Explore Manhattan’s Lower East Side, from neighborhood favorites to unique curated events. Start with the best-known things to do, then check out "What's happening" for upcoming limited events in the Lower East Side.
These special events are sourced from the web and social media, then carefully curated based on cool and unique events you might enjoy doing in the Lower East Side.
We update this page on a daily basis, so be sure to bookmark us and return for fresh events.
Explore Lower East Side
103 Orchard St
Meet the families of the Tenement Museum
The families whose homes are recreated at the Tenement Museum give you specific lives to follow through New York’s immigration and migration history. An educator leads each visit through domestic rooms, using ordinary objects and shared living space to explore how people worked, raised children and adapted to the city. The household you choose shapes the experience: the Levine family’s story includes the 1902 Kosher Meat Boycott, while the Schneiders’ saloon connects home life with running a small business.
235 Bowery
Living artists and new work at the New Museum
Living artists set the agenda at the New Museum, northwest of the Orchard Street tenement homes. You’ll encounter a program centered on contemporary art, including moving images and installations, in a building that expanded in March 2026. The addition doubled the exhibition space, joining SANAA’s original stack of boxes with an OMA-designed extension.
6 Delancey St
Catch a band at Bowery Ballroom
Touring bands and their support acts make Bowery Ballroom an evening destination just south of the New Museum. You can hear indie, pop, country and other styles here, depending on the bill. The room offers an intimate live-gig setting, with most concerts built around a standing audience and some special shows presented seated.
110 Delancey St
Pool, pizza and music at Sour Mouse
A pool player and a friend who prefers board games can both find a game at Sour Mouse, farther east on Delancey. You can move between conversation and a match in this lower-level game hall, which has eight pool tables, two ping-pong tables, foosball and board games. The pool tables are competition quality, so experienced players have something to appreciate alongside people taking a casual turn.
7 Ludlow Street, New York, NY10002
A film and a meal at Metrograph
Filmmakers sometimes join the audience at Metrograph for conversations about their work. You can also come for a rare archival film, a restoration or a special premiere at this independent cinema on the southern stretch of Ludlow Street. Its program includes both 35mm and digital presentations, bringing films that can be difficult to encounter into a shared theater setting.
What's happening in Lower East Side
Find upcoming street fairs, performances and other unique events in the Lower East Side.
6 things worth doing in the next 7 days · Friday, October 16th – Thursday, October 22nd
Close Up, Lower East SideLower East Side · Manhattan
Nightly after the last set
A price sits under the hours when an event is not free. Tap an event for its details, the time and place, and the organizer's link.
Free
Open Jam Session
Hear an open jam session at Close Up, an artist-driven jazz club on the Lower East Side.
Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Wed + Thu · Close Up, Lower East Side · Manhattan · Free
🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 3 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
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Free
Sun Water Sky: Solo Painting Exhibition between Abstraction & Representation
EJ Hauser’s new paintings move between recognizable subjects and abstraction, pairing repeated motifs with quick brushstrokes and layered color.
Fri Oct 16 · Derek Eller Gallery · Manhattan · Free
🚇 Grand St (B D) · 2 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
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Free
Autumnal Festival: Halloween & Fall Activities for All Ages (+ Costume Parade)
Make Halloween art and join a costume parade at Abrons Arts Center’s fall celebration.
Sat Oct 17 · Abrons Arts Center · Manhattan · Free
🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 6 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
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Free
Artists Discuss the Relationship between Writing & Artmaking in Their Practices
Steffani Jemison leads four artists in a reading and conversation about writing across photography, film, music and performance.
Sat Oct 17 · Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York · Manhattan · Free
🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 3 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
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Free
Jazz Trio and Jam with Russ Nolan
Russ Nolan hosts a weekly jazz jam with funk, fusion and Latin in the mix.
Wed Oct 21 · Sour Mouse, Lower East Side · Manhattan · No cover
🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 2 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
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🆕 Just addedFree
Art Critic & Artist Explore Photography in the Age of AI
Hear art critic Charlotte Kent and artist Danielle Ezzo trace the connections and conflicts between photography and AI.
Thu Oct 22 · Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York · Manhattan · Free
🚇 Delancey St-Essex St (F J M Z) · 3 min walk
🍴 Eat nearby · 4 places, closest 2 min walk
More info ▾
Open any day. No date needed
Open any day
Renew Day Spa 2
day spa · Lower East Side
A massage spa with trained therapists on staff.
5★ from 7,943 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Tenement Museum
history museum · Lower East Side
A tenement building dating to 1863, kept intact and open on guided tours.
4.6★ from 6,023 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Immersive Gamebox - Essex Crossing, Lower East Side
amusement center · Lower East Side
You book a box and play through one game as a group, with the room's floors and walls reacting to where you move and what you touch.
4.9★ from 4,370 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
New Museum
art museum · Lower East Side
A contemporary art museum in a white, angular building.
4.1★ from 2,722 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Regal Essex Crossing
movie theater · Lower East Side
A multi-screen cinema showing current wide releases.
4.6★ from 2,331 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Tours of NYC
tour operator · Lower East Side
This is a tour operator rather than a place, so what you do depends on which walk you book.
4.9★ from 1,876 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
The Bowery Ballroom
concert hall · Lower East Side
A standing live music venue at 6 Delancey Street putting on touring bands most nights — recent and upcoming bills include G Flip, The Fleshtones, Crack Cloud, Rachel Chinouriri and Eric Nam, plus a two-day festival, A Murder of Crows.
4.6★ from 1,824 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
The Mercury Lounge
live music venue · Lower East Side · $20–30
A small room that has been booking indie headliners and newer acts since the 1990s, and it tends to fill up.
4.5★ from 1,410 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
NYC Water Cruises Pier 36
sightseeing tour agency · Lower East Side
4.6★ from 1,353 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Boho Karaoke Orchard
karaoke bar · Lower East Side
There are 17 private karaoke rooms holding anywhere from 3 to 45 people, plus an open karaoke bar and lounge.
4.4★ from 1,341 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Rogue
vintage clothing store · Lower East Side
4.9★ from 1,293 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
The Slipper Room
performing arts theater · Lower East Side
A burlesque and variety theater with a lounge.
4.6★ from 1,205 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
DROM
live music venue · Lower East Side
A lounge with a gypsy theme that books performers from around the world, spanning jazz, funk and hip-hop.
4.1★ from 1,192 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Bowery Palace
live music bar · Lower East Side · $20–60
A two-floor nightspot running a mix of live rock shows and DJ dance nights.
4.3★ from 1,171 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Koneko
cat cafe · Lower East Side
A cat cafe where visitors can spend time with adoptable cats while ordering espresso, Japanese snacks, pastries or sake.
4.3★ from 1,123 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Arlene's Grocery
live music venue · Lower East Side
A long-running rock club that books regular live shows.
4.4★ from 1,025 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Sour Mouse
pool hall · Lower East Side · $10–20
A bar with pool tables and ping pong, plus live stand-up comedy.
4.6★ from 788 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Bowery Day Spa
massage therapist · Lower East Side
A day spa in newly fitted-out premises, with massage on the menu including foot treatments.
4.9★ from 736 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Black Cat LES
cafe · Lower East Side · $10–20
A quiet coffee shop furnished like a living room.
4.2★ from 589 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
The Gutter L.E.S.
bowling alley · Lower East Side
Bowling on the Lower East Side, with a kitchen doing pizza, chicken tenders, wings, salads and nachos.
4.1★ from 562 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Lion's Gate Field
soccer field · Lower East Side
This is a city field inside Sara D.
4.2★ from 509 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Nublu
live music venue · Lower East Side
A small room for live music, set apart by a stage placed in the middle of the floor rather than against a wall.
4.5★ from 403 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Live in Theater Productions
theater company · Lower East Side
An interactive theater company whose shows put your group inside a true-crime mystery: you talk directly to the actors, question suspects, and what you uncover changes how the story ends.
5★ from 390 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Sourced Adventures
tour operator · Lower East Side
This is a bus-trip operator rather than a place you visit — they run day trips out of the city to destinations like Long Island wineries, Mountain Creek for skiing and snowboarding, and snow tubing paired with a brewery.
4.7★ from 350 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Pizza School NYC
cooking class · Lower East Side
A pizza-making class on Grand Street where you make your own pizzas using the school's recipes and techniques, then eat what you made.
4.9★ from 297 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Dixon Place (Open Channels New York, Inc)
performing arts theater · Lower East Side
A non-profit venue that presents original theater, dance, music, puppetry, circus arts, literature and visual art at all stages of development, so what is on changes constantly — check the calendar for the date you want.
4.7★ from 257 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Color Me Mine
painting studio · Lower East Side
A paint-your-own-pottery studio in Tribeca: you pick a piece and paint it in the studio.
4.2★ from 249 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
PERROTIN NEW YORK
art gallery · Lower East Side
A contemporary art gallery occupying three floors, with exhibition space across all of them.
4.8★ from 238 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Top-Class Spa
spa · Lower East Side
4.8★ from 226 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
catholic church · Lower East Side
A working parish church on Grand Street where the main thing to attend is Mass.
4.6★ from 223 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
ADOHRES
video arcade · Lower East Side
4.9★ from 186 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any dayFree
Seward Park Library
public library · Lower East Side
4.3★ from 184 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
statue of Liberty Boat
boat tour agency · Lower East Side
Sightseeing cruises leave daily from Battery Park and sail within 100 feet of the Statue of Liberty.
4.2★ from 173 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Close Up
jazz club · Lower East Side · $30–40
A small, low-key club, also written as Close Up, that puts on live music.
4.9★ from 169 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
VITAL Climbing Gym - Lower East Side
rock climbing gym · Lower East Side
This is a climbing gym with bouldering plus fitness and training areas, and it runs classes including yoga and cycle sessions.
4.4★ from 167 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
The Ragery
amusement center · Lower East Side
You book a room on Essex Street, put on the protective gear provided, and smash glasses, plates, cups, monitors, TVs, toasters, kettles and small appliances with bats, golf clubs, hammers and skateboards.
4.7★ from 133 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any dayFree
Bungee Space
book store · Lower East Side
A shop stocking art books, zines and clothing, with a coffee bar attached.
4.6★ from 104 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Baker Falls
live music venue · Lower East Side · $10–60
4.8★ from 70 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Cool for School Photo
photography studio · Lower East Side
4.2★ from 64 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Teatro LATEA
performing arts theater · Lower East Side
A Latino theatre company staging plays, most in Spanish with supertitles — recent productions include La ventana de los Chévere, a tragicomedy with live music about a family in Hell's Kitchen around September 11, and Dominant Animals, about a Puerto Rican father in Queens.
4.4★ from 64 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any dayFree
Rotten Island Records
record store · Lower East Side
4.6★ from 59 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any dayFree
Catalyst Records
record store · Lower East Side
4.8★ from 45 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC
art gallery · Lower East Side
A gallery showing contemporary art.
4.7★ from 37 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
SHIN GALLERY
art gallery · Lower East Side
4.9★ from 35 Google reviews
More info ▾
Open any day
Psychic Readings by Grace
psychic · Lower East Side
4.8★ from 35 Google reviews
More info ▾
Neighborhood FAQs
Where can I eat on the Lower East Side?
You can get groceries and bagels at Essex Market or sit down for Jewish appetizing at Russ & Daughters Cafe.
Essex Market has more than 30 vendors, including a Dominican family-owned grocery selling plantains and yuca and a bakery selling New York bagels and breakfast sandwiches.
Russ & Daughters Cafe serves the smoked and cured salmon, salads and cream cheeses associated with Jewish appetizing. The Orchard Street cafe is for sit-down dining rather than takeout.
Where can I shop for secondhand clothes on the Lower East Side?
These shops offer different kinds of secondhand browsing, from graphic vintage pieces to a broader clothing and accessories selection.
Rogue lists vintage Affliction graphic tees alongside Tripp NYC sweaters and jerseys. Its New York locations include Allen Street and East Houston Street.
2nd STREET Lower East Side specializes in secondhand clothing in premium condition. It also buys clothing, shoes, bags and accessories from sellers.
Where can I see photography on the Lower East Side?
You can visit ICP’s photography museum and photobook shop or see exhibitions at Baxter St’s Ludlow Street gallery.
International Center of Photography (ICP) has a museum, café and shop selling photobooks and photo apparel. Adult museum admission is $18; visitors 14 and under enter free.
