WHERE: Federal Reserve Bank, New York

Money is worshiped at "the Fed," and a visit to the nation's central bank feels like a trip to capitalism's cathedral. Where the bodies of saints would otherwise lie, the bank's catacombs are stuffed with about $180 billion in gold bars — more yellow metal than is stowed in Fort Knox, and almost one-quarter of the world's supply.

As New York tourist destinations go, the historic landmark on Liberty Street attracts a fraction of the visitors to the city's more famous spots. But the bank plays a much more vital part in our daily lives: The Fed implements monetary policy and, in the New York building's open market trading floor, handles billions of U.S. government debt. It's all a part of how the government is trying to rescue the economy, primarily by dropping interest rates.

The first thing you see on the free 30-minute tour is what looks like an unguarded gold bar, slowly spinning with the invitation, "Help yourself!"

But the bar turns out to be a hologram, your hand passing through it like fog. Although the tour is largely humorless and strict (you're instructed not to take pictures or notes in the massive subterranean gold vault), the displays in the lobby — a stunning foyer adorned with designer Samuel Yellin's 200 tons of ornate wrought ironwork — are surprisingly fun, even as they're informative.

Used bank notes are no longer burned (it's not green to send up green in smoke) but shredded, and there's $48 million in minced $100 bills in one display, part of the $105 million in paper currency cut up daily.

You'll see hundreds of rare coins and currency to illustrate the history of money, grouped by era and region, on loan to the bank. Highlights include a shekel from 109 B.C., and the most valuable coin ever sold, a U.S. 1933 Double Eagle that fetched nearly $8 million in a recent auction.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 (the World Trade Center site is a few blocks west), the Fed tour eliminated a stop in the bank's trading floors, making the trip down to the gold vault the centerpiece of the visit. Five stories below street level in the vault are all the gold bars (each worth about $320,000) neatly stacked to the ceiling.

The bricks are so heavy (about 28 pounds each) that vault workers wear $500 magnesium boots to avoid smashed foot bones, and the concrete floor is dented from bars that once toppled over.

If you go: The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is at 33 Liberty St., New York, N.Y. 212-720-6130.

Reservations for the 30-minute free tours can be made at frbnytours@ny.frb.org, should be made several weeks in advance. www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/ny_tours.html. Tours are Monday through Friday, excluding bank holidays, six times daily.