20 Free Things to Do in NYC That Are Actually Worth Your Time

NYC has a reputation as the most expensive city in America, and it earns it on hotels, restaurants, and tickets. But some of the best experiences I've had here cost zero dollars. Not "free with a Citi Bike membership" or "free if you have a New York library card." Actually free.

This is my honest list. Twenty things I've done myself. Some are obvious, some aren't. None of them are filler.

The free experiences I actually rate

1. The Staten Island Ferry

Free, runs 24 hours, takes 25 minutes each way, passes the Statue of Liberty close enough to photograph. This is the single best free experience in NYC. Do it at golden hour for maximum drama. Step off at Staten Island, turn around, get on the next ferry back.

2. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

Free. Best done at sunrise from the Brooklyn side walking toward Manhattan. The pedestrian path is on the upper deck and the views are still some of the best in the city after 140 years.

3. The High Line

Free elevated park built on an old freight rail line, 1.45 miles from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. Best at golden hour. Crowded at midday in summer. Walking the whole length takes 45 minutes if you don't stop, 90 minutes if you do.

4. Central Park

Free, obviously, but worth listing. The park is huge — 843 acres — and you don't need a guide. My Central Park photo guide covers the spots worth seeking out. Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, Sheep Meadow at sunset, the Reservoir loop. Free.

5. The Met (suggested admission)

This is the half-truth one. The Met technically requires admission, but for NYC, NJ, and Connecticut residents the admission is "suggested" — you can pay $1 if you want to. Out-of-state visitors do have to pay the full $30. But the Met is worth the $30 too.

6. The 9/11 Memorial pools

The reflecting pools outside the museum are free and quiet and powerful. The museum itself is paid. The pools alone are worth a stop.

7. Brooklyn Bridge Park

Free, runs along the East River for almost a mile, has the best Manhattan skyline view at sunset. Pier 1, Pier 5, Pier 6, Pebble Beach. All free.

8. The Oculus

The white-ribbed transit hub at the World Trade Center site. Free to walk inside, the architecture alone is worth the ten-minute stop. Best at midday when the light comes through the skylight.

9. Grand Central Terminal

Walk in, look up at the constellation ceiling, walk through the dining concourse, leave. Five minutes. Free. One of the most beautiful interior public spaces in America. The Whispering Gallery on the lower level is the bonus — stand in opposite corners and whisper into the wall.

10. The New York Public Library main branch

The Rose Main Reading Room is one of the most stunning rooms in NYC. Free to walk in, free to sit and read or work. The marble lions out front, the architecture, the dome, all free.

11. Washington Square Park

Free, lively, the chess players, the buskers, the arch. Best in the late afternoon when NYU students fill the lawns. Bring a coffee and a book.

12. Bryant Park

Free, behind the library. In summer it's a lawn with movies on Monday nights. In winter it has a free ice-skating rink (skate rental is paid). The Christmas markets in December are a free walk-through.

13. Free museum nights

A few major museums have free or pay-what-you-wish nights:

• Whitney Museum — Free Friday nights, 7-10 p.m.
• MoMA — Free Friday evenings, 5:30-9 p.m. (UNIQLO Free Friday Nights)
• Brooklyn Museum — Pay-what-you-wish on the first Saturday of the month (and the parties in summer are great)
• Guggenheim — Pay-what-you-wish on Saturdays from 6-8 p.m.
• Museum of the City of New York — Always pay-what-you-wish.

Lines move slowly on free nights. Get there early.

14. Smithsonian's Cooper Hewitt and National Museum of the American Indian

Free always (federal museums). The American Indian museum is in the old Customs House at Battery — a beautiful Beaux-Arts building you'd want to see anyway.

15. Riverside Park

Free, runs along the Hudson on the Upper West Side from 59th to 158th Street. The 79th Street Boat Basin and the cherry blossoms in late April are highlights. Quieter than Central Park.

16. Hudson River Park

Free, the entire west side of Manhattan from the Battery up to 59th Street. Pier 25 has minigolf and beach volleyball. Pier 45 has lawns. Pier 57 has a rooftop park. Little Island at Pier 55 (free) is one of the more architecturally interesting recent additions to NYC.

17. The Staten Island Boat Graveyard

Niche pick. Free if you can find it (it's at Arthur Kill in Staten Island, behind the Donjon Marine yard, technically off-limits but viewable from the road). Photographers will love it. Most people will not.

18. The DUMBO photo on Washington Street

The famous Manhattan Bridge framed by the buildings, with the Empire State centered between them. Cobblestone street, take the photo, no ticket required. Just be careful of the cars and the 80 other photographers.

19. The Lincoln Center plaza fountain

Especially at night, with the fountain lit and the opera house glowing. Free to walk through. No ticket required to sit on the rim of the fountain at midnight after a long day.

20. The walk across the Williamsburg Bridge at night

My personal favorite free NYC experience. The Williamsburg Bridge has both a pedestrian and a bike lane. At night, the lit Manhattan skyline appears piece by piece as you walk west. About 30 minutes end to end.

A few free patterns I always use

• Walk Manhattan north-south. The grid makes it easy and you'll see more than any tour bus.
• Take the NYC Ferry route as a tourist boat. $4.50 per ride (technically not free, but cheap), and it covers the East River, Brooklyn, Queens, and the West Side. The views are better than the paid boat tours.
• Bookstore loitering. McNally Jackson, Strand, Three Lives & Co — all free to browse for an hour.
• Cathedral hopping. St. Patrick's, St. John the Divine, Trinity Church Wall Street. All free, all stunning.

Free in NYC means more than you'd think. The city's best moments aren't usually behind a turnstile.

What I'd do differently

I used to assume "free" meant lower quality, and I'd skip the free options to pay for the famous attractions. That was wrong. The Staten Island Ferry beats the paid harbor cruise. The Met's free hours give you the same Vermeer at 1/30th the cost. The walk across the Brooklyn Bridge beats the helicopter tour for half the photo and zero dollars.

If you're trying to do NYC on a real budget, this list plus my 4-day itinerary (most of which is free) plus the neighborhood stay guide for finding cheaper hotels will get you most of the way. The NYC travel guide is the wider context.