The best things to do near the High Line in NYC

Manhattan’s Meatpacking District has long been a refuge for creatives and artists, even if it’s gotten pretty bougie over the past decade. Still, dozens of nearby galleries offer a walkable tour of modern and contemporary art, most of which is for sale, but totally free to see. Go on a self-guided Chelsea gallery hop from 29th St. to 18th St. between 11th and 9th Avenues, and you’ll see plenty of treasures. 

Known as Manhattan’s “newest” neighborhood, this development below Hudson Yards is a serene getaway from Midtown’s craziness. Think: Plenty of green space, outdoor art installations, outdoor seating at local spots like Daily Provisions and Zou Zou’s, plus the rooftop at Ci Siamo, and a small skating rink in the winter. Manhattan West food hall is a nice spot to grab a picnic to eat in the plaza here or bring back up to The High Line.

The neighborhoods bordering the High Line are known for being stylish, and if you’re so inspired to be at the height of fashion, you too can easily become a model. A hair model, that is. New York hair salon Bumble and Bumble’s long-running Model Project takes everyday people and lets them model haircuts - for free! And you get product credits. Just apply, submit photos, and pick which style you want their trainees (many are pro stylists just learning b&b’s signature techniques) you want to practice on you. Styles range from long haircuts to blowouts, and you get to add modeling to your resume. 

Summers bring free workouts right off the High Line, with complimentary Sweat Sessions taking place at 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 every Tuesday night. Bring your own mat and athletic attire for yoga, bootcamp, dance cardio, boxing, pilates and more at 14th Street Park on 10th Avenue between 14th and 15th streets.

Make like Carrie Bradshaw on assignment and enroll in a class at Trapeze School New York. No experience is necessary to start out with a small group class (12 or fewer students) where you’ll learn to fly like a circus performer with the background of Manhattan’s skyline inspiring you. Classes move up in levels, so if you’re committed, you can learn tricks and more. 

It’s pretty impossible to get bored at this recreational complex, which has served the needs of sporty New Yorkers for more than 25 years. Warm weather brings out the golf fanatics, who can thwack balls until midnight every day. But if that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other athletic options—including batting cages, rock-climbing walls and bowling—to keep you entertained.

The former home of the National Biscuit Company is a hot spot for foodies-in-training; favorite vendors include Mokbar, Lost Tacos No. 1 and the epic pasta tasting at La Devozione. It’s also home to another Artists & Fleas. Just like the original location in Williamsburg, this version of Artists & Fleas features goods that run the gamut from art and design to fashion and vintage.

This strip of waterfront park stretches from Battery Park to 59th Street, allowing you to walk, bike or skate while looking at the Hudson River and New Jersey. There are flowers, benches, piers and lots of programs—including youth sports and kayak rides in the river.

New York’s shiny, dystopian neighborhood, Hudson Yards has a  handful of attractions like a one-million-square-foot retail center with over 100 places to go shopping in NYC, new mouthwatering restaurants and a five-acre smart park and The Vessel, a contemporary New York landmark by Thomas Heatherwick. You can also see the High Line from a totally new perspective, 1200 feet in the air, from The Edge.

After nearly 50 years in its Marcel-Breur-designed building on Madison Avenue at 75th Street, the Whitney Museum decamped in 2015 to a brand new home in Lower Manhattan's Meatpacking District, conceived by international architect Renzo Piano. Planted at the foot of the Highline along Gansevoort Street, the new Whitney building boasts some 63,000 square feet of both indoor and outdoor exhibition space.