Best Things to do in NYC Today with Free Events, Concerts and Art (2024)

Broadway shows are practically synonymous with New York City, and the wordBroadwayis often used as shorthand for theater itself.Visiting the Great White Waymeans attending one of 41 large theaters concentratedin the vicinity ofTimes Square,most of which seat more than 1,000 people.

The most popular Broadway showstend to bemusicals, from long-runningfavoriteslikeThe Lion KingandHamiltonto more recent hits likeHadestownandMoulin Rouge!—but new plays and revivals also represent an important part of the Broadway experience. There’s a wide variety of Broadway shows out there, as our complete A–Z listing attests.

Our list of NYC’s 50 best restaurantsoffers a catalogue of all the places we wish we were at right now. They don’t have to be the newest or the most famous (though some are), just places that we want to return to again and again, and that we think that you will, too.

New York City is full offree outdoor art thatyou don't even have to go to a museum to see. Sculptures, murals andphotographs can be foundin its parks, sidewalks and on its buildings! Locations such as the High Line, Central Park, the Metropolitan Museum Of Art, Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn,Socrates Sculpture Park in Queensand other NYC locales all haveawide variety of pieces awaiting you, from massivesculptures to eye-popping murals and graffiti.

We rounded up the best outdoor art you can go see right now.

Forseveral years, anybody who has walked, run, or biked along the Hudson River trail in Hell’s Kitchen has had to squeeze past barriers and a shrouded fence. At last, the barriers are starting to come down as the park at Pier 97 progresses.

Though it's not complete yet, parts of the park are now open for visitors. The Pier 97 park, located across from West 57th Street, has been a long time coming. Empty since its reconstruction in 2013, renderings were unveiled in 2019, with plans to open the park in 2022. Obviously, that didn’t happen, but signs at the site say it should fully open in spring 2024.

The park currently features a blue turf field, a shaded pergola area with benches, and loungers with skyline views.

“We choose to go to the Moon,” President John F. Kennedy’s voice booms through speakers welcoming visitors to the massive new Space Race-themed exhibit at the. With archival speeches, historic documents, and incredible space equipment, the exhibit whisks visitors back to the 1960s, an era when humanity first ventured into the unknown.

"Apollo: When We Went to the Moon" is now open at the Intrepid Museum (that's the gigantic aircraft carrier in Hell's Kitchen along the Hudson River) through September 2. At 9,000 square feet, it'sthe largest temporary exhibit in the museum's history. Tickets are inlcluded with museum admission.

For more than 30 years, the Tenement Museum shared stories about the people who once lived in the building it now owns. But that meant that some groups—particularly Black New Yorkers—were excluded, as there's no record of a Black family living in theapartment buildingat 97 Orchard Street.

Now, with an aim to explore the full breadth of immigrant and migrant experiences,the Lower East Side museum is highlighting the stories of a Black family for the first time with a newtour titled "A Union of Hope: 1869."The exhibition tells the story of the Moore family who lived in Soho during and after the Civil War. Reserve tickets herefor $30/person.

From amazing costumes to Broadway history to fun photo opps, this long-awaited new museum is a must-see for theater buffs.

You can expect the new museum to highlight over 500 individual productions from the 1700s all the way to the present.

Among the standout offerings will also be a special exhibit dubbed "The Making of a Broadway Show," which honors the on- and off-stage community that helps bring plays and musicals to life multiple times a week.

Digital art and poetry will combine for a dive into Afrocentricity and Afrofuturism at this new immersive exhibit in Chelsea. "Aṣẹ: Afro Frequencies" is now open at ARTECHOUSE and runs all summer.

The digital art exhibition promises a "vibrant reflection upon the past, present, and future of the Black experience." It's told through the perspective of London-based Afro-surrealist digital artist Vince Fraseralongsideevocative poetryby ursula rucker.

Both artists workedto honor the legacy, struggles, and complexities of the Black experience in their work. Even the exhibition's title, "Aṣẹ"stems from a powerful mantra, affirmation, and philosophical belief held by the Yoruba people of West Africa, meaning "so will it be." (By the way, that's pronounced as AH-shay.)

For more than a century, the Statue of Liberty has offered inspiration as a beacon of freedom, equality, and democracy. And for just as long, she has also served as an inspiration for tattoo artists.

A new exhibit at City Reliquary, a jewel box of a museum in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, features vintage State of Liberty tattoos.Asthe first show devoted to Lady Liberty ink, it also traces tattooing history in NYC since the 1800s. "Liberty the Tattooed Lady: The Great Bartholdi Statue as Depicted in Tattooing" is now open through January 12, 2025.

The exhibition spotlights antique flash, vintage photographs, drawings, and otherephemera that show how Lady Liberty has been apopular subject in tattooing for as long as she’s stood in New York Harbor. You'll even get to see vintage tattoo art that's never been on display before.

The New York Philharmonic's home has been transformed into a state-of-the-art hub for classical music and a more welcoming space for New Yorkers.Go see at show at the newly redesigned David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.

Here's the full scheduleof performances, andhere's a peek inside the new theater.

A major exhibit by the Museum of the City of New York titled "This Is New York: 100 Years of the City in Art and Pop Culture" explores the love-hate relationship with NYC through the lenses of visual art, television, film, music, theater, literature and fashion.

As the museum celebrates 100 years, it's exploring several threads through This Is New York: The city's mighty cultural energy in 1923; the five boroughs as a constant inspiration for creatives; andNew Yorkers'complicated relationship with the city of grit, grime and glamour.

"There’s this kind of love and hate around New York City. There’s that saying that it’s the most American city and the least American city. This is warts and all," Lilly Tuttle, curator at the Museum of the City of New York, toldTime Out. "It’sthe idea that the city is this engine that generates this reflection and this creative interpretation—full of contradictions."

After nearly a decade of planning, designing and building, the massive new wing at the American Museum of Natural Historyis now open. The architecturally stunning, 230,000-square-foot Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation is a sight to behold.

Scientific wonders—including a butterfly vivarium, an insectarium and a 360-degree immersive experience—fill every inch of the space.

Part visual splendor, part olfactory wonder and part ooey-gooey sensory fun,Sloomoo Institute’s slime museumis now openagain after a renovation. This captivating playground welcomes all ages to its home in SoHo—or “SooHoo,” in Sloomoo parlance (see what they did there?).

Here are five thingsnot to miss at Sloomoo, including a chance to get slimed and a DIY slime making activity.

The luxurious Italian wellness spaQC NY (by QC Terme Spas and Resorts) brings the elegance and rejuvenation of a European spa to Governors Island, but with New York City flavor.

When you check in, you're given everything you'll need—a bag containing flip flops, a towel, a robe and a key for your locker—and a chance to sign up for a25-, 50-, or 75-minutemassage ($100-$250). Then, you are set free to roam the spa, which is full ofrelaxation rooms (each with its own meticulously curated personality, scent, and music), themed saunas, Vichy showers, infrared beds, foot baths, hydro jets, steam baths and other amazingly lush experiences.

It's a treat no matter the season.

Every day, thousands of people walk through Times Square,rushing to catch the subway, heading to work, meandering through shops—manyof them unaware that they're stepping overa revolutionary art project that's been a part of the city for decades.

Purposely unmarked, it's easy to miss this piece of auditory art becausetruly experiencing it requires tuning into a specific frequency in the most cacophonous place in America. The late artist Max Neuhaus's installationcalled "Times Square" sounds like the echo of a bell ringing. It's hard to place this droning tone among all the othernoises there, especiallybecause the sound emanates from a typical grate right beneath your feet.

Here's the backstory — and the intel on how to find it.

Imagine waking up to the sound of gently swaying trees and chirping birds, sun peeking into your window which looks out across a canopy of golden leaves. It's an experience that is totally attainable, thanks to Airbnb.

There are plenty of gorgeous treehouse rentals near NYC just waiting for you to visit, and they range from low-fi elevated cabins to more luxurious options with hot tubs and extensive vinyl selections to play at your leisure.

The New York Public Library dug through its expansive and centuries-spanning archive to stage an impressive free exhibition filled with cultural artifacts. "The Polonsky Exhibition of New York Public Library’s Treasures"spans 4,000 years of history and includes a wide range of history-making pieces, including the only surviving letter from Christoper Columbus announcing his “discovery” of the Americas to King Ferdinand’s court and the first Gutenberg Bible brought over to the Americas.

New treasures rotate into the exhibit regulary, so it's worth visiting more than once.

Thevibrant, ornatestained glass windows inside Manhattan's historic churches always create a dazzling spectacle. But now, a new long-term art display inspired by those rich colors has unfurled insidethe Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights—theworld's largest Gothic cathedral.

Titled "Divine Pathways," the monumental art installation is made up of more than 1,100lengths of blue, red and gold fabric. Each ribbon measures 75 feet in length (approximately seven stories high). Combined, they are almost 16 miles long—that's longer than the island of Manhattan!

St. John the Divineisopen daily forself-guided sightseeing tours with a $15/adult admission fee;timed tickets are recommended.

The Rubin Museum is offering a unique exhibit that delves into the power of difficult emotions and how to turn them into positive ones—something many of us would benefit from these days.

On the third floor of the museum, the Mandala Lab uses fun and interactive tools to explore jealousy/envy, attachment, pride, anger and ignorance and shows visitors how to turn them into wisdom of accomplishment, discernment, equanimity, mirror-like wisdom and all-accommodating wisdom, respectively.

The gong orchestra is a fun and beautiful way to get yourfrustrations out—by taking a mallet and hitting one of eight gongs, you can express anger and then watch it dissipate by submerging the gong into a pool of water. The gongs themselves were designed by musicians like Billy Cobham, Sheila E., Peter Gabriel, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Sarah Hennies, Huang Ruo, Shivamani and Bora Yoon.

New York's Roaring '20s 2.0 are back on with the first whiskey distillery to open (legally) in Manhattan since Prohibition. Designed with the decadence of the era in mind,Great Jones Distilling Co.isManhattan's first and only legal whiskey distillery in over 100 years.

The 28,000 square foot venue features a fully functioningdistillery, a tasting room, fascinating tours andseveraldrinking and dining venues, including an underground speakeasy and full restaurant.

See California sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters and African penguins at the New York Aquarium. Plus, there's a new climate change exhibit called "Sea Change."