• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Pretty Providence

  • Home
    • Newest Blog Posts
  • About
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Breakfast
    • Dessert
      • Cookies
    • Dinner
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
  • DIY & Crafts
    • Cricut
    • T-Shirts
    • Crafts
    • Decor
    • DIY Projects
  • Holidays
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Years Eve
    • Valentine’s Day
    • St. Patrick’s Day
    • Easter
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • 4th of July
  • TIPS
    • Tips
    • Organization
    • Family Life
      • Baby
      • Fun
      • Family
    • Travel
  • OCCASIONS
    • Gifts
    • Parties
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

Cheap Things to Do in New York City

Home » All » Cheap Things to Do in New York City

Published January 10, 2018 Last Updated January 10, 2022 / By Sarah 1 Comment

Share this!

329 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Reddit

There are some really good ideas for fun, CHEAP things to do in NYC in here! Not everything in you do in NYC has to be expensive!

My husband and I went on a really fun trip to New York City last November. We wanted to go on a vacation together before our Millie arrived (she was born in March) and originally we had planned to go somewhere with a beach, but with the Zika virus complicating things (and flights to other non-zika having islands being too expensive) we went a completely different direction. I decided that if I couldn’t sit on a beach, I wanted to eat all the things!  It was so fun being in New York in the fall and I’m really glad we did this.

While New York City is famously not cheap, we were able to have a lot of fun and eat a lot of things without spending a ton of money. Our flights were free with Southwest points (holla) we got a good deal on a hotel in Queens – the Boro Hotel which we really liked. It was nice and super close to the subway, which is what really mattered to us. Then we found really inexpensive things to do in between nicer meals. It was really great. So while I would like to talk your ear off about literally everything we did, I won’t. I want to share the really budget friendly meals and activities we did in case you are looking for that kind of inspiration!

New York pizza is a must, and while I do recommend trying one or two of the ‘BEST EVER’ pizza places (Juliana’s, Di Fara) you can also get an amazing slice for .99 cents at none other than 99 CENT PIZZA – or it’s rival 2 Bros Pizza. (They can be found allll over town.) This is a really good way to subsidize food costs on your trip, and it’s really an integral part of the whole NYC experience! I also really liked Joe’s Pizza in Greenwich Village and it’s around $3 a slice!

Cheap, AMAZING pizza is everywhere in NYC!

Next, for things to do. Did you know that being in the audience for a lot of shows is FREE? You just have to put your name in for tickets a few weeks ahead of time. We were lucky enough to go to Stephen Colbert and Conan – he normally films in LA but was in NYC at the Apollo that week! Both of these tickets were free, and the shows were both amazing!

It’s not just the fun of being in the audience for a show, but these guys are comedians and are entertaining you when the cameras are off too. Don’t just take it from me, reviews on Trip Advisor give Stephen Colbert tapings five stars. Colbert did a Q&A before the show with us and my husband asked him what to name our baby. (He said Stephanie or Arwen.) We also got to see Tig Notaro, Patton Oswalt, and the highlight guest for me – Eddie Redmayne. The band was absolutely incredible, too.

At Conan, Ryan Reynolds came. You guys, Ryan REYNOLDS. Also, don’t underestimate how hilarious Conan is. Just everything about him is funny.

There are some really good ideas for fun, CHEAP things to do in NYC in here! Not everything in you do in NYC has to be expensive!

Another good way to spend less $ on food is not to sit down at a restaurant for each meal. Grabbing a bagel (everything) or a donut or a cookie from one of the AMAZING bakeries NYC has is the way to go sometimes. You’re spending a lot less than if you sit down at a restaurant with drinks and tipping waiters and all of that. My FAVORITE cookie in New York is the chocolate chip cookie from Levain Bakery. It’s absolutely HUGE and amazing, and it’s $4. It can replace breakfast or lunch, or just be a big snack, haha. The bakery is really close to Central Park so it’s the perfect treat to take with you on a walk.
There are some really good ideas for fun, CHEAP things to do in NYC in here! Not everything in you do in NYC has to be expensive!

Then, obviously walking around to explore the neighborhoods is a cheap activity! I know a lot of people like to go to the Top of the Rock or to see NYC from the Empire State Building, but both of those things are pricy. You can see amazing views of the city walking the Brooklyn Bridge (FREE) the High Line Park (FREE) and the Staten Island Ferry (FREE.) I’m sure there are more, too! But I’m just saying, you don’t have to spend money to see the beauty that is NYC.

There are some really good ideas for fun, CHEAP things to do in NYC in here! Not everything in you do in NYC has to be expensive!

One fun thing that I’m really glad I did was keep a list of everything we did and every place we ate while we were there. Now, even a year later, I can look at this list and remember every fun thing! I know that some people don’t place a lot of focus on food when they travel but for me, that is the main priority so I never want to forget a great meal or treat I have. I used Google Keep to make this list, because I use it for a lot of other lists too. But you can use Notes or any other list app.

Use Google Keep to keep a list of everything you did or want to do on a vacation!

I really hope you have found some good ideas here for fun things to do, and things to eat on a budget! You should also read our sister post from a few years ago ‘How to Experience NYC on a Budget’ – still relevant!

There are some really good, fun ideas in here! Not everything in you do in NYC has to be expensive!

Share this!

329 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Reddit

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kanika Bakshi

    May 29, 2018 at 3:42 am

    Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing your experience I enjoyed reading your post. My family has planned a trip to NYC and so I found your post very useful to me. I was unaware that we can do so many things on a budget. Keep sharing such interesting posts.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

about-pretty-providence  

Hey! We're Sarah and Jessica. We're BFF's and have known each other since we were 5 years old. This blog is our place to share all of our best recipes, tips, crafts and DIY projects.

You can read more about us on our about page and find us on instagram! We love making new friends.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Most Popular

Breakfast casserole with sausage, eggs, cheese and bell peppers on a white plate

World’s Best Breakfast Casserole

DIY desk made from two storage cube bookshelves and IKEA desk top with marble look

DIY IKEA Desk Hack

Iron-on t-shirt with Cricut collage of supplies needed, iron-on cut and weeded, and then the final shirt that says "#tired" in gold iron-on letters

How to Make a Shirt with Cricut

The Office birthday party table with decorations, food, balloons and "it is your birthday" sign

The Office Birthday Party

Teepee style blanket fort made with bedsheets and clothesline hung from a light fixture.

How To Build The Best Blanket Fort

German Pancakes just out of the oven, dusted with powdered sugar in a glass baking dish.

German Pancakes

CRICUT

Breakfast charcuterie board with crepe toppings, fruit, spreads, bacon and powdered sugar

Crepe Toppings Breakfast Charcuterie Board

white painted herb markers on concrete with herb leaves around them

DIY Plant Markers

art supplies organized and labeled on a white IKEA kallax shelf

School and Art Supply Organization

a canvas bag that says emergency kit on it with items surrounding it

Car Emergency Kit DIY

Vertical herb garden on plant shelf in white pots

Vertical Herb Garden

a small group of pint sized mason jars with diy labels

Hot Pepper Jelly Jar Labels

Footer

Copyright © 2012-2019 Pretty Providence | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Disclosures

329 shares