The Capital of the World, the Big Apple; New York has several world-renowned names and incredible places to enjoy a great vacation, including many free things, like these 27 that we present to you.
1. Stroll through Central Park
If you visit New York and you don't go to Central Park, it's as if you went to Paris and didn't take a look at the Eiffel Tower. There are several free things to do in Central Park. There are its green areas and paths for walking or jogging, the Bethseda Fountain, Shakespeare's Garden, the John Lennon monument and other places.
2. Attend a concert at Prospect Park
Every year, courtesy of the organization Celebrate brooklyn, there are several hundred free concerts in Prospect Park, in popular New York county. If you are in New York for a couple of days it is very difficult not to coincide with one. You can have a picnic and then enjoy the music.
3. Attend a gospel mass
The gospel cult celebrates masses full of music and dances that constitute an unusual experience and also free. A Harlem church on a Sunday is the ideal place and day for you to discover this religious and cultural expression of New York.
4. Visit the Guggenheim Museum
Normally you have to pay, but you can visit it for free if you go on a Saturday between 5:45 and 7:45 P.M. Its magnificent architecture and masterpieces by Joan Miró, Amadeo Modigliani, Paul Klee, Alexander Calder and other great figures of universal art await you there.
5. Take a walking tour
There is usually no fee to walk and New York is careful to accommodate the budget of all its visitors. The Big Apple Greeter organization gathers tourists with locals to walk in groups through different places of interest in the city, where other volunteers make their information contribution. It is a form of cultural exchange and for people to meet at the lowest possible cost.
6. A photo in Times Square
Times Square is one of the most iconic sites in the Big Apple. This bright and lively area of Manhattan, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues, is the perfect place to take a night photo with the commercials in the background.
7. A walk along the High Line
If you have chosen to enjoy the charms of New York in winter, you have to know the High Line snowman contests. In summer, free walks are frequent that take you to the most interesting places, with information about their history.
8. Attend a television show
You may be lucky enough to act as an "extra", comfortably seated in a television studio and paying nothing. Maybe you know a luminary like Jimmy Fallon or Seth Meyers. You must be very attentive about the delivery time of the tickets, since they are in high demand.
9. Visit Central Station
The Grand Central Railway Terminal is a work of art with its imposing lobby in which the murals of the French painter Paul César Helleu stand out on the constellations of the sky. Some 750,000 people travel there every day who have to pay for their transportation. You can admire it for free.
10. Visit the National Library
Even if you are not very fond of reading, among the hundreds of thousands of books in the New York Public Library there must be one that you want to read. Some works must be read on site and others can be borrowed, but you must register. Computer aids allow you to quickly find what you are looking for.
11. Outdoor cinema
In the New York summer, several parks offer free outdoor movie shows. You will not find the latest Hollywood production, but you will be able to see some of those film gems lost in the archives, with the advantage that some directors and experts participate in the exhibitions and interact with the public. Popcorn and soda if you have to pay for them.
12. "Play" on the Stock Exchange
Wall Street is a narrow New York street that is worth visiting, especially for the Stock Exchange, which operates in a beautiful building. If you don't intend to shake up the stock market with a heavy investment, at least you can take an unforgettable photo.
13. Visit SoHo
This neighborhood of Manhattan is another of the must-sees of the Big Apple, despite the fact that in the 19th century the space was known as "The Hundred Acres of Hell." The joy and bonhomie of the art people made the site famous in the 1960s and 1970s. Now it is the place of expensive boutiques and luxurious restaurants, but you can walk it for free.
14. Cross the Brooklyn Bridge
Once the longest suspension bridge in the world, it is another New York icon. Every day more than 150,000 vehicles and about 4,000 pedestrians cross it from Manhattan to Brooklyn and vice versa. The most spectacular views are at sunset and at night.
15. Beer Tour
New York is a city with a great brewing tradition, particularly due to its Irish and European immigration. This tour is hardly free, since it is almost impossible to resist the temptation to drink a hoppy, but they do not charge for the tour. Tours are offered by beer companies on Saturdays and Sundays.
16. Tour the Park of the Sculptures of Socrates
This family-friendly place is on Vernon Boulevard, Long Island. It was created in the 1980s at the initiative of a group of artists who turned an illegal garbage dump into a space for art and relaxation. In summer they offer concerts and recitals in the open air.
17. Visit the museum of the Technological Institute of Fashion
The Big Apple is one of the fashion capitals of the world and the headquarters of several of the great design houses. In this museum you can admire some creations that have made history, cut by the scissors of Chanel, Dior, Balenciaga and other monsters from expensive rags. There is also a collection of more than 4,000 pairs of shoes.
18. Take a walk around Chinatown
It is another symbol of New York, which must be known carefully, trying to stay within the recommended tours for tourists. In the original center of Chinatown you will surely find a souvenir at a convenient cost if you know how to haggle; the walk is free.
19. Visit the MoMa
It is a magnificent opportunity for you to admire without paying masterpieces from the brushes of Picasso, Chagall, Matisse and Mondrain, or the chisels of Rodin, Calder and Maillol. On Fridays between 4 PM and 8 PM, the tour of the galleries and exhibits of the Museum of Modern Art in New York is free by sponsoring private commercial houses.
20. Go for a Kayak ride
If you're not afraid of kayaking, you can take advantage of the courtesy of organizations like the Downtown Boathouse, which sponsors free tours of the Hudson and East River. You have the safety equipment and the help of expert navigators.
21. Visit the Federal Reserve Bank
You may not be allowed to enter the vaults, but just knowing that you are a few meters from more than 7,000 tons of gold is an experience that should at least bring you good fortune. It is a guided tour in which you must sign up one month in advance.
22. Visit the Cathedral of San Juan el Divino
This temple located on Amsterdam Avenue is the largest Anglican cathedral in the world. It is in the neo-Gothic style and you have to admire the images of Saint John, Christ in Majesty, Saint Boniface, Saint Oscar, Saint Ambrose and Saint James the Greater. It was the scene of famous speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr.
23. Go to the World Trade Center area
It will surely be the only sad stop on this free tour, but how to go to New York and not visit the scene of the tragedy that has most moved the city and the entire country? It is an appropriate time for recollection and to pray for the victims.
24. Ride the Roosevelt Island cable car
It is not totally free, since you will need your MetroCard to use public transport. The ride on this streetcar that connects Roosvelt Island with Manhattan is one of the most enjoyable rides in New York.
25. See Manhattan from New Jersey
Typically, people see Manhattan in several ways, including in the direction of New Jersey. If you go to New Jersey, you will have the opportunity to see Manhattan in a somewhat different and less usual way among visitors. The views are as splendid as you could get on the roof of a skyscraper.
26. Visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
If you want to take a break from the lights, the concrete and the glass, access to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Arboretum is free on Tuesdays and Saturdays between 10 AM and 12 PM. Enjoy its delicious Japanese Garden, the Esplanade of the Cherry Trees, the Children's Garden and other wonderful spaces.
27. Boating
We have not forgotten the Statue of Liberty. If you go to Battery Park, you can board a nice boat from there that takes you to Staten Island for free in less than half an hour. It is the best way to see and photograph the most famous statue in New York for free, a masterful closing of this fun walk.
You must have been a little tired of spending little. Now indulge yourself in one of the exclusive restaurants in New York and plan your next trip.
