Enjoy NYC on the cheap by taking advantage of FREE or pay-as-you-wish admission at museums, zoos, gardens and cultural institutions. We are lucky there are dozens of deals on different days and hours during the week and on weekends
Here’s the list for Monday.
Be sure to make your ticket reservation in advance, where required, since museums are still requiring social distancing - along with mask wearing.
As always, you can visit our Free and Cheap Events Calendar for more budget-friendly events and activities in the greatest city on the planet.
Also visit our list of Best Museums for Kids.
If you do not already have an IDNYC Card, get one. It’s FREE, and offers FREE admission at more than 30 NYC museums, zoos, gardens and cultural institutions, along with shopping and theater discounts.
You can also use it as a library card at all three NYC systems, NYPL (which serves Manhattan, Bronx and Staten Island), Brooklyn Library and Queens Library.
Sorry visitors - this is for NYC residents only.
Monday – NYC Free Museum Admission
9/11 Memorial & Museum
The official name is the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, but mostly it’s known as the 9/11 Museum, acknowledging that terrible day on 9/11/2011 which changed all of our lives forever.
Be prepared for an emotional experience - and one which may not be suitable for young children. Guards and docents are trained to watch for visitors about to meltdown, and carry tissues for those who merely cry.
Thousands of artifacts are on display, from the iconic melted wreckage of a NYFD firetruck to the ID passes of some of the 2,973 victims who worked in the offices of One World Trade Center and Two World Trade Center, better known as the Twin Towers.
Countless photos and videos pay homage to the innocents murdered that day, along with survivors and the hero First Responders from NYC, the USA and from around the world who put their own lives on hold to help.
The outdoor 9/11 Memorial Plaza is FREE every day.
Note that both the outdoor Memorial Plaza and the Museum are closed on Sept. 11 at least until 1pm for ceremonies honoring the victims and the First Responders
- FREE on Monday, 3:30 to 5pm
- Free Admission Monday tickets are available on the website each Monday beginning at 7 a.m. EST and onsite starting at 3:30 p.m. Last entrance is 4 p.m.
- #NeverForget
![Museum at Eldridge Street]()
Museum at Eldridge Street
The Museum at Eldridge Street is housed in the historic Eldridge Street Synagogue. Built in 1887, it is an architectural marvel and a symbol of immigrant aspirations realized.
The grand building was nearly lost to neglect in the mid-20th century, before the Museum’s massive restoration project returned the space to glory and public use.
It hosts many public events, including celebrating the thriving multi-cultural community today that is the Lower East Side, including the annual Egg Rolls, Egg Creams and Epanadas Festival acknowledging the Chinese, Eastern European and Latino cultures of the neighborhood.
- Pay-as-you-wish all day Monday
- Museum at Eldridge Street is at 12 Eldridge St.
Suggested Admission Every Day
American Museum of Natural History
Pay-what-you-wish admission is available to residents of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, but timed-entry reservations must be booked in advance.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Pay-what-you-wish for New York state residents as well as New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut students.
The Cloisters
Now a branch of The Met, the same pay-what-you-wish admission rule applies.
Brooklyn Museum
Timed-entry reservations must be booked in advance.
MoMA PS1
Timed-entry tickets are required; NYC residents can enter for free or pay-what-you-wish.
El Museo del Barrio
Timed-entry tickets are recommended.
Staten Island Museum
Timed-entry reservations are recommended.
What do you think about this? We welcome your comments.