Day Tripper: Snug Harbor

Between keeping within your budget and scheduling time off from work, planning a vacation can be stressful.

If you find you have too little time to travel and not enough money in your bank account, there’s no need to fret.

Each Thursday, Douglaston Patch will profile one of the five boroughs’ unique neighborhoods, where you can sample some local culture and culinary delights.

This week’s pick is Staten Island’s Snug Harbor:

11 a.m.

Start your day with a walk around the Staten Island Botanical Garden, which includes Tuscan topiary and landscapes, a Chinese scholar’s garden and a secret garden that includes a castle and maze.

The site also has an amphitheater for seasonal festivals and musical performances, such as chamber music concerts, as well as ongoing exhibitions.

For more information, visit the botanical garden’s website.

1 p.m.

For lunch, drop by Joe and Pat’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, located at 1758 Victory Blvd.

The eatery, which has been in the community for more than 50 years, offers pizzas with more than 20 topping varieties as well as Panini, sandwiches, pastas, seafood dishes, steaks, veal, chicken and meatballs.

Click here to view Joe and Pat’s complete menu.

3 p.m.

Spend the afternoon at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, which exhibits the work of local and international artists as well as provides artist-in-residence exhibitions.

Current exhibits include the Noise Carousel, which is a series of listening stations on wheels that are based on the design of a children’s carousel, and Paul Moakley’s “Vir Fedelis,” a series of photographs and films chronicling an all-boys Catholic school.

The museum is located at 1000 Richmond Terrace. For more information, visit the center’s website.

6 p.m.

Grab a bite of dinner at German eatery Nurnberger Bierhaus, located at 817 Castleton Ave.

The restaurant’s menu includes a variety of appetizers, soups and salads. For entrees, it offers a smorgasbord of pork, sausage, veal, lamb, beef, fish and chicken dishes.

Nurnberger also has a menu for children and six varieties of “little potato pan” homefries.

Click here to view the eatery’s extensive menu.