Thanks to the Bank of America’s “Museums on Us” program, your Bank of America card or Merrill Lynch card can score you free admission the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, American Museum of Natural History, Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, and several other NYC museums on the first full weekend of each month (Saturday & Sunday).
To get your free admission, you’ll need to present your Bank of America or Merrill Lynch credit or debit card and a photo ID. Free admission is limited to the cardholder and excludes special exhibitions, ticketed shows, and fundraising events.
2017 participating NYC museums include the American Museum of Natural History, Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met Cloisters, The Met Breuer, the Museum of Arts and Design, Museum of the Moving Image, and Brooklyn Historical Society, and Staten Island Zoo.
The list of participating museums changes annually, so please visit the Bank of American website to confirm the current list of participating museums.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art always operates on a suggested admission policy. The suggest admission is $25 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $12 for students. You can pay less if you wish.
The Morgan Library and Museum is a complex of buildings that serve as both a research facility and a museum. The library was originally founded to house the private collection of J.P. Morgan. Mr. Morgan’s initial collection includes rare books, prints, and drawings, and has been expanded over time to include important music manuscripts, early children’s books, Americana, and materials from the 20th Century.
The McKim Building, named for it’s architect, is the oldest portion of the complex and houses the original library, study, and rotunda. The rooms are beautifully designed, with ornate ceilings and finely crafted woodwork and bookshelves.
The complex has experienced some recent changes. A large expansion, designed by award-winning architect Renzo Piano, was completed in 2006, and the McKim building interiors were restored in 2010 (at a cost of $4.5 million).
The Morgan Library and Museum is located at Madison Avenue and 36th Street.
Modern Morgan Library Addition
Free Admission Days & Times
Admission to the museum is free on Fridays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm.
Admission to the McKim Rooms only (which include Mr. Morgan’s Library, Study, Rotunda, and Librarian’s Office) is free on Tuesdays from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Fridays from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, and Sundays from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.
You can always visit the Morgan Shop, Morgan Dining Room, and Morgan Cafe without paying museum admission.
Regular admission for the Morgan Library and Museum is $20 for adults, $13 for seniors age 65 and over, and $13 for students with a current ID. Admission is free for children age 12 and under (must be accompanied by an adult).
Water Lilies triptych by Claude Monet at the Museum of Modern ArtAdmission to the Museum of Modern Art is free for all visitors on Fridays from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Admission is always free for children age 16 and under and for active members of the US Military and military families (with valid ID/dependent card).
Regular admission to the Museum of Modern Art is $25 for adults, $18 for Seniors (65+), $14 for Students (full-time with ID).
The Museum of Modern Art (also known as MoMA) houses a world-renowned collection of modern art. The museum’s collection includes modern works of many types and features pieces by great artists such as Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Henri Matisse, Vincent van Gogh, Andy Warhol, Henri Rousseau, and Jackson Pollock.
While you’re there, you can learn more about the exhibits with free MoMA audio recordings. You can use one of the museum’s audio devices free of charge or download the files in advance onto our own mobile device.
MoMA is located on 53rd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues.
The Downtown Alliance provides a free bus service called the Downtown Connection to help you get around Lower Manhattan.
The Downtown Connection travels between South Street Seaport and and Battery Park City, making 38 stops along the way. You can hop on and off as you please. Seven buses serve the route. Look for the red shuttle-sized buses with the Downtown Connection labeling on the side.
The buses are set up for GPS tracking, so you check online to see where the buses are and when they’ll arrive at a stop. The Downtown Alliance website has directions on how to use your cell phone to check on bus locations.
The bus service runs seven days a week (except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day) from 10:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Buses arrive at the stops on about 10 minute intervals during the week and 15 minute intervals on the weekend.
There are many things to do in Lower Manhattan that are either free or inexpensive. You can walk the Brooklyn Bridge, visit the 9/11 Memorial, see the famous Wall Street Bull, explore Battery Park and South Street Seaport, or take the Staten Island Ferry (for views of the Statue of Liberty), all free of charge. A ferry ride to Governors Island costs just $2 for adults, $1 for seniors, and is free for kids under 13, and the official ferry out to visit the Statue of Liberty is just $18 for adults, $14 for seniors and $9 for kids. Combine these activities with the Downtown Connection’s free bus service and you can spend days seeing NYC attractions while spending very little money.
Enjoy free guided or self-guided tours the New York Public Library’s famous flagship building.
The building’s architecture is beautiful, both inside and out. The impressive marble exterior includes a series of columns and arches marking the entrance which is “guarded” on either side by the library’s famous stone lions. The equally impressive interior has vaulted ceilings, lots of huge arched windows, marble, chandeliers, and beautiful woodwork. The library is open to the public, and free guided and self-guided tours are available.
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. It’s next to Bryant Park and two long blocks from Times Square.
Note: While visiting the library, please be considerate and keep in mind that it is a working research library. Do not bring food or drink into the library. Turn off the ringer on your phone. Be quite when visiting the reading rooms. Turn off the flash on your camera.
Tours:
Guided Tours: The library offers free one-hour tours twice daily (11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.) Monday – Saturday, and once on Sundays (11:00 a.m.). The tours meet at the reception desk in Astor Hall (the main 5th Avenue entry hall), have a 25 person limit, and are available on a first-come basis.
Rose Reading Room
Audio Tour: A free (a donation is requested) audio tour of the library is available from the visitor’s desk in Astor Hall (the main 5th Avenue entrance hall). The audio tour takes about 45 minutes and is very informative and will help you find your way around to various things to see.
Visitor Film: The film Inside The New York Public Library is shown on the hour and half hour. If you’d like to watch the film ahead of time, it’s available for viewing on the library’s website.
Exhibits:
Exhibitions: The library features a changing selection of exhibitions and special displays. An exhibition on display until October 9, 2016 is entitled “Preserving a Masterpiece: From Soaring Ceiling to Subterranean Storage” and features documents the Schwarzman Building’s history and ongoing preservation efforts. Visit the library’s exhibitions page for more information on current displays.
Winnie the Pooh: The original Winnie the Pooh that belonged to the real Christopher Robin Milne is on display at the library. Pooh, Eeyore, Kanga, Tigger, and Piglet were donated to the New York Public Library in 1987. Pooh and friends recently spent some time away for professional conservation treatment but returned to the library August 3, 2016. The Winnie the Pooh exhibit is in the library’s Children’s Room.
Shopping:
Gift Shop: The library has a great gift shop with lots of interesting NYC and book and library-related items available for sale.
Additional Information:
Bryant Park – Not part of the library, but located right next door, making a library/park visit a good combination. Bryant Park information.
Governor’s Island was once a military base. Now it’s a public park. Certain areas of the park are still under construction, but there’s plenty to enjoy there now. You get some great views of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the island. There are a variety of food concessions on the island. You enjoy a nice picnic. There are often events and festivals scheduled on the island and the National Park Service offers a variety of tours. See an event schedule.
The ferries to Governor’s Island run from Lower Manhattan (Battery Maritime Building at 10 South Street, adjacent to the Staten Island Ferry) seven days a week, and from Pier 6 at Brooklyn Bridge Park on Saturdays and Sunday. You can ride the ferry for free on certain weekend trips – see the ferry schedule for details.
There are bikes available for rental on the island or you can bring a bike along on the ferry for no extra charge. If you’re there on a week day morning between 10:00 a.m. and noon, you can use one of their rental bikes free for an hour. Be sure to get the bike back on time, though, or you’ll be charged a rental fee.
You’ve probably seen NYC’s Fourth of July fireworks display on television. If you’re planning on being in the city on the 4th, you can see them in person.
The 2017 fireworks show will launch from five barges in the East River, positioned between East 24th and East 41st Streets. You’ll be able to see the fireworks from any location with a view of the sky above the East River. There are several official viewing points along the elevated portions of FDR Drive. Also, take a look at Time Out’s guide to fireworks viewing spots.
The display starts at 9:25 p.m. but you’ll want to find your spot to watch long before that. The fireworks bring out lots and lots of people to watch.
If you’d rather stay home and avoid the crowds, you can watch the show on TV. NBC will air the festivities beginning at 8:00 p.m.
Thanks to the Bank of America’s “Museums on Us” program, your Bank of America card or Merrill Lynch card can score you free admission the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, American Museum of Natural History, Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum, and several other NYC museums on the first full weekend of each month (Saturday & Sunday).
![Photo by Wikipedia Loves Art participant "trish" [CC BY 2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://nyccheaptravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/moma_monet.jpg)
