Free Museum Days in NYC 2026

Checked against museum and NYC DCLA pages on November 11, 2026.

Museum	Free or pay what you wish	Who qualifies
Whitney Museum	Free Fridays 5-10pm and the second Sunday of each month. Tickets required.	Everyone. Visitors 25 and under are always free.
Guggenheim	Pay what you wish, Tuesdays and Sundays 4-5:30pm	Listed by the museum for these hours. Reserving ahead is recommended.
The Met	Pay what you wish, $0.01 minimum	New York State residents, and NY, NJ and CT students. Adults pay $30 otherwise.
Brooklyn Museum	Suggested admission. Pay-what-you-can tickets must be bought in person.	Everyone
Cooper Hewitt	Pay what you wish, 5-6pm daily	Per NYC DCLA listing

If you are visiting from out of state

The Met's pay-what-you-wish option is for New York State residents and NY, NJ and CT students. Visitors from elsewhere pay the regular price, $30 for adults. The Whitney's free Friday evenings and second Sundays, and the Guggenheim's Tuesday and Sunday evenings, are listed without that residency condition.

Before you go

Free does not always mean walk-in. The Whitney requires a ticket even when admission is free, and capacity is limited.
Ticketed special exhibitions are often excluded from free and suggested admission. Brooklyn Museum says so on its listing.
Holiday weeks can change hours. Check the museum's page for that week.

Sources: whitney.org, guggenheim.org, metmuseum.org, nyc.gov/dcla. Last checked Nov 11, 2026.