While it’s true that New York City has one of the highest costs of living in the world, it’s still possible to have a blast in this city without breaking the bank. The Big Apple boasts an incredible array of public spaces, including more than 1,700 parks spread over 30,000 acres. To make matters even better, there are 91 public swimming pools and more than 2,000 playgrounds to explore.
Broadway and large concert venues often come with steep price tags, but there are plenty of wallet-friendly ways to support the arts. In fact, there are a ton of things to do in New York City for free. If you know where to look, this culturally vibrant metropolis offers a wealth of affordable concerts, cabarets, drag shows and theater performances.
Here are just a few of the many ways to live it up in New York City without spending a fortune. As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.
Check Out Free and Pay-What-You-Can Museums
Many of New York’s best museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History offer pay-what-you-wish pricing for New York State residents. Another pay-what-you-wish option is the Queens Museum, which features a spectacular miniature map of all five boroughs.
Others, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim and The Morgan Library and Museum offer regular free or pay-as-you-wish times. So doing a little research in advance and timing your visit right could mean saving a few bucks at a NYC museum.
Explore (and Eat in) Manhattan’s Chinatown
Manhattan is home to the largest, and one of the oldest, Chinatowns in the United States. While the city’s other boroughs have several Chinatowns worth checking out (Flushing and Sunset Park in Queens are both enclaves of incredible food), the area around Mott, Pell, Bayard and Doyer streets in downtown Manhattan is laden with history. Check out Welcome to Chinatown and for free neighborhood business guides and insider info.
Chinatown is also a great place to find all sorts of delicious cheap eats — just remember to bring cash. Swing by Yi Ji Shi Mo Noodle Corp for delicate rice rolls, Deluxe Green Bo for soup dumplings and Mei Lai Wah for pork buns. Both Wu’s Wonton King and Spicy Village are BYOB (there may be a corkage fee), meaning you can save a few bucks on booze and spend it instead on crispy Peking duck or fiery big-tray chicken.
If you’re really on a budget, there’s truly no better value for the money than a dumpling crawl. Fan-favorites like King Dumplings, Fried Dumpling, Tasty Dumpling and Shu Jiao Fu Zhou serve excellent jiaozi for a few bucks.
Discover Hidden Gems in Prospect Park
Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who also designed Central Park, created another masterpiece with Brooklyn’s 526 -acre Prospect Park. Like its larger Manhattan sibling, this sprawling urban oasis is full of unexpected surprises.
Check out architectural gems like the Peristyle, a neoclassical colonnaded structure dating back to 1905, or the lavish Litchfield Villa. The Concert Grove Pavilion hosts all kinds of free live music in the summer, while the Prospect Park Zoo allows you to feed baby goats and other critters.
Ride a Ferry for a View from the Water
Many travelers flock to the free Staten Island Ferry for unimpeded views of the Statue of Liberty.
Another option offering just as many photo ops: the East River Ferry. There’s a bar onboard and a rooftop deck from which to admire the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge. Best of all, tickets are just a few dollars.
If you’re over in Brooklyn, after snapping the requisite photos of Jane’s Carousel at the DUMBO waterfront (conveniently located near the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge), hop aboard the East River Ferry or South Brooklyn Ferry into Manhattan.
Watch Live Music
From Patti Smith and the Ramones to LCD Soundsystem and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, New York has a long history of being where the next big acts get their big break. Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars to see shows at an arena, support up-and-coming bands at smaller venues around town, where tickets are cheaper than at larger venues.
Arlene’s Grocery, on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, played a key role in the musical resurgence of the early aughts.
Rubulad in Bushwick offers transcendently trippy vibes. Nearby, the Sultan Room is connected to Turk’s Inn, a generations-old, family-owned Turkish restaurant.
Spot Wildlife in Central Park
Manhattan’s largest park is a paradise for animal-lovers. Bird-watchers should make a beeline for the Ramble, a protected area of 38 acres interwoven with paths. Everything from red-bellied woodpeckers to magnolia warblers flits through these woods. Majestic red-tailed hawks can often be seen swooping over the park.
A 15-minute stroll from Le Méridien New York, Central Park brings you to the reasonably priced Central Park Zoo, which features a very different sort of wildlife-watching experience. The zoo is approachably sized zoo and features enclosures with red pandas, snow leopards and penguins. The undisputed stars of the show are the playful sea lions situated in an open-air pool near the entrance.
Take a Free Street Art Tour
New York’s walls have served as a canvas for countless artists. To learn more about the history behind some of the city’s most striking murals, take a wander with Free Tours by Foot.
The Williamsburg Street Art Tour, which starts an easy walk from the Moxy Brooklyn Williamsburg, packs a ton of incredible art into two hours. Note that while the tour is officially free, tips and donations are very much appreciated.
Ride a Bike Along the Hudson River and Walk the High Line
Stretching more than 12 miles along the western side of Manhattan to Battery Park, the Hudson River Greenway makes for a wonderfully scenic bike ride. Start at the Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Manhattan/Central Park and make your way south.
And if you want to extend the journey, you can always hop onto the High Line, the sculpture-lined greenway on an old, elevated rail track.
Shop for Fresh Produce and Other Goods at Greenmarkets
On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, the area near W New York – Union Square transforms into one of the world’s most famous farmers markets, where you can get fresh goods directly from the folks who grow or create them. The Union Square Greenmarket offers everything from fresh bouquets to fresh tomatoes, plus handicrafts, baked goods and often a busker or two.
Other fantastic greenmarkets can be found on Grand Army Plaza (Saturdays, year-round) near Prospect Park; McCarren Park (Saturdays, year-round) in Greenpoint; and Fort Greene (Saturdays, year-round).
Catch a Literary Event
New York has a serious passion for the written word, not to mention a dense concentration of established and aspiring authors. The Red Room at KGB Bar, a former Ukrainian socialist club a stone’s-throw from the Moxy East Village, hosts literary soirees, often with a dash of burlesque or opera thrown in.
Over in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Archestratus, a community-minded cookbook store, hosts talks with authors, potluck dinners and bake sales. Tickets are rarely more than $20 and often as little as a few bucks.
Meanwhile, Drag Story Hour hosts free readings by drag queens for kids and teens all over the city.
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