Big Apple fun - on a budget!

By BETH J. HARPAZ

updated 4:02 p.m. ET June 8, 2005

GETTING AROUND: Get a free subway map from any station kiosk. Buy a $7 one-day "Fun Pass" for unlimited rides on subways and buses; good until 3 a.m.

The subways are relatively safe, but leave your iPod home. Those trendy white earphones have triggered a recent rash of thefts underground.

New Yorkers love to give directions, so feel free to ask anyone on the train how to get from Times Square to the East Village. Don't be surprised if three people butt in with alternate routes (thereby demonstrating the local term "butt-insky").

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Wear comfortable shoes. Walk fast to blend in.

MUSEUMS: Suggested admission at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, www.metmuseum.org) is $15 ($7 for students). "Suggested" means you are encouraged to pay the full amount, but they'll let you in for whatever you can afford. The Chanel exhibit is up through Aug. 7.

The newly reopened Museum of Modern Art (53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-708-9400, www.moma.org) charges $20 ($12 for students). But it's free on Fridays, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Just be prepared to wait an hour on line. Fortunately the building is so massive the crowds dissipate inside. From the top floor, you can power-walk down through the entire collection, which ranges from world-famous art by Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso to cutting-edge video installations.

The Whitney Museum of American Art (Madison Avenue and 75th Street, 800-944-8639, www.whitney.org) charges $12 (students, $9.50) but there is a pay-what-you-wish admission, Fridays, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Edward Hopper landscapes will make you homesick for a place that's nothing like New York, while Joseph Stella's "Brooklyn Bridge" is almost as beautiful as the real thing.

PUBLIC SPACES: Skip the $14 fee and two-hour wait to get to the top of the Empire State Building. Instead, enjoy it from afar. It can be seen from all over Manhattan and serves as a useful landmark for figuring out whether you're headed uptown or downtown (it's at 34th Street and Fifth Avenue).

Many other famous Manhattan landmarks can also be experienced for free. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and behold the shimmering New York skyline. Take the Staten Island Ferry for the best view of the Statue of Liberty. Stroll through Central Park and contemplate how well it still fulfills the vision that its 19th century designers, Olmstead and Vaux, had of an oasis from urban life, complete with meadows, ponds, bridges and fountains.

Times Square's colorful lights are best seen at night; they are especially pretty in the rain. At Grand Central Terminal, walk through the waiting room (follow signs for Metro-North trains) and notice the chandeliers, 60-foot-high windows, and the ceiling painting of the night sky.

Many out-of-towners will want to make a pilgrimage to the World Trade Center site. Don't be surprised if your local hosts lack your enthusiasm for visiting there. Some New Yorkers are put off by tourists with video cameras at Ground Zero.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT: The TKTS booth (www.tdf.org/tkts/) at Broadway and 47th Street sells half-price, same-day tickets to some shows. Prices vary, so $20 buys a discount ticket to some, but not all, shows. TKTS does not accept credit cards.

Some shows, including "Rent" and "Avenue Q," hold lotteries at the box office for same-day tickets, $20 to $25. For details, go to www.talkinbroadway.com/boards/ and click on "Rush." The same Web site lists shows that offer discounted standing-room tickets, including "Spamalot," which sells $21.25 standing-room tickets to any performance that sells out.

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