While some museums and galleries are free year-round,many charge about $15- $20 an adult,which can really cut into your holiday budget.
In the Danish capital,Copenhagen,many museums offer free admission on Wednesdays.
In Chicago,the Museum of Contemporary Art normally charges $US12 ($13) an adult but entry is free every Tuesday,while the Art Institute of Chicago is normally $US18 but has free admission on Thursday nights.
In New York City you can dodge the $US18 admission charge at the Guggenheim Museum by going along on Saturday evening,when you can"pay what you wish",while at the Museum of Modern Art,the $US20 admission price is waived on Friday nights.
Pearlstein says the $US20 entry fee at another New York institution,the Metropolitan Museum of Art,"is really a suggested donation".
"You may get some eye-rolling from the cashier (if you choose not to pay it) but it's a small price to pay for access to world-famous works,"she says.
Some cities offer free visitor tours through schemes such as the Global Greeter Network (globalgreeternetwork.info),where residents volunteer to give up their time to show tourists around. The Global Greeter Network is available in 16 cities around the world,including Melbourne,Adelaide,New York,Paris,The Hague,Buenos Aires and Toronto,and the organisation says at least another 50 cities are looking at introducing it.
Aside from being free,the tours offer an authentic look at a city because guides can show you what they really love about their city,without being beholden to any commercial interests.
The only catch is that you often need to make contact well ahead of time to ensure someone is available for your travel dates. In Australia,Big 4 Holiday Parks is offering free campsites around the country on November 5.
The company says about 10,000 people took up the offer last year.
Keeping track of free offers is not easy but there are many ways to find out what is available.
Destination websites often contain sections on free activities,although you may find the hot tips buried among banal suggestions such as"take a stroll in the park".
Guide books can be a better source of information,as long as they are up to date. One of the best ways to find out about freebies is to walk into the local visitor information centre and ask.
Visitor centre staff and volunteers can often tell you about things not in the brochures and they may be able to point you in the direction of other money savers such as cheap transport and discount restaurant nights.
Washington DC on a shoestring
IF YOU live for freebies,you can't beat the US capital,Washington DC. You can visit first-class museums,galleries and national sites without paying a cent. All 14 Smithsonian institutions are free,along with the National Gallery of Art. You can join a free tour of the White House if you book ahead. I did a memorable tour of the FBI building,spent hours in the National Museum of American History and visited the US Holocaust Memorial Museum,the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the National Archives.
jane@janeefraser.com.au