The best things to do in NYC this week

MoMA is opening a grocery store where absolutely nothing is edible—and that’s the point. Launching on January 7, 2026, MoMA Mart is a limited-time pop-up from the MoMA Design Store that turns the mundane task of grocery shopping into a visual prank. Shelves are stocked not with snacks, but with objects that look like food at first glance and then reveal themselves as lamps, clocks, candles, stools and sculptural décor.

MoMA Mart will run from January 7 through March 29 at both MoMA Design Store locations—SoHo (81 Spring Street) and Midtown (44 West 53rd Street)—and will also be featured online, where people will be able to shop for the various items. Consider it grocery shopping for people who already have snacks—and could use a tomato lamp instead.

A big dose of digital magic is on its way to Tribeca. Onassis ONX—the Onassis Foundation’s lab serving artists working in XR, AI and immersive performance—is packing up its midtown digs and heading downtown, where it will double in size with a 6,000-square-foot studio at Broadway and Walker Street. The new space will open to the public in January, marking a big move for an organization that’s fast become a power player in the city’s experimental art scene.

The first show to christen the new studio will be TECHNE: Homecoming, set to run January 9–18, 2026. The exhibit will bring together six artists to explore identity and kinship, including Björk collaborator Andrew Thomas Huang and VR pioneer Tamiko Thiel. Visitors can expect video environments and “phygital” installations—a mash-up of real, tangible objects with interactive tech.

Under the Radar, consistently one of the most exciting theater and performance festivals in New York City since its launch in 2005, will take place in over 20 venues across the city from January 7-25, 2026.

In keeping with the festival’s eye toward the best of U.S. and international experimental performance, it will continue to explore dance, music, theater, film, opera, conversation and stagecraft through works by NY-based artists Narcissister (in her first-ever proscenium presentation), The HawtPlates, Kaneza Schaal, Lisa Fagan and Lena Engelstein, as well as European virtuosos Cherish Menzo and Mario Banushi.

A brand new double-decker carousel is set to spin holiday cheer throughout the season in Greeley Square at 33rd Street and Broadway on November 21, offering rides through January 6, 2026.

The two-story swirl of lights, music and storybook creatures will spin from 10am to 10pm daily, offering plenty of opportunity to catch a ride before, during or after your holiday shopping. Tickets cost $7/person.

Speaking of shopping: the carousel will be in the perfect location. It will sit just steps from Macy’s Herald Square, where the holidays are already in full swing.

During the typically bleak post–New Year’s Eve concert lull, Winter Jazzfest promises a bright spot on the city’s calendar. The annual event showcases new talent performing a broad spectrum of musical styles all under the banner of jazz. Year after year, the crowds grow attracting both avid jazz fans along with new listeners, plus industry professionals. 

This year's fest runs Thursday, January 8, 2026 to Tuesday, January 13, 2026, with immense "Marathon" events in Manhattan on Friday, January 9 and in Brooklyn on Saturday, January 10.

The week of rollicking fun takes over venues across the city, from Nublu to Roulette and much more. Plus, the signature "Marathon" nights are back offering buzzy, multi-stage shows that always add up to one of the best concert experiences in NYC. The Marathon shows aren't individually ticketed, so your pass grants you access to any of each night's gigs—as long as a given club doesn't hit capacity. It’s a model that encourages sampling and venue-hopping. The event also requires patience and an open mind: If your preferred show is full, just head to one of the nearby spots for something unexpected.

The fabulous holiday icon of NYC, The Rockefeller Christmas Tree is a must-see for both locals and visitors during the holiday season, whether you’re visiting before ice-skating on The Rink at Rockefeller Center or just passing through.

More than 50,000 multi-colored LED lights wrap around the branches. It’s topped with a three-dimensional Swarovski star that weighs 900 pounds and sparkles in 3 million crystals.

The tree is lit up daily through mid-January. On Christmas Eve, the tree is lit for 24 hours and on New Year’s Eve it is lit from 5am to 9pm. 

New Yorkers rush past bodegas, take-out joints and dry cleaners a hundred times a week without really seeing them. But at "Pedestrian," the new exhibition by Brooklyn artist Charis Ammon at Sargent’s Daughters in Tribeca, those everyday facades get the kind of attention usually reserved for landmarks. She often photographs a storefront for months, sometimes years, waiting for the right moment. A thrift store near her apartment became a long-term muse. (“I’ve walked by that place for over two years, taking pictures,” the artist said.)

Other works lean into what Ammon calls “disruption,” like Bodega Melt, the Bushwick shop with the flickering LED watermelon sign. “Disruption in a window or on a surface speaks to story,” she said. To her, those breaks, in the form of a shadow, a reflection or a smear of light, mirror the moments that interrupt our own routines and the ones that make us pay attention.

"Pedestrian" runs December 12–January 24 at Sargent’s Daughters in Tribeca.

One of Keith Haring’s most significant public works is returning to view in New York this fall.

Martos Gallery on Elizabeth Street in downtown Manhattan has mounted a rare presentation of 14 of the original 30 panels from Haring’s FDR Drive mural, originally created onsite in 1984 along a 300-foot stretch of the highway facing the East River. Long thought lost, fragmented or scattered, the panels now appear together again in a gallery setting—still hung roughly 4.5 feet from the ground, just as they were when drivers, cyclists and dog walkers first encountered them in real time 40 years ago.

The mural is on view at Martos Gallery through January 15, 2026.

The Brooklyn Museum has gotten a major dose of calm. Visitors can now enter a Tibetan Buddhist shrine room with ritual horns, butter lamps and the hum of chanting monks, courtesy of a long-term loan from the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art.

The Rubin Museum Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room, one of the institution’s most beloved installations, will be on view inside the Brooklyn Museum’s Arts of Asia galleries as part of a six-year collaboration between the two museums. Entry is included with general admission, which the museum offers on a pay-what-you-wish basis. 

Let internet boyfriend Pedro Pascal be your guide on a tour of the universe. The famous actor is the narrator for a new space show at the American Museum of Natural History's Hayden Planetarium titled Encounters in the Milky Way. 

Encounters in the Milky Way takes a 20-minute voyage through outer space with stunning visualizations of dazzling stars, constellations and planets. Stirring music complements Pascal's narration, and you'll even feel your seats move as if you could blast off to space yourself. 

If Da Vinci had the technology we do today, what would he have created?

That’s the question being asked at Mercer Labs’ newest exhibit, “Maestros and the Machines,” featuring sound by Timbaland. The exhibit investigates: what could’ve been created if past artists, musicians and geniuses had technology as we know it today.

The new exhibit, which showcases an immersive atmosphere with cutting-edge digital tools, soundscapes and more, is conceived and directed by artist and Mercer Labs founder Roy Nachum. (You might recognize Nachum’s name because he designed Rihanna’s Anti album cover.)

Sure, you can learn about the American Revolution in history books. Or you can experience it in real life—in the actual place where history was made—during this exhibit at Fraunces Tavern Museum in Lower Manhattan. 

The museum is set to debut “Path to Liberty: The Emergence of a Nation” in honor of America’s 250th anniversary. Find the exhibit inside Fraunces Tavern, a historic building that served as a meeting place for the Sons of Liberty, hosted Washington's farewell to his officers and even was hit by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. 

As part of the nation's semiquincentennial (a.k.a. 250th) celebrations, Fraunces' exhibition will offer a chronological, multi-year experience telling the history of the American Revolution from 1775 to 1783, with a distinctive focus on what occurred in New York State and the surrounding areas.

After a five-year closure, the Frick Collection is now open once again inside its historic Gilded Age mansion at 1 East 70th Street by Fifth Avenue.

Visitors will get to experience even more of the museum's extensive collection by stepping inside restored spaces on the first floor while also walking around a new roster of galleries on the mansion's second floor, open to the public for the very first time.

The second floor used to be the Frick family’s private living quarters, but later became staff meeting rooms and administrative offices. So yes, you’ll be able to walk into the original bedroom of Henry Clay Frick.

It's hard to imagine now in our globalized world, but many of the young American soldiers who headed onto massive ships like the USS Intrepid during World War II had never even seen the ocean before. They’d soon be navigating the Pacific, launching planes off of aircraft carriers and battling Axis enemies. 

Now, the stories of those military members are on display in a new permanent exhibit at the Intrepid Museum, the historic aircraft carrier docked along the Hudson River in Hell’s Kitchen, which served from 1943 to 1974. The new 10,000-square-foot exhibit includes 50 never-before-seen artifacts, crew member oral histories, videos and photos showcasing the ship's history.

Plus, you’ll get to see the museum’s newest WWII aircraft acquisition, a legendary fighter-bomber called the FG-1D Corsair. Planes just like it often flew off of Intrepid’s flight deck during the war.

Tucked away on Bridge Street in an old factory basement, this two-story playscape for kids and adults contains ample room for fun, including laser tag, mini-bowling and arcade games.

Laser tag games are comprised of three 10-15-minute matches, where you bob and weave around rustic columns and obstacles Area 53 has set up. Across an hour-and-a-half, you and your friends will be giggling and screaming as you "shoot" each other's guns to gain points. It's not for the faint of heart—running to avoid lasers is a workout, but a super fun one. Checking out its "After Dark" laser tag and mini-bowling for those 18+ on Thursday nights.

Area 53's mini-bowling allows for up to six people to knock down pins across 25 minutes and its arcade has traditional games, from basketball shooting games to racing games and claw machines. 

Blast off to another planet at INTER's new interstellar experience. Inside this Soho space, expect to see more than 10 immersive exhibits using light, sound and digital projection to transport you to another galaxy.

Walk through a mirrored hallway with moving light, then find yourself on an alien terrain. Stroll through a tunnel of bioluminescent flowers, bounce around in a netted space called “The Vortex,” and get swallowed by a black hole in an infinity mirrored room. All of it is certainly fodder for your Instagram feed.

But it’s not just about looking around. INTER asks you to … interact. There are multiple generative art installations that react in real-time, like donning a space suit in the interstellar research lab and forming new constellations via motion-tracking technology.

Some 4,500 years ago, ancient Egyptians built the Great Pyramid of Giza—the greatest pyramid the world had ever seen. Sure, you can read about this incredible civilization in history books, but you can now walk through their pyramid without ever leaving New York City. A new virtual reality experience called Horizon of Khufu offers a chance to travel miles away and back in time. 

You'll get a chance to wander around the pyramid, then look in awe at the intricate tombs of Pharaoh Khufu and the majestic Giza Necropolis. Eventually, you'll board a ship for a journey across the Nile, attend a mummification ceremony, and experience the somber occasion of King Khufu's final rites.

As the Revolutionary War came to a close, British Loyalists and soldiers evacuated the colonies in droves. But the evacuation was more complicated for Black Loyalists, some of whom joined the British cause in response to offers of freedom. 

In 1783, the new government formed a special committee to review the eligibility of some Black Loyalists to evacuate with the British Army, and that committee met at Fraunces Tavern in Lower Manhattan. A new permanent exhibit at the Fraunces Tavern Museum explores this important moment in history. 

The exhibition first opened last year, and officials are now moving it to a larger permanent gallery within the museum. The new space will offer a chance to include recent new discoveries of significant information concerning the identities of individuals participating in the Birch Trials and their inclusion in the Book of Negroes.

You may just miss Hell’s Kitchen’s latest lounge. Tucked away off 52nd Street and 8th Avenue, you’ll find a red light and a blue door marked with red graffiti of a martini and a piano. Once the light flicks on, duck inside to find the city’s latest piano bar and supper club. Follow the red light to So & So’s Piano Bar. A part of the Romer Hell’s Kitchen hotel, the piano bar and supper club is an ideal escape for locals and theater industry vets alike. Illuminated by stunning marquee lights, the stage will host up-and-coming local acts alongside Broadway legends, and has already been graced by Darren Criss and Noah Cyrus.

If you’re on Foodie-Tok, chances are that you’ve come across a video of The Lavaux, a romantic Swiss restaurant and wine bar in the West Village that has some of the best Swiss cheese offerings in the city. But recently, it’s gone viral on TikTok for its “Secret Message Party,” where they encourage strangers to send each other anonymous notes on Tuesday nights.

The note-passing party is the baby of general manager Christian Stemmer, who got the idea two years ago while traveling through his native Switzerland and ate at a restaurant where people were sending notes to other tables. He decided that something like that would probably do very well in New York, where most of us are starved for deeper human connection. “New Yorkers are all about new experiences,” Stemmer tells Time Out. 

Beautiful, buoyant, beguiling bubbles are back at the New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) in Queens. The beloved bubbles exhibit, which has been closed for five years, will return bigger, better and bubblier than ever.

The Big Bubble Experiment encourages kids of all ages to experiment and discover through the joy of playing with bubbles. That includes blowing, stretching, popping and looking closely to see what happens at each move. 

The exhibit features 10 stations, each one with different tools and methods for exploring bubble solution.

Eighty years ago, as World War II raged on, Danish citizens worked together to ferry 7,000 Jewish people to safety, keeping them out of concentration camps. 

Now, New York City’s Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust is commemorating that anniversary, known as one of the most effective examples of mass resistance in modern history. "Courage to Act: Rescue in Denmark," the museum’s first exhibition developed for elementary-age students, is now open.

The exhibit focuses on themes of separation, bravery and resilience to help children ages 9+ reflect on the dangers of prejudice and on their own potential for courageous collective action. 

On a typical visit to the Museum of Modern Art, crowds surround the most precious paintings, and it can be tough to squeeze your way in for a photo, let alone to admire the artwork’s brushstrokes. But now, thanks to these new exclusive tours by GetYourGuide, you can get in before the museum opens for a guided tour of amazing artwork. 

The new MoMA Before Hours Tour with Art Expert is now available. Tickets are on sale here for $99/person. Few New York City experiences compare to the absolute thrill of gazing at famed works of art uninterrupted for as long as you like.  

Find your latest read at The Free Black Women’s Library, a new free library in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy neighborhood, which also serves as a social art project, a reading room, a co-working space and a community gathering center. The library "celebrates the brilliance, diversity and imagination of Black women and Black non-binary authors." All 5,000 books in the library's collection are written by Black women and non-binary authors.

Here's how it works: Anybody can visit the space to read, work or hang out. If you want to take a book home, simply bring a book written by a Black woman or Black non-binary author, and you can trade. Whether you decide to bring the book back after you're done reading or keep it for your collection is up to you.

The library is currently open four days per week (Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday) at 226 Marcus Garvey Boulevard. In addition to offering a space to read or work, the library has also hosts a book club, art shows and workshops on topics like writing, drawing, poetry, painting and sewing. All are welcome. 

New York City is full of free outdoor art that you don't even have to go to a museum to see. Sculptures, murals and photographs can be found in its parks, sidewalks and on its buildings! 

An outdoor artwalk makes for a perfect fall activity, and there's no shortage of art to check out right now. Best of all, it costs you nothing to pay a visit.

The New York Public Library dug through its expansive and centuries-spanning archive to stage an impressive free exhibition filled with cultural artifacts. "The Polonsky Exhibition of New York Public Library’s Treasures" spans 4,000 years of history and includes a wide range of history-making pieces, including the only surviving letter from Christoper Columbus announcing his “discovery” of the Americas to King Ferdinand’s court and the first Gutenberg Bible brought over to the Americas.

New treasures were just added to the exhibit this fall, including a signed, first edition copy of "Passing" by Nella Larsen, a selection of manuscript pages from "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot, and a miniature early 19th-century Qur’an, produced in Turkey.

Swingers NoMad, a "crazy mini-golf course" and entertainment complex straight from London, offers three nine-hole golf courses across 23,000 square feet under 20-foot-high ceilings.

"Crazy golf" is a British spin on mini-golf, but it's for a 21-and-over audience since craft cocktails are served by caddies on the course. Take your pick from six cocktail bars with signature classic cocktails, as well as 12 cocktails created specifically for Swingers NoMad. Plus, you can rent private rooms, check out an opulent clubhouse and enjoy four gourmet street food vendors—Sauce Pizzeria, Miznon, Fonda and Mah Ze Dahr Bakery.

For the holiday season, Swingers is offering a fun twist on the festivities: Spin a Naughty-or-Nice Prize Wheel to decide whether you're ordering the "Naughty" Sex on the Green shot or the "Nice" Festive Dessert. In addition to the game, there's also seasonal decor and even more holiday drinks.

Join Josh Johnson (Comedy Central's The Daily Show), Lucas Connolly (Comedy Central), and Brittany Cardwell (Drule, New York Comedy Fest) for stacked lineups of top comics from NYC and beyond every Wednesday at 7:30pm. 

Plus you can enjoy free beer from 7:30 to 8pm and there's a pizza raffle if you RSVP. What's not to love? Show up to Two Boots Williamsburg for the show.

Descend into The Django (l2 6th Avenue, The Roxy Hotel, Cellar Level) and you’ll feel like you’ve entered another world. The subterranean jazz club, with its vaulted ceilings and exposed brick walls, was modeled after the boîtes of Paris. The venue consists of two cocktail bars, an open dining space, and a stage for live performances with a state-of-the-art sound system. The Django offers a full dinner menu and handcrafted cocktails, all partnered with a brilliant entertainment lineup. Check out the schedule here.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's "Date Nights" give visitors an opportunity to become acquainted with artwork with informal drop-in gallery chats, listen in on gorgeous live music and sip on yummy cocktails.

"Date Nights" are held every Friday and Saturday night in the American Wing Café from 5pm to 9pm. Make it a night out with The Met's buy-one-get-one drink special and snack on light bites in the American Wing Café. More details can be found at metmuseum.org/datenight. 

There's literally no excuse not to go—the date nights come with museum admission, which is always pay-what-you-wish for New York State residents and NY, NJ, and CT students with valid ID. And this time, advance tickets are not required. 

The luxurious Italian wellness spa QC NY has opened to the public, bringing the elegance and rejuvenation of a European spa to Governors Island, but with New York City flavor. It's immediately clear when you enter the spa that it was made to feel like home. From its cozy reception area decorated with custom-made furniture from Italy to its welcoming relaxation spaces with plush leather chairs and massive pillows you can sprawl out on, it feels like you're staying at a retreat with New York Harbor views. Since it's on the edge of the island, a short walk from Soissons Landing, looking out the windows offers gorgeous blue water views and glimpses of the city skyline. Because of its layout, the spa feels secluded from the rest of the island. Click through to read more about the new spa.

A new audio tour by the Brooklyn Public Library seeks to explore the lives of the characters and authors that call the borough home in fiction and in real life. From Patti Smith to Biggie Smalls, Howard Zinn to Tanwi Nandini Islam, the guide covers a total of 16 writers over eight miles of Brooklyn. You can also expect to stop at important public libraries the likes of Washington Irving and Clinton Hill, which, according to an official press release, "played an important role in the lives of the featured author[s]." Expect the entire tour, which can virtually start off from anywhere in Brooklyn, to take at least two hours to complete, depending on how many stops you wish to make along the way.

The sun will come out—eventually! Our guide to spring in NYC details flower shows, outdoor fests and cultural musts.

Want to know what’s happening in New York today, this weekend or in the coming months? Use our NYC events calendar for 2025 as your guide to find the best things to do around town.