Spend what you can or pay the recommended price of admission — it’s just one way to save a bit when seeing the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

You know it.  You just do.  Going to NYC will cost ya! (Well, to tell the truth, traveling anywhere has its unavoidable expenses and serendipitous must-have purchases.)  But there are things you can do to ease the financial pain.

Enjoying the sights of Chinatown costs little — unless you’re shopping for folks back home!

When we decided (on a lark, I might add) to trip off to the Big Apple in December to get into the Christmas spirit, we knew we had to be budget travelers.  Oh, sure, you say.  Stay on a budget during one of the busiest seasons in one of the most traveled places in the U. S.?  But cut corners we did.  And here are some tips that worked for us.

1. Do your homework on transportation.

First, take a look at airline flights if that’s how you’ll get to NYC.  Once you click onto an airline, enter the Flexible Days arena.  There you’ll find flights that can be half the cost of flying on a busy weekend in and out of the city.  If you have the luxury of flexible flying, you can save a bundle, and that’s good news for retirees, casual travelers, and last-minute tourists like us.  (Our weekday Delta departure and return from Knoxville to New York’s LaGuardia was $173.00 compared to the over $300 and $400 flights on the weekends.)

And do a bit of research, too, on ground transportation from the airport to your destination.  We were directed to Carmel Limousine Service by the owners of the apartment we rented, and, despite some not-so-favorable reviews on the web, the limo and driver couldn’t have been more accommodating or affordable.  Other sites to check are Uber, Lyft, and the Super Shuttle (which could add numerous stops depending on who’s in the van at the time).  Just enter your destination, time of day, etc., and do a bit of comparing.

2.  Think about lodging and location.

Of course, if you’re only visiting NYC for New Year’s Eve, you may want to stay near Times Square.  But if you want to blend in with the locals, experience some of the neighborhoods, and stay in quieter locales, look for alternative lodging.  We found an apartment on the Upper West Side near Central Park with positive ratings on TripAdvisor, but other sites may also have just what you’re looking for:  AirBnB, HomeAway, or any of the B&B sites like bnbfinder.com, bedandbreakfast.com or bbonline.com.

The advantage?  You can save money and see another side of the city by staying in the ‘burbs, so to speak, where you can avail yourself of what the area affords permanent residents.  Our apartment with one bedroom with queen bed, kitchen and newly remodeled bath cost $170.00 per night, a far cry from what we’ve paid before to be near the theater district and Times Square.  Plus, our owner/manager knew the city well and shared invaluable tips on transportation, eating, sightseeing, etc.

3.  Get a MetroCard.

Because we needed transportation to all the museums, parks, and department stores (We wanted to see the windows, after all!), our apartment owner gave us the best piece of advice for saving money:  Buy a one-week MetroCard for $31.00.  With the price of one subway or local bus ride costing $2.75, we knew we had a bargain with unlimited rides for seven days for only $31.00.  (Be sure to check the MTA site for more info on how and where to buy, use, and reload.) The side benefits can’t be stressed enough:  on-time subways offer expediency, and buses let you see the city from the comfort of your seat — without the hassle of driving yourself!!!

Subways were our friend! Punctual, safe, nearby. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)

4.  Watch what you eat!

Now if you’re a foodie hoping to traipse through the city in search of highest rated restaurants and chefs, skip this section.  You’ll have to map out your locales, hire drivers or use your MetroCard, and pony up for foie gras! But if you’re more interested in sightseeing than eating, pace yourself.  First, eat only two meals a day.  If you’re staying where breakfast is free (like the national chain hotels usually), then dig in and enjoy the savings.  Eat a big dinner in early evening.  But even if breakfast isn’t free, consider cooking if you have a kitchen or eating a continental breakfast in your room.

A meal at Jason’s Pickles on the Upper West Side will fill you up for the day!

Second, head to the local convenient store/neighborhood market for fresh produce, baked goods, quick snacks, or precooked items.  It’s fun to see what’s served locally (and how much food costs in a different part of the country), and you’ll save money over those restaurant prices, too.  If you’re lucky, you may stumble onto a sidewalk market — usually on the weekends — where you can do the farm-to-table thing right in the big city!

5.  Strike a bargain at the museums.

Our apartment manager gave us another tip that even some of our friends who live in NYC didn’t know:  you don’t have to pay the recommended prices for tickets at museums subsidized by the city of New York.  If you see Recommended Price at the admission booth, you can offer less to tour the museum.  Museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, The Cloisters and many others will take what you feel you can afford to pay.  Other museums (like Guggenheim Museum Soho, Museum of American Folk Art, and Snug Harbor Cultural Center) are free every day.  (Click here for the complete list.) You can also weigh the option of passes such as CityPass, the New York Pass, or New York City Explorer Pass that bundle multiple sites for one lower price.

Inside the stately Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Don’t forget:  Some of the best things in NYC really are free — visiting St. Patrick’s Cathedral, talking to vendors in Bryant Park, watching food handlers in Chinatown, creating an avatar at Macy’s, and strolling through neighborhoods.

What you spend on a trip to NYC is up to you!  Hope you can use one or more of our ideas, but please feel free to add your tips below for how to see NYC on a budget.

And check out other posts in the Christmas Holiday NYC series.  Thanks for traveling with us!!!

— Bert and Rusha

Credit:  Image of subway from Wikimedia Commons

This post has been linked to Monday Escapes #27.  Check out the other great posts on My Travel Monkey and Packing My Suitcase.

Gingerbread House at Lord & Taylor. (Photo courtesy of NYCTrip.com.)

It doesn’t take much to make us happy in NYC, I suppose.  Walking the streets, riding the subway, and taking in city sights rank right up there with visits to museums and restaurants.  (See, I said it doesn’t take much.)

But we’re not alone, judging from the crowds who also love staring into holiday windows and pointing out their favorite things.  This Christmas 2015 season was unseasonably warm in NYC, so some folks took advantage of the sunshine in their own sort of way.

Soaking up the rays on a warm December day in Macy’s New York City plaza.

Two stores got our vote for best windows:  Lord & Taylor and Macy’s.  (By no means, however, did we see them all.) We like beauty, humor and any combination of the two as well as clever interpretations of a theme — and these stores had all of that and more.

Stacked gingerbread trees hold tempting baubles at the Lord & Taylor windows, New York City.

Lord & Taylor’s patisserie windows delighted us “window tourists.”  Sugar-covered delicacies in bakery windows beckoned, and you could hear window peepers (like us) saying Mmmmmm while they gazed longingly at the culinary delights.

But the Peanuts children and the interactive windows at Macy’s won our vote for Best of Show.  The story line of Charlie Brown being in the doldrums at what everyone considers the “happiest time of the year” made for great narrative.

Charlie Brown needs support from Linus even at the happiest time of year.

And not much could cheer him up — not even Lucy’s budget psychiatry.

Not even Lucy can cheer up Charlie Brown this Christmas.

But as we all know, it’s not things like trees and presents that make the difference.  Not even music by Schroeder.

Children stopped to play with the interactive piano at Macy’s NYC. Peanuts music in background!

What conjures up good feelings at Christmas?  It’s friends, of course.  Something Charlie Brown has aplenty.

So all is well in Peanuts land with Charlie Brown ready for the holidays and smiling at the crowd at Macy’s. You, too, can be a Peanuts friend by designing your own likeness at the store window.

Interactive window allows anyone to design a Peanuts character at Macy’s NYC 2015.

And so it goes.  Windows make people happy.  And New York at Christmas wouldn’t be the same without ’em.

Even a snowball fight with friends can be fun — especially if you’re in NYC!

For more information:

Article:  Schneier, M. “Elaborate Holiday Windows Dress Up New York Department Stores.” (November 28, 2015).  New York Times.  Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/29/fashion/macys-bloomingdales-lord-and-taylor-holiday-windows.html

Photo of gingerbread house at Lord & Taylor and other NYC windows available at NYCtrip.com

It’s the Peanuts kids in Macy’s NYC windows, charming everyone who stopped by to enjoy the season with them.

If you’ve always worked in December, as we have, and wished for a respite from your end-of-year demands, consider this:  Someday you may be retired with a chance to enjoy holiday travel.  And that would be us.  After almost 50 years of never taking a vacation during one of the most hectic months of the year, we dropped everything to take a spur-of-the-moment mini-trip to a city that oozes holiday spirit like no other: New York City!

One of the most elegant trees in NYC — at the Public Library!

So, for the next few days, we’re adding a few pics to our blog.  And we’re trying something new.  Not much copy.  Short and sweet.  Pics taken on the fly with a handy iPhone.  Here’s hoping you’ll enjoy seeing The Big Apple through our eyes under the heading Travel Series: Christmas Holiday NYC. 

Gingerbread trees dripping with jewels — the windows at Lord & Taylor, NYC.

Please feel free to chime in.  If you’ve been to NYC or find something that reminds you of what you’ve seen, we’d love to hear from you.

Here’s to the holidays,

Bert and Rusha