The best things to do in Manhattan over Labor Day weekend 2026 (Sep 5–7) — hand-curated and refreshed weekly.
67 picks · checked Sep 2
Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem, ManhattanFinal weekend of the Studio Museum's sixth 'F' show — 17 emerging artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent in the new 125th Street building. Closing day is a free Studio Sunday.
Studio Museum in Harlem, Harlem, ManhattanFinal weekend of the Studio Museum's sixth 'F' show — 17 emerging artists of African and Afro-Latinx descent in the new 125th Street building. Closing day is a free Studio Sunday.
Poster House, Chelsea, ManhattanPoster House's history of New York's AIDS activism told entirely in printed graphics closes this weekend, alongside Act Black on the same ticket.
Poster House, Chelsea, ManhattanPoster House's history of New York's AIDS activism told entirely in printed graphics closes this weekend, alongside Act Black on the same ticket.
The Shed, Hudson Yards, ManhattanStep inside an original Black Mirror storyline at The Shed and become the protagonist of the episode.
The Shed, Hudson Yards, ManhattanStep inside an original Black Mirror storyline at The Shed and become the protagonist of the episode.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanOfficial Met exhibition on view June 12–September 8, 2026.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanOfficial Met exhibition on view June 12–September 8, 2026.
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Poster House, Chelsea, ManhattanJoe Mabel · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA century of posters advertising Black American theatre and film, from race-film one-sheets to Broadway runs, in its final days at Poster House.
Poster House, Chelsea, ManhattanJoe Mabel · Public domain · Wikimedia CommonsA century of posters advertising Black American theatre and film, from race-film one-sheets to Broadway runs, in its final days at Poster House.
The Met Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, ManhattanMay S. Young · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Met's 250th-anniversary installation puts rarely seen prints of the Boston Massacre and revolutionary news on the wall.
The Met Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side, ManhattanMay S. Young · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsThe Met's 250th-anniversary installation puts rarely seen prints of the Boston Massacre and revolutionary news on the wall.
Museum of the City of New York, Upper Manhattan, ManhattanA rescued New Deal mural cycle painted for a hospital children's ward goes back on public view in East Harlem.
Museum of the City of New York, Upper Manhattan, ManhattanA rescued New Deal mural cycle painted for a hospital children's ward goes back on public view in East Harlem.
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.
Whitney Museum of American Art, Meatpacking District, ManhattanPop master Roy Lichtenstein's Ben-Day dots and comic-strip canvases come to the Whitney — instantly iconic American art.
Whitney Museum of American Art, Meatpacking District, ManhattanPop master Roy Lichtenstein's Ben-Day dots and comic-strip canvases come to the Whitney — instantly iconic American art.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanFlip Sides turns 50 Korean treasures around at the Met — hidden linings, sealed interiors and reverse faces, over half never shown in public.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanFlip Sides turns 50 Korean treasures around at the Met — hidden linings, sealed interiors and reverse faces, over half never shown in public.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanThe Morgan traces tarot from Renaissance hand-painted decks to modern artists — a richly illustrated cult favorite.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanThe Morgan traces tarot from Renaissance hand-painted decks to modern artists — a richly illustrated cult favorite.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanPeter Hujar's downtown New York through his contact sheets — the Morgan reveals how the photographer chose his icons.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanPeter Hujar's downtown New York through his contact sheets — the Morgan reveals how the photographer chose his icons.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanAna Paula Hirama · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsA new Met show explores how artists across centuries have rendered the body as instrument and music as form—opening day at one of the city's biggest museums.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Upper East Side, ManhattanAna Paula Hirama · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia CommonsA new Met show explores how artists across centuries have rendered the body as instrument and music as form—opening day at one of the city's biggest museums.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanPoet John Ashbery's personal art collection at the Morgan — drawings by the friends who filled his walls.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanPoet John Ashbery's personal art collection at the Morgan — drawings by the friends who filled his walls.
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.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanRembrandt drawings and the immigrants in his world anchor a just-opened Morgan show — free Friday evenings in a jewel-box museum.
The Morgan Library & Museum, Murray Hill, ManhattanRembrandt drawings and the immigrants in his world anchor a just-opened Morgan show — free Friday evenings in a jewel-box museum.
Governors Island, ManhattanAnna Valdez's Governors Island commission stays up into 2027, free to see at the end of a short harbour ferry.
Governors Island, ManhattanAnna Valdez's Governors Island commission stays up into 2027, free to see at the end of a short harbour ferry.
Governors Island, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAlan Michelson's harbour commission on Governors Island stays up into late autumn, free to walk to from the ferry landing.
Governors Island, ManhattanTdorante10 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia CommonsAlan Michelson's harbour commission on Governors Island stays up into late autumn, free to walk to from the ferry landing.
New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Midtown, ManhattanThe library behind the lions marks 250 years of the Declaration with founding documents, free to walk in and see.
New York Public Library, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Midtown, ManhattanThe library behind the lions marks 250 years of the Declaration with founding documents, free to walk in and see.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Upper East Side, ManhattanSeventy large-format photographs of American factories fill the Carnegie Mansion, with a pay-what-you-wish hour daily.
Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Upper East Side, ManhattanSeventy large-format photographs of American factories fill the Carnegie Mansion, with a pay-what-you-wish hour daily.
Hauser & Wirth 22nd Street, Chelsea, ManhattanRadical Italian artist Carol Rama's provocative, body-obsessed work fills the Hauser & Wirth Chelsea gallery — free and closing at month's end.
Hauser & Wirth 22nd Street, Chelsea, ManhattanRadical Italian artist Carol Rama's provocative, body-obsessed work fills the Hauser & Wirth Chelsea gallery — free and closing at month's end.
Lincoln Glenn Gallery, Chelsea, ManhattanNan Goldin, Louise Nevelson, Lee Bontecou and Lynda Benglis among 30-plus women tracing a century of American art at Lincoln Glenn — free in Chelsea.
Lincoln Glenn Gallery, Chelsea, ManhattanNan Goldin, Louise Nevelson, Lee Bontecou and Lynda Benglis among 30-plus women tracing a century of American art at Lincoln Glenn — free in Chelsea.
The Met Cloisters, Washington Heights, ManhattanDragons, unicorns, sirens and banshees across 50 medieval objects at the Cloisters, with ancient Americas art shown there for the first time.
The Met Cloisters, Washington Heights, ManhattanDragons, unicorns, sirens and banshees across 50 medieval objects at the Cloisters, with ancient Americas art shown there for the first time.
The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, Upper East Side, ManhattanThree decades of SummerStage shot by one photographer, hung free in the Arsenal's third-floor gallery inside Central Park.
The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park, Upper East Side, ManhattanThree decades of SummerStage shot by one photographer, hung free in the Arsenal's third-floor gallery inside Central Park.
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