Free Things to do in New York
- Get on TV:
You know you can probably get on TV if you’re lucky for FREE. Saturday Night Live, Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon are some of the top shows taped in New York. The tickets to these live tapings are free.
Most of these shows require you to request a ticket online, and they are very competitive. For instance, SNL tickets for the whole upcoming season are given out once a year in August through the lottery of incoming requests. Jimmy Fallon Show, Seth Meyers show, and others also have their calendar of available dates, and you can choose your most convenient dates. Visit their website for more details.
All of the shows are first come, first serve. Usually, the performances are taped late in the afternoon, but people queue up starting as early as 12 am. So make sure to get there early if you get the tickets.
2. Visit the federal reserve bank:
“What am I gonna do in the Bank? I am a brokie”. At least you can let your eyes stumble upon 500,000 bars of gold. That’s almost 6200 tons of gold. It’s like visiting Scrooge McDuck’s money bin but without the risk of drowning in gold coins. You might want to touch it and probably take some with you. You can do that unless you wanna get locked up in jail for the next 10 yrs.
Anyway, the Fed Bank offers tours of its facilities, including the gold vault and the museum. The gold bars are behind the glass window, and you can learn about their security measures to protect them. They will tell you about the bank’s operations and functions and show some artifacts like old banknotes and coins.
And if you’re worried about the tour being boring, don’t be. It’s an hour-long adventure filled with fun facts and exciting stories. Who knew that monetary policy could be so entertaining? But you need to reserve your spot in advance, as tours can fill up quickly.
Before we move on to the third one, make sure to follow us on Instagram @cheaptravelbuddy for more content.
3. Staten Island Ferry:
“A ferry ride? Really?” But hear me out; the Staten Island Ferry is a free ferry service that runs all year round between Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan and St George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island. The 25-minute ride offers some of the best views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the New York City skyline. It’s a great way to escape the city crowd for a little bit. And if you’re lucky, you might even witness some New York-style road rage from the comfort of the ferry.
The ferry boats are pretty frequent, with 15 to 20 minutes between each ride. So you don’t have to wait in line longer. Be aware of scammers standing outside the ferry terminal offering to sell tickets.
4. Free walking tours
New York is all about walking. You can get to a place faster than by waiting through the traffic. There are guided free walking tours around the city that take you through its most iconic locations. They are usually specific to one area, like the Grand Central Terminal tour, Soho, Little Italy and Chinatown tour, Harlem Tour, Lower Manhattan Tour and so on. The guides are experienced locals who will tell you unheard facts about the city while keeping you entertained. Although it is free, it’s always good to tip them for their help.
Usually, these tours last 2 to 3 hours, and there are walking tours almost daily. They also do Audio tours which cost like $3. You can book the tour from their booking page. You’ll receive a confirmation email with a .pdf, Google Map link, and audio tour. Follow the map and the audio to go through the city independently.
5. Visit the 9/11 memorial & museum:
9/11 Memorial and Museum honor the lives lost in the tragic September 11, 2001 incident.
The memorial consists of two reflecting pools that sit right on the twin towers’ footprints. They are surrounded by bronze panels with the names of the 2001 attack and 1993 World Trade Center bombings victims inscribed on them. The museum is underground and has displays covering the incidents, including the pentagon attack and the plane crash in Pennsylvania. It highlights the authentic archaeological remnants of the World Trade Center. They often have exhibitions and collections of tragic incidents which are worth visiting. It’s about a couple of hours’ visit at the museum.
So, how do you visit it for free? Free Admission Monday tickets will be available on the website beginning at 7 am each Monday ET and are first come, first serve. 9/11 family members, rescue and recovery workers, active and retired U.S. military, and their families get free entry all the time. And for New York City public school students and teachers, admission is always free.
Bonus: get a city pass
Getting a City Pass is a fantastic way to save money on tickets in New York. There are three different passes: City pass, C3 pass, and C-all pass. They let you entry on selected attractions throughout the city. You can save up to 46% if you buy a pass than purchasing individual tickets at each attraction. The link for the website is in the description below.
So these are the 5 free things to do in New York. If you’re a budget traveler, we have multiple articles listing the free things to do in cities like Bangkok, London, and Paris. Make sure to watch them as well.