ArcaMax

Enough sightseeing! Even in a city like New York there is a limit to how many great sites, performances and museums you and the kids — and your budget — can take.

The good news is whatever season you visit, there are more free (nearly free and discounted) options than you might have thought. Working on the fourth edition of my Kid’s Guide to NYC, I certainly found plenty.

Save on hotels on weekends when the business people are gone. For example, the deluxe Kimberly Hotel is offering a fourth night free through August; The recently redesigned Kimpton Muse Hotel, is offering a “Little Apples in the Big Apple” through Sept. 5 that includes a C3 CityPass for two children with admission to three top Big Apple attractions. And the Loews NYC is offering a room upgrade until Labor Day.

If you plan to take in a Broadway show, you can score big savings at the Theatre Development Fund TKTS discount booths, as long as you don’t have your heart set on a particular production. And if top sites are on your itinerary, CityPASS New York can save you 40 percent at five attractions, including The Empire State Building, the Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island and the American Museum of Natural History. And you can bypass the lines.

But let’s explore what’s free — and meet some local families. Got comfortable shoes? Let’s go!

Get out of Manhattan for a while. Wander around Queens and you’ll feel like you’ve visited India or Asia. Budding hipsters will want to head to Williamsburg in Brooklyn while everyone will enjoy Coney Island and Prospect Park.

Hit a playground. Ancient Playground, next to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is inspired by the Museum’s Egyptian art and was designed to evoke an ancient city, complete with a pyramid climbing structure, an obelisk and a sundial. The Imagination Playground at Burling Slip, designed by architect David Rockwell, features giant foam blocks, fabric, and crates. There is a carousel and skatepark at Pier 62 on the Hudson River, part of a 9-acre park. The Skatepark has 15,000 square feet of whorls, turns and dives. Central Park alone has 21 playgrounds (www.nycgovparks.org can steer you to all the city's play lots)!

Celebrate at a festival. (The Feast of San Gennaro runs from Sept. 15 to 25 in Little Italy with a parade, music, plenty of Italian eats and eating contests. (How many meatballs can you eat?)

Join locals and visitors in Central Park, which stretches for 50 city blocks between the Upper East and West sides. Stop in at The Dairy (it’s at the south end of the park). The Victorian building is where children once came for fresh milk, but it’s now the Park Visitor Center and Gift Shop Center. Pick up a map, borrow chess or checkers and play at tables just west of the Dairy or ask to borrow a free Central Park Conservancy Discovery Kit, complete with a complimentary Discovery Journal.

Bring binoculars and bird watch in the Ramble, one of the best bird-watching spots in the city. Bring a ball and play beach volleyball.

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