How to enjoy NYC without breaking the bank.

<div class="block">There&#39;s never a dull moment in New York City but spending time in the Big Apple can put a dent in the wallet. Alyssa Schmid, VP of communications at NYC Tourism &amp; Conventions, joined &#39;Stretching Your Dollar&#39; to talk about how explore NYC without breaking the bank.</div>

Stretching Your Dollar

Stretching Your Dollar: How to Enjoy NYC This Fall on the Cheap

Fall is the perfect time for festive outings or day trips to enjoy the weather. But often these fun activities can also be costly. So joining me now to help us enjoy the season without falling into debt is the EVP of global communications for tourism. Alya Sid, great to have you on the show. Thanks for having us work. Excited to be here. Ok, great. So let's get started. People, of course, trying to take advantage of people and I would be one of them. What parts do you recommend for that? We recommend? Prospect Park and Central Park. Prospect Park is in Brooklyn and Central Park in Manhattan. They're both incredible massive green spaces created or designed by Frederick Law Olmsted in the 18 hundreds. So in addition to the amazing nature, there's also some incredible architecture and also outside of those parks, we have 1700 public parks across the five boroughs. So no matter where you're staying or where you live, there's plenty of spaces to leave people. Is there a perfect weekend or time where people can get peak leaf peeping? It's actually right around this weekend, that peak is happening in New York. But you will also see it for the next few weekends in November too. So we recommend getting out as soon as possible. I say over the next three weeks and then the leaves will start to fall as winter approaches. Yeah. What about museums for some of those colder days? Right. Viewers take advantage of those. Yes, actually there's some great, we have wonderful museums across the boroughs, but some of them offer free days, which is great to know. So the Met the Museum of Modern Art offer free First Fridays to New York City residents with a reservation. So that's a great time to go visit those ones. And then uh the Brooklyn Museum offers for Saturdays for New York City residents and for visitors. So that's a great time to go visit that museum. And then there's other museums across the boroughs like the American Folk Art Museum in Lincoln Square, they offer free admission always as well as the Bronx Museum of the Arts. I know concert tickets have gotten really expensive, right? Probably of all sorts as certainly of late with inflation. But if someone wants to enjoy a concert maybe and save some money, what would you recommend? There are ways to do that? The Barge Music Series that takes place under the Brooklyn Bridge is a great concert series, symphony and classical music with a beautiful background. And then Pioneer works in Red Hook. Brooklyn offers second Sundays which offers free live music and food. And the next one of those will take place on November 12th, I believe. And Lincoln Center also offers free events and concert series throughout the fall and winter season. So we recommend checking their website for that as well. Amazing walking tours are those popular these days still they are and we always recommend them. It really is a great way to experience the neighborhood and some of them that we work with are actually free. There's a free tours by foot. I believe the company is called and they offer pay as you wish tours through Brooklyn and Manhattan. And then there is also big Apple greeters, which is a volunteer based organization that connects visitors to locals who will share their favorite neighborhoods and take them on unscripted tours. So you learn a lot of really interesting things from New Yorkers who have been here their whole lives. I like it. So let's say someone's coming into the city, they just have one day to experience the fall on a budget, which they do. There's so much to do. But one of my favorite things is Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden in Staten Island. It's a beautiful green space and it's easy to get to on the Staten Island ferry. Um You could take a bus from there or a quick Uber ride and once you're there, it's the gardens are free and beautiful to explore. And then they have a Chinese scholars garden. It's one of only two authentic Chinese scholars gardens here in the US. So it's a really special experience and that's just $5. I've never heard of that, but that sounds amazing. It's incredible. Ok, great. Um Art galleries, we gotta ask about art galleries too. We discuss museums, but what about galleries? There are a lot of galleries too. Um I know the Great Gray Art Gallery has some things going on this fall. Uh And then actually we just launched a page on our website NYC tourism dot com that showcases all of the ways that you can experience are on a budget this fall. So we recommend visiting that as well. Ok. Any other outdoor recommendations for the fall before it gets too cold? Although this is somewhat of feels like a winter activity. It's fun to do before it gets too cold. A lot of the ice skating rinks are now open. The Woman rink, for example, in Central Park is opening this Saturday and it's $15 for admission. So a pretty affordable way to experience outdoors in Central Park. I've never done that in New York City, but it's definitely on top of my list, everything to do. It's fun and there's a lot of ice skating rinks across the borough. So, yeah, we'll send you a list to check out. Ok, I love that. Um, any other indoor activities, if it does get too cold, indoor museums are great. Uh There's some exciting pop ups. Uh, there's a balloon and Infinity Mirror exhibit. Uh, that's now opening, I believe on the east side. Uh, the observation decks are always a really fun way to see the city as well, I think, kind of, especially this time of year, I guess, maybe before it gets too dark, too early. Right. Yes. When it comes to the observations, even though of course, the night twinkle is nice. Um, If people want more information, where should they go? NYC tourism dot com? We have that arts guide that I mentioned earlier and then we also have a page that shows you when all the free museum days happen. So that's a great resource as well. All right, Alyssa Schmidt. Uh Thank you so much, great insight as always and hope everyone can enjoy their fall. Uh leave peeping and included. We appreciate it.