For when you need a break from that Iliad essay.

If you’re like most of us, you didn’t grow up in the city (or even New York state). Meaning that your first semester to-do list probably has “Explore New York City!” right up there with “Make friends with my LitHum professor” and “Try to figure out how JJ’s Place lines work someday before graduating.”

It likely goes without saying that Manhattan is one of the wackiest, most (over)stimulating, most amazing, and most expensive places you possibly could have picked to go to college. And you might be feeling just a tad overwhelmed at how you’ll be able to cram all the places you’d like to go and all the things you’d like to do into four measly, blink-of-an-eye years.

In the hopes that you’ll spend some of your first year sightseeing (as opposed to spending every waking second in Butler studying), I polled Bwog’s staff for everyone’s favorite slightly off-the-beaten-path things to do out in New York. Here are some tried-and-true recommendations for ways to spend a day (or afternoon, or hour) off campus in the city, specifically formulated for a student budget, so you’ll have something left over to spend at Book Culture and the halal cart!

• Go to Fort Tryon Park (where the Met Cloisters are) and either go to the Met Cloisters or just walk around since it’s a nice park with a great view. Cloisters tickets are free with your Columbia ID!
• Get $25 rush tickets for the Met Opera.
• Go to the Bryant Park holiday market in the winter and go ice skating.
• The holiday market in Union Square is also really cute, even if you’re just window shopping.
• Staten Island Ferry is free and you get really awesome views, especially at sunset.
• Walk the High Line during nice weather.
• Late night show tapings like SNL, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Fallon, etc. are all free. You can sign up for lotteries on their websites.
• Finding study spots in a bunch of different parts of the city can be really fun and a great way to explore a little bit while still getting work done! Search for cute cafes or libraries in different neighborhoods to get some work done. The NYPL is also free.
• A walk in Riverside Park is a great way to decompress. Under the overpass at around 103rd Street, you can cut down to the river and walk down the Hudson River Greenway. There are so many other parks in the city to explore (Central Park, Morningside Park, Washington Square Park, Prospect Park, etc—just be street smart and don’t go to an unlit area at night).
• Gray’s Papaya is right of the 72nd Street station—here you can get a smoothie and a hot dog for around $6!
• Pop-ups! They’re relatively easy to find if you follow someone who posts them (I like Rebeka @ NYC for Free). I once got a whole skincare line from one of them.
• Chelsea Flea Market, Grand Bazaar, Brooklyn Flea, Ludlow Flea! Even if you’re just poking through.
• Interesting bookstores! There’s the romance bookstore in Brooklyn (The Ripped Bodice), the Drama Book Shop in Midtown with literally every play ever written, Kinokuniya in Midtown which has a lot of Japanese/Asian goods as well as lots of manga and cute stationary, Blue Stockings Cooperative in the East Village which specializes in queer/trans authors, Sweet Pickle Books on the Lower East Side where you can trade a used book for a jar of pickles, and I’m sure many more I can’t think of. All are cute to look around though and the themes are so interesting!! Much better than just going to the Columbia bookstore.
• Gym/workout classes: Both Columbia and Barnard’s gyms host free classes in Pilates, yoga, weight training, etc.
• Discounted movie tickets. At the Barnard store, students can buy AMC movie vouchers for half off ($10.50).
• Buying last-minute tickets before any sports game (Yankees, Mets, Knicks, etc.) can be less than $20.
• Rockaway Beach trip: An $8 two-way ferry trip will take you straight to Rockaway Beach, which is free! Lots of people don’t go because of how far it is, but it’s a great beach and totally worth it. Try going the first few weeks of September or during NSOP!
• Check your email for notifications about free and cheap theater tickets from the Columbia Arts Initiative and Barnard’s Activities Council.
• Columbia students get free access to most NYC museums, including the Met and the MoMA!
• The New York Aquarium is free after 3 pm on Wednesdays, and the Bronx Zoo is free all day on Wednesdays. Take advantage of it!
• Take the Roosevelt Island Tramway to Roosevelt Island—it’s the price of a subway fare with free transfers.
• The Skint is an NYC staple website listing free and cheap events happening each week. Use it! Rely on it! Have it pinned to your browser!

Pretty Morningside Heights sunset via Bwarchives