What to do on Sunday in New York City: 50 great ideas

Make ’em laugh at Face-Plant Comedy Open Mic

UCB regular James Ferrarella hosts this weekly stand-up afternoon at Long Island City comedy hub the Creek and the Cave. To try your hand, show up at 3:45pm and drop your name in the bucket. You’ll get to bomb or soar at the mike for three minutes—or longer, if there aren’t that many people signed up. Free.

Get scissored at Scissor Sundays

• Free

The picture windows at engineered nautical dive the Rusty Knot offer some of the most gorgeous sunset views in town; JD Samson’s tea dance, Scissor Sundays, is the perfect setting to take in the light show. A friendly, sexy crowd and top-notch DJs (including, usually, Samson herself) make this shindig one of the city’s essential gay weekend cappers, and TONY’s 2012 pick for Best Mixed LGBT Party. Free.

Hear French gypsy jazz at Barbès

There are few better places to end a weekend than the tiny back room at Barbès, where guitar virtuoso Stephane Wrembel’s Django Experiment holds court every Sunday. His French Gypsy jazz complements the Montmartre-influenced bar. (And if it seems like you’re listening to a Woody Allen soundtrack, maybe you are: Wrembel composed the theme for Midnight in Paris.) Suggested donation $10.

Stroll through Socrates Sculpture Park

• Free

This Long Island City green space is one of the few locations in the city specifically designated for sculptors to display outdoor works. In 1986, artists and activists created the 4.5-acre city park on top of a landfill. Now, it hosts large-scale sculpture exhibits year-round, along with free community programming. At the start of the warm season, the area morphs into an airy summer school: On weekends, fitness buffs can take free yoga, tai chi, capoeira and Pilates classes from expert instructors (check the park’s website for times). Year round, you can take in a surreal dreamscape of three-dimensional art, with views of the Manhattan skyline across the river. Free.

Get medieval at the Cloisters

This Middle Ages museum may have been constructed in the ’30s, but it feels much older than that. Set in a bucolic park overlooking the Hudson River, the structure re-creates architectural details from five 15th-century monasteries and houses items from the Met’s medieval art and architecture collections. John D. Rockefeller, who donated the land for the museum, even purchased a tract across the river to preserve the stunning view. Make sure to check out the tapestries, including the famous 16th-century Hunt of the Unicorn. Suggested donation $25, seniors $17, students $12, children under 12 free.

Run with the bears at Cubhouse Sundays

DJ–VJ Joe Fiore brings you this weekly happy hour for friendly fuzzballs and their many admirers, held at the historic Stonewall Inn. All bottled beer will set you back just $3, well drinks are $4, and free hot dogs will offset all the booze. Fiore spins an amiable mix of pop, rock, disco and the like. Free.

Love the nightlife at Vandam Sundays

• Free

For a taste of real-deal New York nightlife, Greenhouse’s weekly Vandam bash is the place to go. The party is jam-packed with clubland freaks and phantasms in artistic, eccentric costumes, preening and prancing on an LED-lit dance floor to tunes from Jackie 60 headmaster Johnny Dynell. You can also groove to funk tunes from Desi Monster, Ladyfag and guests in the faux-forest hideaway downstairs. Drink prices are steep, but the chance to party with these scene veterans completely justifies wallet weight loss. Free.

Find the perfect slice

With the list of New York pizza spots growing exponentially, Gotham is a veritable pie mecca. Patsy’s, Totonno’s and other greats still carry on the tradition for classic versions. But new-wave upstarts, like PeteZaaz and Forcella, are bringing fresh ideas, such as quirky toppings and deep-fried pies, to the ranks every year. Click here for our list of the cheesiest, most delicious pizzas in town, then get thee to a doughery.

Go down the vodka rabbit hole at Industry City Distillery

Industry City, a multiuse waterfront warehouse complex within Sunset Park’s 117-year-old Bush Terminal, houses this small-batch vodka distillery. The company was built by five pals from diverse professional backgrounds, all newcomers to the alcohol industry. During ICD’s gratis tour, spot items like a letterpress for printing bottle labels and a house-constructed yeast propagator tank. You’ll also have a chance to taste the goods—again, for free. There’s a certain Willy Wonka–ness to the whole operation: Keep an eye out for everything from rubber unicorn heads to Razor scooters. (Like the man in the top hat says: Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker.) Click here to check out more booze tours on offer in the city. E-mail tours@drinkicd.com for reservations; free.

See NYC in miniature at the Queens Museum of Art

While the inventive multicultural exhibitions at this museum are worth a visit any day of the week, make the most of your trip by joining a free hour-long tour of its permanent and temporary collections on Sundays. Stops include the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, The Panorama of the City of New York (a miniature model of the city) and a roster of socially-conscious temporary exhibitions. Tours: Sun at 2, 3 and 4pm. Suggested donation $8, seniors and students $4, children under 5 free.