I’m just going to admit it: I don’t quite understand the vast majority of the oddball, experimental modern art that you find at places like the Tate Modern.
Pretty much all of the major museums in London are completely free — free! — which is an absolute gift when you’re on a budget. So I’ve been to a bunch, obviously, because why not?
They have a really interesting exhibit at the Art Ludique Museum in Paris that’s DC-Comics-themed. There’s a bunch of original art from various DC comics, not to mention costumes from pretty much all of the DC films from the last few decades.
Holy crap, the Louvre is impressive. I know — that’s kind of like saying “the Beatles are a pretty good band” or “hey, you know Citizen Kane? It’s worth watching!” Everyone knows this already.
I’m a tourist. I’m in Paris. So obviously I visited the Eiffel tower. I’m not a maniac.
The Vienna Central Cemetery is actually one of the largest cemeteries in the world. Going to a graveyard isn’t exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you travel to a new city, but there’s something grimly fascinating about wandering around a cemetery so large.
If you’ve seen the Third Man (and seriously, you should see the Third Man — it’s one of the greatest film noirs of all time), then you’ll remember that the city of Vienna features very prominently in the film.
One of the most famous scenes is the one in which Orson Welles’ character attempts to justify his misdeeds while riding a giant ferris wheel.
Well, that ferris wheel is a real thing, and it still exists — it’s called the Wiener Riesenrad, and for ten Euros, you too can go up there and justify killing a bunch of people.
I think everyone can agree that Austria’s greatest gift to the world is the fact that it’s the birthplace of the greatest movie star of all time, Arnold Schwarzenegger. They’ve converted his childhood home into a museum; as soon as I found this out, I knew a stop in Austria was a must.
For the unaware, Cinecitta is the legendary Italian studio where directors like Federico Fellini and Sergio Leone made a bunch of their films, not to mention big Hollywood productions like Ben-Hur, Roman Holiday, and Gangs of New York.
For 20 Euros, you can check out some nicely-assembled exhibits, and you can take part in a guided tour around the studio. It isn’t exactly cheap, but if you can’t forget about the budget every now and then for something like this, what’s the point?
So I just arrived in Rome — I spent the day walking around the city, and holy crap. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a city (and not just on this trip, in my whole life) that has so many breathtaking buildings and monuments pretty much everywhere you go.