Coming to New York for the holidays doesn't have to break the bank. In fact, there are a myriad of attractions that cost absolutely nothing beyond the cab or subway fare needed to get there. Many can be reached on foot. Consider these:
• The Staten Island Ferry (718-815-BOAT) runs around the clock and yields great views of the harbor, the skyline, and the Statue of Liberty
• Rockefeller Center, home of NBC studios, has a free, self-guided tour
• Big Apple Greeter (212-669-8159) provides multilingual guides who provide personalized tours of their neighborhoods
• Eva & Morris Feld Gallery (212-595-9533) is a branch of the American Folk Art Museum without admission charge
• National Museum of the American Indian (212-514-3700) is a Smithsonian
• New York Public Library (212-930-0769) has films, concerts, and exhibitions
• New York Botanical Garden (718-817-8700), with 27 outdoor gardens and a Victorian conservatory, is free on Wednesdays and 10-noon on Saturdays
• Free all day Tuesday and Saturday mornings, Wave Hill (718-549-3200), towers over the Hudson and the 500-foot cliffs of the New Jersey Palisades
• Brooklyn Botanical Garden (718-623-7200) maintains similar free hours
• New York Hall of Science (718-699-0005) has free hours on Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings
• Browsing is free at South Street Seaport (212-748-8600), home of shops, restaurants, and riveting harbor views
• Forbes Magazine Galleries (212-206-5548) has paintings, Faberge eggs, objects d'art, toys, presidential papers, and free guided tours with advance reservations (30 days)
• Free neighborhoods tours are offered by the 34th Street Partnership (212-719-3434), Grand Central Partnership (212-883-2420), Times Square BID (212-768-1560), and 14th Street-Union Square Business Improvement District (212-460-1204)
• Advance planning may yield free tickets for David Letterman (212-975-5853) or Live With Regis And Kelly (212-456-3054)
• The 20 Historic House Museums (212-360-8282) sprinkled among the five boroughs include George Washington's 1765 headquarters, a 19th-century clubhouse used by the Brooklyn Dodgers, and little or no entrance charge
• Pay-what-you-wish policies prevail on Wednesdays at the Bronx Zoo (718-367-1010), Wednesdays after 2 at the Staten Island Zoo (718-442-3174), Thursday evenings at the Jewish Museum, Friday evenings at the Guggenheim Museum (212-423-3500) and Whitey Museum of American Art (212-570-3676), and daily at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (212-535-7710)
• Also free is the Official NYC Guide (800-NYC-VISIT, 212-397-8222, www.nycvisit.com).
Best advice? To get maximum mileage from minimum time, plan ahead.
Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ is president of the North American Travel Journalists Association, and a frequent contributor to AAA Traveler and USAirways Magazine.
