With so much to do and so much to see and so much to eat in New York City, your trip may end up getting a little more expensive than you thought it would. It definitely helps to plan ahead and book expenses in advance when they’re a little cheaper, but sometimes you never know when you suddenly find yourself with one week’s notice before you wind up in this wondrous city. Here are some of my tips for what to do and where to go to help you travel New York City on a budget.

1. Visiting the Top NYC Attractions

With an iconic city like New York City, there seems to be an endless amount of attractions for you to see for yourself. Everyone’s seen the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty in movies and shows but it’s an experience getting to explore these sights for yourself. However, once you start making a list of all the top sights you want to see in NYC, the list may end up getting very long. I know that because my list had the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial, the MET, MOMA, Guggenheim, American Museum of Natural History, and much more.

Luckily there are passes that combine the top attractions into package deals that end up being cheaper than paying for each individual item.

CityPASS offers 6 attractions for the price of $114 for an adult. With this pass you get tickets to the Empire State Building, MET, American Museum of Natural History, and then you get a choice of the Guggenheim Museum or the Top of the Rock, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, or the Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, the 9/11 Museum or Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

The New York City Explorer Pass lets you build your own package. You simply choose which attractions you want to visit and combine them together for your deal. Your discount will depend on how many attractions you choose. If you choose 4 or more attractions you can get discounts up to 25%. This pass is beneficial since you get to pick and choose which museums and landmarks you want to see.

2. Free Museum Days

Speaking of museums, some of them offer free admission during certain days and times. If you’re keeping an eye on your budget, you might want to plan your visit days in advance. Other museums have a pay-what-you-wish policy in which you decide how much you want to pay. It’s a great system to allow almost anyone who wishes to see the works of art and history to be able to get in no matter what budget they’re on. You can check out a full list of which museums offer pay-what-you-wish or free admittance on which days here.

For the major attractions, the MoMA is free on Friday evenings from 4pm-8pm. The 9/11 Museum offers free admission on Tuesdays from 5pm-close. Ticket distribution starts around 4pm so you may want to arrive around 3pm to start lining up. Tickets are given on a first come first served basis so they will run out. Once you line up and get your ticket, it’ll have a time stamp on it for when you can return. So you can focus on getting in line for your ticket first and then exploring the area later while you wait for your admittance time.

3. See the Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty is an unforgettable iconic landmark not only for the city but for the country. It represents freedom and is a symbol for our land of liberty. No matter what time of year or day you go, there will be people from all over the world clamoring to see the statue.

You can opt for cruises to take you to the island or you can choose a cruise that merely circles near it so you can observe from the boat. Or, you can go the cheapest route and simply take the free Staten Island Ferry that shuttles people from Manhattan to Staten Island. The 30 minute boat ride will grant you stunning views of the city skyline as well as a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty. The ferry runs 24/7 and departs every 30 minutes.

Once you arrive at St. George Terminal in Staten Island, you can simply walk back through the station and hop on the boat again to ferry back to Manhattan. Just make sure you don’t plan your leisurely boat ride during rush hour commute times. That way you won’t be in anyone’s way and it won’t be that much more crowded for you.

4. Walk the High Line

The High Line was one of my favorite things to do in the city and I actually went back there at least three times during my trip. This gorgeously renovated public park used to be an elevated railroad track that transported milk, meat, produce, and other goods from factories and warehouses. The trains ran until the 1980’s and not long after the abandoned tracks deteriorated into decay. Wild grasses and shrubs started sprouting along the tracks and the area became run down and home to squatters and other shady dealings. Eventually the tracks were doomed to demolition.

But due to fundraising and the diligence of Friends of the High Line, the abandoned railroad tracks got a second life in 2009 and was converted into an elevated promenade for everyone to enjoy for free.

The park is just short of a mile and a half and it runs from the Meatpacking District through Chelsea in Manhattan. Being elevated a couple stories above ground in the open air park, you feel like you’re slightly floating above the city. You’re not super high up looking down on the city from the Empire State Building, you’re still low enough to enjoy seeing everything from the ground.

Walking along the beautifully constructed path is an amazing experience. It’s a perfect mix of modern design with a hint of its relic past. You can still see some of the original train tracks as well as the old conveyors that hooked onto the meat carcasses. New vegetation was planted along the tracks but they also left some of the wild shrubs that grew on its own.

There’s plenty of artwork to peer at along the path if you need something other than the natural New York city scenery surrounding you. There’s a plethora of benches and lounge chairs scattered along the walkway but there are cool seating areas like the Billboard area where you can sit in front of a wide window and be a living billboard to the cars and pedestrians on the street below. During hot summer days, there’s also an area where water runs through the ground so you can kick off your shoes and cool off or splash around.

The High Line is definitely one of my favorite absolutely free things to do in NYC. I highly recommend taking a lovely stroll through this gorgeous park.

5. Walk or Bike around Central Park

One of the most famous parks in the world, Central Park is a huge urban landscape right in the center of Manhattan. With its lush green meadows, vast open reservoir, and numerous sculptures scattering the park, there’s an endless amount of things to see and do around Central Park.

Rent a shared Citi Bike with convenient locations just outside of the park to enjoy a leisurely ride through the wide open roads inside the urban landscape. Grab a bite to eat and picnic in one of the enclosed forested areas. Relax on a bench and people watch or gaze at the horse-drawn carriages trotting by. Read, sunbathe, and escape from the city by laying in one of the sprawling green meadows. Take a stroll to explore the Central Park Zoo or carousel or skating rink. Try and catch a coveted free show in the open air theater where performances of Shakespeare in the Park productions occur during summer nights. Like I said, there’s numerous things to do in Central Park and all of these can easily result in a day’s worth of adventure.

6. Walk the Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn Bridge is one of the most iconic landmarks of New York City. On a clear day you’ll be granted stunning views of the city’s skyline. The bridge has a wide walkway specifically for pedestrians and cyclists and it’s just over a mile long, so it’s a pretty easy stroll.

Walking the Brooklyn bridge & peeking back to see the Manhattan skyline

While walking along the bridge you may notice a few locks attached to various parts on the bridge. These love locks are secured there by couples who write their initials and dates on the lock before throwing the key into the water as a sign of their eternal love. As this trend grew, more and more locks appeared on the bridge and the integrity of the bridge started degenerating. Eventually the city stepped in and started cutting off all the locks and making it an illegal practice. Still, when I walked across the bridge I caught couples sneaking their locks on when they thought nobody else was looking.

DUMBO neighborhood, a peek at the Empire State Building under the Manhattan Bridge

Once you’re across the bridge, check out the Brooklyn Heights Promenade as well as the DUMBO neighborhood. Originally a manufacturing district, the DUMBO area soon became home to artists and other home seekers searching for inexpensive large lofts to live in as opposed to living in the increasingly expensive rents of Manhattan.

They coined the acronym DUMBO or “Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass” to try and deter developers and hide how attractive the area really was. Now DUMBO has become increasingly gentrified and is home to clusters of art galleries as well as a tech hub for many technology firms. It’s a very cute neighborhood to walk around in and there are plenty of trendy stores for window shopping.

The Brooklyn Heights Promenade is another really cute neighborhood perfect for taking a stroll around. With amazing views of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn Bridge, it’s one of the best places to photograph the city. It also has a stunning backdrop of regal yet charming townhouses and mansions. The Promenade is a third of a mile long so it’s an easy stroll to walk around and take in the breathtaking views.

7. Visit the New York Public Library

Located right at the center of Midtown, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the U.S., behind the Library of Congress. It's a beautiful building to gawk at from the outside and its interior is even more breathtaking. There are even free one hour tours led by volunteers that are available everyday at certain times. This is a great way to learn more about the history of the library and have little architectural details pointed out to you as you roam the halls.

Completely free to the public, anyone can enter the library to explore and browse through its collection. It also doesn't matter where you're from or where you live, anyone can sign up for a free library card. Of course if you don't live in the state of NY your library card will expire in a few months, and if you're not even a U.S. citizen, it'll expire within days. But it's still a pretty cool benefit to get a card and check out some books during your stay. That way you'll have some reading materials for subway rides or lounge days at Central Park.

8. Visit Grand Central Terminal

Another beautiful structure to get lost in while admiring the intricately detailed ceiling in the wide open concourse is Grand Central Terminal. With many restaurants and shops scattered around the terminal you can easily spend a few hours walking around. Just standing in the middle of the concourse surrounded by commuters and visitors zooming past actually made me experience a moment of zen. It's nice to just kick back and realize you're on vacation and you get to slow down and take in the sights and sounds while everyone else is going about their day.

The terminal offers docent lead tours that last around 75 minutes and cost $25 per adult ticket. However, a cheaper alternative would be downloading their app for $4.99 and leading your own audio tour and going your own pace. When I was there I preferred grabbing a snack and enjoying my meal, the astronomical ceiling, and people watching.

9. Join a Walking Tour

There are several companies that offer walking tours throughout various parts of the city, and some of these are even free where the guides work on a tip-only basis. Most of the tour guides are locals as well so you can snag great tips on where to eat or go next during the tour.

I actually ended up participating in a lot of these walking tours because it’s a great way to explore different areas of the city and learn about the history and culture of that specific region. I can easily explore on my own for these places, but it’s so interesting having someone point out little details of architecture or little known facts on historical landmarks. For example, I learned that the modern definition of loft apartments originated in the SoHo district where artists used to illegally reside in the inexpensive large open spaces that were once warehouses and factories. Now, SoHo is one of the trendiest neighborhoods and most expensive residential real estate in New York City.

Walking Tours are also a great way to meet fellow travelers from all over the world, some of which may also be solo travelers. It was actually more common for me to meet solo female travelers than men on these tours. In fact I ended up having lunch and spending the rest of the day with another solo female traveler that I met.

In terms of tours, I highly recommend Free Tours by Foot and Sandeman’s Free Tour. Sandeman’s Tours are more well known in Europe and I’ve participated in their tours in London, Paris, and Amsterdam, however their U.S. presence isn’t as known yet so they’re not quite as popular here. When I participated in the NYC tour, there were only 4 other people in the group with me so it was pretty intimate and I felt like I was in a private tour.

Free Tours by Foot is definitely more established and although it’s free, you will have to reserve your spot in advance because the more popular tours book up fast. Sandeman’s Free Tour only covers Lower Manhattan, but Free Tours by Foot offers tours in Midtown, Chelsea, Greenwich Village, Harlem, Central Park, SoHo & Little Italy & Chinatown, as well as areas in Brooklyn.

10. Catch a Broadway Show

Broadway is known as the heart of the American theater industry and contributes greatly to NYC’s cultural appeal. With currently 40 professional Broadway theaters, not counting Off-Broadway or Off-Off-Broadway, there are numerous musicals and plays with different genres and themes and at least one of these have got to interest you.

Almost everyone has a show on their list they want to catch, however nice tickets for the popular shows can definitely set you back a pretty penny. But don't fret, there are alternative ways to get cheaper tickets and I'll let you know how on my next blog post!