13 Cool NYC Team Building Activities

With its rich history, diversity, and massive size (it’s the most populous city in America), there’s so much to be found throughout New York City’s five boroughs. Whether you and your team get the most fun out of a wild night out or prefer to bask in the beauty of nature⁠ — this iconic, bustling urban center has something for everyone. Here are 13 of our top selections for NYC team building activities. 

1. Book an incredible Peerspace venue

Peerspace is the absolute go-to website for locating venues for all kinds of events, including team building activities. If you’d like to go the more DIY route and plan your own team building event, you’ll find numerous fabulous spaces (hundreds, in fact) throughout NYC. It’s a great way to escape the office and connect with one another in a unique and comfortable space of your choosing. 

2. Go Rock climbing at Chelsea Piers

Chelsea Piers is an impressively extensive fitness complex offering all kinds of exciting sports, including an array of rock climbing walls. If you’ve got a sporty/athletic set of people on your team, this is a fantastic option. There are all kinds of rock climbing activities you can do as a team. Consider booking an Open Climb session supervised by a rock wall instructor. You’ll break a sweat, have a ton of fun, and build camaraderie among your team members!

3. Enjoy a group cooking class at My Cooking Party

This culinary school is dedicated to corporate team-building events as well as private cooking classes. It’s not just a cooking class⁠ — it also has the fun energy of a party, so you get the best of both worlds. My Cooking Party’s classes are highly rated by participants, and they were named the “Best Cooking School in Manhattan & Best Corporate Events in NYC” by the U.S. Commerce Association. Read more about their incredibly fun group team-building events.

4. Partake in corporate team building improv with Eight is Never Enough

Here’s one of the funnest NYC team building activities: Eight is Never Enough offers stellar team-building improv that’s great for groups who value humor and fun above all else. You’re sure to strengthen bonds as you challenge yourselves to shed your reservations and cooperate to create hilarious skits. In particular, this is an ideal opportunity to improve your group’s communication ability.

5. Plan a simple, classic happy hour

This is a classic for a reason! Why not have a laid-back happy hour with your team? Go with your favorite bar⁠ — somewhere comfortable and maybe not too loud so you can still have good conversations. We’d recommend The Scratcher in the East Village, The Shakespeare in Midtown, or maybe Porchlight in Chelsea (which is a particular standout for its amazing food, in addition to the unbeatable cocktails).

6. Become immersed in virtual reality escape rooms

Take an escape room experience to the next level with a trip to Escape Virtuality’s immersive, virtual reality escape rooms! If you work at a tech company, this is an absolute no-brainer ⁠— but anyone is bound to have fun and be amazed by this experience.

7. Take a boat trip with a Classic Harbor Line 

What better way to bond and have a ton of fun than by learning how to sail? You’ll learn about sail raising (as part of a timed contest, of course) as well as knot-tying culminating in a collaborative “knot-off.” There are other activities as well. By the end, the two halves of your team will have their points tallied up⁠ — and one will win. A little competition never hurt anyone!

8. Embark on Museum Hack tours

Art lovers will undoubtedly adore this top-notch NYC team building idea. Museum Hack leads team building tours through many of NYC’s world-class museums: the Met, the American Museum of Natural History, the Rubin Museum of Art, and others. Notice that they have more than a hundred five-star reviews on Yelp⁠ — we’d say all these positive experiences bode extremely well for your team building experience.

9. Invent drinks with Liquid Lab private mixology classes

How about mixology? This is a cool, trendy option that’s a little bit like a cooking class, but definitely less cliché. Plus, Liquid Lab has an impeccable record: for past team building events, they’ve hosted companies like Google, NBC Universal, and Yahoo, among many others; they’ve also got five stars on Yelp. If you all love nothing more than a great cocktail, be sure to reach out and ask about scheduling a group class.

10. Put your puzzle-solving skills to the test with the Great Gotham Challenge

This one’s a little bit like an escape room⁠ — it involves a timed puzzle⁠ — but this “immersive puzzle adventure” actually takes place on the streets of Mahattan! Taking part in the Great Gotham Challenge, your team will come together to decode interactive clues and learn more about the history of this amazing city. 

11. Appreciate and create art with Unarthodox

This is another option for creative art lovers⁠ — but this time, instead of just looking at art, you’re actually creating art, too. Check out the wide variety of cool activities that Unatharodox has to offer on their website.

12. Refine your aim with Gotham Archery

Another unique and unexpected activity: archery! Gotham Archery hosts corporate team building events and can accommodate groups of all different sizes. Check out their hundreds of glowing Yelp reviews to get a sense of how fun this’ll really be.

13. Explore the metropolis on a cityHUNT scavenger hunt

This is definitely a top-notch NYC team building idea: Fortune 500 companies like Google, Pepsi, and PayPal have enjoyed customized team building scavenger hunts with cityHUNT. You’ll have the chance to explore Lower Manhattan, Little Italy, NoHo, SoHo, Wall Street, or other incredible neighborhoods⁠ — all the while working together and bonding with your team members. 

Find unique event venues in NYC on Peerspace