The best rainy-day things to do in NYC in 2026 are a long visit to the Met or the American Museum of Natural History, MoMA for modern art, the Morgan Library for its glorious reading rooms, and Chelsea Market for food. The New York Transit Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image, a Broadway matinee, Film Forum and the Strand Book Store keep you dry too.
You could spend every rainy day of a year here.
The Met's two million square feet hold 5,000 years of art, from the Temple of Dendur to the American Wing — on a wet day, it's the best place in the city.
Good to know: Pick two or three galleries rather than trying to see everything.
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
Dinosaurs, the blue whale and the planetarium under one roof.
The Natural History Museum's dinosaur halls, Milstein Hall of Ocean Life and Hayden Planetarium can easily fill a rainy day, especially with kids.
Good to know: Book a timed ticket online and enter on Central Park West or 79th Street.
200 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024
Van Gogh, Picasso and Warhol, all indoors in Midtown.
MoMA's collection includes 'The Starry Night', Monet's 'Water Lilies' and Warhol's soup cans, across several floors with a good café.
Good to know: Go right at opening for the quietest galleries.
11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019
J.P. Morgan's jaw-dropping library and rotating exhibitions.
The Morgan's historic library, with three tiers of walnut bookcases, holds Gutenberg Bibles and literary manuscripts, alongside excellent exhibitions.
Good to know: Have lunch in the glass-roofed atrium café.
225 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
A covered food hall in a former Nabisco factory.
Chelsea Market packs dozens of food stalls and shops into a historic factory building, connected to the High Line — easy to graze through on a wet afternoon.
Good to know: Arrive hungry and share several stalls.
75 9th Ave, New York, NY 10011
Vintage subway cars inside a decommissioned 1936 station.
The Transit Museum occupies a former subway station, where you can walk through vintage train cars dating back a century and learn how the system was built.
Good to know: Kids love sitting at the controls of the old trains.
99 Schermerhorn St, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Film, TV and video games — with interactive exhibits.
The Museum of the Moving Image explores film, television and digital media with hands-on exhibits, a Jim Henson exhibition and regular screenings.
Good to know: Check the screening schedule for classic films.
36-01 35th Ave, Astoria, NY 11106
A beloved nonprofit cinema for repertory and independent films.
Film Forum shows independent premieres and classic films on its screens on West Houston Street — and its concession stand is famous for its cakes.
Good to know: Repertory classics often sell out on weekends.
209 W Houston St, New York, NY 10014
'18 miles of books' to lose an afternoon in.
The Strand, open since 1927, is the city's most famous bookstore, with new, used and rare books across several floors.
Good to know: Browse the dollar carts outside when it stops raining.
828 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
The American Museum of Natural History, the New York Hall of Science, the Transit Museum (inside a real subway station) and the Children's Museum of Manhattan are all indoors and great for kids.