What is there to do in New York during the New York Comedy Festival?

Things to Do in New York: New York Comedy Festival

The short answer

Between shows, New York has Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Chelsea Market and Central Park, and five more picks across the city and around it. France's gift of friendship to the United States, dedicated in 1886, stands on Liberty Island; Ellis Island is the park's second island, and you reach both by ferry.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

France's gift of friendship to the United States, dedicated in 1886, stands on Liberty Island; Ellis Island is the park's second island, and you reach both by ferry. Their museums charge no entrance fee, but you need a ticket from Statue City Cruises, the only ferry allowed to land there; it covers the round trip, both islands and their museums. Boats leave from The Battery in Lower Manhattan and from Liberty State Park in Jersey City. Other sellers may charge more, or sell boats that don't land.

The national monument ↗ · Fees and ferry tickets ↗ · Directions to the ferries ↗ · Statue City Cruises tickets ↗

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

More than 5,000 years of art from around the world, on Fifth Avenue at the edge of Central Park. Open 10am to 5pm on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and until 9pm on Friday and Saturday; closed on Wednesday. Advance tickets aren't required. The roof garden and the modern and contemporary galleries are closed for renovation.

Plan your visit ↗

Chelsea Market

Breakfast to dinner and a drink, local shops and immersive art, all under one roof and open every day from 7am to 10pm. Until 16 November, ARTECHOUSE's ocean exhibition is on inside. Take the A, C, E or L to 14th Street (8th Avenue) and walk west to Ninth Avenue.

Hours and directions ↗ · What's on ↗

Central Park

843 acres in the middle of Manhattan, open every day from 6am to 1am. To find your way, read the four numbers on the base of any lamppost: the first two give the nearest street, and an odd last pair means you're on the west side, an even one the east.

Know before you go ↗ · Plan your visit ↗

Brooklyn Bridge

Walk the promenade across the East River between Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Heights, past the bridge's famous stone arches. John A. Roebling designed it, and when it was finished in 1883 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world. Cyclists have their own protected path.

The Brooklyn Bridge ↗

Empire State Building

The open-air 86th Floor Observation Deck, with the 102nd floor above it, open 365 days a year; in winter the outdoor deck has heaters. Every visit needs a timed reservation: book online ahead, or buy at the ticket office on West 34th Street. Hours change with the season, so look up your date.

Tickets and visiting ↗ · Opening hours by date ↗

Intrepid Museum

An aircraft carrier commissioned in 1943 that later served as a NASA recovery vessel. Admission covers the carrier, the Space Shuttle Pavilion and the submarine Growler, and there are flight simulators too. From October to March it opens every day, 10am to 5pm, last entry 4pm. On 7 November the Exploreum hall opens later, at 11:30am.

Hours and tickets ↗ · How to find it ↗

Walkway Over the Hudson

A day trip up the Hudson Valley: an 1889 railroad bridge reborn as a state park and the world's longest elevated footbridge, 212 feet above the river and 1.28 miles gate to gate. It's free and open every day from 7am; in November and December it closes at 5pm. Metro-North and Amtrak run to Poughkeepsie, and the Washington Street Stairs entrance is a 0.7-mile walk from the station.

Hours, directions and the train ↗ · Walkway Over the Hudson ↗

Comedy Cellar

One more comedy night, off the festival. There are shows every night in the MacDougal Street room and in its other rooms, entered at 130 W 3rd St; on Fridays and Saturdays the last MacDougal Street show starts at 12:30am. Each guest orders at least two items: food, a drink or a bottle of water. Your booking email shows your QR code and which entrance to use.

Showtimes ↗ · Tonight's line-ups ↗ · Entrances and directions ↗