Top 10 Free Things to Do in NYC

Our Local Expert Says:

For just a few of the many diversions available in the park, check out some advanced roller blading skills at "The Hill" west of Sheep's Meadow, or have a drink/meal at the Boathouse, near 74th Street on the east side of Rowboat Lake and open all summer.

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The idea for Central Park was born in 1858, which a competition was held to choose a design for what would be the first public park built in America. The winners were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose Greensward plan proposed an entirely man-made park that would be intended only for public use, as a refuge from the relentless rhythms of New York City's already overcrowded streets. It took more than 15 years and $14 million (the equivalent of about $200 million today) to build the Park, with its 843 acres and six-mile perimeter extending from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue and from 59th Street to 110th Street. Those 843 acres include 136 acres of woodlands, 250 acres of lawns, and 7 different bodies of water totaling some 150 acres.

Starting in 1980, a public-private partnership between New York City and the Central Park Conservancy restored and preserved Central Park, and attendance has only been rising in recent years. Now, more than 25 million visitors per year stroll its 58 miles of pedestrian paths, go horseback riding on 4.5 miles of bridle paths, bike or jog on its 6.5 miles of winding roads, or simply relax on the grass or on the nearly 9,000 benches provided. The famous Tavern on the Green restaurant - the location of the finish line for the New York City Marathon - was originally a sheepfold, housing the shepherd and the flock that grazed Sheeps Meadow until 1934. In nice weather, the still lush meadow now welcomes hordes of sunbathers, picnickers, and people-watchers, all of whom enjoy lounging underneath some of the only sky in Manhattan unmarked by tall buildings. Other special features of the park include the Central Park Carousel, the Marionette Theater, the Central Park Wildlife Center, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, the Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, the Central Park Zoo, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory, Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink, the Loeb Boathouse, and the North Meadow.

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The plays produced by the New York Shakespeare Festival and held in the Delacorte open-air theater every summer are free. In the past, they have attracted such big-name actors as Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Christopher Walken. However, the wait for tickets is certainly a test of endurance the line stretches forever, and it is quite possible that after suffering from the heat, bugs and lack of shade, you will be told that a show is sold out. If you manage to get a ticket, the recently renovated theater provides a lovely setting.

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This is undoubtedly New York City's best free ride. The 25-minute one-way trip across New York Harbor should give you ample opportunity to see such nearby sites as the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan's skyscrapers. The fare for the ferry, which runs every 20 to 30 minutes, actually went down from 50 cents a few years ago. During rush hour, it is filled with Staten Island residents going to or from work in Manhattan. Cars and motorcycles are no longer allowed on the ferry.

Our Local Expert Says:

If you're in the mood for a little exercise, walk or ride your bike across this famous bridge for some of the best views of the city.

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Opened in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States. It stretches 5,989 feet (1825 meters) across the East River and connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. At the time of its construction, it was the largest suspension bridge in the world and the first steel-wire suspension bridge. The bridge was designed by the New Jersey architect John Augustus Roebling, who died before construction began after he contracted tetanus from a wound sustained in a ferry accident during surveys for the bridge project. Built from limestone, granite, and cement, the Brooklyn Bridge is an example of Gothic-style architecture, with its characteristic pointed arches topping twin passageways through huge stone towers. Because Roebling designed a bridge and truss system six times stronger than he thought it needed to be, the Brooklyn Bridge is still standing, while many other bridges built around the same time have had to be replaced.

In the past, the inside lanes of traffic on the bridge carried the elevated trains of the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transport (BMT) Corporation from stations in Brooklyn to a terminal at Manhattan's Park Row. Streetcars shared the other lanes with other traffic until the elevated trains stopped using the bridge in 1944 and the streetcars moved to the center lanes. Six years later, the streetcars also stopped running, and the bridge was rebuilt to its present configuration, with six lanes of automobile traffic. A separate walkway runs along the centerline for pedestrians and bicyclists, and boasts some of the best views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines.

Our Local Expert Says:

The Promenade is one of the best spots in the city to view the 4th of July fireworks - it gets extremely crowded, so be sure to arrive early. There are three nearby playgrounds for kids to enjoy.

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Hop in your car, take a pleasant drive, park it on the street and take a walk while embracing the awesome sight. Tagged by many citizens as one of the best views of the city, the promenade on Brooklyn Heights is known for exactly this reason. A stroll in the early morning or late evening can end up being very romantic.

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This museum, founded in 1988, is dedicated to all the immigrants who came to New York City during the 1800s, but in particular to the occupants of this one-time tenement on Orchard Street. See life as new Americans experienced it in Chinatown, Little Italy and elsewhere on the Lower East Side through photos, displays and memorabilia. The gallery is free.

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The New York Public Library, adjacent to Bryant Park and designed by Carrère & Hastings (1911), is one of the country's finest examples of Beaux Arts architecture, a majestic structure of white Vermont marble with Corinthian columns and allegorical statues. Before climbing the broad flight of steps to the Fifth Avenue entrance, note the famous lion sculptures -- Fortitude on the right, and Patience on the left -- so dubbed by whip-smart former mayor Fiorello La Guardia. At Christmastime they don natty wreaths to keep warm.

This library is actually the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, only one of the research libraries in the New York Public Library system. The interior is one of the finest in the city and features Astor Hall, with high arched marble ceilings and grand staircases. Thanks to restoration and modernization, the Main Reading Rooms on the third floor have been returned to their stately glory and moved into the computer age (goodbye, card catalogs!). They are a must-see. Note: For those who just have to stay in touch, the library now provides Wi-Fi service for free in the reading rooms. After a $5-million restoration, what was once known only as Room 117, a Beaux Arts masterpiece with incredible views of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, is now known as the Lionel Pincus and Princess Firyal Map Division. Here you will find possibly the finest and most extensive collection of maps in the world. In 2008, the Library's facade began a 3-year restoration, to be completed for the building's centennial in 2011.

Even if you don't stop in to peruse the periodicals, you may want to check out one of the excellent rotating exhibitions. Call or check the website to see what's on while you're in town. There's also a full calendar of lecture programs, with past speakers ranging from Tom Stoppard to Pico Iyer; popular speakers often sell out, so it's a good idea to purchase tickets in advance.

Our Local Expert Says:

Grabbing a bite to eat at Grand Central is easy these days, with a food concourse below ground offering a great selection of options from pizza to gourmet sandwiches to Indian food. For a classier meal or drink, there's always the Oyster Bar, a New York City institution.

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Often called Grand Central Station, this major transportation hub located on the corner of Park Avenue and 42nd Street serves commuters on the New York City subway as well as the Metro-North Railroad, which travels to Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties in New York and Fairfield and New Haven counties in Connecticut. Aside from its importance as a transportation center, Grand Central Terminal is also one of New York's most durable landmarks, and a dramatic symbol of the hustle and bustle of the city. The decision to electrify New York's trains around 1900 meant that rail yard operations were moved underground and centered in a new, breathtaking Beaux-Arts terminal building, completed in 1913. Later, Grand Central was almost destroyed (the fate of the original Pennsylvania Station across town), but preservationists including Jacqueline Kennedy had it declared landmark in the mid-1960s.

Those approaching Grand Central Terminal from the south are rewarded with views of the building's impressive façade, topped by a 13-foot clock. The clock features the world's largest example of Tiffany glass and is surrounded by huge sculptures of the Roman gods Hercules, Minerva, and Mercury. The interior of the terminal's main concourse is 120 feet wide, 375 feet long, and 125 feet high, and is covered with an impressive vaulted ceiling, painted like an evening sky, with gilded stars and constellations (part of a recent four-year-long renovation). Some 125,000 commuters pass through the terminal every day, in addition to some 500,000 visitors.

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New Yorkers love this small, sculptured park behind the library. With its French benches, colorful flower gardens, green lawn and numerous cultural events, Bryant Park is peaceful place to take a moment to watch the world go by. Named in 1874 after poet William Cullen Bryant, the site of this historic park has played an import role in New York City. George Washington's troops fought the redcoats here during the Revolutionary War and Union Soldiers trained here during the American Civil War. In 1853, the famous Crystal Palace was built here for the World's fair, but later burned. Once the reservoir was built (it stood where the Library is today), the land was used as public space. After being officially designated a public park in 1874, the site's fortunes rose and fell with the times. During the 1970s and 1980s, drug addiction, homelessness and crime made the Park unsafe for visitors. However, a brilliant restoration in the 1990s made the Park into the beautiful midtown oasis it is today. For an event schedule and tour information, check the website.

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As you traverse Manhattan's concrete canyons, it's sometimes easy to forget that you're actually on an island. But here, at Manhattan's southernmost tip, you get the very real sense that just out past Liberty, Ellis, and Staten islands is the vast Atlantic Ocean.

The 21-acre park is named for the cannons built to defend residents after the American Revolution. Castle Clinton National Monument (the place to purchase tickets for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island ferry) was built as a fort before the War of 1812, though it was never used as such.

Battery Park is a park of monuments and memorials, many paying tribute to tragedy and death. Here you will find the East Coast Memorial, dedicated to 4,601 servicemen who died in Atlantic coastal waters during World War II; the New York Korean War Veterans Memorial; the American Merchant Mariner's Memorial, dedicated to Merchant Mariners lost at sea; the Salvation Army Memorial; the Hope Garden, dedicated to those who live with HIV or have died from AIDS; the Irish Hunger Memorial, a tribute to those who died during the potato famine in Ireland; and the 22-ton bronze sphere by Fritz Koenig that was recovered from the rubble of the World Trade Center, where it stood on the plaza between the two Twin Towers as a symbol of global peace -- severely damaged but still whole. Mingling throughout these memorials you will find the requisite T-shirt vendors, hot-dog carts, and Wall Streeters eating deli sandwiches on the many park benches. Pull up your own bench for a good view out across the harbor.