RV campgrounds get rated

A visit to New York—one of the most expensive cities in the country—might not seem wise in the current economic climate, but maybe this will help: We know of a hotel where you can pay less than $100 per night. Are the rooms big and plush? Well, no. They're tiny, and most guests share a communal bathroom. But they're stylish, clean, and have more high-tech amenities than some hotels that cost three times as much. The Jane Hotel The West Village location is a whole lot cooler than midtown, where most of the city's hotels are, and the newly restored 1907 building has a heck of a lot more character. The $99 rooms each have a single bed with built-in drawers, a luggage rack, free Wi-Fi, a phone with voicemail, an LCD television, a DVD player, and an iPod docking station. Sixty rooms are currently open, and the remaining 140 will open in the New Year. If you're feeling flush, you can go for one of the 30 queen rooms, most of which will have their own bathrooms (rates haven't been set yet, but will probably be in the mid-$200s). In February, a ballroom bar and breakfast venue will open (breakfast will be included in the $99), and in the summer, look for a rooftop bar and basement pool. 113 Jane Street, 212/924-6700, thejanenyc.com. MORE GREAT HOTELS New York City at a Price That's Right 2008 We found eight affordable hotels, including The Pod Hotel in Midtown East where a room with bunk beds starts at $89 per night. Rooms have iPod docking stations, LCD televisions, free Wi-Fi, telephone with voicemail, in-room safes, closets, and a table and chair. Larger rooms, some with private bathrooms, start at $109. Check out the full list of hotels…

Some of Europe's greatest contributions to art and architecture have been in its churches. But Europeans are donating less and less money to churches. So there's less money on hand to maintain these gorgeous buildings. This trend really hit home for me during a summer visit to Haarlem, a town in the Netherlands. I dropped by the Grote Kerk (or Sint Bavokerk), a Protestant church. Its Gothic buttresses inspire passersby to look upward. Its organ (shown here) has an astonishingly rich sound despite being more than three centuries old. Handel and Mozart are said to have played on it. I was surprised to see a coffee shop in one part of the church. Some pews had been cleared away, and an espresso machine with some tables had been filled in. The goal was not to offer treats after a service to encourage parishioners to mingle. Instead it was to earn some extra cash. I had never seen a café in a church before, but I've often seen churches try to earn money on tourists. Elsewhere in Europe, the line between where a church ends and a gift shop begins is often blurred. Have you ever witnessed this? If so, feel free to share any thoughts or stories.

Seth Kugel at the New York Times has pulled together a handy tour that covers Manhattan from top (the Cloisters) to bottom (Bowling Green). The trip, which takes 3-1/2 hours, relies mainly on using the city's public buses, with a bit of subway and some walking added to the mix. If the idea works for you, check out our similar approach in A DIY Tour of Berlin. Along with a slide show, there's a clickable map showing vids of places you can reach on the M29's bus route. And if it's Paris you're headed for, check out Gridskipper's rundown of the best sightseeing routes there.