Three days in New York, done properly: ferries, Coney Island, one hidden bar

The Staten Island Ferry costs nothing. It runs between Manhattan and Staten Island year round, and for the price of standing on deck a visitor gets the Statue of Liberty and the lower Manhattan skyline without a ticket booth in sight, according to press reports on how to spend three days in the city.

NYC Ferry, the separate operator that crosses the East River, charges a flat $4 fare regardless of distance. Compared with a single New York subway ride at $2.90, set by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the ferry is the better view for barely more money.

Brooklyn, on foot and by water

Dumbo sits directly beneath the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges, and the neighbourhood's appeal is almost entirely the sightline: both spans framed from street level, no admission required. Walk further into Brooklyn Bridge Park and the old shipping docks that once served the borough's industrial waterfront have been converted into sports courts and picnic lawns.

Between the two bridges sits Jane's Carousel, a restored 1922 ride now housed in its own glass pavilion. It is a small, specific thing to see, and that is rather the point.

On Atlantic Avenue, Dave Alperin runs Goose Barnacle, an independent clothing shop that conceals a bar inside it. No sign announces the second business; a visitor either knows or does not.

Manhattan's older corners

Fanelli Cafe in Soho has operated continuously since 1847, which makes it older than most of the buildings around it. A few kilometres south, Canal Street in Chinatown runs the opposite trade: vendors selling imitation watches, counterfeit designer handbags and novelty souvenirs to whoever stops walking long enough to look.

Coney Island for an afternoon

The Brooklyn Cyclones, a minor league baseball club, play home games at Maimonides Park with ticket prices kept deliberately low. Nearby, the Cyclone rollercoaster has run on the same wooden track since 1927, a fact that alone justifies the trip for anyone who rides it.

Ruby's Bar, the oldest venue on the boardwalk, still serves drinks and clams at tables a few metres from the sand. From late June through September, the beach hosts a public fireworks display every Friday night, no ticket needed, just a spot on the sand before dark.

None of this is cheap by comparison to Cyprus. A coffee in New York averages around $5, a hotel room around $200 a night, baseline costs that visitors should build into any budget before the ferries and ballgames even enter the picture, per the same press reports.