The cultural-events staycation: Take a high-low-culture-cation

Inspect old-world antiques at the Cloisters

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Make your way to the highest reaches of Manhattan to explore art and architecture at the Cloisters, a museum and garden celebrating the culture of medieval Europe. Highlights among the 3,000 works include an early-16th-century Netherlandic tapestry from Spain’s Burgos Cathedral and conserved stone tracery of four large 15th-century windows from a Dominican monastery in Burgundy, France. Make sure to peep the four reconstructed cloisters on the outside that give the institution its name and take in the spectacular Hudson River views before you leave. • Recommended admission $12–$25.

Consider local oddities at the City Reliquary

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If you prefer remnants of old-timey New York to those of Europe, head to the City Reliquary: There you’ll discover a quirky collection of local ephemera, such as the 2ND AVE half of the original Second Avenue Deli sign, which was saved from a Dumpster death by an eagle-eyed pedestrian. The museum’s gallery currently exhibits the “Bronx River Project,” Jahi Sabater’s photographic exploration of the Boogie Down’s 24-mile waterway. • Suggested donation $5.

Visit the City of Light without leaving NYC at Lincoln Center

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Next month, the Paris Opera Ballet performs as part of the Lincoln Center Festival, during which the dance company will stage three productions from its world-renowned repertoire. The most in-demand tickets will be for Giselle (first choreographed for the Ballet nearly two centuries ago) and the U.S. premiere of the late Pina Bausch’s dance-opera Orpheus and Eurydice, so book early. • $25–$150.

Play for laughs at Punderdome 3000

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Bust out your crudest quips at this a one-of-a-kind monthly round-robin battle of wits hosted by father-daughter duo Fred and Jo Firestone. All are welcome to witness the hilarity, but only the first 24 funny people to sign up at the door will have a chance to perform. (Suggested topics are thrown out, and each player has 90 seconds to make the audience laugh.) Winners are determined by a decidedly unscientific human clap-o-meter. • facebook.com/punderdome. $6–$7.

Applaud local filmmakers at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

Celluloid adventures new and old await at BAMcinemaFest: Starting this week, the performing-arts venue hosts the fourth annual bonanza, which opens with the big-screen adaptation of Mike Birbiglia’s one-man Off Broadway show Sleepwalk with Me (cowritten and produced by radio man Ira Glass). You’ll also be treated to movies by Jonathan Caouette (Walk Away Renee), Paul Lovelace and Jessica Wolfson (Radio Unnameable), Keith Miller (Welcome to Pine Hill), and a bevy of other New York directors. • $8–$25.

Indulge in offbeat entertainment at Otto’s Shrunken Head

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Almost anything goes at Otto’s, an East Village tiki lounge that boasts a beach-bar menu as big as its personality. The lineup of regular events suits a range of leisurely desires: Choose from Rock Trivia on the second Monday of each month; Draw Mania on the last Monday; and Rebel Night, a rockabilly party, on the third Friday. Other mischief pops up throughout the calendar, so keep your eyes trained on the website.