Hang on to your hats, Cheapos. Follow our list and you can spend an entire week in New York museums without forking out a cent in admission fees!

Monday

Let it be known that many of the smaller museums are closed on Mondays. That being said, many do stay open, and some even for free.

The Museum at Eldridge Street (12 Eldridge Street, Manhattan) is worth visiting for the building alone. Adorned with spectacular stained-glass and 19th-century gas fixtures, the impeccably restored landmark building dates back to 1887, and its museum tells the story of generations of Jewish in New York. Admission is “pay what you wish” on Mondays from 10 am until 5 pm.

Monday is also the day to check out a “free all the time” museum:

At the Rose Museum on the second floor of Carnegie Hall (154 West 57th Street, Manhattan), you can dabble in a little music memorabilia.

Tuesday

If you’re after a bit of fresh air, you’re also, uh, free, to commune with the flowers at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (1000 Washington Ave, Brooklyn) every Tuesday during opening hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter months, until 6 p.m. from mid-March to mid-November). Admission, incidentally, is free on all weekdays in winter.

Wednesday

Wednesday is not the friendliest of weekdays to museum freeloaders in New York—or at least for those unwilling to leave Manhattan. If you head up to the Bronx, however, you can get free entry to the pre-Revoluntionary War Van Cortlandt House (Broadway at West 246th Street, Bronx). Washington himself (not to be confused with his life mask) is said to have sheltered there at the beginning and end of the war.

If the Bronx is too much of a schlep for you, today’s a good day to hit up museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History. Both post suggested donations but technically have “open donation” policies every day.

Round out your Wednesday with some fine art at the Frick Museum (1 East 70th Street, Manhattan), housed in a gorgeous mansion. Pay what you wish is from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.

Thursday

Thursday night kicks off a weekend of free museum festivities. Start it right with some contemporary art at the New Museum (235 Bowery, Manhattan), free from 7 pm until 9 pm.

If you didn’t get your fill at the New Museum, right across the street is the International Center of Photography (250 Bowery). Their exhibits are free on Thursdays starting at 6 pm.

Uptown, the David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center is a cool public space with two vertical gardens, some impressive architecture and rotating art installations. Every week (including many Thursday evenings), there are performances open to the public at no charge. Free shows might feature anything from spoken word to country or world music, or talent from The Juilliard School, Jazz at Lincoln Center and more. In short, anything goes. Check this calendar of events to see what’s happening every night, and note that you should arrive early because capacity is limited for this popular event.

Friday

Welcome to the free museum free-for-all that is Friday night in New York City. Behold, Cheapos, the museum is your oyster:

Free admission or pay what you wish on Friday nights:

Museum of the Moving Image: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 35 Avenue at 37 Street, Astoria, Queens

Museum of Modern Art: 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.; 11 West 53rd Street, Manhattan

Whitney Museum of American Art: 7 p.m. – 10 p.m.; 99 Gansevoort Street, Manhattan

New-York Historical Society: 6 pm. – 8 p.m.; 170 Central Park West, Manhattan

Cheapo pick: Or get a taste of the highbrow at the Morgan Library & Museum (29 East 36th Street, Manhattan), home to some of the rarest books and manuscripts in the world. Admission to the McKim rooms, a former private study of Pierpont Morgan himself, is free every Friday evening from 7 pm until 9 pm. Inside those gilded walls you’ll spot some of the lush original furnishings, along with precious items from the Morgan collection, including his life mask of George Washington (don’t go trying to steal that now) and copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Star-Spangled Banner.

Saturday

The massive art collection (and incredible architecture) at the Guggenheim (1071 5th Avenue, Manhattan) can be enjoyed for free on Saturday evenings from 5:45 p.m. until 7:45 p.m.

Other Saturday festivities are limited to once a month:

The Brooklyn Museum of Art (200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn) dominates first Saturdays, with free admission, plus live entertainment, from 5 p.m. until 11 p.m. Learn more here.

El Museo del Barrio (1230 5th Avenue, Manhattan) hosts “SUPER SABADO” on the third Saturday of the month, in all months except January and August. Admission is free from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. and events range from film screenings to walking tours.

Sunday

For a livelier vibe, head uptown to the Studio Museum (144 West 125th Street, Manhattan) in Harlem, where Target Free Sundays grant free access to the vast and provocative collection of art, as well as access to special tours, talks and hands-on activities.

Do you have any tips for getting into museums for free? Share your comments below!

The post Free museums in New York: A calendar for every day of the week appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here are a few museum discounts I’ve come across (or have already taken advantage of), followed by some additional Prague art museum and gallery cost-saving tips.

National Gallery (reduced every afternoon)
Various locations (see Web site)
Tel.: +420 224 301 024
Getting there: Malostranska metro stop
Hours: 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. (daily except Monday)
Admission: 80-150 CZK (adult), 40-80 CZK (reduced), free (first Wednesday of the month, 3 p.m.-8 p.m.)
Web site

Comprised of not just one gallery but rather of several, Prague’s National Gallery offers collections from the old masters, along with 19th-century, modern and contemporary art. Housed in some of the city’s most beautiful and historic buildings (works of art in themselves), the galleries offer a reduced price fare for the last two hours of every day (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) as well as free admissions from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. every first Wednesday of the month.

Among its offerings, the Sternberg Palace—a Baroque landmark—displays European Art from the classic through the Baroque era. Veletržní Palace, the seat of the National Gallery, houses four floors of 19th- to 21st-century European and Czech art. The House of the Black Madonna, designed by Josef Gocár, is one of Prague’s finest examples of cubist architecture and home to the Museum of Czech Cubism.

Prague Castle Picture Gallery (free Monday afternoon)
119 08 Prague 1
Tel.: + 420 224 373 531
Getting there: Malostranska (line A). Then tram 22 or 23 to Prazsky Hrad.
Hours: 9 a.m.-6 p.m. (summer), 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (winter)
Admission: 150 CZK (adult), 80 CZK (reduced), free (Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. during the summer)
Web site

Offering free admission every Monday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Prague Castle Picture Gallery features approximately 100 paintings that were part of the personal collection of Emperor Rudolph II. The roots of the collection go back to the 16th century and include works by Rubens, Titian and Codazzi. It’s a small but sweet collection that’s well worth seeing, and it provides another opportunity to see the famous Prague Castle.

Museum of Decorative Arts (free Tuesday afternoon)
17. Listopadu 2
Tel.: +420 251 093 111
Hours: 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Tuesday), 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Wednesday to Sunday)
Getting there: Metro line A, Tram Nos. 17 or 18, Bus 133 to Staromestská stop
Admission: 120 CZK (adult), 70 CZK (reduced), free (Tuesday evenings)
Web site

One of my favorite museums, Prague’s Museum of Decorative Arts offers free admissions every Tuesday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Housed in a beautiful Neo-Renaissance building, the museum showcases modern-day and historical crafts, as well as applied arts and design.

Just across the street is one of its branch museums, the Rudolfinum Gallery, which displays avant-garde and contemporary international art. The Rudolfinum Gallery is housed in the same buildings as the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

A special combined admission price to both the Museum of Decorative Arts and the Rudolfinum Gallery (180 CZK for adults, 100 CZK reduced) offers a significant discount.

Václava Špály Gallery (free Thursday night)
Národní 30
Tel.: + 420 222 356 213
Getting there: Národní Trída metro stop
Hours: Noon-8 p.m. (Tuesday to Wednesday and Friday to Sunday), noon-10 p.m. (Thursday)
Admission: 60 CZK (adult), 30 CZK (reduced), free (Thursday from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.)
Web site

With a concept centered on finding a link between contemporary art and the public, this private gallery offers free admission every Thursday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Offering some of the most interesting exhibitions in the city, Václava Špály presents the work of mainly Czech artists.

The Golden Ring – City Gallery Prague (free exhibit)
Tynska 6 Praha 1
Tel.: +420 224 827 022-4
Getting there: Metro A/B Mustek or A Staromestska
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. (Tuesday to Sunday)
Admission: 120 CZK (adult), 60 CZK (reduced)
Web site

One of the six exhibition spaces that comprise the City Gallery Prague, The Golden Ring presents Czech art from the 20th and 21st centuries. As is the case with the other branches of the City Gallery Prague, the gallery offers no special reduced price hours.

However, a new series focused on young and emerging Czech artists—called “Start-up”—is free. You’ll find it on the ground floor of this very unique space, which was originally two medieval buildings, now unified into one.

Bonus Museum Tips

 Most galleries and museums in Prague offer a family discount (you usually have to have one kid and two adults) as well as discounts for students, seniors and groups. Often, children under a certain age can get in for free. Check the Web sites of the museums and galleries that interest you.

The post Prague: Art museums with reduced or free admission appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But the city also presents a less formal, burgeoning art gallery scene. To plan your own Prague gallery-hopping excursion, and to keep up with openings and ongoing exhibits, take advantage of the following resources:

Art gallery listings

Prague’s galleries are clearly marked on the annually released ArtMap, available online as a free PDF and at most tourist kiosks and galleries throughout the city. The ArtMap also includes listings of gallery shows by month, with brief descriptions of each show in Czech and English, plus gallery hours and addresses.

A complete and oft-updated list of Prague galleries and current exhibits is also provided on PragueTV, an invaluable Web site for visitors. Both gallery and non-gallery events are listed on this site.

Not all of Prague’s galleries are so easily located, however, as Evan Rail explained in a 2009 piece for The New York Times. According to Rail, Prague is still “trying to recapture an artistic vibrancy it possessed 70 years ago,” and it seems much of that energy can be found outside of the main tourist center.  So don’t forget to pack your map when you head out in search of some free exhibits.

Here are a few galleries not to miss:

Hunt Kastner Artwork, a “gallery for contemporary and emerging art,” is situated in the Holesovice district, a working-class neighborhood on the north side of Prague. Check the Web site for current and upcoming exhibitions.

DOX Center for Contemporary Art is housed in a former sheet-metal plant. The striking building, with various floors housing smaller galleries, is reason enough to visit. Exhibits by local, regional and international artists are displayed, and run the gamut from futuristic photography to vintage sci-fi posters. Exhibits and events are listed on their website.

Karlin Studios holds 17 different studios occupied by Czech and international artists of varying ages and persuasions. The sprawling renovated factory is located in Karlin, or what the Times piece calls “the neighborhood probably closest to developing into an arts district” in Prague.

Karlin Studios is also home to the Foundation for Contemporary Art, where “an extensive archive” of progressive works by contemporary Czech artists is held. Learn more on the Karlin Studios site.

The post Prague Art Galleries: Tools and tips for gallery-hopping appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

It is therefore unsurprising that the city’s art landscape includes a number of galleries exclusively showing street art. Overkill Shop, Circle Culture, and Intoxicated Demons are a few choice examples of galleries specializing in bringing street art inside. And recent super-successful shows by celebrated local street artists such as EVOL and Jaybo Aka Monk demonstrate the commercial viability of street art for international collectors.

A graffiti guide

But for everyone interested in just appreciating the work in its natural habitat, there is a new book by graphic designer Benjamin Wolbergs, “Urban Illustration Berlin: Street Art Cityguide.” The book makes the perfect guide for a walking tour through Berlin’s outdoor street art scene.

Written in both German and English, the book offers exclusive interviews with seventeen of the elusive artists. Wolbergs does not limit his focus to spray paint. Instead, he gives attention to the rich range of stencils, cutouts, markers and wheatpaste works across the city.

Wolbergs’ stunning street photography in “Urban Illustration Berlin: Street Art Cityguide,” along with the interviews’ insight into the artists’ working techniques, motives, and philosophies on street art, make the book a valuable purchase, regardless of whether one is planning a visit to Berlin.

A self-guided graffiti walking tour

However, the book’s real treasure is a tear-out city map detailing the locations of 500 iconic and admired instances of Berlin’s street art featured in the book. Tear it out and take yourself on a walking tour.

Street art is fragile. And a few of the works Wolbergs spotlighted no longer exist. But the neighborhoods remain active areas for street artists and well worth visiting for anyone interested in the origins of Berlin’s vibrant international art scene.

The post Berlin Graffiti: Street art guide, with walking tour appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But wait, it still is! And the new art being created isn’t hidden away behind closed doors. The Centquatre center in the 20th Arrondissement offers visitors a chance to mingle with artists of today as they watch new masterpieces take shape.

From dealing with death to the birth of new art

Centquatre or “104,” so named because of its address at 104 Rue d’Aubervilliers, was constructed by the Church in 1873, but the Municipal Funeral Service took over the building in 1905 as a sort of giant funeral home for all of Paris. In 1993 the burial process was decentralized, and the building eventually closed in 1997.

Work began on transforming the site into a space for artists nearly a decade later. Centquatre opened to the public in October 2008. This year (2009), almost 200 artists from around the world will have the opportunity to take up temporary residence in one of the center’s 18 studios.

Discovering the artists at work

Vergara’s murals

Although visitors cannot wander through the work spaces as they please, the artists’ often throw open their doors to show off their latest works or even let the public participate in the creative process.

Just last week (May 2009), visitors mingled in the main hall of the Centquatre under murals created by the Peruvian artist Juan Diego Vergara. A few doors down, actors held an open rehearsal for the plays “Phèdre” and “Hippolyte,” to be performed in October 2009.

Events vary by the day, so check the agenda online to find out what’s going on during your visit. Pay special attention to those marked with a “G” for “gratuit” (free). Most studio openings take place late in the afternoon, and there tend to be more events on Fridays and weekends.

Show me more Centquatre!

Centquatre also offers three tours each week for a very-manageable 5 €. A general tour takes place on Sundays at 3 PM, the history and architecture tour is Saturdays at 4 PM, and tours conducted by neighborhood residents take place Sundays at 4 PM.

The center is a bit off the beaten path but easily reachable by metro line 7 (station Riquet). Centquatre is open every day, except Monday, from 11 AM to 9 PM; it closes at 11 PM on Friday and Saturday.

For more on art in Paris, check out our post on free and discounted museums.

The post Paris: Watch artists work at the Centquatre Center appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

I attended an exposition’s “vernissage” (literally, the “varnishing”—how the French refer to a preview or opening of an art show), and became smitten with the show and its fine-looking catalog. Obsession activated. Hit hard, and a post card just wouldn’t do.

But, how can I get an art catalogue on the cheap? Walk this way!

1. Check out that rack of glossies!

Most museum shops sell “les albums de l’exposition” (guides, magazines, and portfolios). Published by Beaux Arts Magazine, Connaissance des Arts, Le Figaro, or the museum itself, these slim gems are usually prominently displayed, lightweight and affordable, costing just €2 to €10. Chockfull of visuals with punch, they’ll satisfy your head, pocketbook and suitcase. Translated versions are often available, too.

Books on sale!

2. Crack Da Chintzy code

La Boutique du Musée du Louvre not only carries current and back issues of “albums de l’exposition” (see above), but also discounts catalogs from its previous expositions by up to 60% off their original cost!

Other museums like the Centre Pompidou, Musée Carnavalet, and The Palais de Tokyo also slash art catalogue prices throughout the year. Recently at the Musée Galliera (museum of fashion), I purchased the Madame Carven catalogue for just €12, marked down from €30. Memorize one of my favorite French words, “soldes” (“on sale”), and you too will start spotting bargains everywhere. (As Anaïs Nin wrote, “We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.”)

3. Ch-ching at Fuh-nack!

Even my French friends were surprised to learn that Fnac (pronounced “fuh-nack”), the largest French entertainment retail chain, discounts its inventory of books. This includes the latest catalogues from current blockbuster shows, like Le Grande Monde d’Andy Warhol at the Grand Palais, Kadinsky at the Centre Pompidou, the David LaChapelle Retrospective at the Musée de la Monnaie, and Valadon et Utrillo at La Pinacothèque!

Fnac is a bustling combination of Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Staples, and Ticketmaster. With everything from laptops and DVDs to French comic books and concert tickets, it’s one-stop shopping. You can also pick up museum admission tickets.

4. Flâneur-tastique! That’s how we stroll.

I’ve been known to spend entire days in the aisles of Mona Lisait Librairies. Although this funky bookstore chain that specializes in new and used art books has shops scattered all over Paris, its Marais location at 17bis rue Pavée (Metro: St Paul) is closest to my heart. Its creaky wooden floorboards, uneven brick flooring, tinny classical music, helpful staff, and free gift-wrapping all add up to real atmosphere.

Another favorite is at Place Joachim du Bellay, not far from the Centre Pompidou. Each of the seven locations has its own charm, and definitely worth a visit. (By the way, “Mona lisait” means “Mona was reading.”)

The “Librarie du Passage.”

For another take on the arts, go meet the artists or at least their wax replicas at the Musée Grévin (Paris Wax Museum). Then visit the Librairie du Passage just a few feet away at 39 and 48 Passage Jouffroy (near Grand Boulevard–pictured above). Open since 1846, it’s in one of Paris’ classic 19th-century shopping arcades. Rumor has it that Victor Hugo, a renowned bargain hound, got his Cheapo on at this very shop.

6. Mosey on to Glory

Here I weep. At La librairie de l’Avenue in the middle of Clignancourt Flea Market (Métros: Garibaldi or Porte de Clignancourt), the angels sing on high from a little CD player located just below the cashier’s desk. The sweet smell of coffee and frankincense tickles the nose.

This large but still intimate bookshop is well stocked with new and used art books, catalogues, vintage prints and antique magazines. Deciding exactly where to start my quest is the only glitch I encounter here as I make my way though the narrow labyrinth of floor to ceiling bookshelves, stocked with discounted books that have been meticulously organized by category, author or genre.

7. Don’t forget to look in the ‘hood

Neighborhood bookstores (“librairies”) all over the city occasionally stock and discount catalogues from current and past expositions. The handsome books are usually displayed in the windows.

How to find out about current art expositions in Paris

Pariscope: Invest 40 cents in a copy of Pariscope, available at any newsstand or kiosk. The pocket-sized weekly listings magazine covers the week’s happenings from theatre, cinema and arts, to music and restaurants. It hits the stands on Wednesdays.

An important note on pronunciation:

You risk raising a few bemused eyebrows if you ask for directions to an “exhibition.” “Exhibitions” (with an “h”) are peep shows—which is fine, if that’s the sort of display you’re after. However, if you’re looking for art, give that word a “p”–“exposition”!

Tell us. Do you have a favorite bookstore in Paris? Tell us below.

About the author and photographer: Theadora Brack is a writer working in Paris. Her fiction has appeared in more than 30 literary publications, including 3AM International, The Smoking Poet, Beloit Fiction Journal, Mid-American Review, and the Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal.

The post Paris Shopping Tip: Pictures from an exposition appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.