Sotheby's has several auctions a week out of their NYC space and the public can look the art and jewelry over to see if they want to become bidders, all for free. I looked at three lots, all of which were interesting. The first was modern art, including some names you know, such as Andy Warhol. The second lot was of mostly large aboriginal painting from Australasia. They largely dated from the 1960s to the 1980s and were excellent to see up close. However, the best to view was the jewelry. They have everything polished up and shown under perfect lighting, with every facet just poppin'. There was a lot of it and it was impressively large. The only downside is that you probably can't afford it and it will never look quite as brilliant again. There was a ton of security in the jewelry area, so probably not for you if you don't like armed guards. Of course, this week they could be auctioning American masters, Chinese porcelain or even rare cars. If you look on their website, you can probably figure out what you can see for free. I found it fun. (Oh - and there is a cafe downstairs.)