Fall is the best time of year to be in New York. The heat breaks, the parks turn, and the city spends more time outdoors before winter shuts everything in. These are twenty ideas for a weekend, some free, some not, grouped loosely so you can string a few together without crossing the city three times.
Don’t try to do more than three or four in a day. New York punishes overplanning.
Outdoors
1. Walk the Ramble in Central Park
The Ramble is the wooded, winding middle of Central Park, between the Lake and 79th Street. Go early on Saturday, before the paths fill up, and come out at Bethesda Terrace. Foliage usually peaks from late October into November.
2. Take the ferry to Governors Island
The island is car-free, flat and made for bikes. Ferries leave from the Battery Maritime Building next to the Staten Island Ferry terminal. A round trip costs $5, and every ferry before 11am on Saturdays and Sundays is free.
3. Ride the Staten Island Ferry
It’s free, it runs around the clock, and it passes close to the Statue of Liberty. Sit on the right-hand side on the way out. Our list of free things to do explains how to make a morning of it.
4. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge, early
By 10am the walkway is crowded with people stopping for photos. At 7am you’ll have space to look around. Start in Manhattan and walk toward Brooklyn so the skyline is behind you when you turn around.
5. Spend the afternoon in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Once you’re over the bridge, drop down into the park. The piers have lawns, playgrounds and good views back across the river, and Jane’s Carousel sits at the DUMBO end.
6. Walk the High Line and finish at Little Island
Start at the Hudson Yards end and walk south to Gansevoort Street, then keep going to Little Island, the park on concrete tulips in the Hudson. The whole walk takes about an hour if you don’t stop, and you will stop.
7. Cycle the Hudson River Greenway
Rent a Citi Bike and ride the protected path along the west side of Manhattan. It’s flat, it’s separated from traffic, and it runs most of the length of the island.
8. Get lost in Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood in Brooklyn is a 19th-century cemetery that doubles as one of the city’s best parks. It has hills, ponds, huge old trees and a view of the harbor from Battle Hill. It’s also very quiet, which is rare anywhere in New York.
9. See the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
It’s next to Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Museum, so it’s easy to combine with both. The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden is the part to see if you only have an hour.
Food
10. Eat your way down Arthur Avenue
Arthur Avenue in the Bronx is where a lot of New Yorkers go for Italian food that hasn’t been polished for tourists. Walk the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, pick up bread and fresh mozzarella, and have lunch nearby. It’s a short walk from the New York Botanical Garden if you want to do both.
11. Do a food crawl in Flushing
Take the 7 train to the end of the line and follow your nose around Main Street. Dumplings, hand-pulled noodles and soup buns cost a fraction of what they would in Manhattan. Bring cash and an empty stomach.
12. Browse Chelsea Market
It gets crowded, but it’s a good place to graze with a group that can’t agree on lunch. Combine it with the High Line, which runs right past it.
13. Get a proper slice
We keep a running list of the best pizza in NYC. If you only have time for one, get a plain slice at Joe’s on Carmine Street.
Culture
14. Spend a morning at the Met
Don’t try to see the whole thing. Pick two or three galleries and leave while you’re still enjoying it. Our museum guide explains how admission works.
15. See the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum
The fossil halls on the fourth floor are the draw, but the newer Gilder Center, with its insectarium and butterfly vivarium, is worth the detour.
16. See a Broadway show for less
The TKTS booth in Times Square sells same-day tickets at a discount. You won’t always get the show you want, but you’ll usually get a show.
17. Catch a late set at the Village Vanguard
The Vanguard has been hosting jazz in a small basement on Seventh Avenue South since 1935. The room is tiny and the sound is excellent. Book ahead.
18. Stop into Grand Central
Look up at the ceiling in the main concourse, then find the whispering gallery on the lower level near the Oyster Bar. Stand in opposite corners with a friend and whisper into the wall.
19. Visit the main library on Fifth Avenue
The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library is free, and the Rose Main Reading Room upstairs is one of the most beautiful rooms in the city. Bryant Park is right behind it.
20. Watch the sunset from an observation deck
Top of the Rock, Edge at Hudson Yards and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt all sell sunset time slots. They cost more and sell out first, so book a few days ahead. If you’d rather eat with the view, try one of our rooftop restaurants instead.
