Mon, July 6, 2020. New York is full of wonderful things to do beyond the Empire State Building, Metropolitan Museum, Ellis Island, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, etc. Go off the beaten path and find hidden treasures which cost you nothing, but are extremelly enjoyable and much less crowded then famous tourist spots.

Experience New York with no lines and no hassle.  Our site tells yiou all about free tours, free concerts, free movies, free theater performances, free dsicussions, etc. you can take advantage of whether you live in the city or spend just a couple of days here.

DOWNTOWN
First, go Downtown and see where New York began: visit City Hall, view the Statue of Liberty and Manhattan skyline, walk by the fortification that was intended to prevent a British invasion in 1812, bike (or just walk) along Hudson River passing all those beautiful Battery Park City Parks with their impressive open space design and public sculptures, sit down for a pleasant meal at one of small Financial Center eateries, go inside the Palm Atrium and take a look at the 9/11 memorial from there.

Then tour New York's beautiful City Hall free of charge. New York City Hall is one of the oldest continuously used City Halls in the nation that still houses its original governmental functions. New York's City Hall is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building was an early expression of the City's cosmopolitanism. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark, and its rotunda is a designated interior landmark as well. The tours that do not require reservations, but do require a signup, are run on Wednesdays at noon. The registration takes place on the day of the tour between 9:00 AM and 11:30 AM. You will need an advanced reservation for Thursday tours. They take place at 10 am for groups and at 10:30 am for individuals.

Your next adventure is to see the Statue of Liberty, but we do not reccomend to take the Statue of Liberty Ferry.
The best way to see the Statue of Liberty is to take a 25-minute water trip from Lower Manhattan to Staten Island by free-of-charge Staten Island Ferry. On a way there the Statue of Liberty will attract your undivided attention. On the way back (another 25 min) you will not be able to take your eyes off the stunning vistas of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline. The ferry runs every 30 min most part of the day. It runs more often during rush hours: 7 am - 8:45 am and between 5 pm and 6:45 pm; but the ferries are packed during rush hour trips; this is not a good time to take a leisurely ride.

Go West young woman (or man) once you are back on Manhattan Island: pass Battery Park (you may want to stop at the Castle Clinton - no connection with the President's family).

UPTOWN
Your Uptown trip should include a walk around Columbia University Campus, visit to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and mostly overlooked gem that the Riverside Church is.

Walk around Columbia University Campus
The University founded as King’s College in 1754. It's historic main campus consists of 71 buildings on 36 acres and was originally designed by the famous architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White. Low Memorial Library is our favorite building there. If you are not sure you want to go all the way uptown to see it, you may take a virtual tour at http://www.columbia.edu/acis/tour/start.html

And if you decide that Uptown does worth your time, then there are two other sites you do have to pay a visit to: Riverside Church and The Cathedral of St. John the Divine.