Free museums and galleries in Upper East Side: a walkable route
This route runs from East 70th Street to Fifth Avenue at 88th Street, comparing four museum admission policies.
What’s free here
This is a walk between verified institutions, not a promise of free admission to every stop. Pay what you wish and eligibility conditions are shown individually.
A shared free day
There is no overlap of verified all-visitor free windows across these four stops. Frick’s general offer is pay what you wish on Wednesdays, when the Met is closed; Asia Society’s free day is Friday, while Guggenheim’s PWYW windows are Tuesday and Sunday. Choose a stop and budget for the other admission categories.
The walking order
Desk estimates from the published street addresses, allowing approximately 2 minutes per north–south block and 3–4 minutes per avenue crossing. No timed walk or accessible-route assessment.
| Stop / address | Walk from previous stop | Admission / booking | Current exhibition | Source / checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. The Frick Collection 1 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021 | Start here | pay what you wish Pay-what-you-wish Wednesdays 1:30-5:30pm. Free admission for ages 10-18; children under 10 are not admitted. First Fridays are a separate monthly program, not weekly admission. Wed 1:30-5:30pm Timed tickets recommended. Online PWYW has a $5 minimum; different contributions including less than $5 are available onsite Wednesday, subject to capacity. Regular hours Mon, Wed-Sun 10:30am-5:30pm; closed Tuesday. First Friday event dates: Still verifying. Closed 2026-11-26 through 2026-11-26. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2026-12-25 through 2026-12-25. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2027-01-01 through 2027-01-01. Closure source · 2026-10-09 | Still verifying | Official admission source · 2026-10-09 Ordinary hours source · 2026-10-09 |
| 2. Asia Society and Museum 725 Park Ave, New York, NY 10021 | Approximately 8 minutes (estimate from addresses) | free Free Museum admission all day Friday for all visitors Fri 11am-5pm Museum open Wed-Sun 11am-5pm. SNAP/EBT cardholders free anytime with up to 4 guests; visitors with disabilities plus one guest and ages 16 and under always free. Closed 2026-11-26 through 2026-11-26. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2026-12-25 through 2026-12-25. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2027-01-01 through 2027-01-01. Closure source · 2026-10-09 | Buddha and Shiva, Lotus and Dragon: Celebrating 70 Years of Asia Society and the Rockefeller Legacy — through 2027-01-03 Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller and the Rockefeller Collection — through 2027-01-03 A Legacy Continued: Recent Acquisitions to the Asia Society Museum Collection — through 2027-01-03 Busy, Busy Towns: Moving Images of a Changing Asia — through 2027-01-03 | Official admission source · 2026-09-16 Ordinary hours source · 2026-10-09 |
| 3. The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028 | Approximately 20 minutes (estimate from addresses) | pay what you wish Pay-what-you-wish for NY State residents and students from NY/NJ/CT Sun-Tue, Thu 10am-5pm; Fri-Sat 10am-9pm; Closed Wed NY State residents and NY/NJ/CT students only; minimum $0.01 per ticket. NY billing address required online; NJ/CT students buy in person with student ID. Advance tickets not required. Closed 2026-11-26 through 2026-11-26. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2026-12-25 through 2026-12-25. Closure source · 2026-10-09 Closed 2027-01-01 through 2027-01-01. Closure source · 2026-10-09 | The Genesis Facade Commission: Liu Wei, Speculation — through 2027-06-08 Orientalism: Between Fact and Fantasy — through 2027-02-28 A King's Carpet: Louis XIV and the Savonnerie — through 2028-03-05 Decorative Arts in China, 1000 to the Present A Lasting Legacy: Chinese Jades from New York Collections The Face of Life: Modern Portraits at The Met Wedding Attire: Three Cultures, One Celebration Defensive Display: Shields from The Met Collection The Calculated Curve: Eighteenth-Century American Furniture Look Again: European Paintings 1300-1800 Layered Narratives: The Northern Renaissance Gallery Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection Renaissance Masterpieces of Judaica: The Mishneh Torah and The Rothschild Mahzor Before Yesterday We Could Fly: An Afrofuturist Period Room Faberge from the Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection David Hartt: Peripheries — through 2027-02-07 There Are No Words: Si Lewen's Parade — through 2027-01-05 Krasner and Pollock: Past Continuous — through 2027-01-31 | Official admission source · 2026-09-05 Ordinary hours source · 2026-10-09 |
| 4. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum 1071 5th Ave, New York, NY 10128 | Approximately 10 minutes (estimate from addresses) | pay what you wish Pay what you wish every Tuesday and Sunday, 4–5:30pm. Tue and Sun 4–5:30pm Use the official pay-what-you-wish ticket option. Check ticket availability before traveling. | Taryn Simon: Father Country I Do Love You — through 2027-03-14 Guggenheim Pop: 1960 to Now — through 2027-01-10 Collection in Focus | Modern European Currents — through 2027-01-10 | Official admission source · 2026-09-05 Ordinary hours source · 2026-10-09 |
Getting here
Subway to the first stop: 68 St–Hunter College (6). Official transit directions · 2026-10-09
Policy check dates appear per stop. Exhibition titles are shown only when the existing evidence is current for 2026-10-09; missing exhibition evidence is Still verifying.