What's Open on Thanksgiving in NYC 2026: Museums, the Subway, the Statue

Thanksgiving 2026 is Thursday, November 26, and most of the big museums are closed. The Met, MoMA, the American Museum of Natural History, the Guggenheim, the Bronx Zoo and the Statue of Liberty all shut for the day. The subway runs on a Sunday schedule.

What’s open: the parade in the morning, Bryant Park all day, the Empire State Building, and the Staten Island Ferry. That’s enough for a good day if you plan around it.

The short answer

Closed on Thanksgiving Day:

• The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Met Cloisters
• MoMA, and MoMA PS1 in Queens
• The American Museum of Natural History
• The Guggenheim
• The Bronx Zoo
• The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and the ferries that go there

Open on Thanksgiving Day:

• The subway, on a Sunday schedule, minus the B and W trains
• The Staten Island Ferry, free, every 30 minutes
• Bryant Park’s Winter Village: the rink 8am to midnight, and the holiday shops
• The Empire State Building, which is open 365 days a year

Museums on Thanksgiving

The Met is closed. Its holiday closures are Thanksgiving, December 25, January 1 and the first Monday in May, and it’s also closed every Wednesday, so the day before Thanksgiving is out too. The Met Cloisters closes on Thanksgiving as well. If the Met is the reason for your trip, go Tuesday or Friday. Our guide to how long to spend at the Met will help you fit it in.

MoMA is closed. MoMA is open every day except Thanksgiving and Christmas. MoMA PS1 in Long Island City closes as well.

The American Museum of Natural History is closed. The only other day it closes is Christmas. The balloons are inflated right outside it the day before, which is the better reason to be on that block anyway.

The Guggenheim is closed. Its holiday hours list Thursday, November 26 as a closure.

We couldn’t confirm Thanksgiving hours for the Whitney or the smaller museums. Check their own sites before you go.

The Statue of Liberty and the free ferry

The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island close on Thanksgiving Day, and the Statue City Cruises ferries from Battery Park don’t run. The pedestal, crown and museum are all shut with them.

The Staten Island Ferry runs. It runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and it’s free. On holidays the boats leave every 30 minutes, on the hour and half hour, from Whitehall Terminal in Lower Manhattan. It passes the statue on the way out. Sit on the right side going to Staten Island. Our guide to the Staten Island Ferry scam explains why you should never pay for it.

The subway on Thanksgiving

The subway runs, on a Sunday schedule on most lines. That means longer waits between trains than a weekday, especially early in the morning.

The B and W trains don’t run on Thanksgiving. If your plan uses the B along Central Park West or Sixth Avenue, take the C or the D instead. For the W, take the N or R.

Parade morning changes things. Stations near the route fill up, and you can’t cross the route once the parade starts at 8:30am. New to the system? Read the NYC subway for first timers.

Check the MTA app or mta.info the night before. Holiday service changes get posted closer to the day.

What to do on Thanksgiving Day

Morning: the 100th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It steps off at 8:30am at 77th Street and Central Park West and runs until about noon. Our parade guide has where to actually stand. If you’d rather sleep, the balloon inflation the afternoon before is the better half.

Afternoon: Bryant Park. The Winter Village rink is open 8am to midnight from November 19 to January 3, so Thanksgiving is covered. Admission to the rink is free, and so is skating if you bring your own skates. You still need a free timed ticket, and those are released a week ahead. The holiday shops are open daily, holidays included, though Bryant Park says holiday hours may vary. It’s the one place in Midtown that feels busy in a good way that day. Our ice skating guide compares it with the other rinks.

Evening: the Empire State Building. It’s open every day of the year. Hours change by season, so check esbnyc.com. Our observation decks compared guide says which deck to pick.

Any time: Rockefeller Center. The tree is up by then, but it stays dark until the lighting on Wednesday, December 2. Our tree lighting guide explains the best time to see it.

The rest of Thanksgiving weekend

Friday, November 27 is when the holiday season starts properly. If a museum was on your Thursday list, move it to Friday morning and go when the doors open. The Natural History Museum opens early that day, at 9am.

• The Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden runs November 14, 2026 to January 10, 2027. NYBG treats Friday, November 27 like a weekend day, with timed tickets. Our Holiday Train Show guide has how to time it.
• Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights and Lightscape at Brooklyn Botanic Garden both open the weekend before Thanksgiving. Our holiday light shows guide has the dates.
• Dyker Heights lights start going up around Thanksgiving. They’re best in December. See our Dyker Heights guide.

Thanksgiving dinner

Book early. Restaurants that open on Thanksgiving fill up weeks ahead, and many close for the day. If you haven’t booked by mid-November, plan on a late lunch somewhere casual, or eat before the parade crowds hit the restaurants near the route.

The rest of the season

• Things to do in NYC in November 2026
• Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade 2026 viewing guide
• Macy’s balloon inflation 2026
• NYC Christmas markets 2026
• Things to do in NYC in December 2026
• What’s open on Christmas Day in NYC 2026

Questions about anything in this guide? Reach MUSEENYC at museenyc.art@gmail.com or @museenyc on Instagram.

The city doesn’t close for Thanksgiving. Knowing what does → museenyc.com