Museums, Gardens & Zoos: What's Open in NYC & Nearby & How to Get Reservations

Museums, botanical gardens, zoos, ice skating rinks and other attractions in NYC and the Tri-State area are open again, all with timed-ticket reservation requirements.

Some museums have resumed their FREE and pay-what-you-wish admission.

Many have reduced operating hours, and all require face masks, as required by both NYC and NY State.

NYC Theater Update

Broadway and Off-Broadway shows stay dark in NYC through Memorial Day 2021. That is sad news for theater lovers, theater performers and backstage and office personnel, who will not have paychecks again until June.

The closure includes NYC’s two iconic holiday shows, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the world-famous Rockettes and The Nutcracker by the New York City Ballet.

See our list of

Broadway shows closed permanently &

openings in Summer or Fall 2021

Theatregoers holding tickets for dates through 5/30/21 should contact their point of purchase for information about exchanges & refunds.

Back to what’s open in New York City, besides more than 10,00 restaurants serving great food and drink.

This is a great time for a NYC staycation, since without our beloved millions of tourists, everything is relatively empty and easy to visit.

There are no guided tours, some touch-screen exhibits may be closed for public safety. Also, restrooms may be limited and water fountains turned off for public safety.

This list is updated regularly.

NYC On the Cheap tips:

Since paper maps and exhibit brochures may not be available, it’s a good idea to download the facility map and/or gallery guide at the same time you are booking your online timed ticket.

Book a ticket for the earliest time of day you can, including at opening, when the museum is likely to be the least crowded.

Everything on our NYCOTC list is family friendly, and some are FREE.

Here’s all you need to know in one handy list. We will be updating this list periodically as additional museums and attractions announce their re-opening dates, so bookmark this page and check back regularly.

Save up to 50% on combined prices for admission

to must-see attractions with CityPASS

What’s Open Now in NYC

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree

For the first time, visiting the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree will FREE require timed tickets.

The new guidelines are to control crowds and maintain social distancing.

The iconic tree is lit daily 6am to midnight through early January.

It is open for 24 hours on Christmas, and on New Year’s Eve the visiting hours are 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

More information here.

Ice Skating Rinks

The Bryant Park skating rink is open for the season. It’s still FREE to skate, but there are new online reservation requirements for social distancing.

The Rockefeller Center skating rink is open, and reservations also are required. Make reservations here.

Museums, Parks, Gardens, Zoos

All five NYC zoos and aquariums have reopened, with timed entry, social distancing and face mask requirements.

The New York Botanical Garden outdoor grounds, including walking paths, is open with timed entry, social distancing and face mask requirements.

There is limited indoor access to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory.

The Kusama exhibit - which was supposed to have opened in May - has been postponed to Spring 2021

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is open.

The Queens Botanical Garden is open, but the Visitor Center is closed.

The National Park Service has reopened the grounds of Liberty Island and Ellis Island to visitors.

Food service (outdoor dining only), gift and museum shops are open.
The interior of the Statue of Liberty (Crown & Pedestal) remain closed.
There’s no reopening date yet for Lady Liberty herself, the new statue museum wich opened in 2019 or nearby Ellis Island.
Click here to view Statue of Liberty webcams

The 9/11 Memorial Plaza is open and the waterfalls are flowing.

The Memorial Plaza opens to the public at 11am weekdays and 1pm on weekends

National September 11 Museum

Reopened on Sept. 12 with new hours of operation
Admission is available only through timed ticketing.
All visitors are required to purchase tickets in advance online at 911memorial.org
#NeverForget

The High Line is open, with FREE timed reservations.

The High Line is now open its entire length, from 14th to 30th St.

Governors Island has closed for the season.

Ferry service was FREE for seniors, holders of IDNYC cards and NYCHA residen

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

Open with timed entry.
MoMA PS1, its sister site in Queens, remains closed and have yet to announce reopening dates.
The two MOMA Museum Store locations on W. 53rd St. are already open.
Reserve timed tickets here

The American Folk Art Museum

New hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30am to 6pm.
Reserve tickets here

Fotografiska New York

Exhibitions on view include solo exhibitions by acclaimed photographers including Martin Schoeller, Cooper & Gorfer, Naima Green, Julie Blackmon, and one group show featuring emerging talent titled New Visions, co-curated with VICE Media Grou

New hours are Wednesday - Sunday from 11am-9pm
Special reduced pricing through 2020: $24 general admission and $14 for seniors, students and military personnel.
Free admission to First Responders and Frontline Healthcare providers through 2020.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Open with timed entry.
New hours: Thursday and Friday, Noon to 7pm; Saturday to Monday, 10am to 5pm.
The Met Cloisters also is open with similar reduced hours.

Whitney Museum of American Art

New hours are Monday and Thursday, 11:30am to 6pm; Friday, 1:30pm to 9pm; Saturday and Sunday, 1pm to 6pm.
Reserve tickets here
Extended member preview hours are Monday and Thursday, 6pm to 7pm and Saturday/Sunday, 10:30am to 1pm.
Visitors should check out the Order and Ornament show, a retrospective of Roy Lichtenstein’s survey of the “the architectural facades and ornamental motifs he encountered around Wall Street and elsewhere in Lower Manhattan.�?

The Morgan Library and Museum

New hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30am to 5pm.
More info here
Member preferred early access Wed. and Sat. 10:30am to 11:30am.
Free Fridays are back. Visit J. Pierpont Morgan’s Library and current exhibitions for FREE every Friday, 3 to 5PM.
Reserve your tickets now: themorgan.org/visit

American Museum of Natural History

New Hours: AMNH will be open five days a week, Wednesday to Sunday, instead of daily, 10am to 5:30pm.
The previous a pay-what-you-wish admission policy for all visitors has been replaced by a fixed admission fee for visitors not from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.
Read more here.
Opens to members Sept. 2, with extended hours from 10am to 11am on weekends and 6pm to 8pm on Thursdays.
The Hayden Planetarium remains closed until further notice.

The Bronx Museum

New hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 1pm to 6pm
More info here

The New-York Historical Society

New exhibits include the role of the US Census, and the role of New York women in shaping Women’s Suffrage movement and securing the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote.

Another must-see is the permanent exhibition, Meet the Presidents and the Oval Office, where NYCOTC Edidtor Evelyn Kanter got to sit at a facsimile of the president’s desk.

New hours are Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am to 5pm; Friday, 11am to 8pm.
More info here
The museum is open to immuno-compromised visitors and those aged 65+ on Thursdays from 11am to 5pm

Museum of the City of New York (MCNY)

The museum has unveiled the first phase of an outdoor installation sharing NYC’s stories of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the uprising against police violence. The installation will serve as a starting point for a new exhibition later this year.

New hours are Thursday- Monday, 10am to 6pm
Advance purchase of timed tickets is recommended although not required.
Visit in October and get a 10% discount in the museum gift shop

The Rubin Museum of Art

There’s always good karma here at this collection of art from India, Nepal, Tibet, and elsewhere in Asia.

The Rubin returns to its regular hours, open five days a week: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and Friday from 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM,
FREE admission 6:00 to 10:00 PM on Fridays
Free admission to all healthcare providers in appreciation of their service.
Visitors will encounter the new installation, The Lotus Effect, comprising folded lotuses submitted by the public as symbols of gratitude and compassion.
The shop is open but Café Serai will remain temporarily closed.
Get timed entry tickets here

Museum of Jewish Heritage

Open with reduced days and hours.
The critically acclaimed international exhibit on Auschwitz has been extended to May, 2021.

The Jewish Museum

FREE admission through Dec. 31
Timed tickets are required
New Hours are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 11am to 4pm and Thursday to 8pm
The coat check is closed and visitors should expect to wear - not carry - their coats.

The Noguchi Museum

More info here
Hours: Check back for updates

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

New hours are Thursday to Monday, 11am to 6pm
Members special hours are Mondays, 6pm to 8pm
Reserve tickets here
Pay What You Wish is Friday/Saturday, 4pm to 6pm

El Museo del Barrio

A new exhibition will greet visitors: “Taller Boricua: A Political Print Shop in New York,�? the first monograph show in three decades dedicated to the East Harlem-based Nuyorican collective workshop

New limited hours are weekends Noon to 5pm.

New Museum

Current exhibitions “Peter Saul: Crime and Punishment,�? “Jordan Casteel: Within Reach,�? and “Daiga Grantina: What Eats Around Itself,�? will remain on view through the end of 2020.

Museum of the Dog

The AKC Museum of the Dog re-opened in September with a special new exhibit, “Presidential Dogs�?, about the different breeds of dogs which have lived at the White House from George Washington’s Foxhounds to Bo and Sunny, the Portuguese Water Dogs owned by the Obamas.

The exhibition also explores the history of specific dogs that were owned by US presidents, and examine the influence these breeds had on the dog world as well as the American public at large.

More information here.

Other Attractions Now Open

Krispy Kreme in Times Square

The flagship store is now open after a year-long delay. Watch donuts being made from start to finish, including a “glaze waterfall”.

Open 24/7. Go early for breakfast or late for a bedtime snack to avoid crowds.

MLB Flagship Store

Just in time for the play-offs, the MLB Flagship store has opened a sprawling two-floor store at 1271 Sixth Avenue, in Rockefeller Center that’s part store and part baseball museum.

It features the widest in-store assortment of MLB products on the planet, from all 30 MLB clubs, including - of course, the New York Yankees and New York Mets - including more than 10,000 caps, an extensive memorabilia section featuring game-used and autographed merchandise, and a special Derek Jeter 2020 Hall of Fame collection that includes exclusive autographed items.

There’s also a section of game-used items from All-Star Games, Home Run Derbies, World Series and other historic events, including bases used in Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, which the Cubs won over the Indians to clinch their first title in 108 years.