Visit
on free days
Many museums open their doors for free. Some do so once a week, others once a month.
Many also don't bother to charge visitors who arrive 45 minutes before closing time,
which can work very well if there are only one or two things you want to see.
Collect
discount voucher books
When you arrive at an airport or train station, pick up the local tourist guides.
Usually there will be a few pages of discount vouchers or cheap accommodation offers
in the book. Work out which ones you might use and stock them away for when you
need a cheap meal.
Take
the commuter ferry - not the tourist boat
Waterside cities like Hong Kong, New York and Venice can be expensive if you want
to get out on the water. But locals travel over the water all the time for a fraction
of the price of a tourist boat. Join the commuter queue and get out on the water
like a local: at the end of your trip you'll probably be in an interesting neighbourhood
too!
Take
a bike rather than a tourist bus
Sightseeing on foot is the cheapest way to get around, but in larger cities you
can wear yourself out pretty quickly. A cheap alternative to a tourist bus is a
bicycle. Paris has commuter bikes for rent across the city: you hire the bike at
one station and return it to another when you reach your destination. The Netherlands
and Scandinavian countries also have strong cycling cultures, so hit the streets
like a local and see things on wheels!
Make
your memberships work on the road
If you're a member of a local club, gallery or motoring organisation, check if they
have overseas affiliates. Rail pass holders, credit card holders and student card
holders can all get discounts, so make your memberships work overtime while you're
away.
Buy
a museum pass
If you want to spend more time trawling a city's museums, buy a museum pass that
lets you see a whole range of monuments for an all-inclusive and discounted price.
The other great thing about museum passes is that they sometimes let you jump queues
at the entrance.
Free
views
Looking at views from tall towers be an essential part of visiting some cities.
But you don't need to always pay the exorbitant fees to visit a viewing platform.
Some skyscrapers or observation towers have a restaurant or cafe on a floor near
the viewing platform - and it's free to drink or eat, so grab a drink or a cup of
coffee and enjoy the view while the losers queue for their expensive tickets below.
Standing
room at the opera
In European cities you can often buy 'standing room' tickets to the ballet, Opera
or theatre shows for a fraction of the cost of the sit-down version. Remember that
you may have to line up to buy standing room tickets just before a show, so set
aside time to arrive early at the theatre. Another option in large cities is the
half-price ticket booth.
Read
local newspapers for combination deals
Around the world, theatres team up with restaurants to sell combined dinner/show
packages that can be cheaper than the tickets alone. Check out the local paper for
this kind of offer rather than behaving like a newbie tourist! Another great place
to look are entertainment street papers that list gigs in smaller theatres where
entry is much cheaper than the larger places.