Guides / Free things to do
GuideFree things to do in NYC
No tickets, no cover, no minimum spend. The places we would send you in New York that cost nothing at all, sorted by the kind of outing you want.
Parks and gardens
Best firstSomewhere to sit, walk or lie on the grass for an afternoon.
9.9Central Park843 acres of engineered wilderness that the rest of the city was built around.9.9Rockefeller ParkThe best open space downtown, and the one that hits differently if you actually live here.9.8Prospect ParkA wilder, more rural Central Park — the same designers, a decade later, on land they liked better.9.8Washington Square ParkThe rawest square in New York — everything happening at once, and never the same twice.9.7Ford Foundation AtriumA third of an acre of indoor jungle behind a glass wall on 43rd Street, free to visit.9.7Morningside ParkA cliff face with a waterfall at the bottom, separating Harlem from Morningside Heights.9.6Inwood Hill ParkThe last old-growth forest left on Manhattan, at the very top of the island.9.6Riverside ParkFour miles of Hudson waterfront that the Upper West Side treats as its back garden.9.6Van Cortlandt ParkA thousand acres with the oldest house in the Bronx, a freshwater lake and the first public golf course in America.9.5Carl Schurz ParkThe mayor's front garden, on a promenade over the East River.9.2Fort Greene ParkOlmsted and Vaux on a hill, with a 149-foot column on top of a crypt.9.2Riverbank State ParkA 28-acre park built on the roof of a sewage treatment plant, with a pool, a rink and the Hudson in front of it.9.2Tudor City GreensTwo private-feeling gardens above 42nd Street that anyone can walk into.9.1Bennett ParkThe highest natural point in Manhattan, marked by a rock and a plaque almost nobody visits.9.1Cobble Hill ParkAn acre of brick paths and benches that works as somebody else's front garden.9.1Fort Tryon ParkThe best park in Manhattan that most of Manhattan has never been to.8.9Bryant ParkMidtown's best place to stop. Sit down, rest your feet, eat something and watch the city go by, a block from everything you came to see.8.9Domino ParkThe old sugar refinery site, rebuilt as a waterfront park that kept its cranes.8.9Pelham Bay ParkThe biggest park in New York City, three times the size of Central Park, with a saltwater shoreline.8.6Marcus Garvey ParkA rocky outcrop in the middle of Harlem, with the last fire watchtower in America on top.Streets worth walking
Best firstShort, specific walks: a single street, an alley, a staircase, a trail.
9.8Freeman AlleyA narrow, graffiti-lined alley off Rivington that dead-ends at one of downtown's best-hidden restaurant doors.9.7Commerce StreetA crooked two-block street that explains why people romanticize the West Village.9.7Hudson River GreenwayThe most scenic ride in New York — get lost on it, and the George Washington Bridge never seems to get closer.9.7The High LineA freight rail viaduct that was going to be demolished, replanted instead.9.1Love LaneOne block long, and named, the story goes, for the couples who used to walk it.8.5Greenwich StreetA walk down Lower Manhattan that changes century every few blocks.8.5Orange, Pineapple & Cranberry StreetsThree short blocks of Brooklyn Heights with the best names and the best doorways in the city.8.5The 187th Street StepsA street that gave up and became a staircase, climbing the ridge in one go.8.1Riverside Drive at 96thThe best walk on the Upper West Side, in either direction from 96th.Bridges and views
Best firstCrossings and lookouts, for the skyline without the observation-deck ticket.
9.6The Manhattan Bridge LookoutThe bridge with Manhattan sitting perfectly proportioned behind it — and far fewer people than the famous corner.9.6Williamsburg BridgeThe one to walk. Impeccable views from both sides, and a subway running straight down the middle.9.5Manhattan BridgeRolling thunder. Walk it at sunset, stand in the right spot, and feel the subway come through the steel.9.2High BridgeNew York's oldest standing bridge, built to carry water, reopened for walking in 2015.8.5Brooklyn BridgeGenuinely beautiful, and home to some of the worst crowds in the city — go early and it is a different bridge.Beaches and the waterfront
Best firstSand, piers and the water's edge, from the East River out to the Atlantic.
9.8Coney IslandA boardwalk, a wooden roller coaster from 1927, and the Atlantic at the end of four subway lines.9.8Rockaway BeachA proper beach town inside the city — and the ferry ride out is half the reason to go.9.7Brooklyn Heights PromenadeA third of a mile of cantilevered walkway with the entire skyline laid out in front of it.9.6Pier 3, Brooklyn Bridge ParkA local escape into greenery, with art installations you find rather than get shown.9.2Louis Valentino Jr. Park and PierThe closest straight-on view of the Statue of Liberty you can get standing on land.9.1Pebble BeachA stony little beach under the Manhattan Bridge, and the hinge of the whole DUMBO waterfront.8.9Orchard BeachThe Bronx Riviera: a mile of crescent sand Robert Moses built by hand, and the city's best beach day if you are not going to Rockaway.8.7Gantry Plaza State ParkThe best head-on view of Midtown, from the Queens side of the river.Landmarks you can walk into
Best firstBuildings and stations to stand inside, no ticket required.
9.5Grand Central Main ConcourseThe best room in New York, and it costs nothing to stand in it.9.4New York Public LibraryThe grandest free building in New York. Marble halls, the lions out front, and a reading room under a painted sky that you can walk into for nothing.9.1190th Street–Overlook TerraceA subway station carved 140 feet into the rock, with a tunnel that opens onto a park.And the rest
Best firstEverything else that costs nothing.
9.7Times SquareYes, locals put Times Square on the M List. There is nowhere else on Earth like it: the whole world in a few blocks, and energy you can't find anywhere else.Questions
What is the best free thing to do in NYC?
Central Park in Manhattan, which we score 9.9/10. 843 acres of engineered wilderness that the rest of the city was built around.
What free things are there to do in Manhattan?
Our top picks in Manhattan are Central Park, Rockefeller Park and Freeman Alley, out of 26 free places we list there.
What free things are there to do in Brooklyn?
Our top picks in Brooklyn are Coney Island, Prospect Park and Brooklyn Heights Promenade, out of 15 free places we list there.
What free things are there to do in Queens?
Our top picks in Queens are Rockaway Beach and Gantry Plaza State Park.
What free things are there to do in The Bronx?
Our top picks in The Bronx are Van Cortlandt Park, Orchard Beach and Pelham Bay Park.
What are the best free things to do in NYC with kids?
Central Park, Rockefeller Park and Coney Island are the free places we would take a family first.
Are these places really free?
Yes. Every place on this list costs nothing to enter or use. The only money you spend is on whatever you choose to buy nearby. Nobody pays to be included, either.