There’s never a dull moment in the best city on the planet, especially on weekends.
NYC Restaurant Week is underway with five weeks of meal deals in all five boroughs, the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn Festival returns with a FREE concert, there’s FREE museum admission, FREE outdoor flea markets, and more.
We’re out of breath already with all the possibilities.
Get more NYC for less money with NYC on the Cheap.
That’s our motto and we’re sticking to it.
This Weekend in NYC
Add these virtual and in-person events
to your calendar for the
Week Through Sunday, August 1st
Featured Events This Weekend
NYC Restaurant Week
NYC Restaurant Week is back, and it’s an entire month. No – make that five weeks of dining deals in more than 500 restaurants in all five boroughs.
Eat on the cheap, with multi-course lunches or dinners priced at $21-$39, depending on the restaurant, between July 19 and August 22.
It’s the largest and longest celebration of food in the 20+ year history of NYC Restaurant week, signaling that NYC is back, baby.
See our full posting
– for how to find a participating restaurant, getting a discount with a Mastercard, and tips on making reservations.
Featured Events This Weekend –
Photo: Live Nation
$20 Ticket to Live Nation Concerts
Live music is back, and Live Nation celebrates the return of big concerts at big stages nationwide with a special All-In $20 ticket promotion including taxes and fees.
Purchase a $20 ticket by midnight Sunday, August 1, for superstar music including Pitbull, The Black Crowes, Lady A, and Maroon 5 in August, September and beyond.
There are no hidden fees or taxes – just access to top-tier acts as they tour the country this summer.
FREE Concerts in NYC Parks
Saturday – Celebrate Brooklyn Festival in Prospect Park
BRIC is back, baby, with a blockbuster opening night featuring Ari Lennox.
At the Prospect Park Bandshell
Photo: SummerStage
Sunday – Tito Nieves / The Salsa Project ft. DJ JFuse
Sunday – Harlem Meer Performance Festival in Central Park
The Harlem Meer Performance Festival—known to get audience members dancing to an eclectic array of world music—returns in August.
Don’t miss Wangari Fahari, known as the “voice of Kenya” on Sunday, August 1.
Then be sure to catch the power-filled and energetic gospel of Nikki Holloway & The New Generation next Sunday, August 8.
Performances will now take place at the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center inside the Park at 110th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenue.
Entrance is FREE, and tickets are NOT required.
- Sundays, August 1 & 8, 2pm to 4pm
Photo: Hudson River Park
Something is Fishy at Weblab at Hudson River Park
This unusual exhibit has re-opened at Hudson River Park.
It is a flow-through native aquarium system and marine biology field station. If that’s too scientific for you – just think of it as a rotating exhibit of fish and other species that live in our Hudson River Estuary, including oysters and crabs.
And it’s FREE to visit.
The Wetlab is open Sundays, 11 AM–3 PM, through August 29
The Wetlab also is open for viewing on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3pm to 6pm, through October 28
Read more about the Weblab here.
One of NYC’s new Cool Pools
Full list of FREE outdoor pools in all five boroughs
Best NYC ocean beaches in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island
Take the ferry to New Jersey shore
NYC Museums Re-Opened Recently
Another sign that NYC is returning to normal – two more NYC museums have re-opened.
Skyscraper Museum
This wonderful small museum just steps from Battery Park is all about the history and architecture of skyscrapers around the world, and how they influenced the growth of cities.
It’s re-opening with open the long-delayed Supertall 2020 exhibition, now renamed Supertall 2021.
The show is both a survey of 58 supertalls worldwide – including here in NYC – and a showcase of a dozen recently completed towers that represent some of the most stunning new forms and innovative approaches to structural engineering around the world today.
There’s also a virtual lecture series World View presented talks by the principal designers of these extraordinary projects.
Skyscraper Museum is now open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from noon to 6pm, with FREE admission, but timed-entry reservations are required.
The Skyscraper Museum is at 39 Battery Place across the street from the Museum of Jewish Heritage, another must-visit NYC museum.
Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA)
This little gem is about the history and influence of Chinese in America, from building railroads to building high tech networks, fashion, games, food, and more.
Current exhibitions include Asian American Responses: Resisting the Tide of Racism, and a photography exhibit of Chinatown.
It has re-opened with its normal pre-Pandemic hours:
- Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday: 11am – 6pm
- MOCA Free First Thursdays: 11am – 9pm
MOCA is at 125 Centre Street.
FREE Admission: In celebration of receiving a generous donation from Mackenzie Scott, MOCA is able to offer free admission for all throughout the run of the Responses Exhibit, from July 15 to September 19, 2021. No Reservation Needed.
NYC Libraries Return to Full Service
Yet another sign that NYC is back in business – NYC libraries in all five boroughs re-open to full service today, July 6.
That means you can borrow books and CDs, use the FREE computers, and more, at all three NYC library systems, NYPL, Brooklyn Library and Queens Library.
Full information here.
FREE Museum Admission
National Museum of the American Indian
NMAI has reopened. This branch of the Smithsonian is always FREE.
Exhibits feature the arts and culture of native peoples from Alaska to the southern tip of South America.
NMAI is open Monday to Friday, 11am to 4pm, at 2 Broadway at the northern edge of Battery Park.
Timed admission tickets are required.
Photo: Cooper Hewitt
Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum
This museum, housed in the glorious and opulent former home of Andrew Carnegie, has just re-opened with “welcome back” FREE admission through Oct. 31.
There are three exhibits devoted to fashion, including one devoted to contemporary Muslim fashion, from streetwear to high-end evening gowns, by designers from around the world.
Timed admission tickets are required
Wavetree 1885 Tall Ship at South Street Seaport
The historic cargo ship traveled the world, delivering goods between such fabled ports as Calcutta, Buenos Aires and – of course – New York City, and represents the thousands of ships which have docked along the New York waterfront over the centuries.
- FREE self-guided tours Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm.
The Guggenheim Museum of Art
- Pay-what-you-wish Friday and Saturday, 4pm to 6pm
- Reservations are required.
Jewish Museum
There is FREE admission all day Saturday.
Visitors with disabilities and their caregiver receive free admission every day.Get more from your visit with the FREE audio tour you can download into your smartphone. Explore the Jewish Museum through the voices of artists, scholars, rabbis, and more. From thematic tours including Jewish Rituals and Artists’ Voices; to tours for kids and families, and Verbal Description tours for individuals who are blind or have low vision. Uncover rich stories from many voices and perspectives at Tours.TheJewishMuseum.org.Headphones must be used in the galleries.
The Rubin Museum of Art
There’s good Karma here, with a collection of art, sculptures and tapestries from India, Nepal, Tibet, China and other Asian nations.
Free Friday Nights are a great time to explore, but timed entry tickets go quickly.All gallery tickets become available for reservation two weeks in advance
- FREE Friday nights are 6pm to 10pm
Also Worth Visiting
KUSAMA: Cosmic Nature at NYBG
This is the first-ever comprehensive exploration of the artist’s lifelong fascination with polka dots and with the natural world.
The exhibit includes monumental sculptures, paintings and other artifacts across the Garden’s 250-acre landscape, including material that has never been displayed publicly before. Plus, of course, one of the artist’s famous Infinity Rooms.
Get tickets now for the separate, limited-capacity tickets to Infinity Mirrored Room—Illusion Inside the Heart . On sale now for dates through Oct. 31.
NYBG is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 6pm.
Photo by Evelyn Kanter (C)
Immersive Van Gogh Experience NYC
The Immersive Van Gogh Experience NYC merges art and cutting-edge technology in a completely new way.
NYCOTC was one of the first to step through the doors and into – literally – his paintings. It is mesmerizing, magical and unforgettable.Digital animations of Van Gogh’s works, including The Potato Eaters, Starry Night, Sunflowers, The Bedroom and his self-portraits come alive on the 30-foot walls and on the floors of the exhibit – er – experience.
Candles flicker, stars twinkle, flowers bloom, windmills turn, trees grow, faces morph into flowers, flowers morph into faces, the sun rises and then tracks vertically around the room, as other images from his paintings fade in and out.
We loved it, and recommend it. It’s magical.
It’s at Pier 35 on the East River, open daily.
More information here.
Take the Kids
Harry Potter New York
Opened recently in Flatiron, the store features 15 different themed areas, each one designed to bring the magic of the Wizarding World to life, including specialized shopping areas and several spots specifically designed for selfies with favorite characters and scenes.Open daily.
Expect to wait two hours or more to get in, after signing up on-site.
More info here.
14 Miles of FREE Ocean Beaches
The city’s eight beaches on the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound are now open for the season. Lifeguards are on duty daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., through Labor Day weekend.
- Orchard Beach in the Bronx;
- Coney Island and Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn;
- Rockaway Beach in Queens; and
- Midland Beach, South Beach, Cedar Grove Beach, and Wolfe’s Pond Park Beach on Staten Island.
See our 2021 FREE parking calendarWhere to find cheapest gas prices in NYC
See more daily NYC events on ourFree & Cheap Events Calendar
Follow NYC on the Cheap
Facebook Twitter @nyccheap Pinterest
Subscribe to theNYC on the Cheap daily email newsletter
More to Do in NYC This Weekend
Greenpoint Terminal Market
This popular outdoor market is back for the season on Saturdays and Sundays, with a full roster of vendors, including food, and also entertainment.
This season, Greenpoint Terminal Market expands with roller skate rental and lessons, Yoga, Capoeira,fitness, art and dance classes.And there’s always the expansive and gorgeous views of the Manhattan skyline.
There are more than 100 vendors, from vintage and antiques to local art and design, and fashion.
International food vendors on hand reflect the multi-cultural diversity of Brooklyn.
Greenpoint Terminal Market is at 2 Noble St., Brooklyn.
- By Subway – take the G Train to Greenpoint Avenue
- By Ferry – take the East River Ferry to Greenpoint
Know Before You GoFind out about
NYC Alternate Side of the Street Parking rules this week
Road and Bridge Closures
Find more FREE and cheap events on our weekly calendar:
Friday, July 30, 2021
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Sunday, August 1, 2021
Monday, August 2, 2021
