Free museums in New York: A calendar for every day of the week
Regular admission to the MoMA: $25. An adult ticket to the Guggenheim: $25. A calendar of free hours at New York’s favorite museums: priceless.
Hang on to your hats, Cheapos. Follow our list and you can spend an entire week in New York museums without forking out a cent in admission fees!
Monday
Let it be known that many of the smaller museums are closed on Mondays. That being said, many do stay open, and some even for free.
The Museum at Eldridge Street (12 Eldridge Street, Manhattan) is worth visiting for the building alone. Adorned with spectacular stained-glass and 19th-century gas fixtures, the impeccably restored landmark building dates back to 1887, and its museum tells the story of generations of Jewish in New York. Admission is “pay what you wish” on Mondays from 10 am until 5 pm.
Monday is also the day to check out a “free all the time” museum:
At the Rose Museum on the second floor of Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street, Manhattan), you can dabble in a little music memorabilia.
Tuesday
If you’re after a bit of fresh air, you’re also, uh, free, to commune with the flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave, Brooklyn) every Tuesday during opening hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter months, until 6 p.m. from mid-March to mid-November). Admission, incidentally, is free on all weekdays in winter.
Wednesday
Wednesday is not the friendliest of weekdays to museum freeloaders in New York—or at least for those unwilling to leave Manhattan. If you head up to the Bronx, however, you can get free entry to the pre-Revoluntionary War Van Cortlandt House (Broadway at West 246th Street, Bronx). Washington himself (not to be confused with his life mask) is said to have sheltered there at the beginning and end of the war.
If the Bronx is too much of a schlep for you, today’s a good day to hit up museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. Both post suggested donations but technically have “open donation” policies every day.
Round out your Wednesday with some fine art at the Frick Museum (1 East 70th Street, Manhattan), housed in a gorgeous mansion. Pay what you wish is from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Thursday
Thursday night kicks off a weekend of free museum festivities. Start it right with some contemporary art at the New Museum (235 Bowery, Manhattan), free from 7 pm until 9 pm.
If you didn’t get your fill at the New Museum, right across the street is the International Center of Photography (250 Bowery). Their exhibits are free on Thursdays starting at 6 pm.
Uptown, the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center is a cool public space with two vertical gardens, some impressive architecture and rotating art installations. Every week (including many Thursday evenings), there are performances open to the public at no charge. Free shows might feature anything from spoken word to country or world music, or talent from The Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center and more. In short, anything goes. Check this calendar of events to see what’s happening every night, and note that you should arrive early because capacity is limited for this popular event.
Friday
Welcome to the free museum free-for-all that is Friday night in New York City. Behold, Cheapos, the museum is your oyster:
Free admission or pay what you wish on Friday nights:
Museum of the Moving Image: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 35 Avenue at 37 Street, Astoria, Queens
Museum of Modern Art: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan
Whitney Museum of American Art: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.; 99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan
New-York Historical Society: 6 pm. – 8 p.m.; 170 Central Park West, Manhattan
Cheapo pick: Or get a taste of the highbrow at the Morgan Library & Museum (29 East 36th Street, Manhattan), home to some of the rarest books and manuscripts in the world. Admission to the McKim rooms, a former private study of Pierpont Morgan himself, is free every Friday evening from 7 pm until 9 pm. Inside those gilded walls you’ll spot some of the lush original furnishings, along with precious items from the Morgan collection, including his life mask of George Washington (don’t go trying to steal that now) and copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Star-Spangled Banner.
Saturday
The massive art collection (and incredible architecture) at the Guggenheim (1071 5th Avenue, Manhattan) can be enjoyed for free on Saturday evenings from 5:45 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.
Other Saturday festivities are limited to once a month:
The Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn) dominates first Saturdays, with free admission, plus live entertainment, from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. Learn more here.
El Museo del Barrio (1230 5th Avenue, Manhattan) hosts “SUPER SABADO” on the third Saturday of the month, in all months except January and August. Admission is free from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. and events range from film screenings to walking tours.
Sunday
For a livelier vibe, head uptown to the Studio Museum (144 West 125th Street, Manhattan) in Harlem, where Target Free Sundays grant free access to the vast and provocative collection of art, as well as access to special tours, talks and hands-on activities.
Do you have any tips for getting into museums for free? Share your comments below!
About the author
Why doesn’t New York City have a pass like the Museum Pass in Paris or the Roma Pass in Rome?
Hi Steve, New York actually does have a City Pass (http://www.citypass.com/new-york) which grants free admission to some museums and discounts to others. In my opinion, though, the price ($79) isn’t all that worth it unless you intend to do all the tings it offers. Even then, given that it covers the Met and the American Museum of Natural History (which are both technically suggested donation) you can probably see what you want to for cheaper without the pass…
Hey! The Morgan Library is open Friday evenings FREE from 7 to 9 – now, that’s a good deal.
Great guide to New York’s notoriously expensive museums, Suzanne. Now if only the Bodies exhibit had a free day! At $40 a ticket, I guess I’ll have to settle for the ‘bodies’ at the American Natural History Museum.