Taking in the Olympics without paying a cent

While fans fought to get their hands on Olympic tickets during the 2010 Games, some paying hundreds of dollars to see the most popular events, there have been lots of activities going on throughout Whistler and Vancouver during the past two weeks that haven't cost a cent.

Olympic revellers could ride on zip lines, visit the Canadian mint or take in a Da Vinci exhibit, all for free. The only catch? Long lines. People queued up for hours, often in wet, chilly weather, for the freebies.

Here's a look at the free Olympics:

Zip line

The zip line, sponsored by the province of British Columbia and operated by Ziptrek Eco Tours of Whistler, has been one of the most popular free activities at the Games. Located at Robson Square in the heart of the downtown Vancouver, lines have often started forming before sunrise.

"People get here at 4 a.m. and we open at 10," said Brent Mcdonald, the operations manager of Ziptrek, which has run the line since Feb. 11.

He said between 600 to 700 people a day have climbed the 24-metre launch tower to take the trip across the 170-metre zip line cable, which will remain open until the end of the Paralympics.

Sarah Muzni, pictured above, left her house in Richmond, B.C., just before 6 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 23 to take a ride on the line, which sends people sailing high in the air. The 22-year-old nurse waited 4½ hours before it was her turn to harness up and take the 20-second zip across Robson Square.

Despite the disproportionately short ride compared to the amount of time spent in line, Muzni said the wait was worth it.

"Its an entirely different experience … I've been ziptrekking before, but this time it's in the city … It's once in a lifetime."

BC Pavilion

Just around the corner from the zip line is the Vancouver Art Gallery, home of the BC Pavilion at the Games. Debbie Pope, front left, and her children, Kyle, left, and Ayesha front right, met friends Cathy, centre rear and Devon by chance while waiting in line.

"Its only been 15 minutes … this is the shortest line all month," Debbie Pope said just before being ushered through the front doors of the Art Gallery. Once inside, visitors joined another queue that gallery staff said would take a half hour to clear.

Once inside, the BC Pavilion has lots to offer, including a free exhibit featuring Leonardo da Vinci's anatomical sketches. The exhibit, called The Mechanics of Man, is on loan from the Royal Collection of Queen Elizabeth II. It was shown free until Sunday, after which admission fees will be charged.

In the first three days of the Games, a record 15,000 visitors passed through the Vancouver Art Gallery, the most in its nearly 80-year history.

Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion

Lines have snaked in front of the Royal Canadian Mint Pavilion on Granville Street throughout the Games, as fans gathered for the chance to see and touch Olympic medals.

Some waited for at least eight hours.

Leanna Ritchie, pictured above with daughter Charlie, 16, and her friend Allesson Crellin, 17, waited six hours to get to their spot in the queue.

A volunteer monitoring the line said from where they stood, the wait would be another 30 to 45 minutes.

Ritchie said she lined up "to touch a piece of history."

Her strategy for the long wait? "We take turns in line … take Starbucks runs, we tag-team," she said.

The trio left their home in Tsawwassen, B.C., at 7 a.m. to ensure they got to see the medals.

"It was her idea," Charlie Ritchie said of her mother's decision to go to the mint.

"But it will be exciting to see them."

Sochi World

Located at Science World on Main Street in Vancouver, Sochi World, promoting Russia's 2014 Winter Olympics, has boasted some of the longest lines of the free attractions. A five-hour line snaking back and forth across the lawn in front of the Russian Pavilion on Feb. 23 turned the grass to mud.

"We keep the line moving pretty fast," a volunteer promised.

To keep those in line entertained, Sochi World organizers arranged for Russian singers and dancers to perform outside the main gates of the pavilion.

Hudson Bay

The lineup to get in to the main branch of the Hudson Bay department store, home of the Olympic Super Store, reached around the block on Feb. 23. Huddled under the awning of the store, Daniel Vizzutti, right, and his stepbrother, Jacob Kypers, drove from Kelowna, B.C., to buy a Team Canada jersey.

"We're getting outfitted in Canada gear," Vizzutti said.

Only 100 people were let in to the store at a time, every half hour. By the time Vizzutti and Kypers made it through the front door, the line had swelled to approximately 500 people, making the wait time for those at the end, nearly two blocks away, 2½ hours.