For instance, you'd be amazed at how many freebies you can find in a location. Some locations that we consider to be astonishingly expensive will have free stuff all over the place if you just ask a local. For instance, look at this list from one person who lives in Paris...
- Visit the beautiful churches and spend some time looking closely at the stained glass windows.
- The City of Paris museums are free:
. Zadkine
. Deportation Memorial (behind Notre Dame)
. Balzac's House
. Cognacq-Jay
. Romantic Life
. Carnavalet (except for special exhibits)
. Victor Hugo's House
. Palace of Justice
. Modern Art
. Petit Palais
- The Louvre is free to under 26 YO on Friday evening
- Notre Dame gives a wonderful free tour 3 times per week. Half the tour is outside the cathedral exploring the facade; the remainder is inside looking at the choir, Gothic vaulting, and windows.
- Check Pariscope magazine (only 40cents) every Wednesday or look at the church notice boards for free church concerts/vespers
- Paris is full of lovely fountains. Spend a day wandering the arrondisements looking for these gems and simultaneously experience this beautiful city
- The Luxembourg Gardens offers foot paths, flowers, fountains, statues, men playing boules, a children's playground, and a memorial to 9-11
- Connect with the Paris Greeter service; volunteers who guide visitors for 2-3 hours.
- There are free walking tours (an overview of Paris and Montmartre)
- Street markets offer hours of delight, looking at (and sampling) the wonderful foods combined with fabulous people watching
- Three major cemetaries are free - Pere Lachaise, Montparnasse, and Montmartre. The tombstones are works of art.
Here are some tips from a New Yorker....
The Staten Island ferry - free boat ride with great views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty. Then hike up Broadway, detour over to the WTC site, then hike through the Wall street area to South Street Seaport, then back track to walk over the Brooklyn Bridge and down the Fulton Mall to Juniors for lunch (OK this last part is not free, but THE CHEESECAKE!). Best done on a weekend morning when the area is quiet and you can stop and gawk at the buildings.
Just about anywhere in Central Park. If you have kids, let them climb on all the rocks. Union Square for people watching and the Union Square market. Browse ABC carpet and home on Broadway nearby.
The Brooklyn Botanical garden (free on Thursdays). Hike through Prospect park and observe all my fellow Brooklynites living in our big communal back yard.
Don't even get me started on Oahu. I'm not from there. I've only been once, but I can give you 10 off the top of my head....
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| Laniakea Beach |
-Hike up Makapu'u Point
-Go to the North Shore, set a blanket out on the beach and watch the surfers until your sunscreen wears off.
-Nu'uanu Pali Lookout
-Stroll through the International Market Place
-Go to Pearl Harbor late in the day. You can take all the pictures you want, most of the tourists are gone and it's free unless you want to take the boat over the Arizona Memorial. But you can see it from the park.
-On the North Shore, sit and watch the turtles at Laniakea Beach along with the surfers and beautiful views.
-Visit the Holana Blow Hole
-Just enjoy the spectacle that is Waikiki Beach.
-Watch a sunset from practically anywhere!
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| Turtles Swimming into Laniakea Beach |
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| Sunset Beach |
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| Nu'uanu Pali Lookout |
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| Pearl Harbor just before the park closed for the day. There was only one other family there! |
The thing is no matter where you go there are free things to do.... Okay, well maybe not if you are staying on a Disney property. But even if you are staying on a Disney property, there are probably things that you can take advantage of that is included in the price of your trip that you fail to exploit. As a savvy traveler, it is your responsibility to seek out these opportunities and get all that you can from them. You might find that you will get even more than you bargained for.
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