Cess Choo

Staying in the city for the summer? We’ve compiled a list of fun activities that you can use as a summer bucket list. No matter where you live in New York City, all five boroughs have fun things to do! Here are our hidden gems and recommendations:

1. Stargazing
   1. Hunter’s Point South Park
      1. Center Blvd, Long Island City, NY 11101
   2. Alley Pond Environmental Center
      1. 229-10 Northern Blvd, Queens, NY 11362
   3. Gateway National Recreation Area
      1. 26 Hudson Rd, Highlands, NJ 07732
   4. The High Line
      1. New York, NY 10011
2. Spend a whole day at the beach
   1. Brighton Beach, Brooklyn
   2. Cedar Grove Beach, Staten Island
   3. Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn
   4. Orchard Beach, Bronx
   5. Rockaway Beach, Queens
3. Coney Island, Brooklyn
   1. The Boardwalk
   2. New York Aquarium
   3. Luna Park and Wonder Wheel Amusement Parks
4. Concerts
   1. Forest Hills Stadium, Queens
      1. Goose (June 29th), King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard (August 16-17th) Pitbull (August 25th)
   2. Madison Square Garden, Manhattan
      1. Justin Timberlake (June 25th) Noah Kahan (July 15-16th), Billy Joel (July 24th)
   3. Barclays Center, Brooklyn
      1. Janet Jackson (July 10th), Missy Elliot (August 12th), Childish Gambino (August 26-27th)
   4. Radio City Music Hall, Manhattan
      1. Yoasobi (August 6th), Lindsey Stirling (August 10th), Joshua Bassett (August 20th)
   5. SummerStage Performance at Central Park
      1. Counting Crows (July 11th), The Roots (August 23rd), Snail Mail (August 27th)
5. Food markets/festivals
   1. Queens Night Market (April 13-August 17)
      1. Corona, Queens
      2. Open air night market with over 100 different vendors in the festival, $5 for most food, exceptions at $6 maximum
   2. DeKalb Market Hall (June 7-June 29)
      1. Downtown Brooklyn
      2. More than 40 regional food vendors
   3. Famous Food Festival (July 12-14)
      1. 85+ vendors
      2. Whole family event is $8, Children 8-12 $7, Children under 7 can go for free, $12 per adult
   4. Dream Food Festival 2024 (July 12-15)
      1. American Dream Mall, NJ
      2. Children under 12 are free, general admission is $15, VIP is $50
   5. Foodie Fest Summer Weekend Food Festival  (June 29- August 30th)
      1. Deer Park, Long Island
      2. More than 30 food trucks
6. Bike rides
   1. Brooklyn Bridge to Red Hook
   2. East and West Village Gardens
   3. Prospect Park
   4. Highbridge Park Mountain Bike Trails
7. Parks
   1. Brooklyn Botanical Garden
   2. Fort Tryon Park
   3. Riverside Park
   4. Thomas Jefferson Park
   5. Theodore Roosevelt Park
   6. Wards Island Park
   7. Little Island, Pier 55
8.  Museums
   1. Roerich Museum
      1. 319 West 107th Street, Manhattan
      2. A free art gallery showcasing more than 200 works by 20th century artist and philosopher, Nicolas Roerich.
   2. Guggenheim Museum
      1. 1071 5th Avenue, Manhattan
      2. Pay-what-you-wish hours are on Mondays and Saturdays from 4:00-5:30 PM.
   3. Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space
      1. 155 Loisaida Avenue, Manhattan
      2. A non-profit museum dedicated to the history of grassroots activism in the Lower East Side, with an archive of engaging photographs, documents, artifacts, and more.
   4. Brooklyn Museum
      1. 200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn
      2. General admission is free for ages 4-19.
   5. Metropolitan Museum of Art
      1. 1000 5th Avenue, Manhattan
      2. Tickets are pay what you wish for New York residents and NJ/CT students, and free for all children under 12.
   6. New York Transit Museum
      1. 99 Schermerhorn Street, Brooklyn
      2. This museum located in a decommissioned 1936 Brooklyn subway station houses several artifacts and 20 vintage subway cars, with the oldest dating back to 1907. Costs 5-10 dollars to visit.
   7. Whitney Museum of American Art
      1. 99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan
      2. Free for visitors under 18 all the time, and free for everyone on Friday nights and the second Sunday of every month.
   8. The Museum of Ice Cream
      1. 558 Broadway, Manhattan
      2. An immersive experience with super fun interactive activities, includingfrom a plastic sprinkle pool, diverse sensory installations, and best of all, unlimited ice cream! Located in lower Manhattan, with prices roughly around $37, this is definitely a spot to check out.
   9. Color Factory
      1. 251 Spring Street, Manhattan
      2. A super fun experience, with each room a different color, this museum is sure to have something for everyone. Exhibits include an iconic baby blue bubble bath and a disco ball floor, but the highlight is definitely the food, from the macarons in every flavor possible to the ice cream they give out at the end!
   10. Sloomoo Institute
       1. 475 Broadway, Manhattan
       2. This slime museum is located in SoHo and is filled throughout with a variety of unique types of slime. There’s a section dedicated to building your own slime and there are a number of colors and trinkets to accessorize them with. There’s a glow-in-the-dark exhibit and even a large pool of slime to walk in.
   11. Spyscape
       1. 928 8th Avenue, Manhattan
       2. This is a fun interactive experience where you go through a number of different mental and physical games. Throughout the museum, there are many exhibits that show the history of spies. At the end, everyone gets assigned a certain “spy job.”
   12. The Skyscraper Museum
       1. 39 Battery Place, Manhattan
       2. This exciting museum located next to Manhattan’s Battery Park details the history and future of skyscrapers in NYC and cities around the world, featuring models, murals, building plans, and rotating exhibitions!