Free Museum Days in NYC
Are you looking for free museum days in NYC?
New York City is home to many world-class museums. Unfortunately, many of these museums charge a pretty steep admission fee. There might be discounts available for students or seniors or other groups, but if you have to pay full price, you could be looking at a ticket cost of up to $30 for a museum!
I’m not a fan of paying for museums, and as a New Yorker, I’m always trying to visit museums on days they offer free (or pay-what-you-wish) admission. And I’ve put together a big list of them below!
There are some museums that always offer free or pay-what-you-wish admission. With pay-what-you-wish, you have to pay some amount, but it can be as little as $1 so it’s almost free.
Other museums offer free or pay-what-you-wish admission on select days of the week or month, sometimes during specific hours. For some of the more popular museums, you might need to reserve your free tickets online in advance because a limited quantity is available and they often sell out.
Here’s a look at all the best free museum days in NYC you should know about:
Free for New Yorkers
The following museums offer free or pay-what-you-wish admission for New Yorkers. While this will not apply if you’re visiting NYC, it’s a great deal for locals who want to access these museums.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pay-what-you-wish admission for all New York residents (and pay-what-you-wish admission for students from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut)
- The Met Cloisters: Pay-what-you-wish admission for all New York residents (and pay-what-you-wish admission for students from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut)
- American Museum of Natural History: Pay-what-you-wish admission for all New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents (applies to the main museum only and not special collections)
- Museum of Modern Art: Free admission for NYC residents on the first Friday of each month from 4 PM until 8 PM (must reserve tickets online beginning one week in advance)
- 9/11 Memorial & Museum: Free admission for NYC residents on the first Monday of each month from 5:30 PM until 7 PM (must reserve tickets online beginning one month in advance)
All of these museums are amazing, but my favorite would have to be the Met!
Always Free
These museums offer free admission daily, and they are free to everyone.
- American Folk Art Museum
- The Museum at FIT
- New York Public Library: Not exactly a museum, but the flagship building of the library is open to visitors and it does have a fascinating exhibition hall that is well worth a visit
- National Museum of the American Indian
- Socrates Sculpture Park
- Queens County Farm Museum
- The Bronx Museum
Of these, the one I’d recommend the most is the New York Public Library. The exhibition at the library is always changing and it shows some of the most impressive literary artifacts from their collection.
Always Pay-What-You-Wish
These museums offer pay-what-you-wish admission every day. There might be a suggested donation amount, but it’s up to you how much you pay, and you can choose to pay only $1 if you want.
Note that you might need to buy tickets in person at the museum if you aren’t able to get the pay-what-you-wish price online. These museums usually aren’t too busy, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
- Museum of the City of New York
- Cooper Hewitt: Pay-what-you-wish admission daily from 5 PM until 6 PM
- El Museo del Barrio
- Brooklyn Museum
- MoMA PS1
- Queens Museum
- Staten Island Museum
My favorite of these museums is the Museum of the City of New York. This awesome museum offers a fascinating look at the history of New York City, from the founding of the city to the present day.
Weekly Free Days
The following museums offer weekly free days or pay-what-you-wish days during specific hours. Remember, you might need to book your free tickets in advance so be sure to check online.
- Bronx Zoo: Not exactly a museum, but free admission every Wednesday
- New York Aquarium: Also not a museum, but free admission every Wednesday after 3 PM
- The Frick Collection: Pay-what-you-wish admission every Thursday from 4 PM until 6 PM
- Museum of the Moving Image: Free admission every Thursday from 2 PM until 6 PM
- Morgan Library & Museum: Free admission every Friday from 5 PM until 7 PM (and free admission to the historic rooms on Tuesday and Sundays from 3 PM until 5 PM)
- New-York Historical Society: Free admission every Friday from 5 PM until 8 PM
- Whitney Museum of American Art: Free admission every Friday from 5 PM until 10 PM
- Asia Society Museum: Free admission every Friday
- Guggenheim Museum: Pay-what-you-wish admission every Saturday from 6 PM until 8 PM
- Jewish Museum: Free admission every Saturday
My top recommendations from this list would be the Guggenheim, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the Whitney. All of these museums have a great atmosphere during their free evenings. You’ll definitely want to reserve tickets online in advance for these museums, because their free days are quite popular.
Monthly Free Days
These museums offer monthly free days. While these free days are less frequent and might not work out with your dates if you’re just visiting NYC for a short time, these can be good for locals.
- Neue Galerie: Free admission on the first Friday of each month from 5 PM until 8 PM
- The Noguchi Museum: Free admission of the first Friday of each month
- Whitney Museum of American Art: Free admission on the second Sunday of each month (also offers free weekly admission on Friday evenings from 5 PM until 10 PM)
The Neue Galerie is a hidden gem that I would highly recommend!
Seasonal Free Days
These museums offer seasonal free or pay-what-you-wish days.
- Brooklyn Botanic Garden: Pay-what-you-wish admission on weekdays from December through February (some areas may be inaccessible due to the winter light installations)
- Intrepid Museum: Free admission on select Fridays during the summer
Both of these places are great to visit if you have the chance to go for free!
NYC Museum Free Days
This guide showed you all the best free museum days in NYC.
New York is home to so many incredible museums, whether you’re interested in art, history, culture, or something else. And visiting these museums doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money.
Thanks to free and pay-what-you-wish admission, you can visit the best museums in NYC for nothing, or just $1. It’s definitely worth checking out some of these museums when you’re in New York.
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