NYC Weekend on a Budget

Cosmopolitan Hotel-Tribeca

• 125 Chambers Street
• (at Broadway)
• tel:+1 212 566 1900 / +1 888 895 9400
• Visit website
• New York, 10007

Rooms at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tribeca are basic and plain, but modern and clean, and the larger loft-style rooms have an added character. Beyond its frugality, the Cosmopolitan's best asset is its location: on the corner of Chambers Street and West Broadway in fashionable Tribeca, near such fun spots as The Odeon and more upscale restaurants such as Nobu. It is a great home base for exploring neighborhoods such as Lower Manhattan and South Street Seaport, Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy. read more about Cosmopolitan Hotel-Tribeca

Central Park

• 14 East 60th Street
• The Central Park Conservancy
• tel:+1 212 310 6600
• Visit website
• New York, 10022

The idea for Central Park was born in 1858, which a competition was held to choose a design for what would be the first public park built in America. The winners were Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, whose Greensward plan proposed an entirely man-made park that would be intended only for public use, as a refuge from the relentless rhythms of New York City's already overcrowded streets. It took more than 15 years and $14 million (the equivalent of about $200 million today) to build the Park, with its 843 acres and six-mile perimeter extending from Central Park West to Fifth Avenue and from 59th Street to 110th Street. Those 843 acres include 136 acres of woodlands, 250 acres of lawns, and 7 different bodies of water totaling some 150 acres.

Starting in 1980, a public-private partnership between New York City and the Central Park Conservancy restored and preserved Central Park, and attendance has only been rising in recent years. Now, more than 25 million visitors per year stroll its 58 miles of pedestrian paths, go horseback riding on 4.5 miles of bridle paths, bike or jog on its 6.5 miles of winding roads, or simply relax on the grass or on the nearly 9,000 benches provided. The famous Tavern on the Green restaurant - the location of the finish line for the New York City Marathon - was originally a sheepfold, housing the shepherd and the flock that grazed Sheeps Meadow until 1934. In nice weather, the still lush meadow now welcomes hordes of sunbathers, picnickers, and people-watchers, all of whom enjoy lounging underneath some of the only sky in Manhattan unmarked by tall buildings. Other special features of the park include the Central Park Carousel, the Marionette Theater, the Central Park Wildlife Center, the Charles A. Dana Discovery Center, the Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, the Central Park Zoo, the Henry Luce Nature Observatory, Wollman Rink, Lasker Rink, the Loeb Boathouse, and the North Meadow. read more about Central Park

Hotel Newton

• 2528 Broadway
• (between 94th and 95th streets)
• tel:+1 212 678 6500 / +1 888 468 3558
• Visit website
• New York, 10025

Staten Island Ferry

• 1 Bay Street
• Departs from the Whitehall Ferry Terminal at the southern tip of Manhattan
• tel:+1 718 390 5253
• Visit website
• New York, 10301

Shakespeare in the Park

• 81 Central Park West
• Delacorte Theater
• tel:+1 212 260 2400 (Box Office)
• Visit website
• New York, 10023

Museum of Modern Art

• 11 W. 53rd St
• Between 5th and 6th Avenues
• tel:+1 212 708 9400
• Visit website
• New York, 10103

Opened in 1929, the Museum of Modern Art was one of the first museums with a focus on modern art, and it boasts one of the world's most comprehensive collections. Its permanent collection numbers 135,000 paintings, prints, photographs, drawings, sculptures, films, and design objects, including works by Picasso, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Dalí, O'Keeffe, Pollock, Warhol, and some of the best more contemporary artists, like Richard Serra, Cindy Sherman, and Chuck Close.

MoMA reopened in 2004 following a $425 million expansion program that marked the museum's 75th anniversary. Led by the Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi, the renovation nearly doubled the capacity of the original building and revamped its appearance completely, starting with the striking entrance. A 110-foot-high atrium towers over an indoor walkway, extending over 53rd Street to a new entryway on 54th Street. The new six-story David and Peggy Rockefeller Building houses the main collection and temporary exhibition galleries, while the restored and expanded sculpture garden, named for museum founder Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, boasts more than 30 masterworks of modern sculpture. The MoMA's sleek next-door restaurant, the Modern, is also worth a visit.
read more about Museum of Modern Art

South Street Seaport

• 12 Fulton St
• Fulton & South Streets
• tel:+1 212 732 7678
• Visit website
• New York, 10038

This historic trading port, which dates back to the 1600s, is located on the edge of the Financial District, where Fulton Street meets the East River. It was restored and revitalized for tourist use in the late 1960s, and now boasts more than 120 shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as the South Street Seaport Museum, the Pier 17 Pavilion, and the New York City Police Museum. Visitors to the Seaport will also find some of the oldest architecture in downtown Manhattan, including renovated original mercantile buildings from the early 19th century, renovated sailing ships, and the former Fulton Fish Market.

With its cobblestone streets and broad piers, South Street Seaport offers a welcome escape from the congested, skyscraper-lined streets of downtown. There are usually free outdoor performances going on - check out a number of prominent and up-and-coming acts at the outdoor stage set up in the summertime - and the cool breezes, fun people-watching, and beautiful views of the Brooklyn Bridge can all be enjoyed for free. read more about South Street Seaport

Met in the Parks

• 86th Street
• tel:+1 212 362 6000
• Visit website
• New York, 10024

Wichcraft

• 6th Avenue, between 40th-42nd Street
• At Beach Street
• tel:1 212 780 0577
• Visit website
• New York, 10016

Shake Shack

• Near Madison Avenue and East 23rd Street
• Southeast corner of Madison Square Park
• tel:1 212 889 6600
• Visit website
• New York, 10010

Billed as a modern-day "roadside" burger stand, Shake Shack goes back to the basics of the hamburger (no truffles, foie gras, pork belly or Kobe beef in sight). As a result, it's won over legions of fans since its opening in Madison Square Park in 2004 (around the corner from owner Danny Meyer's upscale star Eleven Madison Park), and has been a perennial contender for best burger in the city. In addition, the Shake Shack hot dog and frozen custard--a creamy twist on soft-serve ice cream--help build the lines in warmer weather to epic proportions in the park location.
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Gray's Papaya

• 2090 Broadway
• (at 71st Street)
• tel:1 212 799 0243
• Visit website
• New York, 10025

A New York favorite for almost 30 years, this hot dog joint offers a long-running special--one juicy hot dog with a slightly mysterious "papaya" fruit drink--that stakes a claim as the best dining deal in town. The store's famous facade has featured in several movies, and star chef Mario Batali is among the prominent New Yorkers who have proclaimed themselves fans of these dogs. There are three locations in the city, including this Upper West Side branch, the West Village (402 Sixth Avenue at 8th Street) and Hell's Kitchen (539 Eighth Avenue at 37th Street).  read more about Gray's Papaya

Carnegie Hall

• 154 West 57th Street
• At Seventh Avenue
• tel:+1 212 247 7800
• Visit website
• New York, 10106

Built by the steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie in 1890, the hall is one of the most famous venues in the United States for classical music and popular music. The legendary building, renowned both for its beauty and its incredible acoustics, was designed by William Tuthill and constructed of brick and brownstone in an Italian Renaissance style. Until 1962, it was the official residence of the New York Philharmonic orchestra, but since then has had no resident company (the Philharmonic plays at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall). Visitors flock to the historic hall to hear the Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, and big bands from cities around the country and world. Carnegie Hall also hosts piano recitals, world music, choral evenings and even pop music and rock concerts. Among the legions of stars that have appeared throughout the hall's history are Tchaikovsky, Gustav Mahler, Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, John Philip Sousa, Pablo Casals, Yo-Yo Ma, Maria Callas, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Liza Minnelli, Fats Waller, and Frank Sinatra.

After being saved from demolition in 1955, Carnegie Hall was made a historic landmark in 1964. In 1986, it was renovated extensively and reopened in its current elegant incarnation, with plush seats boasting excellent views of the stage throughout the house, a pristine gold and white lobby, and a swanky cocktail bar, the Travelers Café Carnegie, on the parquet level. Carnegie Hall contains three separate concert halls. The Main Hall, renamed for Isaac Stern in 1997, seats 2,804 people on five levels; Zankel Hall (originally the Recital Hall) and the Weill Hall Recital Hall (the Chamber Music Hall) are smaller venues. The building also contains the Carnegie Hall Archives, established in 1986, and the Rose Museum, which opened in 1991. Founded by the Susan and Elihu Rose Foundation, the Rose Museum chronicles the hall's and exhibits its archival treasures to the public. The permanent exhibit contains a chronology of events from 1891 to the present, a history of the building, and items relating to the many notable figures that have walked through the Hall's doors. read more about Carnegie Hall

Dok Suni's

• 119 1st Avenue
• (Between 7th Street and St. Mark's Place)
• tel:1 212 477 9506
• New York, 10003-2963

Veselka

• 144 2nd Avenue
• (at 9th St)
• tel:1 212 228 9682
• Visit website
• New York, 10003