Stumblday's hand-checked ranking of the best things to do in Manhattan the weekend of Sep 11–13, 2026: 276 picks, refreshed weekly.
276 picks · checked Sep 7
9/11 Memorial plaza, World Trade Center, Financial District, ManhattanKen Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe defining event of the weekend citywide: victims' families read all 2,983 names on the Memorial plaza in the morning and the plaza reopens to everyone that afternoon ahead of Tribute in Light.
9/11 Memorial plaza, World Trade Center, Financial District, ManhattanKen Lund · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe defining event of the weekend citywide: victims' families read all 2,983 names on the Memorial plaza in the morning and the plaza reopens to everyone that afternoon ahead of Tribute in Light.
Lower Manhattan skyline, Financial District, ManhattanKing of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTwin beams from 88 searchlights rise miles over Lower Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 — visible across all five boroughs, dusk to dawn.
Lower Manhattan skyline, Financial District, ManhattanKing of Hearts · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsTwin beams from 88 searchlights rise miles over Lower Manhattan for the 25th anniversary of 9/11 — visible across all five boroughs, dusk to dawn.
PAC NYC — open-air on the World Trade Center campus, Financial District, ManhattanFormer Broadway and national tour cast members of the Tony-winning musical reunite for a free, one-time-only open-air concert on the World Trade Center campus for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
PAC NYC — open-air on the World Trade Center campus, Financial District, ManhattanFormer Broadway and national tour cast members of the Tony-winning musical reunite for a free, one-time-only open-air concert on the World Trade Center campus for the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Center, Lincoln Square, ManhattanMore than 150 dancers in white move in silence across Lincoln Center's plaza to mark September 11.
Josie Robertson Plaza, Lincoln Center, Lincoln Square, ManhattanMore than 150 dancers in white move in silence across Lincoln Center's plaza to mark September 11.
Citywide — Spring Studios, Gotham Hall & more, Citywide (Midtown & Tribeca hubs), ManhattanPeak NYFW falls entirely on this weekend — roughly 70 official SS27 shows citywide, plus The Bureau's publicly ticketed runway series at Gotham Hall Friday.
Citywide — Spring Studios, Gotham Hall & more, Citywide (Midtown & Tribeca hubs), ManhattanPeak NYFW falls entirely on this weekend — roughly 70 official SS27 shows citywide, plus The Bureau's publicly ticketed runway series at Gotham Hall Friday.
Bryant Park, Midtown, ManhattanThe American Symphony Orchestra closes Bryant Park's Picnic Performances with a free lawn concert marking 25 years since 9/11 — bring a blanket.
Bryant Park, Midtown, ManhattanThe American Symphony Orchestra closes Bryant Park's Picnic Performances with a free lawn concert marking 25 years since 9/11 — bring a blanket.
The Town Hall, Midtown, ManhattanRhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRufus and Martha Wainwright, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean toast their father and friend at Town Hall, with Judd Apatow holding the mic.
The Town Hall, Midtown, ManhattanRhododendrites · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsRufus and Martha Wainwright, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean toast their father and friend at Town Hall, with Judd Apatow holding the mic.
International Center of Photography, Lower East Side, ManhattanA closing-soon solo presentation on ICP's first floor, included with the ticket you are already buying for the building's other shows.
International Center of Photography, Lower East Side, ManhattanA closing-soon solo presentation on ICP's first floor, included with the ticket you are already buying for the building's other shows.
5th Ave between E 79th & E 80th St, ManhattanElite distance runners race a mile down Fifth Avenue on a crisp Sunday morning.
5th Ave between E 79th & E 80th St, ManhattanElite distance runners race a mile down Fifth Avenue on a crisp Sunday morning.
Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), Financial District, ManhattanGustavo Dudamel leads the NY Philharmonic and the Soldiers' Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band at the World Trade Center on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with a Julia Adolphe world premiere.
Perelman Performing Arts Center (PAC NYC), Financial District, ManhattanGustavo Dudamel leads the NY Philharmonic and the Soldiers' Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band at the World Trade Center on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, with a Julia Adolphe world premiere.
Gallery Henoch, Chelsea, ManhattanEleven new paintings of cities smeared into motion — Pacula paints nightscapes the way a long-exposure photo remembers them.
Gallery Henoch, Chelsea, ManhattanEleven new paintings of cities smeared into motion — Pacula paints nightscapes the way a long-exposure photo remembers them.
St. Paul's Chapel, Trinity Church Wall Street, Financial District, ManhattanWil Blanche · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA bell cast at Whitechapel rings four sets of five strikes outside St. Paul's Chapel — the FDNY salute to the fallen, open to anyone who shows up.
St. Paul's Chapel, Trinity Church Wall Street, Financial District, ManhattanWil Blanche · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA bell cast at Whitechapel rings four sets of five strikes outside St. Paul's Chapel — the FDNY salute to the fallen, open to anyone who shows up.
The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown, ManhattanMoMA's Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera survey enters its final week, the two Mexican modernists hung in dialogue rather than apart.
The Museum of Modern Art, Midtown, ManhattanMoMA's Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera survey enters its final week, the two Mexican modernists hung in dialogue rather than apart.
Lincoln Square, ManhattanDietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsSixty self-taught artists - Henry Darger, Bill Traylor, Morris Hirshfield, Horace Pippin, Thornton Dial Sr. among them - depict and define themselves on their own terms. Free and down after Sunday.
Lincoln Square, ManhattanDietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsSixty self-taught artists - Henry Darger, Bill Traylor, Morris Hirshfield, Horace Pippin, Thornton Dial Sr. among them - depict and define themselves on their own terms. Free and down after Sunday.
Hudson Yards, ManhattanThree of McCall's solid-light works spanning fifty years, including the 1973 Line Describing a Cone and a new premiere, Swarm. Free walk-in at Sean Kelly.
Hudson Yards, ManhattanThree of McCall's solid-light works spanning fifty years, including the 1973 Line Describing a Cone and a new premiere, Swarm. Free walk-in at Sean Kelly.
Carl Schurz Park, Yorkville, Upper East Side, ManhattanThe Carl Schurz Park Conservancy's 51st annual juried art show brings 100+ painters, photographers and sculptors to the East River waterfront, with free kids' art workshops both mornings.
Carl Schurz Park, Yorkville, Upper East Side, ManhattanThe Carl Schurz Park Conservancy's 51st annual juried art show brings 100+ painters, photographers and sculptors to the East River waterfront, with free kids' art workshops both mornings.
Lincoln Square, ManhattanA semiquincentennial show on how vernacular makers built and complicated American identity, from an Edward Hicks Peaceable Kingdom to an Uncle Sam whirligig.
Lincoln Square, ManhattanA semiquincentennial show on how vernacular makers built and complicated American identity, from an Edward Hicks Peaceable Kingdom to an Uncle Sam whirligig.
American Museum of Natural History, Upper West Side, ManhattanRelive the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs in an immersive AMNH show — the summer's top science pick for families.
American Museum of Natural History, Upper West Side, ManhattanRelive the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs in an immersive AMNH show — the summer's top science pick for families.
9/11 Memorial & Museum, Lower Manhattan, ManhattanA new special exhibition opening on the 25th-anniversary weekend, tracing how individuals and communities turned the grief of 9/11 into a quarter century of service. Included with museum admission.
9/11 Memorial & Museum, Lower Manhattan, ManhattanA new special exhibition opening on the 25th-anniversary weekend, tracing how individuals and communities turned the grief of 9/11 into a quarter century of service. Included with museum admission.
Cospa Ramen, Flatiron, ManhattanHand Hospitality replaced its kaiseki restaurant Towa with a walk-in ramen counter serving Nagahama-style bowls under ten dollars, open until 2 a.m.
Cospa Ramen, Flatiron, ManhattanHand Hospitality replaced its kaiseki restaurant Towa with a walk-in ramen counter serving Nagahama-style bowls under ten dollars, open until 2 a.m.
The Shed, Hudson Yards, ManhattanDoug Aitken's film-based installation turns The Shed's Hudson Yards hall into a walk-through American landscape.
The Shed, Hudson Yards, ManhattanDoug Aitken's film-based installation turns The Shed's Hudson Yards hall into a walk-through American landscape.
JAPAN Fes street fair, Chelsea, ManhattanRamen, takoyaki, onigiri and matcha sweets pack a Chelsea block for two days as JAPAN Fes rolls through its 10th-anniversary season — free to browse.
JAPAN Fes street fair, Chelsea, ManhattanRamen, takoyaki, onigiri and matcha sweets pack a Chelsea block for two days as JAPAN Fes rolls through its 10th-anniversary season — free to browse.
The Met Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, ManhattanThe first US exhibition ever devoted to the Savonnerie: Louis XIV's monumental Grande Galerie carpets, in their debut weekend at the Met.
The Met Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, ManhattanThe first US exhibition ever devoted to the Savonnerie: Louis XIV's monumental Grande Galerie carpets, in their debut weekend at the Met.
Film Forum, Greenwich Village, ManhattanLisa Katzman's documentary on the EPA's false assurances about the air at Ground Zero and the responders who got sick. Film Forum screens it once, on the 25th commemoration.
Film Forum, Greenwich Village, ManhattanLisa Katzman's documentary on the EPA's false assurances about the air at Ground Zero and the responders who got sick. Film Forum screens it once, on the 25th commemoration.
Get next week's board in your inbox before it publishes — one email, every Friday.
Big weekends coming up — save them now, plan later.
