Everything else on this site costs nothing. These cost a little, and we list them because what you get is far bigger than the price.
$3.00A red cable car that swings out beside the Queensboro Bridge and crosses the East River in about four minutes. It costs one standard transit fare, paid by tapping a card or phone.
The cheapest aerial view in Manhattan. Stand at the south window, ride over just before sunset, and come back on the F train from Roosevelt Island if the return line is long.
$4.50The city ferry runs up the East River under the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges, stopping at DUMBO, Williamsburg and Greenpoint. One ticket includes free transfers for 120 minutes.
A harbor cruise for the price of a coffee. Buy the ticket in the NYC Ferry app or at the dock machine, since subway fares do not work here, and take the open top deck.
Source: NYC Ferry
$4A restored 1922 carousel with 48 carved horses, set in a glass pavilion at the edge of the East River between the two bridges.
Worth four dollars even without children, mostly for where it sits. It is closed Monday and Tuesday in fall, and Monday to Wednesday from January to mid-March.
Source: Jane's Carousel
$3.50A 1908 carousel with 57 hand-carved horses and a loud band organ. It runs daily from 10 am to dusk when the weather allows.
The one paid thing in the park that small children will remember. One ticket per rider per ride, so a family of four pays $14.
Source: Central Park Conservancy
No free viewpoint puts you above Midtown with Central Park on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ferry and the bridges show you the skyline from outside; this is the one place that shows it from the middle. Book a slot about 45 minutes before sunset and stay until the lights come on.
Everything above is free. This is the only paid pick on the page, chosen because no free option replaces it.
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