The Best Cheap Date Ideas in New York

Wander above the street on the High Line, a park that is free to enter and open daily from 7am to 10pm.

Each season brings rotating sculpture and art from different artists, and the stairs over Tenth Avenue let you sit and watch people go by. Free stargazing nights and cultural happenings fill out the calendar.

Three gardens sit side by side in Central Park's formal Conservatory Garden: French-style in the north, Italianate in the center, and English-style in the south. The garden is open from 8am to dusk daily.

Enter through the Vanderbilt Gate at Fifth Avenue near 105th Street. El Paso Taqueria is nearby if you want tacos afterward.

Browse the galleries at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, where admission is always free. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm and stays open during its renovation.

For lunch beforehand, 188 Bakery Cuchifritos serves cuchifritos for a few dollars, and the museum holds more than 1,000 works.

Catch live music in the small back room at Pete's Candy Store in Williamsburg, where indie artists and acoustic performers play no-cover shows every night.

Most performances are not ticketed, and the room runs on a suggested donation. Guests must be 21 or older.

Ride the Staten Island Ferry for free and watch lower Manhattan from the water.

The crossing between Whitehall Terminal and St. George takes about 25 minutes, and boats run every day of the year. Snug Harbor is an eight-minute bus ride after the ferry if you want to keep the date going.

Carl Schurz Park gives you a free walk along the East River promenade in Yorkville. The route follows Bobby Wagner Walk past Gracie Mansion at 88th Street, with river views that take in the Roosevelt Island Lighthouse and the bridges.

Salted apple caramel and grapefruit custard are among the shop favorites, and there are big tables and a drink menu.

Slices tend to sell out, so get there early in the evening.

Explore the free grounds at Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden on Staten Island, which are open daily from dawn to dusk. The grounds hold a Chinese Scholar's Garden, public gardens, a heritage farm, and wetlands.

Gates close and lock after dark, and hours are shorter from October through March. Many events are free.

Watch a movie at Syndicated, a Brooklyn bar with a 60-seat dine-in cinema in the back. Order food and drinks from your seat during the film, and look for a mix of repertory cult classics and new indies.

The bar's happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5pm to 7pm, with drafts, classic cocktails, and wings or fried cauliflower on special.

Shoot pool, try ping pong or shuffleboard, and catch live jazz in the basement at Cellar Dog in the West Village.

Live jazz plays Sunday through Wednesday from 7pm to 11pm and Thursday through Saturday from 7pm to 2am.