The Best Rainy Day Date Ideas in New York

Under the glass roof of the Haupt Conservatory, a Victorian-style glasshouse at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, wander through rooms filled with aquatic plants, desert cacti and palms. Rain drumming on the roof is part of the visit.

The Garden is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 6pm, plus select Monday holidays. Buy the All-Garden Pass for access, since the cheaper grounds pass leaves it out.

Pair a film with dinner and drinks at Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg, where the dining and bar menu includes specials tied to the films, such as the Banana Daiquiri and the Zuckerburger. Nitehawk is the indoor option when the weather turns bad.

Screenings run 365 days a year, with first-run and repertory films on the schedule.

Read up on real spies at SPYSCAPE in Midtown West, then work your way through a laser-beam hallway and a lie detector test. A profiling system grades the pair of you on your performance.

Plan on about 90 minutes, with the last entry 90 minutes before closing. SPYSCAPE is open seven days a week.

Take on a game of pétanque indoors at Carreau Club, a bar in Industry City in Sunset Park. Private seating and equipment come with each court, and a server links you with the bar and kitchen.

Order a cocktail, wine or craft beer from the full bar, with a small deli counter alongside. Two-hour court reservations are limited and include seating, equipment and a guide, with a court or two kept for walk-ins. The club is open daily, and guests must be 21 or older after 5pm.

Eataly's Flatiron store runs hands-on pasta classes and wine tastings through La Scuola. Cook ragu or cacio e pepe step by step, or sit down to a four-course feast prepared by a chef.

The market itself is worth a few hours of wandering, and the store is open daily from 7am to 11pm. Class tickets are sold online through the Classes & Events page.

Step inside restored tenement apartments on a guided tour of the Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. Tours show how the immigrant families who lived in the building got through their days.

Visits are by guided tour only.

Props, ornate costumes and production notes from more than 500 productions fill the Museum of Broadway in Times Square. The museum uses art and technology to tell Broadway's story, and most visitors spend one to three hours.

Entry is by timed ticket every 15 minutes, with a 15-minute grace period for arrival. The museum typically opens at 9:30am and closes at 6:30pm, or 8pm on Saturdays, and final entry is 90 minutes before closing. Add a show afterward if you want to stretch the day into an evening.

Make mozzarella or pair cheese and wine in a class at Murray's Cheese in Greenwich Village. Each class has a Murray's expert leading and tastings along the way.

Classes meet at the Bleecker Street store, from the Cheese & Wine Pairing Hour to the double feature. Book online, since several mid-October dates are sold out with a waitlist.

Depending on the night, catch a comedy show, a drink-and-draw or a beginner swing dance class at Q.E.D., an arts space in Astoria with a small bar and cafe. No food or drink minimum applies, and the bar and cafe have snacks at reasonable prices.

Buy tickets online through the calendar page, since the small room often sells out, and seating is first come, first served. Doors open around 5pm Monday through Thursday, 4pm on Fridays and noon on Saturdays and Sundays.

Spend an afternoon among more than 1,000 works at the Bronx Museum of the Arts on the Grand Concourse. Admission is always free. Lunch at 188 Bakery Cuchifritos makes a good pairing.

The galleries are open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 6pm, and the museum stays open during its renovation.