Cheap things to do in New York
Three days of free culture, great cheap eats, and proper local bars.
This is New York for the traveller who knows the city rewards people who don't spend much: free kayaking on the Hudson, acclaimed ramen for under fifteen dollars, pizza by the slice in Brooklyn. You'll cover the West Village, Midtown, and Williamsburg without once feeling like a tourist being separated from their wallet.
Day 1: West Village coffee, kayaks, and cold beer
Start at a 1927 espresso bar, walk the High Line, browse secondhand books, eat pizza in the East Village, and end at one of SoHo's oldest bars.
- 9:30 AM
- 10:30 AM
The High Line
Walk the High Line north from Gansevoort: planted rail bed, river views and art, all free.
Map - 12:30 PM
Shu Jiao Fu Zhou
Fuzhou pork-and-chive dumplings and peanut-butter noodles for a few dollars on Grand St.
Map - 2:00 PM
Housing Works Bookstore
Beloved secondhand bookshop with a great browsing vibe and community feel.
Map - 7:30 PM
- 9:00 PM
Day 2: Central Park, Midtown, and K-town
Boulder on Manhattan schist in the park, eat a paper-plate lunch with the Halal Guys, take in the whole island from the top of 30 Rock, then finish with cheap ramen and Korean bar snacks.
- 10:15 AM
Umpire Rock
Free, legal bouldering on Manhattan schist at Umpire Rock; the west face suits beginners.
Map - 11:15 AM
Ballfields Café
Coffee and a snack at the Heckscher Ballfields kiosk after climbing, open from 11.
Map - 12:30 PM
The Halal Guys
The original 53rd and Sixth cart: chicken over rice, heavy on white sauce, careful with the red.
Map - 2:00 PM
Top of The Rock
Open-air terraces on the 67th, 70th floors: that Central Park and Empire State Building panorama, right from here.
Map - 7:30 PM
Kung Fu Little Steamed Buns Ramen
Hand-pulled noodles and soup dumplings on Eighth Ave, cheap and quick.
Map - 9:15 PM
K-town Pocha
K-town Pocha is a lively local bar with cheap bar food, easy to reach and done well before 23:30.
Map
Day 3: Lower East Side into Brooklyn
Knishes, dim sum, and a gut-punch of immigrant history at the Tenement Museum, then cross into Williamsburg for a no-frills slice and a neighbourhood bar that doesn't ask much of your wallet.
- 9:30 AM
Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery
Baked knishes on Houston St since 1910; the potato and kasha are the classics.
Map - 10:30 AM
McNally Jackson
Independent bookshop on Prince St; browsing is free and the staff picks are good.
Map - 12:30 PM
Nom Wah Nolita
Nolita branch of Chinatown's 1920 dim sum parlour: pork buns, shrimp dumplings, scallion pancakes.
Map - 2:30 PM
Tenement Museum
Guided tours through real 19th-century apartments: the city's origin story told in the rooms families actually lived.
Map - 7:30 PM
Fini Pizza
Fini Pizza in South Williamsburg, a no-frills local slice shop for a cheap, satisfying dinner.
Map - 9:00 PM
Mad Radio
Mad Radio is a no-frills Williamsburg bar, cheap drinks, good local crowd, done by 22:30.
Map
Where to stay
Ace Hotel New York
Ace Hotel is priced right, sits between the Village and Midtown, and has the kind of lobby you actually want to come back to at night.
The Standard East Village
The Standard East Village puts you a short walk from Day 1 and Day 3 without charging the rates its Meatpacking sibling does.
Make New York your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: a few days ahead
- Tenement Museum: weeks ahead
- Broadway: weeks ahead
- Lincoln Center: weeks ahead
- Top of The Rock: a few days ahead
- SUMMIT One Vanderbilt: a few days ahead
Skip these
- Times Square restaurants charge rent, not food quality, so eat two blocks west on 9th Avenue instead.
- Pedicabs use per minute fine print and short rides can cost hundreds, so agree a total price in writing or walk.
- Costumed characters, CD sellers and unofficial Statue of Liberty sellers turn a photo or free item into a payment demand.
- Do not do five observation decks, since one gives the skyline and the rest repeat it at different angles.
The full New York travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around