Sightseeing New York City- The Frugal Way

I am a traveller and New York City is probably one of my favorite places to visit. The “big-apple” is arguably one of the most famous cities in the world; ask anyone around the globe to list which city they know outside their home country, and sure enough, New York will be on the list. Its pretty obvious; New York City hosts the headquarters of the United Nations, hosts some of the most iconic structures such as the empire state building, and the statue of liberty. In addition, the images of this city have been imprinted into millions of people because of the depiction of New York by Holly wood through its epic movies, and television melodramas.

New York is a very big city, and thus to visit all the listed sightseeing sites in the city, it takes time, and money. Since I am on a frugal tip, I focus on cheap sightseeing places in New York.

How to get to your favorite site

I do want to point out that anytime I drive to NYC, I opt to get a hotel in New Jersey. The rooms are half the price and it costs me a total of $20 for the toll and parking to spend the day downtown. Once I get downtown I hunt down a cheap all day parking lot and either wander the streets on foot or get a metro pass.  Ironically enough I have been on the subway in 10 countries, but not once I have stepped foot in on a subway in my hometown.

Before exploring some of the cheap sightseeing places in New York, it is prudent to explore some of the ways through which you can get yourself around the city. Travelling by Metro buses ranks high on the list, these buses are very comfortable, and affordable, in addition, they have wide city coverage. If you plan to travel round the city for a week, it will interest you to know that you can only travel at a flat fee of just $27 by purchasing a Metro card that expires after seven days. Alternatively, you can move round the city using a bicycle or just walking around.

Some cheap sightseeing places in New York

With your camera ready, the following sites are best place to visit when running on a low budget;

• The Empire state building

As the adage goes, “visiting New York City without a visit to the empire state building is doing a great injustice to the city of New York”. This building is one of the most famous in the world; it has been immortalized in movies, magazines and great epic tales.  To get a bird’s eye view of the city you only need to pay $22 that will assure you a ticket to the building observatory.

• The statue of Liberty

The French people gave the statue of liberty to the American people as a sign of appreciation for the support of the American people during the French revolution. The statue of liberty symbolizes the American people freedom.  By the way, it is way cheaper to visit The Statue of liberty from New Jersey than it is from New York.

 

• The American museum of Natural History

If you like history, I definitely recommend stopping in here. You will have to allot a few hours as there is a lot really interesting exhibits. I can easily spend ¾ of a day in here. But then again, I am a history nerd. The entrance fee for an adult is $19 while for a child it is only $10.50. The American museum of natural history is one of the world best museums with respect to content displayed. If you want to know the history of anything natural, this is the best sightseeing sites to visit.

• Central park

Admission is free. To the residents of the New York the central park provides the much-needed breather away from hustles, and bustles associated with New York streets. The park has several lakes, tennis courts, playgrounds, baseball fields. Famous personalities have visited this place for sightseeing including pope, and many others celebrities.

• Grant’s tomb

This is the largest mausoleum in the United States of America. It houses the remains of the former two-term United States of America president Ulysses S.Grant and his wife. This tomb is modeled after the mausoleum of the former great general Napoleon. Ulysses S.Grant artifacts and memorabilia. This is a great piece of American history, if you are a history buff.

• Times Square

Times Square is one of the most vibrant and loud places in the world. We normally get a pizza and some drinks and sit on the steps to people watch. You will never see a more eclectic group of people in one spot. We normally grab food and site on the giant staircase and people watch. This is one of my favorite places in New York City.

• The United Nations headquarters

The United Nations is one of the cheap sightseeing places in New York City. Here you are assured of meeting all country representatives of the United Nations. It a great way of learning on the history of the United Nations while to relax, and take photos, of an institution founded at the end of the second world war to promote world harmony.

Just a thought

To visit cheap sightseeing places in New York, it is advisable to make your journey away from holiday seasons, and public holidays where prices are high, otherwise take a big bite of the big apple, and enjoy every piece of it…in a frugal manner.

 

What are your favorite places to visit in New York City?

 

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