Free and pay-what-you-wish museums
STOP 1 OF 11
American Museum of Natural History
Uptown · Paid entry
Pay what you wish for NY, NJ and CT residents; dinosaurs and the blue whale.
3 hours or more · General admission paid; NY, NJ and CT residents pay what they wish
EThe editors · 2 Museums for less lists — switch
Free and pay-what-you-wish museums
Museums that are always free, and the big ones where New Yorkers pay what they like.
11 placesTwo or three daysRead the guide ↓
- 1. American Museum of Natural HistoryPay what you wish for NY, NJ and CT residents; dinosaurs and the blue whale.UptownPaid entry3 hours or moreGeneral admission paid; NY, NJ and CT residents pay what they wish
2. The Met, Fifth Avenue stepsPay what you wish for New York State residents and NY, NJ and CT students.UptownPaid entry3 hours or more$30 adults; pay what you wish for New York State residents
3. National Museum of the American IndianAlways free: a Smithsonian museum in the Custom House.Lower ManhattanFree to visit1 hourFree
4. Federal HallAlways free: where Washington was sworn in.Lower ManhattanFree to visit20–30 minFree
5. The Museum at FITAlways free: fashion exhibitions.MidtownFree to visit45 minFree
6. American Folk Art MuseumAlways free: folk and self-taught art by Lincoln Center.UptownFree to visit45 minFree
7. The Studio Museum in HarlemFree: the art museum of Harlem.HarlemFree to visit1 hourFree
8. The Bronx Museum of the ArtsAlways free: contemporary art near Yankee Stadium.The BronxFree to visit1 hourFree
9. Socrates Sculpture ParkAlways free: outdoor sculpture on the East River.QueensFree to visit30–45 minFree
10. New York Public Library, Fifth AvenueFree: the reading room and exhibitions at the main library.MidtownFree to visit30–60 minFree
11. The Morgan Library & MuseumFree on some Friday evenings: J. P. Morgan’s library.MidtownPaid entry1.5 hoursPaid entry; free on some Friday evenings with timed tickets
The guide
How to do it: Free and pay-what-you-wish museums
New York’s museums can cost $30 a ticket, but a lot of good ones are always free, and the two biggest let residents of the region pay what they like.
This list mixes both. Check each museum’s current rules before you go; they change.
- The order to do it in
- Lower Manhattan’s free pair (the American Indian museum and Federal Hall) in a morning, Midtown’s FIT and the library, the Upper West Side for the Folk Art Museum and Natural History, and Harlem or the Bronx on another day.
- When to go
- Weekdays are quieter. Friday evenings often have extra free hours.
- Getting there
- All are on or near the subway.
- What it costs
- Free, or what you choose to pay where pay-what-you-wish applies.
Worth knowing
- At the Met, pay-what-you-wish needs proof of New York State residency, or a student ID from NY, NJ or CT.
- Bring ID for building security at Federal Hall and the Custom House.
Started from the pins on Capture the Atlas’s free museums map (the map). Places, notes and the guide checked and written by us; prices and opening times change, so check before you go.