Once a year Open House New York persuades hundreds of building owners to unlock the places New Yorkers walk past but never enter — water tunnels and power plants, private townhouses, cathedral roofs, top-floor offices with views no tourist gets. Sites run across all five boroughs, so you can build a day around a neighbourhood you have never explored on foot. If you have ever wondered what is behind a particular door in this city, this is the weekend to find out, and it costs nothing.
What to expect
You plan your own route from the published site list, then either walk up to open-access sites or turn up for a reserved timed tour. Volunteers and often the architects themselves lead you through. Expect a lot of walking, some queuing at the most popular buildings, and a very different city at the end of it.
Good to know
- The full site list and the reservation window are published on the OHNY site ahead of the weekend
- The most in-demand sites release reservations early and go within minutes
- Plenty of open-access sites need no booking at all - build a walking route around a single neighbourhood
- Wear shoes for stairs; many sites involve mechanical rooms, roofs and ladders
- Accessibility varies enormously by site and is noted on each listing
- Good for architecture and infrastructure obsessives, and for anyone new to a borough
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Common questions
Is OHNY Weekend free?
Most sites are free to enter. A small number of special tours carry a fee, and some free sites still require you to hold an advance reservation.
Do I need to book in advance?
For the headline sites, yes - reservations open ahead of the weekend and the most popular ones are claimed almost immediately. Many open-access sites need no booking, so a plan built around those still fills a full day.
Which boroughs take part?
All five. The programme deliberately spreads across Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island, and the outer-borough sites are usually far easier to get into.
More this weekend
