The free things to do in NYC that we could confirm are the Staten Island Ferry, the High Line, the 9/11 Memorial plaza, Federal Hall, Brooklyn Bridge Park and the weekend-morning ferry to Governors Island. Museums and observation decks are not on the list because they charge. We read each official page on 16 October 2026.

The Empire State Building seen from the High Line, New York City
The Empire State Building seen from the High Line.
Photo: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net ). · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

The free places, with address, hours and what costs extra

Staten Island Ferry

Address: The two terminals are St. George (Staten Island) and Whitehall (Manhattan). The DOT pages we read give no street address for Whitehall (NYC DOT, Staten Island Ferry schedule page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: NYC DOT's facts page says "The Ferry runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." The schedule page lists departures mostly at half-hour intervals, with some irregular times, on separate weekday and weekend timetables. Check the timetable for your day (NYC DOT, ferry facts and schedule pages, read 16 Oct 2026)

Price: Free. DOT says the ferry provides "free service between Staten Island and Lower Manhattan every day of the week, year-round." The crossing is about 25 minutes in either direction (NYC DOT, Staten Island Ferry page and schedule page, read 16 Oct 2026)

The High Line

Address: An elevated park on the West Side of Manhattan, from Gansevoort Street to 34th Street. Park-level access is also at 30th Street at Hudson Yards and at 31st Street and Dyer Avenue (The High Line, visit page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: April 1 to November 30: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. December 1 to March 31: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (same page)

Price: Free. The FAQ says "The High Line is free" and describes a 1.45 mile structure. Free tours run "on select days" (High Line FAQ and visit page, read 16 Oct 2026)

The visit page, when we read it, listed a temporary closure of the section between 18th Street and 23rd Street on October 19. It gave no reason.

9/11 Memorial plaza

Address: 180 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007 (National 9/11 Memorial & Museum, visit page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: The Memorial is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Museum is open Wednesday to Monday and select Tuesdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with last entry at 5:30 p.m. (same page)

Price: The Memorial is "free and open to the public seven days a week." The Museum "requires advance ticket purchase." The Museum has Free Admission Mondays. Tickets go up on the website each Monday at 7 a.m. ET, first come, first served, and last entry is 5:30 p.m. New Yorkers with ID also get free entry on Sundays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Free Sundays page says every Sunday, while the discounts page still says the first Sunday of the month (9/11 Memorial & Museum discounts page and New York Free Sundays page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Federal Hall National Memorial

Address: 26 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 (National Park Service, Federal Hall plan your visit page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, and on Thanksgiving (26 November), Christmas Day and New Year's Day. The visitor entrance is at 15 Pine St. Phone 212-825-6990 (NPS, Federal Hall hours page, updated 24 Feb 2026, read 16 Oct 2026)

Price: Free. The NPS fees page says "There is no fee to enter Federal Hall National Memorial" (NPS fees page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Governors Island

Address: The Manhattan ferry leaves from the Battery Maritime Building, 10 South Street. Seasonal Brooklyn ferries leave from Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 6 and Red Hook on weekends and holidays from May 23 to November 1, 2026 (Trust for Governors Island, plan your visit and ferry pages, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: The island is open daily, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., year-round. Fall hours started on 8 September 2026 (same pages)

Price: The ferry is $5 round trip for adults. The pages we read do not say whether the island itself charges. "All passengers ride free on Saturdays and Sundays before 11am." The ferry page also lists free rides for adults 65 and over, children 12 and under, IDNYC holders, NYCHA residents and military servicemembers. Reservations are recommended even for free tickets (same pages)

The weekend schedule lists free departures from Manhattan from 7:00 a.m. through 10:45 a.m. The ferry page says schedules are subject to change.

Brooklyn Bridge walkway

Address: The Brooklyn Bridge links Manhattan and Brooklyn. NYC DOT lists the total length of the bridge and its approaches as 6,016 feet (NYC DOT, Brooklyn Bridge page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Hours: DOT says the pedestrian promenade stays open at all times during the current rehabilitation (same page)

Price: The DOT page lists no toll or fee for the promenade. It says portions of the walkway may be narrowed at times (same page)

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Hours: "We Are Open 7 Days a Week | 6AM - 1AM." Pier 5 closes at 11 p.m. (Brooklyn Bridge Park, home page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Price: The home page says "Entry is Free!" It gave no street address or acreage on the page we read (same page)

Central Park

Hours: Open daily from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. (Central Park Conservancy, visit page, read 16 Oct 2026)

Note: The Conservancy's pages give the size as 843 acres and 42 million annual visits. The pages we read do not say whether entry is free, so we could not confirm it in writing. The NYC Parks page blocked us (Central Park Conservancy, visit and about pages, read 16 Oct 2026)

Free things to do in NYC with kids

  • The Staten Island Ferry, free for everyone.

  • The High Line, free.

  • Governors Island ferry: free for children 12 and under at any time, and for all passengers on weekends before 11 a.m.

  • Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park, open until 1 a.m.

We did not check any playground, zoo, library or children's museum.

Free things to do in NYC at night

  • The Staten Island Ferry runs 24 hours a day, says NYC DOT.

  • Brooklyn Bridge Park and Central Park stay open until 1 a.m.

  • The Brooklyn Bridge walkway stays open at all times during repairs, says DOT.

  • The High Line closes at 10 p.m. from April to November and at 8 p.m. from December to March. The 9/11 Memorial closes at 8 p.m.

We did not check lighting, crowds or safety at night.

Free things to do in NYC in December

The places above stay free in winter, but some hours are shorter. The High Line is open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. from 1 December, and the 9/11 Memorial stays open until 8 p.m. We did not confirm any free holiday event for this page. See Christmas in New York for the 2026 holiday dates, the crowds and Christmas Day.

Getting around

All of these are in Manhattan or the harbor, except Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governors Island. For the subway, the airports and where to sleep, see New York without a car. We did not check any subway line or fare for this page.

What we checked and what can change

Read on 16 October 2026: NYC DOT's Staten Island Ferry, schedule, ferry facts and Brooklyn Bridge pages, the High Line's visit page and FAQ, the National 9/11 Memorial & Museum's visit, discounts and Free Sundays pages, the National Park Service's Federal Hall plan your visit, hours and fees pages, the Trust for Governors Island's plan your visit and ferry pages, Brooklyn Bridge Park's home page, and the Central Park Conservancy's visit and about pages.

Not confirmed: the Central Park entry statement in writing, the street address of the Whitehall terminal, the reason for the High Line closure on October 19, and any free museum hours. We left out the National Museum of the American Indian and the New York Public Library's main building, because their pages blocked us. Hours and closures change, so check the operator's page for your date. We did not visit New York for this page.