New York City on the cheap?

Whether you’re moving in or just in town for a visit, New York City isn’t known for being budget friendly.  But with a little creativity, you can take a big bite out of the Big Apple without spending a fortune.

I know, because I did it.

I was recently in New York City for a conference and extended my stay to enjoy a little time away with my husband.  We were in New York City for six days, and I spent $350 (not including air fare and hotel, which were paid for ahead of time).  For those of you keeping track at home, that’s less than $60 per day.  How did I do it?

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It’s time for another rousing edition of Travel Around the Internet! Brace yourself.

Here are just a few of the items that have shuffled across our inbox lately:

Disney Cruise specials and kids sail free!

Marriott wants to Twitter, email and Facebook you to Hawai’i! By all means, let them!

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Forty-seven million people visited Times Square in 2008—making the New York City crossroads the most popular tourist destination not only in the United States, but in the entire world. Sometimes, in fact, it feels like all 47 million are there at once.

A relatively quiet day in Times Square, the Crossroads of the World

When I first moved to NYC nearly nineteen years ago (gee, I’m old) Times Square was still swarming with adult “bookstores” and crack vials in the gutters. Broadway theatergoers tried to overlook the eyesores and stayed within the acceptable boundaries. There weren’t many megastores (if any) or restaurants that you’d want to bring your family into. But that’s changed.

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Too bad California will be paying tax refunds with I.O.U’s.  I was going to pay for our recent day trip to New York City with that.  Maybe theaters will start taking I.O.U.’s pretty soon?  No?

I was back in Connecticut visiting my family and a group of friends graciously moved their NYC day trip up to January so my husband and I could be included.  We were pretty terrified of going into the city and (gasp) walking from place to place when the forecast called for 20-degree weather and snow.  Turns out, it was fun and even beautiful.

Eight of us took the Metro North Railroad ($25 round trip ticket purchased at the automatic ticket machine with a credit card) to Grand Central Station, where much to the dismay of our more city-savvy friends, some of us stared up at the incredible ceiling.  Don’t miss it with its constellations and intricate art.  It’s been cleaned recently, and the cleaners left a tiny patch of dirt to show you just how dirty it once was (black).

From the station we walked to the Stage Delicatessen, home of the 4-inch pastrami sandwich.  All sandwiches were completely devoured.  Not sure how.  The place was PACKED but we managed to get in and sit at two separate tables (lunch cost about $20 per person) and then get out in time to make it to the show.

As we walked to the Gershwin Theatre, home of Wicked (tix cost $160 per person, purchased ahead of time online) it started to snow.  We were all bundled up nicely, so nobody really noticed or minded the cold.  And the snow made it all so, as my mother likes to say, romantic.

The Gershwin Theatre lobby is decked out with cool props from the set and signs that warn you about entering and exiting Oz.  Also?  Beer sippy cups.  Worth the $9 price with $5 refill for a crappy can of Bud Light.  Our seats for Wicked were almost all the way in the back, but still good.  One of those places where every seat in the house is a good seat.  During intermission the beer lines were long and the women’s bathroom lines were longer.  Don’t try to beat the lines by skipping out too early before intermission however, my friend did that and missed the best scene of the show!

After the show we all walked, in thicker snow, to Carmine’s, a family-style Italian restaurant where you basically eat like you’re at an Italian wedding.  The post-theater crowd was crushed together at the bar and in the waiting area, but thank goodness (and my friend Robert) we had reservations, so it was not a long wait for our big group.  Nine of us (Robert joined us for dinner) had several plates of appetizers, several more plates of dinner, a tiramisu, and several bottles of wine.  Final tab was about $60 per person.

Riding on the high of warm food (and wine) consumed in good company and inside a warm restaurant, we all decided to walk to a bar where the atmosphere was low-key and the music level was also low enough that we could still talk to each other.  Going by those requirements, someone had recommended Under the Volcano a tequila bar which did not disappoint.  The music was from the bartender’s iPod, there was plenty of seating at the early hour of 9PM, and nobody tried the tequila.  An unspecified bar tab later shows that we did try other things.

At some point someone realized that we’d better get back to Grand Central or we wouldn’t be making it home that night.   We made it just in time to wait 40 minutes for our train (too bad, because I had a fantasy that we’d get to stay in some kind of nice hotel, credit card bill be damned).  More staring at the ceiling ensued.  In all, despite the fat price tag, the trip was worth it, even if we never did get to stop at a Dunkin’ Donuts.

All photos by Christopher Tjaden