Photo: stevenvanwel

1. Don’t… see the Mona Lisa

More than 25,000 people visit the Louvre every day, and it seems like the majority of them head straight for this painting.

The Mona Lisa is much smaller than most people think and is easily blocked by just a single head in front of you — it’s nearly impossible to ever get a clear view.

Photo: Lynt

Do… beat the crowds at the Louvre

Head in the opposite direction of the masses and discover some of the other 35,000 masterpieces on show, such as Napoleon III’s apartments, the incredible Egyptian gallery, and the ruins of the original Louvre constructions, built as a 12th-century fortress.

Thanks to Da Vinci, the vast majority of these can be viewed in complete solitude.

2. Don’t… take a Seine dinner cruise

River cruises themselves aren’t a bad deal. They only run about eight euros and offer a great perspective from which to take in the city’s architecture and sights.

But when you add dinner, the cost soars to over 100 euros a head, and all you get for it is sub-standard food served in a crowded, noisy dining area.

Do… find the best in Parisian cuisine

There’s no good reason to eat bad food in Paris, a city with some of the most highly regarded restaurants in the world. And, contrary to what you might assume, not all of them are beyond the budget of the average traveler.

Paris’s oldest restaurant, for example, serves tasting menus that start from 45 euros. Check it out: Laperouse

3. Don’t… climb the Eiffel Tower

Checking out Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece — the world’s most-visited monument — is practically mandatory for every Paris visitor, but that doesn’t mean you have to go up.

If you do, you’ll stand in line…and not just one line. There are a total of seven, including one for each lift and the line for tickets.

Photo: tibchris

Do… find yourself a sweet city view

There are plenty of other places to get a photogenic panorama, like the Tour Montparnasse, or even the Arc de Triomphe.

The queues are short (if not nil), and you’ll have a city view that includes its most famous landmark — something which isn’t possible if you’re standing on it.

4. Don’t… visit the Bastille

Not so much you shouldn’t visit this, but that you can’t.

The entire Bastille complex was destroyed during the Revolution and many tourists hop off at the ‘Bastille’ metro stop only to be disappointingly confronted by a busy traffic intersection and nothing more.

Do… brush up on city history

Should the Revolution — or any other period in Paris’s past — be of particular interest, check out the free Musée Carnavalet for your history lessons.

5. Don’t… take a Da Vinci Code tour

These tours are among the most expensive in the city and take in relatively few sights.

Not only that, but if you’re a fan of the novel, be prepared to get off the bus wondering if Dan Brown has even been to Paris, let alone researched any of the sights he mentions in the book.

Do… pay for a real tour

Instead of bowing to pop culture, sign up for an outing that’ll fill you in on the real stories behind Paris, such as the Rive Gauche Tour, Montmartre, or the Paris Food Crawl. More info can be found here.

Photo: gillesklein

6. Don’t… sip coffee in a famous café

It can be tempting to hit up Café de Flore or les Deux Magots — favored spots of Sartre and Beauvoir — or Café des Deux Moulins, which took a starring role in the film Amélie.

However, while the clientele may once have been notable, the only thing you can expect now is bad service at double the price of any neighbouring café.

Do… stop in next door

Whether your thing is people watching or a caffeine fix, the best thing you can do is turn your back on the famous names and choose the café opposite (or next door) for a practically identical experience at a more reasonable price.

7. Don’t… escape to Nice

Many people looking to venture beyond Paris automatically think Nice, and I’m not exactly sure why. Nice is a busy city with terrible traffic, little history or culture, and an ugly pebble beach.

Put a pin anywhere in a map of France (except perhaps Marseille) and you’ll hit a place with more attractions and charm than this.

Do… consider other extra-urban destinations

For a beach break, Bordeaux is pretty nice, home to international windsurfing competitions and Europe’s largest sand dune, the Dune du Pyla.

Photo: geoftheref

But you don’t have to travel far from the city to explore more of what France has to offer. The Loire Valley is just an hour from Paris and features enough culture, history, castles, fine food, and “authentic” small towns to keep you busy for weeks (if not months).

8. Don’t… fly into (or out of) Beauvais

There are dozens of places close to Beauvais Airport, but Paris isn’t one of them. It’s a 90-minute ride into the city (longer during rush hour), and the one-way trip cost of 13 euros eats up a lot of the savings made on that budget flight.

Even worse is when you have an early morning departure. You’ll most likely need to take an expensive Parisian cab to the bus station, since the Paris metro doesn’t run before 5am and sleeping in the airport is not allowed.

Do… stick to the time-honored hubs

Use a search engine like Kayak to find the most competitive fares to Charles de Gaulle or Orly Airports, both of which have direct — and much quicker — links to the city.

Community Connection

For more advice from Matt, check out How to Save Money in Paris.

Other Matador resources on Paris:

Green Guide to Paris

Top 10 Free Things to Do in Paris

How to Move to Paris with No Money

Photo: gomattolson

The Sears Tower, Chicago

While the Sears Tower is not a building renowned for its beauty, the SkyDeck on the 103rd floor (412 meters) looks out over one of the United States’ most beautiful cities and, on a clear day, as far as 50 miles across Illinois and Lake Michigan into Indiana, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

Photo: respres

Top of the Rock, New York

Re-opened in 2005 after a 19-year and $75 million renovation, the 259-meter high observation platform on the top floors of Rockefeller Center gives sweeping views of the city, highlighted by a close-up of the Empire State Building.

Photo: Ralph Hockens

Stratosphere Tower, Las Vegas

The tallest freestanding observation tower in the USA offers views over Sin City and the surrounding desert. For adrenaline junkies, three of the world’s highest thrill rides are at the top: Big Shot, XSCREAM, and Insanity: The Ride.

Photo: mandj98

Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Shanghai

Arguably the most recognizable building in the ever-expanding business district of Pudong in Shanghai, the 468-meter tower provides visitors the chance to gaze out on one of China’s most rapidly growing cities.

Photo: Alex Buhrmann

Sky Tower, Auckland

If you don’t go up for the views, you can visit one of the world’s highest casinos, or attach yourself to a wire and plummet 192 meters toward the ground below on the famous SkyJump.

Photo: johnlillnz

The London Eye, London

Otherwise known as the Millennium Wheel, this attraction is the most popular in the UK. Just across the Thames from the Houses of Parliament, the 135-meter high wheel takes 30 minutes to complete a full rotation, giving you plenty of time to soak up the London scene.

Photo: nedrichards

Eiffel Tower, Paris

The Eiffel Tower was the world’s first structure built simply for the pleasurable viewing from atop. At 325 meters, it was once the world’s tallest building. The tower still welcomes over 6 million visitors a year, making it the most popular monument in the world.

Photo: sho33y

The Singapore Flyer, Singapore

Having beaten London and Nanchang in China, Singapore now boasts the world’s largest observation wheel at 165 meters, a height which allows you to look over the entire country and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia.

Photo: Jarnojii

Taipei 101, Taipei

Since its completion in 2004, this 509-meter building is the world’s highest and boasts the loftiest outdoor observation platform on the 91st floor. The Burji Dubai is already taller than Taipei 101, but can’t claim the height title until construction is finished at the end of 2009.

Photo: orange tuesday

CN Tower, Toronto

Boasting the record of the tallest completed freestanding structure on land, the CN Tower reaches over 553 meters. The tower contains a revolving restaurant, three observation decks, and the world’s highest glass floor elevators.

Photo: PoYang

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

If this list doesn’t satisfy your desire to get high, check out our picks for the world’s 10 best rooftop bars.

Feature photo by Train Chartering, Private Hire Trains & Rail Cars
. Photo above by motxilos!

Glacier Express

Taking almost eight hours to complete its journey, the Glacier Express has a reputation for being the slowest ‘express’ in the world – but it’s also one of the most beautiful. Linking the two mountain resorts of St. Moritz and Zermatt in the Swiss Alps, the journey covers 291 bridges and 91 tunnels.

At its highest point, the Glacier Express reaches 2,033 meters (6,670 feet) in altitude at the Oberalp Pass as it travel through some of the most stunning mountain scenery Europe has to offer: alpine meadows, mountain streams, snow peaked mountains and glacial valleys.

Harzer Schmalspurbahnen

Situated in the Harz mountains of central Germany, this route connects the main cities of Wernigerode, Nordhausen and Quedlinburg, as well as several smaller towns in the region. It passes over 140 km (87 miles) of steep track, through stunning forest and mountain scenery.

Renowned for being the longest narrow gauge track in Germany and featuring only steam locomotives, the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen is a unique way to discover this relatively unexplored area of Germany.

Photo by lazytom.

Eurostar

What better way to reach the continent for a weekend break, or the start of longer travels? With the completion of the high-speed rail link and the opening of a new station at St. Pancras, only 2:15 hours separate central Paris and central London.

Eurostar now operates from three English terminals–London, Ashford, and Ebbsfleet–and offers direct services to northern France, Central Paris, Disneyland Paris, Brussels, and ‘Snow Train’ routes to southern France, all at a top speed of 300 KmH (186 mph).

The Orient Express

Few names conjure up images of luxury and indulgence like the Orient Express.

The setting of mystery novels, dozens of films, and witness to countless romantic encounters, the original (and some would argue the best) ‘Great Rail Journey’ offers luxury from a bygone era while visiting some of the continent’s best cities: London, Venice, Rome, Budapest and Prague.

Photo by Zed.Cat

The West Highland Railway

The West Highland Line, running from Glasgow to Fort William and Mallaig, is one of Britain’s top rail journeys, taking passengers back to a time when steam was the way to travel. It passes through the wild Rannoch Moor, and through hills and bogs within view of Ben Nevis – Scotland’s highest peak.

One of the highlights of the journey is passing over the Glenfinnan Viaduct- one of the largest concrete engineering feats of the late 19th century (and more popularly known for appearing in the Harry Potter films).

The Trans Siberian Railway

The Trans Siberian Railway is the ultimate rail journey, the longest in the world (and possibly the coldest if you go at the wrong time of year), a journey of almost mythical proportions that spans two continents while staying in a single country.

There are three routes that travelers can take to explore the Siberian expanse: The Moscow-to-Vladivostok route at over 9,000 km (6,000 miles), and two routes from Moscow to Beijing: one through Mongolia, taking six days and almost 8000km (5000 miles), or one which takes almost a week to complete and travels via Manchuria.

Without leaving your seat, you pass through the end of Europe and cross almost the width of Asia, clattering your way across nearly a third of the globe.

Photo by Che89.

Jungfraubahn

At only 9km (5.5 miles), great railway journeys don’t get much shorter than the Jungfraubahn. Running from Kleine Scheidegg to the highest railway station in Europe at Jungfraujoch, this Swiss cog railway runs almost entirely though a tunnel built into the infamous Eiger.

Two stations in the middle of the tunnel allow passengers to disembark and look out over stunning mountain views. However, though it’s a short trip, this classic route does not come cheap.

The Flam Railway

The Flam Railway runs 20km (12 miles) between Myrdal, at 865 meters (2838 feet) above sea level, down to the fjords of Flam. This is an incredible feat of engineering, one of the steepest non-cog railways in the world and Norway’s most spectacular tourist attraction.

Boasting views over part of the world’s longest fjord – Sognefjord – as well as deep river valleys and airy peaks, the train seemingly clings to the side of the mountains in an unforgettable journey.

Photo by Ant and Carrie’s Photos.

The Danube Express

Explore the very best of Eastern Europe with luxury train travel on the ‘Hotel on Wheels’. From the mythical Transylvania and the fairy tale cities of Budapest and Prague to Sofia and Krakow, the Danube Express offers six classic journeys across the former Soviet states, combining rich history and beautiful cities with stunning scenery.

For those with a longing for the classic days of rail travel, there is even the option to combine voyages into an epic Central and Eastern Europe exploration.

The Stendhal

Board in Paris in the evening and wake up in Venice the following morning. Saying goodbye to the City of Lights, the journey takes in picturesque French villages and the hills of southern France before taking the Simplon Tunnel under the Alps.

With a range of sleepers available- from six and four berth couchettes to one to three berth sleepers, the Stendhal doesn’t have the luxury or reputation of many other trains sharing the same track, but with tickets starting from around $60 one way, it is a timeless (and cheap) way to visit one of the greatest cities in Italy.

Community Connection:

Not headed to Europe any time soon? In North America, try 21 Trains that are Cheaper than Flying.

New York isn’t the most expensive city in the world and for many foreign visitors it’s getting cheaper every day as the dollar collapses. But for the cash strapped (or just economical) traveler, New York still isn’t cheap.

It is, however, one of the best cities on earth for the variety of cheap activities. Save up your air miles and you might even be able to get there for free; then it’s just eating and sleeping you’ll have to worry about.

The Staten Island Ferry

Few journeys offer such stunning city views. As you leave the ferry port (closest subway: South Ferry on the 1 line), a panoramic view opens onto the city’s long avenues and the East River- taking in the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges – before passing the Statue of Liberty with views of Ellis Island. The 25 minute journey takes you to Staten Island. Cost of a return ticket: $0

Central Park

850 acres of the world’s best city park stretch for 50 city blocks and include lakes, gardens, woodland walks, museums, restaurants, city views, running and cycle tracks, roller blading, boating, live music, concerts and more. Many visitors forget the city and spend their time here, swapping traffic for bird song and the busy streets for sunbathing on the Great Lawn.

The Central Park Conservancy offers free tours about the history, ecology and design of the park. The Central Park Visitors Center is located in the Old Dairy, in the SE corner of the park: www.centralparknyc.com

photo by midweekpost

Get a Bus

Buy a one-day (or weekly) Metrocard and enjoy unlimited travel on New York’s buses and subways. You can take in the whole island on its extensive bus and subway network for the price of two lattes at Starbucks! See all the sights from the window of the bus and take along your guidebook to give yourself your very own guided tour (without the vast queues and long waits for a tour bus).
One Day Pass: $7.50

Take a Walk

It seems a shame to take the subway when there is so much to be seen above ground. Some of the best areas to walk around are the Financial District, Times Square, the Flatiron Building, and Little Italy or Chinatown, to name just a few.

With a Big Apple Greeter a local will show you the sights and sounds of the city on a 2 – 4 hour tour. Tours are free but bring a good pair of shoes.

Soak up Some Culture

A city with the best museums in the world: from MOMA and The Met in the center of the city to the Cloisters, set in the relative wilderness of Fort Tyron Park in Upper Manhattan, there is a museum for every interest. Entry costs vary around the $10 mark, but many museums designate a day or evening when entry is free or by voluntary donation.

American Museum of the Moving Image: Free on Fridays from 4 pm to 8 pm
Bronx Museum of the Arts: Free on Wednesdays
Jewish Museum: Pay-what-you-wish on Thursdays from 5 pm to 9 pm
Museum of Arts & Design: Pay what you wish on Thursdays from 6 pm to 8 pm
Museum of Modern Art: Target Free Fridays from 4:30 pm
New York Hall of Science: Free on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 2 pm to 5 pm
Guggenheim Museum: Pay-what-you-wish on Fridays from 6 pm to 8 pm

photo by Mister-E

Lesser-known museums such as the National Museum of the American Indian (One Bowling Green) and the Hispanic Society of America (Broadway @ 155th) are free every day.

See a (TV) Show

While there are bargains to be had on Broadway, none are free. But if you want to see some of America’s most popular shows being filmed, free tickets are available. You may even see yourself on TV. Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman, Saturday Night Live, and The Early Show offer free tickets to audience members. Contact the studios for details on particular shows.

Sets and the City

Sally had fake orgasms in Katz Deli with Harry, Ghostbusters met their match at Columbia University, as did Men in Black at Flushing Meadows. Grand Central has seen many a fleeing fugitive such as in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, Superman and Spiderman have fought world domination on Manhattan avenues.

The Sopranos, Law and Order, and Sex and the City have all been filmed here; barely a corner of the city has escaped the lens. Walk down almost any street or avenue and you’ll probably see the setting for a movie (if not several); chances are you may see another blockbuster being made.

To find out what’s being filmed in the city during your visit, check out the website for the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre, & Broadcasting.
Downtown

photo by peasap

Downtown Manhattan encompasses some of the oldest and most historically interesting sights in the city: Wall Street, the Stock Exchange, Battery Park (with views of the Statue of Liberty) and Ground Zero can be seen on a 90-minute walking tour with the Downtown Alliance.
Tours begin at noon every Thursday and Saturday, meeting outside the Museum of the American Indian.

If you are not keen on walking, hop on the free downtown connection shuttle.

Times Square, 42nd Street

The most famous road junction as well as the most brightly lit, Times Square is one of the few places in the world to have a mandatory advertising law. While the cost of electricity for is huge, the experience itself is not. It’s busy and expensive, a tourist magnet, but shouldn’t be missed. In fact it’s hard to avoid.

Fleet Week

A dozen or so of the US Navy’s finest ships are docked on the Hudson and around Staten Island for just a few days in June. If you are willing to stand in line for hours you can see working ships, displays and exhibitions at no cost. If it is just the sailors you want to see, head to any bar in the city.

Get the Combo

$65 will buy you a one day pass to 40 New York attractions, including the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Guggenheim Museum, Madam Tussaud’s, the UN tour, Madison Square Garden, Ellis Island and many more. As well as offering discounts on selected restaurants and retailers, the pass lets you skip the lines at selected attractions.

photo by kennymatic

Summer Stage

The world’s most famous park hosts a collection of performances on the park’s lawns during the summer. While many have pricey ticket prices, many are free, from the latest pop groups to the Metropolitan Opera. Grab a blanket and a picnic and enjoy an evening’s free entertainment in a unique setting.

When there are no performances, head to the Bethesda Fountain to see the collection of buskers, including Central Park’s very own violinist in a loin cloth: Thoth

Shakespeare in the Park

Some of America’s greatest actors, alongside relative newcomers, bring Shakespeare’s works to life in the Delacourt Theatre
for 6 weeks each summer. Tickets are free (max 2 per person) and can be collected at the theatre from 1 – 3pm on the day of the performance.

A Night on the Town

New York’s bar and club scene is almost as famous as the city itself. With thousands to choose from, the entertainment in New York is endless and suits every taste and budget. Many bars arrange free entertainment – from comedy nights to live music and karaoke – and many stars have been born in the dark recesses of a New York bar or club. While there is usually a drink minimum, it’s not as if it’s something you wouldn’t be spending money on otherwise.
For a daily list of free events look at the dedicated guide to seeing New York on the cheap: www.newyorkforfree.com