Europe on (almost) zero dollars a day

Not go to Europe this summer? I would rather give up lunchesfor a year or skip some other essential element of life.

Though the dollar is down, the endless delights of the Old Worldhaven't become one jot less compelling. To me, they're like a fuelinjection, a body rub, a seventh-inning stretch. And some of the keyattractions, the indispensable activities, have little to do with thedollar. They're either free or nominal in cost.

This means that the cost of a European stay can be largelyconfined to lodging, meals and city-to-city transportation. Theenterprising, independent tourist - who avoids expensive guidedtours, contrived entertainments and commercial traps - can reducecosts for daytime and evening activities to near the vanishing point.

By then limiting yourself to modest lodgings and unpretentiouseating places, you can keep the total cost of a European trip toreasonable limits. And by purchasing your trans-Atlantic ticketsfrom a consolidator or other reliable discount source, you can reducethe cost of getting there to less than you paid in earlier years.That alone offsets a great deal of the dollar's decline in purchasingpower.

Now for some examples of Europe on (Almost) Zero Dollars a Day,from eight popular cities:

LONDON: Every major museum here is free of charge: the NationalGallery, the British Museum, the Tate, the Wallace Collection, theVictoria and Albert, the Science Museum.

Admission to criminal trials at Old Bailey or the Bow StreetMagistrates Court is free, as are Westminster Abbey and the Sundayorators at Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner. So is an afternoon ofbrowsing through the labyrinthine chambers of Foyle's Book Store.The city's most rewarding visit - to a session of the House ofCommons - costs only a wait in line.

Every one of these sights has been linked in 1988 by a one-day,unlimited subway and bus pass (Travel Card) costing only two pounds($3.80).

While the cost of a balcony seat at a London theater is up to$19 in many cases, there's a half-price ticket booth on LeicesterSquare for last-minute purchases.

PARIS: Admission to the palace and grounds of Versailles isfree, and you can get there on various metropolitan rail lines, usingyour Eurailpass. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is free of charge, andthe newly expanded Louvre is free on Sundays.

Three things in Paris are always cheap: bread, wine and theMetro. The bread - a long, thin loaf of that heavenly substance -costs about 60 cents; the wine, when bought from a barrel in anunmarked bottle is $1.50; the efficient subway is the equivalent of59 cents a ride when a carnet of 10 tickets is bought.

Low-cost Paris by night? Side gallery seats at the ComedieFrancaise cost as little as $4. But the city's best entertainment,at any hour, is a free stroll through its enchanting streets.

BRUSSELS: The two key attractions in the Belgian capital - therenowned Musee de l'Art Ancien and the adjoining Musee de l'ArtModerne, with their staggering array of Flemish primitives andBelgian surrealists, respectively - are both free of charge; so isthe important Royal Museum for Central Africa.

The Grand Place - a stellar sight of Europe - costs nary a centto view, and the Battlefield of Waterloo outside the city is free,provided you stay away from its cyclorama museum.

Evenings, the Musee du Cinema charges 35 francs ($1.05) for itsdaily showings of classic films in their original languages.Throughout the day, a large paper cone of those incomparable Belgianfrench fries, tasty and filling, costs only 40 francs ($1.20) atinnumerable street stands. The vendor adds a dollop ofmayonnaise-like sauce.

BERLIN: West Berlin's great Dahlem Museum is free, as are mostother major museums here: the Egyptian Museum (with its bust ofNefertiti), the Museum of Greek and Roman Art, the New NationalGallery, the Academy of Art.

You can cross the Wall into East Berlin by taking the subway($1.33) to Friedrichstrasse, then paying five marks ($3) for an EastGerman visa, and exchanging 25 West German marks into 25 East Germanmarks.

Once in the east, the key attractions are sufficientlyconcentrated to permit sightseeing on foot, for free, and the majormuseums (the Pergamon, the National Gallery, the Bode, the Museum ofGerman History) all charge 1.15 marks (less than a dollar).

COPENHAGEN: Admission to the Tivoli Gardens is under $4 (comparethat with the charge for Disney World). Once inside, the leadingattractions (pantomime, open-air variety acts, the parade of theTivoli Boy Guards) are free.

The National Museum is free, the other museums charge $2 or $3;a visit to the Carlsberg or Tuborg breweries is free. Later, you canwork off their free beer at a community steam-bath, for all of $2.50.

ROME: The Colosseum charges no admission for entrance to itsstreet-level portion, nor is there a charge for the Pantheon, theBaths of Diocletian or the four main cathedral churches of Rome.

Entrance to St. Peter's is free, although you'll pay about $6for the combined Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel. Most othermuseums, as well as the Roman Forum and the Villa d`Este, chargeabout $3.50 apiece.

By setting aside $35 for your total admission costs, you canvisit 10 of the fee-charging attractions of Rome, and gain as full anexperience of the Eternal City as most people are able to absorb in athree- or four-day stay.

MADRID: As weak as the dollar is, admission to the Prado costsall of $4, for a lifetime of memories. Bullfight tickets are aslittle as $8 (for in-the-sun locations, true). Most other museumsand attractions charge $2 to $4, and the municipal swimming pools are$2.

You can ride to Toledo by bus for $8, round-trip, and get to ElEscorial by train for slightly less (once there, admission is under$5). Using public transportation, and other do-it-yourself methods,Madrid reveals itself to you at the most nominal cost.

ZURICH: In even this highly expensive city, minimum-pricedtickets to the opera are among the lowest on earth (as little as$7.50), and the Swiss National Museum is free.

In the Lake of Zurich, at the Utoquai, you can swim among theswans for all of $1.25. To get from place to place, a bus andstreetcar pass costs about $3.50 for a full day of unlimited rides.