A tour of NYC for the cheapskate in you

Sun, 02/17/2008 1:16 PM

Culturally challenged that I am, paying up to US$20 for a museum ticket to appreciate paintings or sculptures -- not really my cup of tea -- was a battle of the conscience.

Yet I trotted off to these must-see places anyway, with the hidden agenda of checking out artsy hotties and spotting loopholes for the cheapskate in all of us.

Unlike tourist traps like the Empire State Building or the Rockefeller's Top of The Rock, which cash in on your curiosity 24/7, the places listed below give you a break.

There's one catch though. You might not be able to max out these cheat notes if you're visiting for less than a week. So make priorities and splurge instead at the gift stores on items that somehow make you ga-ga.

MAIN ATTRACTION: The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) attracts hundreds of visitors daily with its exhibits of stunning acrhitectural designs and scluptures. JP/Tony Hotland

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) -- 11 West 53 Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues

MoMA needs no introduction when it's home to over 150,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, photographs and prints, as well as architectural models and design objects. Also boasting 22,000 films, media works and historical papers, MoMA is a must even if you are only going to feast your eyes on its amazing gift stores.

On Fridays between 4-8 p.m. they let you poke around for free, courtesy of corporate sponsorship. Otherwise, you'll need to fumble around in your pocket for $20.

The Guggenheim Museum -- 1071 5th Avenue at 89 Street

The story of this museum is the story of six very different collections of painting that have been augmented through the years to form one richly layered collection, dating from the late 19th century to the present.

It's "pay what you wish" day on Fridays from 5.45 p.m. to 7.45 p.m. So don't be embarrassed about tossing them your spare change (it's good riddance anyway), although they definitely want the $18 admission every other day.

You can instead use your dollars for the museum's First Friday happening, where you can enjoy a drink, explore the galleries and groove to some of the best DJs in town in the Frank-Lloyd Wright-designed section. It runs from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. for just $25.

The Museum of the Moving Image -- 35th Avenue on the corner of 36th Street in Astoria

It's in Queens and my sort of place to have fun alone. While the shady-ish surroundings might be daunting at first, the mood is all comfort inside as you play with and learn about the art, history and technology of film, television and digital media.

Find hundreds of items of memorabilia and moving-image related artifacts, including a "magic mirror" and "movie sequences" machines you can toy with. Oh, I got you stoked already!

On Fridays from 4-8 p.m., you can get in without paying the usual $10 admission fee, excluding film screenings.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art -- Central Park along Fifth Avenue from 80th to 84th Streets

My colleagues sneered at me after learning I had not been to the Met until my fourth month in town. It's a two-million-square-foot building (my legs!) and has vast holdings (over two million works of art) spanning 5,000 years of world culture.

Its extensive website, metmuseum.org, allows an online peek at the collections and much more -- which I may have gone for had I known earlier.

The "suggested" admission fee is $20. So look into your heart. I did and it said "$3". (Hey, the person in line before me said $2!).

The Cloisters -- Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan

U2's Angel of Harlem would best describe the cloistered convent-like building as you gaze at the Washington Bridge crossing the rivers of Hudson and Harlem. Sit in the garden on the top floor and let the gusty wind and the rippling water wash away the pain.

It's the branch of the Met devoted to the art and architecture of medieval Europe and houses sculpture, tapestries, illuminated manuscripts, stained glass and enamels.

The suggested admission is $15.

The Bronx Zoo -- Fordham Road and Bronx River Parkway

The largest wildlife reserve in the U.S., it shelters more than 4,000 animals and gives you the opportunity to get nose-to-nose with Western lowland gorillas in the Congo Gorilla Forest, spot snow leopards in the Himalayan Highland Habitat or be wowed by the experience in an acre of an indoor Asian rain forest.

In warmer months, it costs $12. In colder ones, it's $8. But either season, it's "pay what you wish" time all day on Wednesdays, giving you plenty of time to monkey around.

-- Tony Hotland

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