Free & Affordable Activities in Brooklyn

1. The Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum is New York City's third-largest museum, located near the Brooklyn neighborhood of Prospect Heights within Prospect Park. The 560,000-square-foot Beaux Arts-style museum was designed in 1895 and has been significantly revitalized over recent decades, holding a collection of over 1.5 million artworks and artifacts from around the world. Noted collections of African, Oceanic, Japanese, European, and American artworks are showcased, spanning from antiquity to the present day. Major artists represented include Georgia O'Keeffe, Edgar Degas, Mark Rothko, and Edward Hopper. The museum's Memorial Sculpture Garden also showcases salvaged architectural artifacts from throughout the city.

200 Eastern Pkwy, Brooklyn, NY 11238, Phone: 718-638-5000

2. Coney Island

Coney Island is one of Brooklyn's most famous summer getaway spots, known internationally for its expansive public recreational beachfront, entertainment-filled boardwalk, and classic amusement rides. Visitors can explore the district's free-admission beach and boardwalk year-round, which spans over three miles along the borough's southern coastline. Midway games, sideshow attractions, and food vendors line the beach's renowned boardwalk, including the original Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs stand. For additional admission or ride ticket charges, visitors can take a spin on the roller coasters and rides of Luna Park and Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, including the historic Cyclone rollercoaster and one of the world's only eccentric wheel rides. Nearby, New York Aquarium is home to marine life exhibits, while MCU Park serves as the home stadium for the Brooklyn Cyclones minor league baseball team.

1904 Surf Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11224, Map

3. The New York Aquarium

The New York Aquarium is the oldest continuously-operated aquarium in the United States, originally opened with Battery Park's Castle Garden in 1896. Since 1957, it has been located along Coney Island's famed boardwalk, housing populations of more than 250 marine life species, including sand tiger sharks, green moray eels, harbor seals, and blackfooted penguins. The aquarium highlights daily animal feedings as part of scheduled programming, as well as performances of an aquatic-themed puppet performance scripted by Avenue Q creator John Tartaglia. On Wednesday afternoon beginning at 3:00pm, visitors can enter the aquarium for free as part of the facility's pay-what-you-wish admission initiative.

602 Surf Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11224, Phone: 718-265-3474

4. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a 52-acre botanical garden within Brooklyn's Prospect Park, open to the public for free each Friday before noon and throughout the day on weekdays between December and February. The gardens were originally founded in 1910 and house significant collections of cherry trees, roses, and other native and exotic plants, attracting more than 900,000 visitors each year. Outdoor gardens include a Japanese garden, a native flora garden, and the oldest continually-operating children's botanic garden in the world. Three indoor plant pavilions and an aquatic plant house are also showcased within the Steinhardt Conservatory, which is also home to the C.V. Starr Bonsai Museum.

990 Washington Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225, Phone: 718-623-7200

5. The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge was the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world at its opening in 1883, spanning more than 1,595 feet across the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The bridge, designed by famed bridge engineer John A. Roebling, is one of New York City's most iconic landmarks and most popular tourist attractions, attracting over 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 cyclists daily. Visitors can walk or ride across the bridge day and night, with a pedestrian and cyclist platform walkway suspended high above motor vehicle lanes. The bridge offers unparalleled views of the Manhattan and Brooklyn skylines, with views of the Statue of Liberty possible on clear days. Visitors should note that early morning and evening crossing times may be significantly less crowded than midday crossings and offer better chances for photo opportunities and sightseeing.

Brooklyn Bridge, New York, NY 10038

If you are interested in history, check out this in-depth video about how the Brooklyn Bridge was built.

6. Brooklyn Bridge Park

Brooklyn Bridge Park spans 1.3 miles along Brooklyn's beautiful East River waterfront, reclaiming the borough's shoreline from industrial activity with phase additions since 2008. The 85-acre park was designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and stretches through Brooklyn's DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights neighborhoods between Jay Street and Atlantic Avenue. Six former industrial piers along the borough's waterfront have been transformed into public recreational spaces, with sporting courts, children's playgrounds, picnic areas, salt marsh ecosystems, and concessionaires integrated into each pier area. Main Street and Empire-Fulton Ferry Parks have been integrated into the larger park project, which also offers a dog run, a rock climbing wall, and pedestrian and bicycle paths.

334 Furman St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Phone: 718-222-9939

7. The Brooklyn Brewery

The Brooklyn Brewery is Brooklyn's premiere craft microbrewery and one of the most renowned microbreweries in the United States, originally founded in 1988 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter. Today, the brewery is known for its flagship pre-Prohibition-style Brooklyn Lager, along with favorites such as its hop-forward Brooklyn East IPA, unique Sorachi Ace Saison, and Shackmeister Ale, exclusively available at Shake Shack restaurants throughout the United States. Brewery tours and tastings are usually offered on Saturdays, elaborating on the brewery's operations at their Williamsburg facility. No reservations are required for free tours. Pints and company merchandise are available for purchase separately after all tours.

79 N 11th St, Brooklyn, NY 11249, Phone: 718-486-7422

8. The Waterfront Museum

The Waterfront Museum is a maritime history museum in Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood, located aboard the National Register of Historic Places-listed 1914 Lehigh Valley Barge #79. The barge, which was constructed in 1914, is the final remaining wooden barge in New York Harbor. Free tours of the preserved barge are offered on certain days while the barge is docked at the neighborhood's pier. Tours for school groups are offered regularly with advance registration, and free public special event programming is offered throughout the year, including art exhibits and live performances aboard the barge.

290 Conover St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, Phone: 718-624-4719

9. Adam Yauch Park

Adam Yauch Park is a Brooklyn Heights playground named in honor of founding Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch, a Brooklyn resident and filmmaker, artist, and international social activist. The park, which was formerly known as State Street Park and Palmetto Playground, was a childhood favorite play spot for Yauch and his family. Following Yauch's death in 2012 from cancer, the park was renamed in his honor. Today, it showcases a beautiful selection of diverse tree species, including London plane, Norway maple, pin oak, and silver linden trees. Half and full basketball courts are provided for visitor use, along with a greenhouse facility, a fitness area, a community garden, and a dog run.

5512, 27 State St, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Phone: 212-639-9675

10. BRIC House

BRIC House is Brooklyn's leading free cultural programming organization, housed within the former Strand Theater building within the borough's Cultural District. The organization is dedicated to presenting new and engaging works by emerging and mid-career artists, with a focus on diverse works emphasizing individual expression. Two performance spaces are offered at the organization's main building, including the flexible-configuration BRIC House Ballroom, which hosts a variety of free and low-cost live performances throughout the year. A 3,000-square-foot art gallery is also offered, which is open to the public for free daily, along with with a public media center, television studio, drop-in workshop center, cafe, and artist work spaces.

647 Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY 11217, Phone: 718-855-7882