Take a bite out of the Big Apple's array of arts, culture and sights

Savvy visitors are finding out what native New Yorkers already know: You don't have to spend a fortune to enjoy New York City and you don't have to be a millionaire or a bank executive.

The city is bursting with hundreds of free and low-cost pleasures that include concerts, plays, museum exhibitions and tours throughout the city's five boroughs -- Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

New York's NYC Company provides valuable information and suggestions on making the most of a trip to the Big Apple.

Cultural journeys * Take advantage of "pay what you wish" evenings at some of the world's finest museums: The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, currently exhibiting the marvelous Pollock to Picasso rare collections. * Metropolitan Museum of Art (admission is US$12 for adults; $7 for seniors and students) * American Museum of Natural History and Museum of the City of New York where you can explore five floors of New York City's past, present and future ($7 or $4 for seniors, students and children; $12 for families). * It is free to explore the world's largest collection of artifacts devoted to Native American history and culture at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian. Take advantage also of special exhibitions free of charge at the beaux arts New York Public Library. * Socrates Sculpture Park, a free outdoor museum located on the East River in Long Island City, Queens, is a beautiful park built upon a once abandoned garbage dump. It serves as both a major art institution and reclaimed open space allowing public access to the waterfront with impressive Manhattan views. * Experience the grandeur of Morningside Heights' Cathedral of St. John the Divine, along with its biblical garden and children's sculpture garden. The fee for visitors is $3 per person. When completed, it will be the world's largest Gothic cathedral.

Entertainment

Revel in the best classical music, jazz, drama, opera and dance that New York has to offer for free in the city's parks, with the New York Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera, the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park, and others.

Parks

* Brooklyn Botanic Garden Explore the beauty of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, free all day Tuesdays and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays. The park's regular admission fee is $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors although children under 16 are admitted free. * Queens Botanical Garden is free at all times Flowers at the New York Botanical Garden blossom all year. Situated on 250 acres in the Bronx, the garden includes 27 outdoor gardens and plant collections and a Victorian conservatory featuring a monumental 90-foot high glass dome Carousels

Both the young and the young at heart can enjoy New York City's carousels at Central Park, Bryant Park and Prospect Park

Finally, historic Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn is an "outdoor museum" filled with extraordinary works of sculpture and architecture. It is home to the gravesites of dignitaries and national figures including musical great Leonard Bernstein, artist Louis Comfort Tiffany a and William "Bill the Butcher" Poole, the 19th century gang leader who has depicted in Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York. (Entrance fee $10) History notes * Watch world history in the making on guided, multilingual tours of the United Nations Headquarters in New York City with an admission fee of $10 for adults, $7.50 for seniors and students, and $6.5 for children. * Take a cruise on the Staten Island Ferry (and hopefully avoid any accidents) for spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline, New York harbor and the Statue of Liberty. The ferry runs 24 hours a day and is free at all times. Or take a walk across the footpath on the Brooklyn Bridge for a fantastic and free view of the Manhattan skyline and Brooklyn. * At the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island Immigration Museum, one can learn stories and faith that affect nearly every American. Admission is free but the ferry ride is $10 for adults. The interior of the Statue of Liberty Monuments remains closed to visitors, however the grounds of Liberty Island are open as well as the gift shop and restaurants.

Journalists/Media

Indonesian journalists visiting New York City and other cities in the United States should contact the Foreign Press Center (FPCs), which is part of the State Department's Bureau of Public Affairs. Journalists who plan to travel to the U.S. on assignment can contact the press officer at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta or a local consulate for help in arranging FPC support prior to their arrival in the U.S. FPCs are found in New York City, Washington D.C, Los Angeles.

To find out more about New York City, please visit NYC Company's website: www.nyvisit.com