To paraphrase a show that has been off the air for half a decade: Summer is coming. In New York, the arrival of warm weather can create pressure to do as much as humanly possible before the dark, icy days of winter return and no one wants to venture outside.

The only problem with trying to squeeze as much fun juice from the summer lemon is that it can quickly become quite expensive.

So our mission here is twofold: to whittle down an otherwise infinite list of fun summer activities into the ultimate New York summer bucket list, with activities that are free or under $50.

Here’s a list of all the fun things you can aspire to do this summer without breaking your bank account.

1. Make this the summer you get into the WNBA.

The WNBA is having a moment as ticket sales climb across the country. And the New York Liberty just played in front of a record-breaking crowd of 17,735 people at Barclays Center for their home opener. (It didn’t hurt that it was Caitlin Clark’s pro debut in NYC.)

The fun isn’t just in the hoops – there’s also nonstop entertainment throughout the Liberty games, including Ellie the Elephant’s twerking and the Timeless Torches, the team’s in-house dance club with performers all aged over 40. Tickets start at around $30 for some games, and the regular season runs through September.

2. Eat your way through a night market.

New York City now has several night markets that will sate your nocturnal cravings. Queens Night Market in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park operates every Saturday from 4 p.m. to midnight, and features a huge diversity of cuisines ranging from Mexican to Punjabi to Japanese and everything in between.

The Brooklyn Night Market takes place the last Monday of every month at Industry City. Besides eating, you can also enjoy dance performances and DJs.

In Harlem, the Uptown Night Market goes down starting at 4 p.m. one Thursday a month (the next one is June 13), while the Bronx Night Market takes place at Fordham Plaza on the first Saturday of every month. If you’re not interested in street meat, there’s also the Vegan Night Market at Columbus Circle, which hosts dozens of plant-based vendors on the first Tuesday of every month.

3. Finally check out the Portal.

If a flight to Dublin isn’t in the cards, you can at least greet people in Ireland through the Portal, an installation in Flatiron that connects New York City and Dublin via a livestream. Is it art? Red meat for social media influencers? None of the above? Go decide for yourself! It’s already been shut down due to “inappropriate” behavior on both sides of the pond, but as of this writing, it’s open to the public from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

4. Check out free comedy nights around town.

New York City still has a thriving comedy scene, and many shows are free or cheap. While some “free” shows do have drink minimums, an evening of standup will usually be cheaper than a night at the movies. New York Comedy Club features a free show on Thursday nights starting at 6 p.m. Also on Thursdays, Bomb Shelter Comedy takes place at The Gaf West in Hell’s Kitchen at 8 p.m. and has a manageable one-drink minimum. Going in the opposite direction of a drink minimum is Drop In: Comedy, a Tuesday show that goes down at 7:30 p.m. at Two Boots in Park Slope. They’ll give you a free beer between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. What’s not to like?

5. Visit a city beach.

When you’re pounding pavement between skyscrapers, it’s easy to forget that New York City is technically a beach town. New York City has plenty of beaches within city limits, and they’re all accessible by some form of public transportation.

You can explore the coast of Coney Island and Brighton Beach in Brooklyn, or go slightly east to the confusingly named Manhattan Beach for a quieter experience. Jacob Riis Park and Rockaway Beach are good bets if you want to spend all day on the shore, and nature enthusiasts will find lots to love about Orchard Beach in Pelham Bay Park. Staten Island is also no slouch when it comes to beaches: South Beach and Midland Beach feature long stretches of sand and a boardwalk, Wolfe’s Pond Beach might be the quietest New York City beach, and Cedar Grove Beach is a great option for families.

6. Join in an immersive theater experiment.

Improv Everywhere – the group behind the infamous No Pants Subway Ride – will put on its 19th iteration of The Mp3 Experiment.

It’s kind of like a flash mob, but participants will wear headphones, follow secret and synchronized audio instructions delivered via smartphone app. The event is free and open to all ages, and will start at Pier 84 in Hudson River Park on June 21 at 6:30 p.m.

What happens next? No one knows. But whatever shenanigans ensue, rest assured that thousands of fellow New Yorkers will be doing exactly the same thing.

7. Explore at least one park you’ve never been to before.

Do you know how many city parks there are? Of course you don’t. Why would you? There are 1,942, and there’s virtually no chance you’ve seen them all, since it would take you more than five years to visit every park if you went to a new one each day. Think of all the experiences you’re missing!

Have you admired the trees at the Bronx’s Raoul Wallenberg Forest? Contemplated Gravesend Bay from the serene benches of Calvert Vaux Park? Exercised on the equipment in Grover Cleveland Playground? Checking out a new park is a great excuse to get out of your comfort zone and explore a new area. Worst case scenario, you sit outside and stare at your phone for a while.

8. Finally try a cronut.

It’s never too late to get in on a viral food trend – even if it’s been around for a decade. (Looking at you, 11-year-old cronut.) For one thing, the lines are likely to be shorter. And for some trends, only time will tell if they’ll make it to next summer, so better get one now.

In June, Dominique Ansel is rolling out yet another new flavor of cronut, as he he’s done every month for years. His June creation is filled with pineapple jam and rice pudding ganache and these days you can preorder. Already tried cronuts? The crookie, a hybrid cookie-croissant pastry, is available for pre-order at several bakeries in the city. The Suprême croissant is for sale at Lafayette in Lower Manhattan. And on the Upper East Side, Glace, the maker of the viral hot chocolate, has a summer drink: the Frozen Espresso Glacier.

9. Ditch work early for cheap oysters.

Nothing says summer like the briny thrill of a fresh, raw oyster sliding down your throat. While the days of abundant $1 oyster happy hours have faded into local lore, there are still plenty of places to eat shellfish on a budget. Wait until your boss leaves the office, then head to Vinateria in Harlem for $1.50 Blue Points. Crave Fishbar’s Midtown and Upper West Side locations offer a selection of $1.50 to $2 oysters during their respective oyster happy hours.

Cull & Pistol in Chelsea offers half-price oysters from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Uptown, ROKC features $1.75 oysters until 7 p.m., Bushwick’s Sea Wolf has $1.50 East Coast oysters from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. daily, while Bar Belly keeps the dream of $1 oysters alive (though you can only order a dozen).

10. Watch a movie outside.

It’s finally warm enough to enjoy the outdoors well into the night! What better way to savor those summer breezes than by gathering some friends to watch a movie on a giant outdoor screen? Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Movies With a View series kicks off July 11 and runs every Thursday in July and August. Paramount+ Movie Nights take place in Bryant Park and in Prospect Park; the Prospect Park edition begins June 26 with “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Randall’s Island hosts its own movie night – all these programs are free to the public. Get out there and start watching!

11. Attend a free outdoor concert

The free hits just keep coming. New York City’s parks and public spaces transform from empty snow-covered landscapes during the darkest days of winter into vibrant centers of art and culture during the summer months. Free concerts pop up all over the city, the most famous of them being SummerStage in Central Park (SummerStage also takes place at smaller parks throughout the city during the summer). Bryant Park’s Picnic Performances feature everything from opera to modern dance, and the New York Philharmonic’s Concerts in the Parks series brings classical music to all five boroughs from June 11 to 16. Backyard at Hudson Yards hosts free concerts every Wednesday at 6 p.m. starting on June 19. Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City series brings a wide range of musical events to the people without asking a dime in return.

12. No really. Attend a free outdoor concert.

Not finding something that interests you? There’s so much more. TSQ LIVE brings DJs and live performances to Times Square; Dumbo’s Live at the Archway runs every Thursday starting at 6 p.m.; and the Lena Horne Bandshell in Prospect Park plays host to the excellent free music series BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn. Still haven’t had enough? Check out Sounds at Sunset in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the Battery Park City River & Blues series, or Summer Thunder at Union Pool. If you can’t find a free concert to enjoy, you might just dislike music.

13. Take advantage of free hours at big museums.

Art ain’t cheap, and it’s getting less cheap by the day. MoMA and the Whitney may have raised their entrance fees, but there are still plenty of ways to enjoy champagne art on a hard seltzer budget.

Both of the aforementioned stalwarts of the New York City art world offer occasional free admission (The Whitney is free from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and the second Sunday of each month, and MoMA is free from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays). The Guggenheim offers “pay what you wish” hours on Mondays and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., whereas the Met is always pay-what-you-wish for New York residents. The Morgan has free admission and live music on Fridays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., but you do have to reserve tickets in advance.

The Noguchi Museum in Queens offers free admission on the first Friday of every month, and advance reservations are highly recommended. Finally, Brooklyn Museum’s First Saturdays puts on free programming from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. the first Saturday of every month; registration is required. You may not be able to afford the art on the walls, but looking is (sometimes) free.

14. See Shakespeare in the Park(s).

The summer of 2024 is your chance to brush up on the Bard. Although Shakespeare himself has been dead for centuries, the magic of his plays lives on, and you can witness his genius performed in a contemporary setting — for free! Due to the revitalization of the Delacorte Theater, Shakespeare in the Park will look different this summer. A bilingual production of “The Comedy of Errors” will visit all five boroughs, or you can watch a screening of 2019’s performance of “Much Ado About Nothing” at parks throughout the city.

15. Go on an epic city walk.

When the weather is warm, the sun out late, and the weekends wide open for completing tasks from your bucket list, a major interborough walk is in order. Stroll from Manhattan to Queens on the Queensboro Bridge. Amble across the Newtown Creek separating Brooklyn and Queens via the Pulaski Bridge (hopefully you don’t get stuck when the drawbridge is up!). Explore the High Bridge between Washington Heights and the Bronx.

If you’re feeling especially ambitious, you can recreate the 32-mile Great Saunter around the perimeter of Manhattan, which technically doesn’t qualify as “inter”-borough, but is impressive nonetheless. Those who don’t like the open-ended nature of a long interborough walk can put together their own itinerary ahead of time, or follow one of the many options here.

16. Go bird watching with a “punk” club.

“Birding is punk,” says Michael Lombardo, the founder of the McGolrick Birding Club, which aims to get “neighbors, artists, skaters and weirdos birding.” Come for the birds, stay for the talks about the attention economy. It’s free to join and the group meets at 9 a.m. on Saturdays in Brooklyn at Russell Street and Driggs Avenue.

17. Hang out on one of NYC’s small islands

Everyone knows and loves or hates New York City’s most famous island: Manhattan. But what about all the other little islands that contribute to the land mass of the nation’s most populous city? There’s Governors Island, which over the course of the past decade has transformed itself into a legitimate summer destination. You can participate in multiple 10k races, enjoy the scents of the NYC Lavender Festival, or hone your prosodic skills at the New York City Poetry Festival. There are plenty of other events throughout the summer you can check out.

But that’s just Governors Island! You can take the tram to Roosevelt Island for the Saturday farmer’s market. Maybe do yoga overlooking the lovely East River on Randall’s Island Tuesday nights. Or you could enjoy seafood on the water in City Island; hike around Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge on Broad Channel Island (officially called Rulers Bar Hassock); or finally go see the Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island. There’s no shortage of options, because New York City has a ton of smaller islands that don’t get enough love. Embrace island life this summer!

18. Chill on a boat.

Is it really summer if you don’t spend a single second on a boat? The city has plenty of naval vessels accessible to all: The Staten Island Ferry is free and sells beer, which means you can create your own little booze cruise. NYC Ferry offers a variety of routes, including its East River and South Brooklyn ferries, for a mere $4 one way. NY Waterway runs a multitude of ferries between New Jersey and New York. New York has so many ferries!

19. Go kayaking.

If human-powered water travel is more your speed, Brooklyn Bridge Park offers free kayaking to adults and accompanied minors who are at least 14 years old. Reservations are required and life vests are provided (and also required). Get some exercise, and an amazing new view of the Manhattan skyline along the way.

20. Camp in an urban park.

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could get in a tent and spend the night in a New York City park? You may have guessed from that awkwardly specific setup, but it’s totally a possibility!

The Urban Park Rangers lead camping trips in parks around the city, from Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx to Fort Totten Park in Queens and Blue Heron Park in Staten Island. These events fill up fast, so it’s important to register as soon as you can when each date becomes available. The Urban Park Rangers will provide tents, but campers will need to bring their own sleeping bags.

21. See fireworks.

Sadly for residents of Brooklyn and Queens, New York City’s Fourth of July fireworks will return to the Hudson River this year. There will be public viewing areas between 14th Street and 34th Street, but knowing someone with a rooftop view is even better.

If you don’t have a friend who lives close enough to the West Side (or Jersey!), you can head to Coney Island every Friday night (plus July 4) for 10 weeks starting June 21. That’s where you can view Friday Night Fireworks set against the backdrop of the Cyclone and other amusement park rides.

22. Root for the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Some of the best seats in the house can be found in Maimonides Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, the New York Mets’ High-A affiliate team. You can usually score tickets to a Cyclones game for $20, and like most minor league teams, they load their calendar with promotions and deals. On Friday nights, for example, you can get a ticket to the game and two drinks for a mere $22. Stay for the fireworks, and that’s one cheap date!

23. Go on a pizza pilgrimage.

Everyone knows New York City is a pizza mecca. But how do you know which slice or pie is really the best? Summer is a great time to check out all the legendary places you may be missing out on. Schlep out to L&B Spumoni Gardens in Bensonhurst, or Paulie Gee’s in Greenpoint. Mama’s TOO! on the Upper West Side has earned a reputation as one of the best slices in the city (and has a new location on Bleeker Street), and Di Fara’s in Midwood is an institution. There’s also John’s of Bleeker Street, Denino’s on Staten Island, and – for those seeking a slice of hipster history – Roberta’s in Bushwick. And that’s just a brief starter list! The city obviously contains too many pizza joints to mention here, so make your choices wisely. Treat yourself!

24. Spend a weekend upstate.

One quintessential “New Yorker” move during the summer is: getting the heck out of New York City if you can. Fortunately, there are dozens of quaint towns within easy striking distance of Manhattan, even for those who don’t have a car. Hudson Valley towns like Beacon and Peekskill are accessible by train and have walkable downtown areas to explore. If you do have car access, a whole world of hiking opens up to you. There may be boatloads of fun, cheap things to do in New York City this summer, but getting out can be nice, too.