Best Free Museum Days in NYC

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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.

Note: These free days are subject to change at any time. I try to keep this guide updated, but please double-check all museum hours and free days with the official museum website before planning your visit.

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 for all New York residents and their guests (and pay-what-you-wish admission for students from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut)
The Met Cloisters: Pay-what-you-wish for all New York residents and their guests (and pay-what-you-wish admission for students from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut)
American Museum of Natural History: Pay-what-you-wish for all New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut residents (this applies to the main museum only and not special collections)
Museum of the City of New York: Pay-what-you-wish for all New York residents
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.

Cooper Hewitt: Pay-what-you-wish 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.

Museum of the City of New York: Free admission every Wednesday
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 every Wednesday from 2 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 every Monday and Saturday from 4 PM until 5:30 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 on weekdays from December through February (but note that 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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