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In 2013, Grand Central Terminal (GCT) is celebrating its 100th anniversary. This March, GCT hosts many free special events.
Murray’s Cheese has been in Grand Central Terminal for 10 years. To celebrate, it has free daily tastings, 3-7pm in Grand Central Market.
March 1-9 sample cheese and meat, including artisanal American salamis.
Upstate New York is a vast region that offers limitless choices for family fun. Utica, in central New York has several free family friendly activities that can be the highlight of a budget trip.
1. The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
Housed in a gorgeous Phillip Johnson building, the Museum of Art is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It features works by Picasso, Kandinsky, Jackson Pollack and Georgia O'Keefe.
The free museum has an interactive gallery for kids up to age 8, with art projects, books and a model of the museum that kids can decorate. The museum is connected to a Victorian mansion, Fountain Elms, filled with period furniture and housing the museum’s café.
2. Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art
The Wellin Museum, on the campus of Hamilton College, opened in 2012. The small museum offers free guided tours by student docents on Saturdays. Admission is always free.
3. Union Station
Check out the architecture highlights of historic Union Station. The marble columns rival those of NYC’s Grand Central Terminal. The station serves Amtrak, regional bus lines, and the Adirondack Scenic Railroad. The station is across the street from The Children’s Museum of History, Natural History, Science & Technology.
4. Fort Stanwix National Monument
Fort Stanwix, in Rome, has an interactive visitors’ center and ranger-led tours, all free. You can see how soldiers lived during the French and Indian War – but note that the fort is neither heated nor air conditioned (the visitors center is comfortably climate controlled). If you are interested in cannons, the rangers might offer a demonstration.
Norwegian Cruise Line has a new ship, Norwegian Breakaway, based in New York City. The ship, sailing into NYC in May, is the largest cruise ship making its home in New York City.
While New York City is undoubtedly an expensive spot for a family vacation (or resident) there are so many free activities in the city that you can start to feel resentful when you have to shell out cash. Many of the city’s cultural institutions have a suggested admission policy where you can literally pay a penny to enter.
Some of the most interesting places to visit in Orange County, New York are made even better because they are absolutely free. Open all year long, these Hudson Valley museums and attractions provide great entertainment no matter what the season. All are family-friendly with exhibits and things to do that will grab the attention of visitors of all ages.
Columbia County, in upstate New York, has 4 free outdoor activities that can be enjoyed year round. Upstate New York is particularly nice to visit when the leaves are changing, (another free activity) but you can also enjoy its beauty when it snows, when spring blooms, or when it is cooler than New York City.
Lake Placid Lodge in the Adirondacks is offering a promotion in March in which kids stay free and can participate in many indoor and outdoor family activities for no charge.
While normally reserved for guests over 12, the entire family can enjoy spending true quality time together at The Lodge. A month full of activities are available for tots, teens and adults, including cooking fun family meals taught by Chef Nathan Rich and snowball throwing and snowman building contests.
Eating lunch in a park in NYC is not so unusual – even in January. On New Year’s Day, it was 53 degrees in New York, and my kids and I went for a family bike ride, in t-shirts. But the day I had lunch in the park, it was 14 degrees. I haven’t lost my mind- I was at Park Here, a pop-up indoor park, open till February 15.
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