Take in New York Without Taking Out Your Wallet

No doubt, New York City is one of the more expensive places to spend a week, but there are plenty of things to do that don’t cost a dime.

The Internet site “New York City for Visitors” at http://gonyc.about.com has 30 suggestions for taking in the city without taking out your wallet. Here are a few:

• Window shopping on Fifth Avenue: Bergdorf Goodman (754 Fifth Avenue), Saks Fifth Avenue (611 Fifth Avenue), and FAO Schwartz (5th Avenue and 58th Street) are all genuine New York shopping experiences.

• Times Square: The “crossroads of the world,” and perhaps the most photographed intersection anywhere, is home to 1,500 businesses. Within the blocks of the Times Square Business Improvement District are 40 theaters, including all 22 of the landmark Broadway theaters. Among the many arresting sights on most days in Times Square is the Naked Cowboy, a guy in just underwear, cowboy boots, and hat, who plays guitar and sings for passersby.

• Strand Bookstore: This New York City landmark is located at 12th Street and Broadway in Greenwich Village, just south of Union Square. The store is great for just browsing, but be sure to check out the half-price review copies in the basement if you are looking for just-published works.

• Diamond Jewelry Way: More than 90 percent of the diamonds that come into this country go through New York City, and most of these go through the Diamond District, located on 47th Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues. More than 2,600 independent businesses are located on this block, nearly all of them related to diamonds or jewelry. Most of the shops are closed on Saturdays for the Jewish Sabbath.A note of caution: As you walk down 47th Street, you may be accosted by “hawkers”—salespeople who stand out on the sidewalk and try to get you to come into their store. After you step into a jewelry exchange, there will often be hawkers who try to draw you to their booth before you’ve even had a chance to look around. Shoppers are advised not to do business with hawkers.

• St. Patrick’s Cathedral: The seat of the Archbishop of New York, St. Patrick’s is the largest decorated gothic-style Catholic cathedral in the United States and has been recognized since its establishment as a center of Catholic life in this country. The spires rise 330 feet from street level; the cathedral seats about 2,200 people. The Stations of the Cross are works of art that won first prize at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893. The cathedral is located at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street, across from Rockefeller Center.

• St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church: This breathtakingly beautiful church has an intriguing Byzantine style interior. Its cleargy and parishioners have long been a force for social welfare in the city. On Tuesday afternoons you may be able to hear an organist at practice. The church is located at Park Avenue and 50th Street.

• The New York Public Library: The library, located on the west side of Fifth Avenue between 40th and 42nd streets, has been through some rough times since E. B. White wrote in 1949, in his classic essay, “Here Is New York,” of the “great rustling oaken silence of the Reading Room. . .with the book elevator (like an old water wheel) spewing out books onto the trays.” But this imposing edifice, with its two stone lions named Patience and Fortitude guarding the entrance, remains a New York monument. ▪