The best things to do in NYC this summer

We'll be real with you, the only ups and downs we want to be weathering this summer in NYC are on a rollercoaster. Thankfully, the thrill rides over at Coney Island's Luna Park, the largest amusement park in New York City, are open daily for the season. 

Catch iconic coasters like the family-friendly Tony’s Express, that 90-degree-dropper the Thunderbolt and, of course, the “Big Momma” of Coney Island, a.k.a. the landmark Cyclone. 

Along with those beloved amusement-park staples—as well as the timeless charm and nostalgic novelties that make Coney Island, well, Coney Island—the seaside theme park will also welcome several new rides and upgrades for summer 2024. One high-profile debut is the Electric Eden Raceway, New York City’s first sustainably powered go-kart attraction.

There's nothing more "summer in NYC" than taking in a movie in the great outdoors, under the hardly-seen stars and set to the humming soundtrack of the city. Even better, all of the screenings listed here are free to attend.

NYC has no shortage of movies in the park you can attend in the warmer months. This summer's films range from the classics (like Mean Girls and Titanic) to newer blockbusters (like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning). With screenings across the five boroughs, there's definitely one near you to check out.

New York's summertime smells tend to get a bad rap: hot garbage, sweat, vape smoke and other olfactory offenses. But there's one place in the city where you can go this summer to breathe in the delightful herbal aroma of lavender. 

Catch a ferry to Governors Island where you'll find the NYC Lavender Field in all its purple glory. The field is free to visit and definitely worth adding to your summer in NYC bucket list. 

Unsurprisingly given the city's landscape, the NYC Lavender Field is the only lavender field in the city. When you visit, you'll get a chance to stroll along gravel paths through dozens of lavender bushes. More than 500 plants erupt in an ombre wave of color—royal purple, pastel gray, brilliant grape and bluish silver. Every single one is gorgeous. 

Watermark Bar has transformed into the tropically-themed Watermark Beach. Expect a full season of fun at Watermark Beach, which will be gussied up for the warm weather with Instagram-ready tiki decor, seasonal drinks and twinkling lights for when the party stretches into the nighttime hours.

And this summer, the al fresco experience will introduce new cabanas and a curated new cocktail program, in addition to large-format Cooler Packages, which will allow guests to have their canned and bottled drinks ready on ice as they visit. 

One of the most anticipated events at the Met is their annual Roof Garden Commission, an art series in which the New York institution chooses one artist to use the coveted space as their canvas. 

This year’s commission, which was just unveiled today, sends a playful yet extremely poignant and timely message about children who find themselves in war zones. The exhibition, titled Abetare, is on view through October 27; it's included with general admission.

The artist, Petrit Halilaj, was born in war-torn Kosovo in 1986 and had to flee his home during the Yugoslav Wars in 1998. He lived with his family in a refugee camp in Serbia for a year, where he drew pictures of war scenes that he had witnessed back home. The sculptures on the roof were inspired by doodles Halilaj found at the school he attended in Runk, Kosovo before it was demolished in 2010.

Sometimes you’ll feel very tall, sometimes very small, and sometimes in awe of it all at this new New York Botanical Garden exhibit that celebrates the magic of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. With a variety of botanical and artistic exhibitions throughout the Bronx garden’s 250 acres, “Wonderland: Curious Nature” encourages visitors to get “curiouser and curiouser” around every turn. 

See a massive white (well, actually green) rabbit made entirely of plants; explore an enchanting English garden with delightfully weird flora; climb through a rabbit hole; hang out in a house made of mycelium bricks; and much more at this sprawling exhibition. Wonderland: Curious Nature runs through October 27, 2024, and will evolve with each season.

Though it's now more than 150 years since the first publication of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the delightful story with its heroic protagonist feels just as fresh as ever—especially at New York Botanical Garden with its enchanting scientific and artistic twist on the story. 

Summer Streets is the epic Manhattan tradition that opens up miles of thoroughfares for walkers, runners, bicyclists and people-watchers of all ages. You won’t want to miss the complimentary rest stops which normally include fitness classes, a dog park, and arts and crafts workshops. 

Summer Streets takes place across five consecutive Saturdays. In 2024, Summer Streets will be on July 27th and August 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th from 7am to 3pm—a two-hour extension from last yeasr. This event takes place in all of five boroughs this year: Queens and Staten Island on July 27; Manhattan on August 3, 10 and 17; and Brooklyn and The Bronx on August 24. 

It’s free for all to walk, run, play and bike throughout the Summer Street closures, and there are typically themed rest stops with food and entertainment along the route.

On select Friday nights this summer, the Intrepid Museum opens its doors for free (tickets are usually $36/adult), allowing visitors to explore the museum and enjoy free after-hours programming. Free Fridays run on the last Friday of the month (June 28, July 26 and August 23). 

On Free Fridays, visitors can explore the museum free of charge and enjoy after-hours programming. Doors open at 5pm and close at 8:30pm. 

While you're there, be sure to check out the fascinating exhibit "Apollo: When We Went to the Moon." With archival speeches, historic documents, and incredible space equipment, the exhibit whisks visitors back to the 1960s, an era when humanity first ventured into the unknown.

This free outdoor French film festival is back with a sports-themed lineup in honor of the Olympics in Paris this summer. The festival is hosted by Villa Albertine, and this year’s edition features 11 French films with English subtitles across Manhattan and Brooklyn parks. Expect a mix of classic and contemporary movies, all on the theme of “Sports on Film.”

"The lineup proves that sports films, a stereotypically American genre, are very much alive and thriving in French cinema," event organizers say.

All screenings will be subtitled in English, free and open to the public. Screenings begin at sunset. Here's more about each film and exact show locations.

Lincoln Center is gearing up to launch the third annual Summer for the City festival. From June 12 through August 10, New Yorkers will get to attend over 200 free or choose-what-you-pay events that span a variety of topics, genres and  locations.

You can read through the entire calendar right here but standouts include virtual reality experience The Dream Machine, which features five distinct game-like interactive performances; a night of opera and drag with two superstar queens from RuPaul's Drag Race, Monét X Change and Sapphira Cristál; and a silent disco night as part of India Week with DJ Rajuju Brown. 

Little Island, the beautiful 2.4-acre elevated park that sits above the Hudson River on Manhattan's west side, is offering a lineup of star-studded performances this summer. Performances will kick off on June 1 and close out on September 22, spanning the realms of music, dance, theater, opera, comedy, jazz, pop and funk. 

Just as exciting is the debut of The Glade, a brand new cocktail lounge opening on the island that will be offering a selection of beers, wines, cocktails and mocktails to be enjoyed anywhere throughout the park.

Hudson Yards puts on a great series of free events for everyone, every summer.

This summer series called “Backyard at Hudson Yards Presented by Wells Fargo” is curated by The Bowery Presents and returns huge acts like Keke Palmer, David Archuleta, Brynn Cartelli, Chayce Beckham, Ray Bull, and more.

A complete schedule of Backyard at Hudson Yards presented by Wells Fargo programming and events can be found at the Backyard at Hudson Yards page.

Hopping on a boat and cruising New York's natural harbor is one of the best parts about summers in the city, but there is so much about the history of our waters that the majority of New Yorkers isn't aware of—including the existence of a plethora of abandoned islands dotting the East River, many of which serve as safe havens for local wildlife.

One brand new boat tour wants to teach New Yorkers about these hidden islands by actually taking them there. 

The Urban Naturalist Tour: Abandoned Islands of the East River is organized by Classic Harbor Line and will depart from Chelsea Pier 62 at 6:45pm on seven Sundays throughout the summer. These tours offer a chance to admire wildlife and learn about NYC's history.

Tickets to the Urban Naturalist tour start at $124 per person. Tours are scheduled for June 16, 24, 30 and July 7, 14 and 21.

Public spaces come alive with free outdoor theater in New York City in the summer, and especially with the plays of William Shakespeare.

The top destination, of course, is usually the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, where the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park presents excellent productions that among New York's best things to do in the summer. That series is on hold this year for long-needed Delacorte renovations, but luckily you can still enjoy plays by Shakespeare and other classical masters elsewhere in the city: in Harlem and Brooklyn, at Battery and Riverside Parks, even in a Lower East Side parking lot.

You might be surprised by the magic that can come from wonderful words, inventive actors and a mild summer breeze.

Here's our full list of free outdoor theater.

Tap your toes and enjoy the music at the 13th Annual Blue Note Jazz Festival, with performances running from June 1 through early July. The festival pops up at major venues across NYC including Sony Hall, Town Hall, Brooklyn Bowl, and SummerStage in Central Park. 

This year's performances include: Wynton Marsalis performing a residency at the Blue Note; Yo La Tengo with the Sun Ra Arkestra at Sony Hall; Ghostface Killah with The Soul Rebels at the Blue Note; Antibalas with Hailu Mergia at Sony Hall; Jazz Is Dead at Sony Hall; Bombino with Etran De L'Air at Sony Hall; and Os Mutantes at Brooklyn Bowl. Plus, see sets from Andra Day, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ozomatli, Soulive, Victor Wooten and many more. 

Here's the full lineup with ticketing info. 

Art nerds can’t wait until the Whitney Biennial, which happens every two years. It’s always a gigantic showcase of some of the coolest, newest, and most provocative art at a big New York City museum. It’s the Whitney Museum of American Art’s landmark exhibition series and the longest-running survey of American Art, on view through August 11.

This year, the Biennial is themed “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and features the work of 71 artists and collectives. It does a lot in this iteration. The survey examines rapidly advancing technologies and machine learning tools; the body and subjectivity as it pertains to queer identity, body sovereignty, motherhood, the aging body, and the trans body; material agency and the use of unstable media; and lots more.

Overarching is the focus on “the real,” an extremely present topic these days with the onslaught of incorrect ChatGPT answers, horrifying deep fakes and art made by AI. 

Shop 'til you drop at FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up marketplace, which is back for 2024. Expect to see your favorite makers plus brand new creatives to help you live smarter, gift better and support local businesses. 

FAD—which stands for Fashion, Art and Design—takes over different venues with a horde of independent vendors and creators. Admission is free and dogs are welcome!

Here's the summer schedule: 

— June-October (third weekend of the month): Governors Island Market
— June 22-23: Summer Market at The Invisible Dog Art Center
— July 13-14: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo
— July 27-28: Summer Market at The Invisible Dog Art Center
— August 10-11: Summer Market at Empire Stores in Dumbo

Smorgasburg, the food bazaar spectacular, is back for 2024 with dozens of great local vendors across three locations.

In fact, with more than 70 vendors, it's the largest Smorgasburg lineup since 2018! Vendors this year will serve up fragrant Ethiopian stews, Hawaii-style street comforts, explosive pani puri, potato puff poutine, and lots more.

Smorgasburg WTC runs on Fridays; Williamsburg is on Saturdays; and Prospect Park is on Sundays. Each location is open from 11am-6pm and operates weekly through October. 

Eat your way through Japan without ever leaving New York City at JAPAN Fes, the massive foodie festival, which is back and bigger than ever for 2024. The organization is hosting 30 outdoor events this year stretching through November in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. Event organizers say it's the largest Japanese food festival in the world, attracting 300,000 visitors and featuring 1,000 vendors every year.

Expect dishes including takoyaki, ramen, matcha sweets, yakisoba, karaage, okonomiyaki, and lots more. They're even hosting a ramen contest and a konamon contest this year to crown the best of the bunch. Vendors hail from New York City, as well as other states and other countries. 

Here's the full list of dates and neighborhoods.

In the resonant words of A$AP Rocky, "The nails, the kilts, the pretty-boy swag, the pearls—I think it's just being comfortable. I just express myself with fashion, and what's fly is fly." What's fly is "Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry" at the American Museum of Natural History, a new show that features dozens of incredible necklaces, rings, watches, chains, and more worn by some of the biggest names in music.

A few highlights include T-Pain's Big Ass Chain necklace, Ghostface Killah's eagle arm band, Nicki Minaj's Barbie pendant, Beyoncé's nail rings, Cardi B's nipple covers, and Slick Rick's crown. While the pieces are a sight to behold up-close, the exhibit carries a much deeper meaning, especially as New York City wraps up its 50 years of hip-hop celebrations.

See the exhibit now at the American Museum of Natural History with general admission, which is pay-as-you-wish for New Yorkers. Find it in the Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals on the first floor.

Take your movie-going experience to the next level this summer at Rooftop Cinema Club. The experience offers a chance to watch a movie on a Midtown rooftop with vegan popcorn, classic theater candy, and craft cocktails.

This season's rooftop movie schedule includes classics like When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, Grease, Mean Girls, Clueless, and so much more. Also expect special programming for Star Wars day, AAPI Heritage Month, Black Music Month, and Pride Month. Plus, it’s adding a Saturday Cereal Club and Mimosas & Muffins Sundays. Get tickets here.

Turns out, pickleball was not just a passing fad.

Doubling down on the popularity of the sport, CityPickle's 14-court pickleball installation is back at Central Park's Wollman Rink. The experience offers players of all skill levels the chance to reserve courts or partake in open play sessions between 8am and 9pm daily. 

The city’s most beloved free summer concert series is back with a stellar line-up featuring nearly 85 free and benefit shows in Central Park, plus neighborhood parks across the five boroughs.  

The 2024 SummerStage lineup includes T-Pain, Snail Mail, Madison Cunningham, Corinne Bailey Rae, The Metropolitan Opera, Counting Crows, Ghostface Killah, The Gaslight Anthem, Trixie Mattel and Amanda Lepore, and more.

This season is all about celebrating incredible music from around the world with artists like The Aussie BBQ, Colombian music star Fonseca and Spain’s captivating new flamenco singer Israel Fernández, Sidonie and the Balkan Paradise Orchestra.  

All shows are free except the benefit concerts. Here's the full schedule and ticket info.

Bryant Park's Picnic Performances will bring the best of NYC to the stage, including the New York City Opera, Jalopy Theatre, Carnegie Hall, the Harlem Chamber Players, and the American Symphony Orchestra.

TSQ Live offers a series of 80 free, open-air performances all over Times Square. It's basically a giant, free outdoor event festival with programs presented by the likes of Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Soul Summit and more. 

Expect dance workshops by Ailey Extension, weekly DJ sets, and a new series called Street Lab that will feature pop-up activations for entire families focusing on all things art. This year's full lineup can be found right here.

The Rooftop at Pier 17 is planning a packed summer of musical performances with more than 60 outdoor shows. The panoramic views, the chill vibe, and the stellar acoustics make it a truly special spot to see a show. 

The sixth Summer Concert Series on The Rooftop at Pier 17 features more than 60 artists in genres from rap (Isaiah Rashad) to rock (Social Distortion) to electronic (Electric Callboy) and more. Plus, there are several bands on the roster that will make Millennials swoon with nostalgia (like Taking Back Sunday, Something Corporate, Two Door Cinema Club, and Mayday Parade). Get tickets here.  

Grab a paddle and seek out some free kayaking! NYC's waterways have never looked more beautiful from a kayak, and they'll reveal some of the best views of the city. You'll get to see New York City attractions in a whole new light by kayaking, which by the way is one of the best things to do outside in the city.

Can’t afford a tropical vacation? Hitch a ferry to New York’s car-free island, and once you’re there, get a tan as you chill in one of its hammocks. 

New Yorkers can look forward to walking, running, biking,  picnicking and birding throughout the sprawling green space on the island. Visitors can also bring their bikes or rent them to use on the island via Blazing Saddles or Citi Bike at Soissons Landing, Yankee Pier and Picnic Point. 

A season of incredible shows is before us at Forest Hills Stadium for its 2024 season.

Expect a variety of genres on the stage, from EDM to rock to folk and lots more. Among the performers are Pitbull, Tiesto, Kings of Leon, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, The Avett Brothers, and The National with more to be announced.

Tickets are available through AXS; head to the Forest Hills Stadium website to make your purchase and find more information.

Ever wanted to touch one of the dresses at the Met? Or how about smell it? At last, now's your chance. 

The museum's new exhibit, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion," takes a multi-sensory approach allowing visitors to smell, touch, and hear the clothing, not just look at it. With more than 200 garments from the 1600s to today, the exhibition is the largest and most ambitious in the Costume Institute's history in terms of range and scope.

Here are five things to expect from the exhibit, which is on view through September 2.

Torch & Crown Brewing Company's summertime pop-up is back at Union Square Pavilion. This year it returns not only with locally brewed beers but also a slate of events and programming to the open-air NYC Parks’ concession venue in Union Square Park.

Along with new and returning draft options (from their flagship Almont Famous to crisp lagers like Tenement), the beer garden will feature a revamped food menu this season, overseen by Executive Chef Michael Citarella—expect bar-food staples like homemade pizza, fried chicken sandwiches, and burgers. The seasonal venue will feature both indoor and outdoor dining, so you can enjoy beers and bites rain or shine. 

If you want to feel like you’re in a tropical paradise, head to Jamaica—the one in Queens, that is. Yacht Rock Charters is offering rides on their schooner, a sailing vessel that looks like it was plucked straight out of a history documentary, as well as their Tiki Boat called the RockTiki.

According to captain Jarad Astin, RockTiki is NYC’s first-ever tiki boat. As temperatures warm up, it's ready to take you on one of the most unique experiences you can have in NYC.

RockTiki and the schooner sail out of Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which is a much chiller experience than what you might find sailing along the city’s river or beaches. Jamaica Bay offers plenty of opportunities to see wildlife, and it’s an important stop on the migration path for many birds along the Eastern seaboard. If you get lucky, you’ll be able to see osprey, white ibis, peregrine falcons, and more. 

As warm weather rolls in, Gothamites gear up for all manner of seasonal activities, including outdoor dining, art shows and enjoying cocktails with a view at the city's best rooftop bars. From buzzy hot spots at some of the best hotels in NYC to low-key first-date hideaways, raise a glass to the best rooftop bars in Gotham.

For more than a century, the Statue of Liberty has offered inspiration as a beacon of freedom, equality, and democracy. And for just as long, she has also served as an inspiration for tattoo artists. 

A new exhibit at City Reliquary, a jewel box of a museum in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood, features vintage Statue of Liberty tattoos. As the first show devoted to Lady Liberty ink, it also traces tattooing history in NYC since the 1800s. "Liberty the Tattooed Lady: The Great Bartholdi Statue as Depicted in Tattooing" is now open through January 12, 2025.

The exhibition spotlights antique flash, vintage photographs, drawings, and other ephemera that show how Lady Liberty has been a popular subject in tattooing for as long as she’s stood in New York Harbor. You'll even get to see vintage tattoo art that's never been on display before.

If there's one place where you will consistently hit the Tulum-meets-Miami theme without leaving New York City, it's Gitano Island. And after a few months off for its annual cold-weather hiatus, the waterfront restaurant and lounge located on Governors Island is officially back for summer 2024, offering up another season of modern Mexican eats, mezcal cocktails and stunning skyline views.

The beachy lounge—which first brought its Mexico-by-way-of-Manhattan vibes to New York with Soho's Gitano Garden of Love—first debuted on Governors Island in May 2022, and now is back for its third year. A five-minute ferry ride from Downtown Manhattan, the 27,000-square-foot venue is an instantly transporting one, done up with a jungle's worth of lush greenery and 350 tons of actual sand. 

Every Tuesday, this dreamy affair gives you an astronaut-worthy view of the stars from the high-powered telescopes of the Amateur Astronomers Association. And here we all thought we couldn't gaze at constellations in New York City! Stargazing at the High Line runs from sunset to 30 minutes before the park closes each Tuesday.

Just in case you're worried you'll have no idea what you are looking at, the AAA leads the star-spotting expeditions, pointing out celestial bodies above the park. Follow the High Line’s Twitter feed (@highlinenyc) for updates in the event of inclement weather.

If you find yourself walking around the Seaport in need of some respite, we've got just the solution for you: a newly expanded set of three outdoor lawns that are part of the 26,000-square-foot Lawn Club Terrace at 1 Fulton Street. 

The Terrace features a trio of outside spaces that are open rain or shine and join the nine others that make up the Lawn Club as a whole. When you make a patio reservation, you'll get TV screens to watch any program plus a "lawncierge" that we suspect will take your food and drink orders while making the whole experience that much more enjoyable.

For decades, the Tenement Museum has been dedicated to telling stories of New York City's immigrants, migrants, and refugees. And an important part of understanding that story is through food. 

The museum used to host a popular series of food tours, but tours were canceled amid the pandemic. Now, after a four-year hiatus, the Tenement Museum’s popular walking tour Foods of the Lower East Side is back, exploring 150 years of immigrant cuisine. 

The food tour covers 10 stops at historic neighborhood sites with five tastings from local Lower East Side vendors, offering diverse cuisines from Eastern Europe to Italy and Puerto Rico. All-age tours are available on Saturdays for $55/person. Expect a half-mile walk over the course of 90 minutes.

On a day when it's too hot or too rainy to be outside, head to NYC's newest movie theater. 

With a full restaurant, craft cocktails, comfy reclining seats and even more bells and whistles, this new movie theater in Hell's Kitchen elevates the movie-going experience. LOOK Dine-in Cinemas is now open in VIA 57 West, the pyramid-shaped building located at West 57th Street and 11th Avenue.  

This "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London offers three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings. For those new to the game, "crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course.

At Swingers NoMad, expect six cocktail bars with signature classic cocktails from London and D.C., as well as 12 cocktails created specifically for NYC, private rooms you can rent, an opulent clubhouse and four gourmet street food vendors—Sauce Pizzeria, Miznon, Fonda and Mah Ze Dahr Bakery.

Ice cream is at the center of this 20,000-square-foot museum that'll make the cold treat even more fun (who knew it'd even be possible?). Across 13 multi-sensory installations, visitors to the museum will be able to interact with fun elements like a three-story indoor slide, the all-pink Celestial Subway, and a new add-on where guests can build their own edible slime.

Even better: The sweet treats along the way. Yes, we're talking about unlimited ice cream throughout the museum. For adults, check out some fun themed cocktails as well.

Two sprawling outdoor tempered infinity spa pools looking over Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey are open at QC NY, the luxury spa that launched on Governors Island. Each pool features proprietary underwater hydro seats and loungers that massage, relax, increase lymphatic circulation and revitalize the body and mind. Yes, they are heated as well.

What better way to take advantage of New York’s gorgeous waterfront views than by actually getting on the water at one of the best boat bars in NYC? From docked summertime icon the Frying Pan to sailing-the-Hudson dinner cruises, get your outdoor drinking and outdoor dining aboard one of these lively boat bars.

Book a champagne and cheese cruise.