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You are here: Home / Arts & Culture / 5 Free Things to do in NYC on a Rainy Day
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5 Free Things to do in NYC on a Rainy Day

POSTED BY
Evelyn Kanter

what to do on a rainy day in nyc

Rain, rain, go away. Or not, because there’s plenty to do in New York City FREE or dirt cheap on a rainy day. Here’s how to enjoy NYC on the cheap, in between the raindrops, at one or more of these places we love:

As usual, everything we recommend is $25 or less, and most things are FREE.

Ford City of Tomorrow exhibitSee the Future

We love the FordHub City of Tomorrow, in the Oculus transportation and shopping hub in Lower Manhattan. Take a virtual reality tour of a futuristic city, try to power a virtual hybrid car by pumping your arms, and more.  Suitable for all ages, from little kids to grown-up ones, open daily.

NYC on the cheapFree museum

The National Museum of the American Indian is a branch of the Smithsonian, with FREE admission every day. In addition to wonderful exhibits on Native peoples from the North Pole to the South pole, there are free films and storytelling programs.  Open daily.

SEE ALSO

Free admission days and times at top NYC museums

 Six NYC museums always free to visit

best nyc tours

Go to church

Visiting any one of NYC’s world-class cathedrals is free, of course.  

Or, take a tour of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the largest in the world, and one of NYC’s true gems. There are daily guided tours of the art and architectural highlights, and three-time-a-week “vertical tours”, in which you climb a spiral staircase for a close-up view of the magnificent stained glass windows, and a picture postcard view of the city from a butress.Tours are $14 to $20, and last 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the tour. 

  • Cathedral of St. John the Divine is at 112th St. and Amsterdam Ave.

nyc free guideVisit the Library

The world-famous two-block-long Rose Reading Room in the main NYPL building on Fifth Avenue is open again, after a multi-million-dollar facelift. You’ll recognize it from many films and TV shows. Curl up with a good book, or just sit and people-watch.

Be sure to visit one or more of the ongoing FREE exhibits.

SEE ALSO

Get FREE museum admission with a NYC library card

Stay Home

What’s you favorite way to spend a rainy day, other than cleaning your sock drawer or binge-watching Downton Abbey?

This rainy day guide to NYC was published first in 2017 and is updated periodically.

 

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Posted by Evelyn Kanter on July 23, 2018 | Updated August 21, 2019 Filed Under: Arts & Culture · Best of NYC

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NYC does not have to be expensive when you know where the deals and freebies are.

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Your chief guide is Evelyn Kanter, a lifelong New Yorker and award-winning professional journalist.

Evelyn Kanter is a former consumer reporter for WABC-TV Eyewitness News and WCBS Radio Newsradio 88, the author of several NYC travel guidebooks and mobile apps, and zillions of newspaper and magazine articles, including for the NY Times, NY Post, NY Daily News and New York Magazine. Nobody  can match those NYC credentials.

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