Take Yourself on an Iconic NYC Adventure This Summer

Bryant Park at its peak summer best. All photos by Tracey Friedman.

School's out! Summer is here and it's HOT! While our campus is quieter, this is also the season when our city comes alive with opportunities to enjoy the sunshine or escape the heat-depending on the forecast and your mood. Many of New York's leading cultural institutions and parks offer free or discounted events, and the long daylight hours are great for exploring a new neighborhood or cheering at a ballgame, too. The NYU News team compiled some favorite NYC summer adventures below, with notes and info on transit from Washington Square, hours, tickets, and more.

Swim in Central Park

Gottesman Pool is part of the new Davis Center in Central Park's north end, marrying nature and community.

Also consider: McCarren Park Pool, Astoria Pool, Highbridge Pool or Hamilton Fish Pool.

Picnic at a Free Outdoor Movie

Midtown's Bryant Park is one of many NYC parks that offers free outdoor movie nights all summer long!!

Also consider: Prospect Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park, Sunset Park or Maria Hernandez Park.

Go to a Baseball Game in an Iconic Venue

We're used to seeing Yankee Stadium awash in violet for Commencement, but some say it's worth visiting other times of year, too.

Also consider: The Mets, the Brooklyn Cyclones, and the Staten Island FerryHawks!

Catch a Free Outdoor Performance

Lincoln Center's Summer for the City festival offers hundreds of free and choose-what-you-pay performances and cultural activities for all ages.

Also consider: BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn, Shakespeare in the Park, and local productions at small theatres like East Village Playhouse, The Wild Project or Cherry Lane Theatre.

Explore Roosevelt Island

Explore Four Freedoms State Park (above) and traverse Smallpox Hospital ruins (below). Plus, you can take the sky tram to get there! It runs every ten minutes or so from 59th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan

The Smallpox Hospital was built in 1856 by James Renwick, Jr. who also designed the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and the former facade of the New York Stock Exchange. It closed in the late 1800s once a successful vaccine was developed and the city no longer quarantined patients on what was then known as Blackwell's Island.

Also consider: Governors Island, which is car-free, open every day, and accessible by ferry.

Take an Art Walk

Buschwick is an art gallery in itself, with unrestrained street art painting its walls.

Also consider: Socrates Sculpture Park, Bowery Mural Wall, Graffitti Hall of Fame, or Freeman Alley.