday of the holiday weekend milking what's left of the season at one of New York's beaches, then use Monday to fully immerse yourself in rich Caribbean culture and heritage. It’s bound to be one of the best summer parties in New York this year. RECOMMENDED: Full guide to Labor Day weekend When is the West Indian Day Parade? The West Indian Day Parade is Monday, September 7, 2026 (Labor Day) starting at 11am. Where is the parade? During the seven-hour New York carnival, steel-pan and calypso bands in elaborate costumes march down Eastern Parkway, and vendors sell homestyle island eats along the route in Crown Heights and Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. The 2026 route marches on Eastern Parkway from Utica Avenue to Grand Army Plaza.  What can you do before the event? The pre-parade parties typically begin at 6am with J’Ouvert (daybreak in French), an irreverent festival held before the parade, though this year's timing hasn't been announced. What happens during the West Indian Day Parade? The procession always features skin, feathers and sequins, with flags and music that celebrate the heritage of Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, Saint...

Don’t scoff, jaded New Yorker—there are a lot of free things to do in NYC today. We understand: When you live in the most expensive city in the world, it’s hard to imagine how anything in this town could be gratis. But guess what? Every event on this list is free and actually awesome! That’s right, we found the free art exhibitions, comedy shows, cultural celebrations and NYC park activities, so you can have the time of your life without paying a dime. Whether you’re looking for fun date ideas or something to do with visiting relatives, we got you. Do you want more great stories about things to do, where to eat, what to watch, and where to party? Obviously you do, follow Time Out New York on Facebook for the good stuff.RECOMMENDED: See all free things to do in NYC

Craving some summer thrills? Roller coasters aren’t just for kids—and luckily, there are plenty of amusement parks near NYC where adults can get their adrenaline fix. Sure, you could hop on the subway to Coney Island for some classic amuseument park fare, but venture a bit farther and you’ll find even wilder rides and sprawling parks. Yes, you’ll probably run into crowds of teens and families, but that’s part of the high-energy charm. And if high-speed drops and loop-de-loops aren’t your thing, there are other exciting day trips from NYC that won’t leave your stomach in knots. Need a breather after all that action? Cool off at one of NYC’s hotel pools open to the public.