Rumor has it you’re planning a trip to Paris! So bless your soul and grab my hand. I have a few recommendations for a dreamy Parisian bucket list, big or tall. Here is where I find my inspiration!

Hang out at Shakespeare and Company.

1. Book it!

While kicking down the cobblestones, why not pick up a Paris-related book or novella? Check out Shakespeare & Co. at 37 rue Bûcherie (Metro: Saint-Michel). Located near Notre Dame, it is the most enchanting bookshop in the city!

Through the hard times and the good, I also praise the San Francisco Bookshop at 17 Rue Monsieur le Prince (Metro: Odéon). Here is where I recently found a well-loved copy of “A Literate Passion: Letters of Anaïs Nin & Henry Miller”. Talk about the ultimate starry-eyed read!

Henry wrote: “I have not dared until now to say what I think. But I am plunging—you have opened the void for me—there is no holding back. I am in a fever.” Oh, sigh!

(Read more about our favorite bookstores in Paris.)

Get cheesy at the fromagerie.

2. Eat, Drink and be Merry

And speaking of Henry’s valentine, he also penned, “The aim of life is to live, and to live means to be aware: joyously, drunkenly, serenely, divinely aware!”

Here’s the squeal! Paris is made up of beaucoup boulangeries, poissonneries, caves, and cafés, éspiceries, fromageries, charcuteries, pâtisseries, chocolatiers, confiseries, and glaciers. Clipping The Left Banke, don’t walk away, Renée—spurge away! Also, ask for tidbit samples and recommendations. Cheapos, they know.

My gastronomical checklist:

Don’t leave the city without trying a crème brûlé, a meringue, and at least one macaron, along with a baguette, a pain au chocolat, and a selection of young fromage (difficult to find outside of France). Let’s not forget the wine and the crêpes! “Je voudrais une crêpe fromage-jambon, s’il vous plaît,” is what I always say!

(Read more about our favorite cafes and bakeries in Paris.)

3. Big City, Bright Lights

I also advocate sipping a round on a café terrace. Winter, spring, summer and fall, you won’t forget it! For pumped-up kicks, give Suze a shot! A gentian-based apéritif, this old-school bar favorite is typically served on ice with equal parts water or orange juice. Challenge your mates to describe its strange and peculiar flavor!

Back in the day, Picasso quipped, “I put all the things I like into my pictures—too bad for the things, they just have to put up with it.” Yes, the iconic bottle played muse to Picasso back in 1912. Hands-down, his super-cube collage “Verre et bouteille de Suze” always sets my rain on fire!

(Read more about drinks to try at any cafe in Paris.)

Hanging out in the Jardin du Luxembourg

4. Parks and Rec

After you’ve picked up your reads and nibbles, head to one of my favorite parks: Jardin du Luxembourg (Metro: Notre-Dame des Champs, Rennes or Vavin), Jardin des Tuileries (Metro: Tuileries, Concorde, Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre, Pyramides) and the Jardin du Palais Royal (Metro Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre).

WWHD? (What would Hem do?)

Hemingway would most likely mosey on over to the Square du Vert-Galant (Metro: Pont Neuf, Cité or Saint-Michel), and chill with wine, books, and sausages while watching the fishermen. “They always caught some fish,” he wrote, “They were plump and sweet-fleshed with a finer flavor than fresh sardines even, and were not at all oily, and we ate them bones and all.”

(Read in detail about our favorite parks in Paris.)

Lovely, moody Pere Lachaise.

Last stop

Cemeteries are also perfect spots for a little peace, love and understanding. I often curl up with Oscar Wilde at the Cimetière du Père-Lachaise. Like a new pair of cat eyeglasses, the calm terrain not only changes perception, but also attitude. The surrounding beauty both soothes and re-energizes my spirits every time.

Here you’ll also find comfort with Chopin, Modigliani, Proust, Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison. It’s free, and the perfect Paris experience, rain or shine. Come with a journal or sketchbook in hand. In the words of the dashing Wilde, “I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train.” Oh, yes.

5. Taxi!

After nightfall, treat yourself to a cab ride in the City of Light. This is when the city truly twinkles. If you’re not already a wee intoxicated, you soon will be. I guarantee it.

To catch a ride, keep your eyes peeled for a cabstand. You could also hoof around the city after sundown. In Paris I always feel safe as houses, even when I roll solo.

6. Eiffel Tower

Like the moon and stars, the Eiffel Tower is a free show from almost anywhere in town, but better yet go there! Add it to your list. Just do it. Looking for a picture-perfect shot? Shoot up from below, center stage. Here the tower’s iron lattice resembles classic French black lace knickers. Oh, la, la!

I also highly recommend scoring an Eiffel Tower key chain at one of the souvenir shops in Montmartre. For the true love of corn, you’ll thank me one day in the near future. I have no doubts and no shortage of miniature replicas in my very own big box of life’s mementos. Just saying.

View from the rooftop.

7. Up on the roof

Right smack dab in the middle of town, I have a pet rooftop haven. Galeries Lafayette has never let me down! Up here, you’ll spy the Opéra Garnier, the Tour Eiffel, and Sacré Coeur. It’s another perfect spot to recharge your spirit, soul, and soles with sunsets and to-the-horizon boulevards and buildings of Haussmannian architecture!

(Read more about visiting the rooftop of Galeries Lafayette and tips for visiting the Sacre Coeur.)

8. Quill Power

Go vintage! Buy your postcards at the flea market! In the world of texts and emoticons, a little handwriting will feel good to the hand, spirit, cat sitter or paramour! Start the search for “cartes postale ancienne” at either the Porte de Vanves Flea Market or Clignancourt Flea Market at Caveyron Devey, located at stall number 7 and 8 in the Passage Lecuyer (off Rue Jules Vallès).

(Read our tips for shopping at flea markets in Paris.)

Signing off with yet another passage by Hemingway, Cheapos, “There is never any ending to Paris and the memory of each person who has lived in it differs from that of any other.”

Bon Voyage! Carpe diem, Cheapos! Now start planning that trip!

The post First time in Paris? 8 activities not to miss appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Prague is home to about 30 cemeteries that are maintained by the city. Two into which I recommend venturing are located nearly side-by-side in Prague’s third district. Both are free to enter, and hours are posted outside of each.

Olsany Cemetery (Olsanske Hrbitovy)
Vinohradska 1835/153
Praha 3 – Zizkov

Olsany has several entrances. The easiest to locate is the one just to the right of Palac Flora mall. I know it sounds weird having a mall next to a cemetery—and it is—but once down the stairs, through the gate and inside the walls, the mall melts away and is replaced by singing birds, lush trees and ivy growing everywhere.

Founded in 1680, Olsany is the oldest burial ground outside of Prague’s old city walls and the city’s largest, with nearly 1.5 million people buried within it. Comprised of 46 hectares, it was started to accommodate the increased deaths during a plague epidemic at the end of the 17th century.

The cemetery is notable for its many art nouveau monuments. Its oldest stones can be found in the northwestern corner, close to the 17th-century Chapel of St. Roch (“kaple sv Rocha”). Final resting place to actors, writers, artists, politicians and many others, a few of Olsany’s most famous inhabitants include artist and writer Josef Lada, Klement Gottwald (communist president of Czechoslovakia) and Jan Palach (a student who committed self-immolation on Wenceslas Square in 1969 in protest against the Soviet invasion).

The New Jewish Cemetery (Novy zidovsky hrbitov)
Izraelska 712/1
Praha 3 – Zizkov

Located on the same street, just a short walk west and across the busy intersection at Jana Zelivskeho street, the New Jewish Cemetery was built in 1891 when the Old Jewish Cemetery (located in the city center and the more familiar of the two) ran out of space. The New Jewish Cemetery is still in use today.

Home to some 100,000 graves, the New Jewish Cemetery houses tombstones in a wide range of styles including Neo-Gothic, Neo-Renaissance, Art Nouveau, Classicism, Purism and Constructivism. Many monuments were designed by the country’s best-known artists, architects and sculptors.

For example, renowned architect Jan Kotera designed two art-nouveau monuments for members of the Perutz family. Sculptor Josef Vaclav–creator of the famous St. Wenceslas statue on Wenceslas Square–created two busts that adorn one of the cemetery’s most elaborate tombs belonging to the Waldes family.

The cemetery’s most famous inhabitant is world-renowned writer Franz Kafka. When you walk into the cemetery you’ll see a sign directing you to the grave, just a short walk to the right. Designed by architect L. Ehrmann, the tomb’s shape is a hexahedral, truncated crystal. Kafka shares the burial with his parents. Just across from him on the wall is a memorial plaque to Kafka’s friend and promoter, Max Brod.

Other cemeteries

Another cemetery worth having a look at is located in the Vysehrad neighborhood. Here you will find the tombs of author Jan Neruda, writer Karel Capek, poet Karel Hynek Macha and composer Antonin Dvorak. Read more here.

Do you have a favorite cemetery in Prague? Tell us about it in our comments section.

The post Prague Cemeteries: Retreats of history, art and Kafka appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Highgate Cemetery

Highgate benefits from an elevated position in the north of the city, and is regarded as one of London’s most beautiful resting places. Look out for highlights such as the Gothic catacombs, the Egyptian Avenue and the Circle of Lebanon.

Claim to fame
Author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide,” Douglas Adams, physicist Michael Faraday, novelist Stella Gibbons and the parents of Charles Dickens are all buried here.

Visiting Highgate Cemetery
Hours: Opens weekdays at 10 a.m., weekends 11 a.m.
Closes March 1-October 30 at 5 p.m. (last admission 4:30 p.m.); Closes October 31 to February 28 at 4 p.m. (last admission 3.30 p.m.)
Entry £3 per adult / £2 for students with valid ID
Tel: 020 8340 1834
Web site
Tube stop: Archway

Pitstop
The Wrestlers (020 8340 4297, open daily)
Great neighborhood pub with a roaring fire in winter and friendly staff. Especially nice for a Sunday lunch.

Brompton Cemetery

Brompton Cemetery. Photo: Gorfor

Brompton cemetery was designed by Benjamin Baud, and features a compact layout set around a central avenue leading up to a chapel. With its slightly tumbledown air and stunning stone angels, it’s a charming place for a peaceful autumnal stroll.

Claim to fame
Parts of “GoldenEye,” “Johnny English” and “The Wings of the Dove” were filmed here.

Visiting Brompton Cemetery
Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in summer, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in winter.
Free entry
Tel: 020 7352 1201
Web site
Tube stop: West Brompton

Pitstop
The Troubadour (020 7370 1434, Web site, open daily)
A cozy 50s coffeehouse/restaurant, with homely cuisine and live music in the basement. A good stop-off for a hearty feed.

Kensal Green Cemetery

Influenced by the stunning Père-Lachaise site in eastern Paris, Kensal Green features 72 acres of sprawling garden cemetery in which you can lose yourself for hours. The Friends of Kensal Green run two-hour introductory tours of the site every Sunday from March to October, and on the first and third Sundays of the month from November to February (2 p.m. start).

Claim to fame
Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, newsagent W. H. Smith and mathematician Charles Babbage are all buried here.

Visiting Kensal Green Cemetery
Hours: April 1 to September 30: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
October 1 to March 31: Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
(Bank Holidays 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
Free entry; suggested £5 donation for guided tour
Tel: 020 8969 0152
Website
Tube stop: Kensal Green

Pitstop
The Paradise (020 8969 0098, Web site, open daily)
This sprawling public house features gorgeous fittings and great food in its romantic dining room, and it’s far enough off the Portobello Market trail to provide a relaxing break after a tour of the cemetery grounds.

The post Three stunning London cemeteries appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Hints of Italy

Menton hints of Italy even before you cross the border, with its bilingual street names and Italian-style architecture. Curiously, the town only became French in 1860, having historically been part of Monaco until in 1848 it seceded from the Principality in a spat over taxes on lemon exports. Menton then enjoyed a brief fling as an independent republic before throwing in its lot with the Kingdom of Sardinia and eventually joining France.

Mentonasques are quick to remind visitors even today that Menton is in France merely by choice, and the town’s window shutters in that distinctive Ligurian green are a reminder that this most Italianate of French Riviera towns still has a part of its heart in Italy.

Menton’s health resort history

Climb up to the cemetery high above the Old Town and you will quickly discover how Menton established its credentials in Riviera tourism. A hundred years ago, Menton was one of Europe’s premier health resorts, with thousands of northern Europeans taking their bronchial bacilli to sunny Menton to try and rid their lungs of tuberculosis. The crowded cemetery, full of those who died of consumption, attests to the fact that a few months of indolence in Menton did not always guarantee recuperation. Russians, Germans, English and Irish share the same burial ground, all victims of a disease that indiscriminately struck down poets and philosophers, counts and colonels.

The pulmonary pilgrims of yesterday have been replaced by a new generation of traveler, often anxious to find the quieter side of the Riviera. Menton is always a great stopover on routes from Provence to Genoa —made easy by the frequency of trains along this stretch of coast. Both westbound towards Nice and eastbound into Italy, trains generally run twice hourly.

Exploring the town

But with direct daily TGV services from Paris (and a useful direct overnight train, too), Menton is a place worth visiting in its own right. Our best Menton days have involved nothing more demanding than wandering around the produce stalls in the Moorish market on the waterfront and then drifting from café to café.

Our favorite local curiosity is the “salle de mariage” (wedding hall) in Menton’s City Hall, which is a striking piece of interior design by French artist and film director Jean Cocteau. Further afield, the attractive mountain town of Sospel is reached by direct bus from Menton. And the stunning Giardini Botanici Hanbury (Hanbury Gardens), just over the border in Italy, which we featured last year on EuroCheapo, are only four miles east of the city.

The post Menton, France: A Riviera gem appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

History has it that a castle was founded here in the first half of the 10th century, and thanks to its high rocky location overlooking the Vltava River, enjoyed a period of importance for roughly 50 years. The area is now mostly green space with walking paths and beautiful views of the city, including the more famed Prague castle. Mythologically speaking, Vyšehrad is also the spot where Princess Libuše apparently foretold the future of Prague’s greatness.

Statues in the park

Highlights and landmarks

Strolling through, you’ll spot some interesting landmarks. One of the first will be St. Martin’s Rotunda. Built in the second half of the 11th century, it’s not only the largest rotunda in Prague, but also the city’s oldest complete Romanesque building. There’s been a church at Vyšehrad since the 14th century, but the current one, the Church of St. Peter and Paul, was built in the early 1900s.

Slavin cemetery

Next door is Slavín, Prague’s “pop” cemetery. It was designed in the mid-19th century as a final resting place for Prague’s famous writers, scientists, artists, and the like. Prominent bodies laid to rest here include the writer Karel Capek, artist Alfons Mucha and composers Bedrich Smetana and Antonín Dvorák. The headstones and memorials are quite interesting and it’s definitely worth a wander.

On the south side of the church, you’ll spot a large green expanse dotted with four statues. These depict mythological heroes from Czech history. If you come across three huge granite slabs, take a photo. According to legend, these slabs were thrown through the roof of the church by Lucifer, made angry by an insubordinate cleric. They’re now called the “Devil’s Pillars.”

The view from Vysehrad

Aside from the church and monuments, there are a couple cafes, but more importantly a huge beer garden that is filled with locals, families, and dogs at the weekends. A cool wooden playground makes it a great place to allow kids to run and be free for an afternoon.

How to get there

Vyšehrad is listed in nearly all the guidebooks and there’s easy metro access (the stop is on the red metro line C and is named “Vyšehrad.”) It’s about a 10-minute walk from the metro station.

The views from all sides are amazing; you’ll probably spot from above many of the landmarks you’ve already been to down below. I predict it will be a highlight to your Prague visit.

The post Favorite Place in Prague: Vyšehrad Castle appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

More than 4,000 monks are buried within the crypt’s six rooms, all of whom died between 1528 and 1870. The crypt got started back in 1631, when the Capuchin monks moved into their new friary upstairs and brought with them the bones of their brethren long gone. They arranged these bones in their new crypt, first lining them up against the walls, but eventually getting much more elaborate.

Over the next 240 years, until 1870, the friars would become experts at, shall we say, “interior design.” Bones, such as skulls, leg bones, pelvises and such, were separated and employed to make elaborate columns, arches, and floral designs with great flourishes. If you squint your eyes, you might be able to forget that you’re looking at the deceased.

Rooms include the “Crypt of the Skulls,” “Crypt of the Pelvises,” “Crypt of the Leg Bones and Thigh Bones,” and more.

Visiting the Capuchin Crypt

Church of Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione
Via Vittorio Veneto, 27. Metro: Barberini
Hours: 9-12 PM and 3-6 PM daily. Closed Thursdays.

Although the crypt is free to visit, a donation is suggested. More information about the church and the crypt is available on the church’s website.

Also see: our list of recommended budget hotels in Rome.

The post Rome: Capuchin Crypt offers free visits, anatomy lesson appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A visit to the Monastere de Cimiez is a quiet, enchanted escape from Nice. Dating back to the 16th century, the gothic church you see today was the result of an 1850 renovation. The church is famous for three paintings by prominent brother painters, Louis and Antoine Brea. The near-by museum, the Musée Franciscain, explains the role of the Franciscans in Nice over the centuries and allows visitors a peek into a recreated (and especially drab) monk’s cell.

The adjoining cemetery is notable for its picturesque qualities, marble graves, and notable residents. Painters Raoul Dufy and Henri Matisse, both former residents of Cimiez, are buried here. Wander through the cemetery, making sure to leave time for the beautifully landscaped gardens.

Visiting the Monastere Notre Dame de Cimiez

The church is open daily from 9 AM to 6 PM. The museum is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 AM – 12 PM, and 3 PM – 6 PM. Admission is free.  For more information, call 04-93-81-00-04.

The post Nice: Visiting Monastere de Cimiez for free appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.