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Let’s face it. You want to have fun, get the most out of your trip, but you also don’t want to spend a fortune. We totally understand because that’s how we always plan our trips. New York City can be expensive and you’ll hear it all the time from people on how expensive it is. However, it is possible to see and do a lot for free or cheap. But first, let me tell you of the top four things you will spend your money on when visiting NYC. So, plan accordingly.
- Your hotel (unless you have a friend/family that you can stay with. I’ll tell you where we stayed)
- Your flight (unless you’re driving, but then there’s gas)
- Transportation around NYC (use the subway because it’s much cheaper & faster to get around)
- Food (especially if you’re from the south, food will seem much pricier in NYC. And no, you can’t just pass by on hot dogs & pretzels! I’ll tell you of two restaurants we highly recommend when visiting NYC at the end of this post along with a few things that will or can cost you money, but we highly recommend if you can fit it in.)
Now, let’s start with all the FREE things you can see & do!!!
My intention is to post all the free things that we did. With some of these free things, there are alternative options to pay if you want to delve into it some more. For instance, if you just want to see the apartment building from the TV show “Friends” you can go see it and take some awesome photos.
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The 9/11 Memorial is free, but the museum is not. However, there are some special consideration groups that qualify for free entrance so check their website for specifics.
Brooklyn
If you’re going to NYC, please make a day trip and check out Brooklyn because it is full of history & diversity. We are so happy we made time. You can check it out for yourself for free, but if you want to pay for a guided walking tour (which we did) it is so worth it! We went with Dani on Airbnb and she was fantastic! She is also a travel writer like me!
Bryant Park
We we there at Christmastime so when we visited there were many shops. It is a really nice place to grab something to eat, sit down and people watch. The ice skating rink is there as well, but that is not free. We skipped all ice skating during our trip.
Central Park & Wollman Rink
I could have spent hours here because this park is truly beautiful! It is also tremendously big in square footage so if you want to see it all, you’ll need to make plenty of time. While we were here, I think we only saw about 1/4th of it. Wollman Rink is one of the spots that I wanted us to visit because I had seen beautiful photographs with the ice skating rink and the Manhattan skyline in the background. It did not disappoint!
Flatiron building
The Flatiron building has been the backdrop for many movies and TV shows. But it is most famous for being the Daily Bugle in the Spider-Man movies. If you’re a movie aficionado, then you might want to check this building out. By the way, the Harry Potter store is just around the corner!
Grand Central Station
This is the mecca of all meccas! The architecture and hustle & bustle of this place is mesmerizing! It is especially beautiful at Christmastime. Depending on where you’re going, you might even have to pass by here. But if not, make a pit stop here because it is also in many movies & shows. One example, is the new Marvel TV mini-series “Hawkeye.”
Madison Square Garden
You’ve probably heard of this place because many concerts, sports, and other events take place here. I remember hearing my mom talk about how my parents used to take my brother here to watch Lucha Libre, Spanish wrestling.
Radio City Music Hall
If you’ve never heard of Radio City Music Hall, then I don’t know where you’ve been living. It is a special event hall, but it is most famous for being the home of the Rockettes at Christmastime. Although we have never seen the Rockettes Spectacular show, the building itself is very impressive and iconic.
Rockefeller Center
When visiting NYC, you can’t miss this! This place is known worldwide and is home to many news studios. At Christmastime, the angels on one side of the plaza are absolutely gorgeous!
Roosevelt Island
Not many people have heard about this island that is between Manhattan and Queens and that’s a shame because I feel like we found a gem! This is actually where we stayed our entire trip. They opened the only hotel on the island called Graduate Roosevelt Island in 2021. They named it this because it is located next door to Cornell University.
It is a beautiful, friendly, and quaint living area because it has the best of both worlds. For one, it is quiet from all the NYC sounds and second, it is close to the city because you can easily take a subway or the Roosevelt Island Tramway. The views from Roosevelt Island are gorgeous and you can get postcard quality photos of the Queensboro Bridge at any time of the day! For a full review of our hotel stay and what to do on Roosevelt Island, visit my posts Graduate Roosevelt Island | Hip & Unique Hotel and Roosevelt Island | A Historical Hidden Gem. By the way, the island & tramway were depicted in the new movie Spider-Man No Way Home!
Shopping
You do not have to spend anything to have fun visiting these stores! In fact, we only bought some candy at Hershey’s and the boys bought some comics at Kinokuniya & Midtown Comics, and a couple of items at Nintendo & Stranger Things. We never even made it inside to Cartier (can’t afford anything there anyway), FAO Schwartz (the lines to get in were horrendous), & Harry Potter (we ran out of time to go in). It’s fun just to check out the stores and decorations, especially at Christmastime.
Apple
Cartier
Disney
FAO Schwartz
Google (the only one in the world!)
Harry Potter
Hershey’s
Kinokuniya
M&M
Macy’s
Midtown Comics
Nintendo
Stranger Things
Shows
If you’ve been wanting to be in a live audience, you can! Tickets never cost anything, you just need to plan ahead and be patient. If you ever land on a website that asks for some kind of fee, stay away. Go to the official site for audience tickets–>1iota.com. Once you request tickets, though, it isn’t guaranteed. You have to be accepted and invited. It’s hit or miss, but it’s worth it if you really want to be in one.
On our family trip, we were accepted to three live audiences and one of them really paid off! Literally! On the Tamron Hall show we were on a show to celebrate parents and it was a “Week of Wishes.” We received a lot of cool prizes! No photos were allowed in certain studios, but on the Tamron Hall show we were allowed to take photos, but not once the show started. The Today Show is one you can easily get accepted to, but again, you have to be invited and you have to arrive by 6:30am. For this show you must go onto their website to sign up. If you don’t see the dates you want to attend, keep checking their website.
*Because of Covid, all the live tapings require audience members to be fully vaccinated. Bring proof of vaccinations and read their full rules.
Drew Barrymore
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Tamron Hall
The Today Show
St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Although we never made it inside, which I’ve heard is beautiful especially at Christmastime, this cathedral is situated in the heart of NYC. The architecture is beautiful.
Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island
It doesn’t cost anything to see the Statue of Liberty from afar or even up close. The Staten Island Ferry is absolutely free to see it up close. But, if you want to land on Liberty and/or Ellis Island you’ll need to take a different ferry. We took the Statue Cruise to be able to land on Liberty Island and, to our surprise, it also landed on Ellis Island! We had no idea that it would also take us to Ellis Island and we were pleasantly surprised.
The Plaza Hotel
Remember how I said we were big movie & TV people? Well, have you heard of Home Alone 2? The Plaza Hotel was featured in several shots of the movie. We certainly can’t afford to stay here (I wish), but it is free to anyone to visit the lobby. If you’d like you can even have breakfast, an afternoon tea, or a cocktail at The Palm Court located inside the hotel and still feel like you’re lapping it up in luxury!
Treasures – The Polonsky Exhibition at the NY Public Library
Wow! If I could, I would have placed this on my top 5 places to visit while in NYC. Not only is the NY Public Library a backdrop for the original Ghostbusters movie, but it is now home to a permanent exhibition called Treasures. The room is truly full of treasures! It is home to the original Winnie the Pooh & Friends, Star Spangled Banner, a draft of the Declaration of Independence, and so much more! It is a must see! All you need is a timed entry ticket from their kiosk, free of course, once you arrive.
Times Square
I believe everyone in the world knows this place! You may hear people say that it’s overrated and a tourist trap, but you have to visit at least once so you can make that decision for yourself. It is after all where the ball drops on New Years Eve! The ball is visible at Christmastime, but since we have never visited another time, I’m not sure if the ball is there year round. Be aware though that Times Square can get crowded no matter what time of the year you visit. Maybe it’s due to Covid, but we couldn’t find one moderately priced place to sit down indoors at a restaurant. Even McDonald’s had no indoor seating. I suggest you stay away from Times Square when dining and have a nice meal elsewhere.
Trump Tower
You may disagree or not disagree with me, but we wanted to visit this building. He was afterall President of the United States and it’s part of history. It is elegant and beautiful! It is open to the public to visit the lobby and makes for fun photos, too! If you choose, you can dine at Trump Café which has very reasonable prices!
Wall Street
There isn’t much to see at Wall Street except for the iconic bull. There was a line to get photos with the bull, but if you just want a photo of the bull itself, just take the photo between people. That’s what we did!
Restaurants/Dining
There are thousands of dining options in NYC, but in our opinion, there are two that you shouldn’t miss, especially if it’s your first trip to NYC.
Ellen’s Stardust Diner
Ellen’s Stardust Diner is a very laid back casual dining experience with singing waitstaff that want to continue on to make it big on Broadway. Many of the staff take voice, acting, and dancing lessons and they will make an announcement from time to time to tip them to help them get them on the road to their dreams. Of course, it’s not mandatory, but it is nice to help them. I can assure you, they are VERY talented and you will feel like you’re watching a show while you’re eating. The food is good and the portions are big! It is a unique experience in NYC and the line can be long, but the line moves quickly. Try it!
Lombardi’s
Lombardi’s is literally America’s first pizzeria. They still make their pizza on traditional coal ovens and it tastes marvelous! Their indoor dining is small so just know that you may end up eating outside. But, that is actually not a bad thing!
Speaking of eating outside, unless it’s raining or there’s a snowstorm, it is very nice to eat outside. NYC has turned some streets into outdoor dining areas, mainly because of Covid, but I love the idea. Many restaurants, have added outdoor dining areas next to the sidewalks. I personally think this is great because it reminds me of outdoor cafés in Paris! So grab a delicious meal, or a bagel like I did, have a seat and just spend time soaking it all in while people watching on a gorgeous day.
These are not free, but you might want to try these.
I understand some of these are not cheap, but I’m posting these here towards the end because if you have it in the budget, I highly recommend them.
American Museum of Natural History
Broadway
If you choose a Broadway show, make sure it’s something that you think everyone in your family will enjoy watching and that it is age appropriate. Both of these shows were fantastic!
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Come From Away -
Dear Evan Hansen
Catch a football game in New Jersey
Our youngest son is a HUGE NY Jets fan! This trip really was a gift to our youngest son for his High School graduation in 2020 which we couldn’t take because of the Covid breakout. So, we had to postpone it and went December 2021. One of things he REALLY wanted to do was watch his favorite team at their home stadium. So we made it happen. If you’re not into football, then I would pass on this one. But, if you are into football and you’ve never seen a game in person, then go for it. It was a lot of fun! I will tell you, though, that between this and the Broadway shows, it was expensive. You only live once!
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
My husband is big into history and reading historical fiction and wanted to make a stop here. It wasn’t quite my thing, but when you’re planning a family vacation, make sure everyone in your family chooses at least one activity that they are interested in that the entire family can enjoy along with them.
Sea Glass Carousel
You’re probably thinking this is just for kids, but it’s not. In fact, the workers said that the majority are adults! Our boys had no interest in riding this because I guess they felt like it was for kids, but my husband and I had fun. It was actually a great time to get off our feet and relax because we had been doing a lot of walking that day! It’s a cheap & unique thing to do while you’re visiting near Battery Park.
Top of the Rock
If you want to see the city in all its glory and capture some amazing photos of the Empire State Building, Central Park, and others then Top of the Rock is your place to go.
United Nations
This tour of the United Nations was a last minute booking for us. We realized that it was within eyes view from our hotel room on Roosevelt Island and my husband thought it would be great to see where a lot of major decisions are made for our world. This is the world headquarters and the tour was super informative. We were able to see a lot of the rooms where world leaders gather, discuss, and debate.
I hope you have found informative ideas that can help you in planning a trip to NYC. Like I mentioned at the beginning, it is possible to see and do a lot for free or cheap. And, there will be a couple of things you will spend money on. However, it’s all in where your priorities are and what you want or don’t want to spend money on. If you have been to any of the above and/or have any new & unique things that people may not know about NYC that you believe is worth a visit, please comment below. I’d love to hear about them!
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