Cheaper ways to see N.Y. with kids

Sail through South Street Seaport. This 12-square-block historic district offers an entertaining glimpse into old New York's history with cobblestone streets, 18^th-century buildings and tall ships you can tour. Admission to the ships and the South Street Seaport Museum is $8 for adults, $4 for kids 5 to 12, free for kids 4 and under. You'll also find the New York Police Museum here; admission to that is free. One warning: There are more than 100 shops in this area and lots of ways to blow money on gifts and treats. If you're trying to stay on a budget, bring your own drinks and snacks, and steer clear of the often-enticing shop windows.

Spend a day -- or a whole week -- in Central Park. Before we had a child, I had no idea of the number and variety of playgrounds tucked into this massive park. You can pretend to paddle a canoe through a hippo watering hole at the Safari Playground, have a shootout at the fortress of the Wild West Playground or climb on pyramids at the Ancient Playground that echo those in the nearby Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian wing. And those are just three of the 21 playground options within the park's borders. Then there's all the other stuff you can do, including explore Belvedere Castle and nearby Turtle Pond, hide under a giant mushroom at the Alice in Wonderland statue, rent a rowboat on the Loeb Boathouse, fish at the Harlem Meer and visit the Central Park Zoo.

How to save on museums

Don't miss the American Museum of Natural History. Even kids who don't like museums will like this museum, including the fourth floor full of dinosaurs, the Discover Room for kids aged 5 to 12 and the not-to-be-missed Space Show at the Rose Center. The problem: It isn't cheap. Tickets to the museum and Space Show will set you back more than $20 a head, and special shows will cost more. For ideas on how to contain the costs, see the next section. Also, avoid the cafe, which hasn't joined the museum trend toward tasty food; there are better options around the corner on Amsterdam Avenue, including EJ's Luncheonette, a 1950s-style diner with good ice cream desserts.

Choose your other museums wisely. There are plenty of free museums in New York, including the police and American Indian museums noted above. But chances are if it's a brand-name museum and it's in New York, it'll cost you about at least $10 and often $20 a person to get in.

So read up about the museum and its exhibitions before deciding whether it's a good fit for your kids. Some other strategies include:

• Look for free nights. Admission is free (technically "pay as you wish") to the Museum of Modern Art on from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Fridays; the American Craft Museum from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays; and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden all day on Tuesdays and from 10 a.m. to noon Saturdays. The Children's Museum of the Arts near Chinatown is pay-as-you-wish from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesdays, but regular admission is just $5 at other times.
• See if there's a "suggested donation" policy. Two big budget busters, the natural-history museum and the Met, have a year-round pay-as-you-wish policy. We're big supporters of the arts and sciences, so we always pay full freight, but if money is tight or you're not sure how long you'll last, you might take advantage of these policies.
• Buy a New York CityPass. This includes six attractions, including four great museums, for one relatively low price ($65 for adults, $49 for kids). In addition to admission to the Met, Museum of Modern Art and natural-history museum, you get passage into the Guggenheim, a ride on a Circle Line cruise and a trip to the top of the Empire State Building.

What not to bother with

Finally, I have a few rather contrarian thoughts about New York that might save you some bucks. Such as:

Avoid Times Square. It's loud, stuffed with tourists and not worth the hassle. The food outlets are seriously mediocre, and you can't walk three feet without being pressed to buy something. (One guy persistently tried to sell me a hip-hop CD until I stopped, looked him in the eye and demanded, "Do I look like a hip-hop fan?" Which caused him to burst good-naturedly into laughter before he targeted the next passing tourist.) Plus there's a Toys R Us with a big Ferris wheel that your kids will insist on riding, even if it means an endless wait in line while they pelt you with requests for more stuff.

• Video: Rachael Ray explores New York food

Forget Broadway shows. I've had some transcendent experiences in Broadway theaters, but I've also shelled out big bucks for shows that decidedly were not worth the money. Don't go just to go, particularly if you're dragging kids along. If you have a teen who's seriously interested in theater, you can wait together in that TKTS line; otherwise, take 'em to an Imax movie.

Haute is not. I've had some wonderful, expensive dinners in New York, but our most memorable meals tend to be at much cheaper places, like pizza joints in Little Italy or the Washington Square restaurant with chalkboard tables and silent movies showing on the wall. Check out's MSN's City Guides for New York, ask your New York-savvy friends or troll travel-related message boards for suggestions.

Columns by Liz Pulliam Weston, the Web's most-read personal finance writer, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Published July 2, 2007

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