New York Metro: New York on the Cheap

 Urban Strategist
cheap pleasures
Wednesday: Manhattan, City of Light
Paris in New York.


BY AMY ZIMMER

Dance à deux: A free performance in Union Square Park.

Start off at the Union Square Greenmarket, Manhattan's closest approximation to a Parisian street market. On Wednesday evenings in the summer, this visual feast of flowers and produce is accompanied by free international dance performances.
Union Square Greenmarket, between 14th & 17th Sts. near Broadway, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, year round.
Dance in the Square, Wednesdays at 6pm during summer. See unionsquarenyc.org for schedule.

For dinner, head to trendy Thai staple Republic. The food is fresh and lively, the atmosphere is fun and sexy, and it's inexpensive.
Republic, 37 Union Square West, Between 16th and 17th Sts., 212 627-7172.

End the night in style with a drink under the stars — or, rather, under the elegant strings of light bulbs — at Luna Park. Split a pitcher of sangria and enjoy the balmy (if slightly fume-filled) breeze of your very own "City of Light."
Luna Park, north end of Union Square Park, 17th St. between Broadway and Park Ave. South, 212-475-8464.

Estimated cost: $40