NYC Free & Cheap Weekend Feb. 2-4

Your weekend plans begin here, with more than a dozen FREE and cheap things to do this first weekend of February.

The NYCOTC weekend guide is $25 or less so you can take bites out of the Big Apple without eating up your budget, plus a few occasional splurges worth the money. And everything is family-friendly.

NYC isn’t expensive when you know where to go and what to do, and we do.

Unless a price is noted, our weekend list is FREE, but we usually remind you anyway, to be sure you know.

FREE Museum Admission this Weekend

It’s the first weekend of the month, with FREE admission to several NYC museums. See the list here.

Last Chance

NYC Broadway Week – Get 2-for-1 tickets to some two dozen top Broadway shows, for matinee and evening performances through Feb. 4. Note that Hamilton and Book of Mormon are not participating.

Also – $20at20 – Get $20 Off-Broadway tickets for matinee and evening performances through Feb. 11

4th Annual Bryant Park Winter Carnival offers FREE ice skating shows and skating lessons, silent disco, ice curling, broomball, and more. Embrace the chill at the Ice Castle, returning to the Fountain Terrace for photo ops. Take the chill off at the Warming Lodge, and the Outdoor Winter Brew House will offer beer, glühwein, and comfort food for purchase, as well as host live music and trivia contests. Through Feb. 3.

NYC Restaurant Week – Get prixe fixe three-course lunches for $29 and dinners for $42 at 300+ top NYC restaurants through Feb. 9.

Modigliani Unmasked – The first exhibition in the U.S. to focus on Amedeo Modigliani’s early work made in the years after he arrived in Paris in 1906. The exhibition spotlights his drawings, with a large selection acquired directly from the artist by Dr. Paul Alexandre, his close friend and first patron. At the Jewish Museum through Feb. 4.

Between the Clock and the Bed – Retrospective of The Norwegian artist Edvard Munch (1863–1944) most famous for his haunting depictions of human anxiety and alienation that reflected modern experience. These 40+ paintings he created over 60 years, including 16 self-portraits and works that have never before been seen in the United States. At Met Breuer through Feb. 4.

Note: Mandatory new admission fees for The Met, Met Breuer and the Cloisters begin on March 1st, replacing the “pay what you wish” admission in effect since the 1970s.

Holiday Express: Toys and Trains – Watch vintage trains zip around the lobby of the New York Historical Society, threading their way around equally vintage toys and games. The popular annual display is open through Feb. 25th.

Friday and Saturday

Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show and Sale – Oldies but goodies, at Metropolitan Pavillion in Chelsea. Tickets are $15 online or $20 at the door.

Friday through Sunday

Thunderbird American Indian Dancers – This troupe of Native Americans from several tribes, all living in the NYC area, present their 43rd annual concert of music, dance and storytelling at the Theater for the New City this weekend. The Thunderbirds perform authentic dances of the Iroquois, Southwest and Great Plains Native American peoples. Each dance is introduced with a complete explanation of the dance and its cultural context and is accompanied by live music. My personal favorite is the Hoop Dance.

Shows are on Friday and Saturday, February 3, at 8 PM, with tickets prices of $12. There are also special matinee performances for children on Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM, with tickets for children under 12 only one dollar (children must be accompanied by an adult paying the regular $12 price). If you miss this weekend, the Thunderbirds have the same schedule next weekend, February 9-11. All performances are at the Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue at East 10^th Street. i

Saturday and Sunday

Apollo Open House – Annual weekend of FREE performances, previews, and film screenings. Featuring Apollo Amateur Night’s Capone, Apollo Comedy Club’s Mugga, HAA members Tyrone Birkett | Emancipation, and Urban Word NYC, Annette A. Aguilar and String Beans, LaRocque Bey Dance Theatre, Soul Science Lab, and more. Hosted by Michael Hill from WNET and WBGO and Billy Mitchell, whose memories and knowledge are so great, he’s known as “Mr. Apollo!” Advance preview screening of Stanley Nelson’s “Tell Them We Are Rising – The Story of Black Colleges and Universities,” plus panel featuring director Stanley Nelson, writer and professor Jelani Cobb, and actress Simone Missick, moderated by MetroFocus anchor Rafael PiRoman. Includes entertainment from the Delaware State University Pep Band the Approaching Storm and DJ The Legendary Chris Washington. Sign up for free tickets for either day.

Museum Exhibits Just Opened

Scenes From the Collection – After months of planning and construction, the Jewish Museum is unveiling a dynamic new collection exhibition of more thn 400 objects from around the world, including some never on display before. You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate hundreds of years of artwork, silver craftsmanship, fabric design and jewelry.

Worth visiting

The Virtue in Vice – The Seven Deadly Sins – pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth – are on display in these objects chosen from Cooper Hewitt’s collection. Through mid-April. Save $2 on tickets purchased online.

The Butterfly Conservatory – Warm yourself in the beauty and color of thousands of butterflies, flittering around you in this annual winter treat at the American Museum of Natural History. FREE with museum admission.

Know before you go

FREE apps on subway track work and schedulng delays – know what trains are bypassing what stations so you aren’t late for one of these free and cheap weekend events.

NYC official street closures website – know what streets are closed when for street fairs, parades, political protests and more.

2018 NYC parking calendar – know when you have to move your car, or not.

Subscribe to our email newsletter and get NYC on the Cheap in your inbox at 8am each morning. That’s FREE, too, and you’ll start the day with what you need to know to be a NYC cheapskate.

Let’s hope the weather cooperates for outdoor events. If not –

5 FREE and cheap things to do in NYC on a snowy or rainy day

Best sledding hills in all five boroughs

Best FREE things to do in NYC any day of the year

Every Friday in NYC

Freebie Friday – FREE admission to NYC museums including MOMA. No passes or coupons needed. Just go.

Get FREE admission to more than a dozen NYC museums with the IDNYC card. Enrollment is also FREE.

Freebie Friday: Family Fridays at MoMath – Solve puzzles, family-style, and learn how math affects everything, from music to space flight. 6:30pm, FREE The National Museum of Mathematics is at 11 E. 26th St.

Freebie Friday – Grand Central Neighborhood Tour. FREE every Friday at 12:30, docents from the Grand Central Partnership guide you through the history of the fabled Grand Central Terminal and some equally-fabled nearby landmarks including the Chrysler Building. There are no tickets, no reservations. Just meet at Sculpture court at 120 Park Avenue (southwest corner of East 42nd Street). Tour is 90 minutes.

Every Saturday in NYC

FREE Saturday admission at top NYC museums every Saturday all year includes the Jewish Museum and the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum.

FREE guided tour of the High Line. Hear the story behind NYC’s trend-setting park in the sky on a special winter walking tour! Join us for a free 45-minute long tour led by High Line Docents, knowledgeable volunteer guides who offer you an insider’s perspective on the park’s history, design, and landscape. Saturdays through April 7. Meet at the Gansevort Steps at Noon.

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Every Sunday in NYC

FREE Sunday admission at top NYC museums including Morgan Library and Museum.

FREE Flatiron Walking Tour – Join professional guides on a 90-minute journey through this vibrant neighborhood, viewing some of the City’s most notable landmarks, including the New York Life Insurance Building, the MetLife Clock Tower, the Appellate Courthouse and the famous Flatiron Building. Every Sunday at 11am, rain or shine. No advance registration is required. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.

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Also, check the list of best free things to do in NYC any day of the week, including weekends.

Enjoy your free and cheap NYC weekend.