Here’s our overview of the two main museum pass options for Amsterdam:

Museumcard
Website

The Museumcard (in Dutch, Museumkaart) is valid for admission at almost every museum in the country, and covers entrance fees for more than 30 venues in Amsterdam. From the Anne Frank House to the Filmmuseum and Jewish Historic Museum, the Museumcard has your back for all the big guys and more.

Is it expensive? It’s probably one of the best deals in the country. Adults pay €40, kids 18 and under pay €20, and the card is valid for one year. Cardholders can flash their cards and head straight into the museums, whether it’s passing through the Rijksmuseum for a five-minute check up on Rembrandt’s Nightwatch or stopping for a drink at the Van Gogh Museum’s cafe.

Ideally, this card is for the museum junkies who need a daily cultural, historical or art fix during their time in Amsterdam. And it’s perfect for those on a one-week stay or longer. (Obviously, the card is a no-brainer for residents.)

Some tourists on a short stay buy the card and then resell it when they leave. Note that this is against the rules, and that you have to write your name and birth date on the card (no photo is taken). Card checkers, however, are laid-back with this policy. However, we don’t recommend trying this.

The Museumcard’s Web site is in Dutch. Foreign tourists can purchase the card inside major Museums throughout the city.

“I amsterdam” City Card
Website

What was once known as the “Amsterdam pass” has evolved into the catchy “I amsterdam” hook that’s spread like wildfire throughout the city’s bustling tourist shops. It’s a more “all-in-one” package for visitors than the Museumcard, and is a great grab for those who want to see a lot of the main attractions.

The card will not only give you access to museums and free public transportation on trams and buses, it will also offer a free canal cruise and discounts at several gift shops, restaurants, bike rentals and other attractions.

Sounds like a deal? It is, mostly. The Anne Frank House is not included in the list of free museums, but the card covers Van Gogh, Rijks, and many of the smaller-size exhibitions.

The 25% discount on restaurants and rentals list many options, however, most businesses on the roster have a reputation for already offering inflated “tourist prices.” And 25% off an attraction might sound tempting, however “attraction” is synonymous with “waste of time” when it comes to places that are chains throughout Europe (the Dungeon and Ice Bar, for example).

Still, a free cup of coffee at bistro La Place, a free croquette roll at authentic Dutch food bar Van Dobben, 50% off parking and unlimited free public transport are all big pluses.

The prices are reasonable:

24 hours : €59

48 hours : €74

72 hours : €87

96 hours : €98

Read more about the perks of the I am Amsterdam Card.

Your choice?

So what will it be: diving into a sea of rich culture with the Museumcard or sampling the surface of Amsterdam’s fun zone with the City Card? The choice is yours, but remember to weigh time and cost when making your decision.

Have you purchased either pass? Tell us about your experience in the comments section.

The post Amsterdam’s Museum Pass Options: Which is a better deal? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

A couple years ago, we were not sure if the Barcelona Card really packed enough bang for the buck. In fact, our conclusion was simple: the Barcelona Card? Not for us. This year, we’ve changed out minds a bit, and offer you another look at this discount card.

Barcelona Card. Photo courtesy of the Barcelona Card site.

What to consider before buying

The Barcelona Card is about €28 for a two-day pass, and this includes a paper guidebook that comes with the card.  You really need to ask yourself: How much of an effort am I going to make to use this card?

If you make a point to go to the museums, restaurants, bars, and shows discounted through the card, then yes, you are going to save yourself some dinero. If you simply use it a few times and then lose it or forget about it, then you would be better off just sticking with the Articket (or nothing at all).

Museum discounts

Many of Barcelona’s museums are free with the card—however, some of them that the card lists, are free anyway!

You’ll find some good museums on the Barcelona Card’s free-entry list (Museu de Ceramica, Museu Chocolate, Cosmo Caixa), but none of them are must-see museums. Rather, they are more specialty museums that will appeal to travelers with more time on their hands in Barcelona, or with a certain enthusiasm for say, Spanish and ceramics.

The big dogs of Barcelona museums (El Palau de la Musica and Casa Batllo) are only 20% off with the Barcelona Card, and many other must-see monuments, such as the Sagrada Familia, aren’t covered by the card at all.

Transportation and other perks

One perk that the card does offer is free public transportation around the city and to and from the airport. This part of the card I appreciate.

For ten trips on the Metro in Barcelona, you will pay €8 (if you buy the T-10). A ride to the airport on the airport bus? That’s another €5, one way. So you are looking at €15-20 in transport (depending how long you are in the city and how much you want to walk, of course), which you could deduct from the Barcelona Card price.

The card also offers some nice discounts on the zoo, IMAX theater, and aquarium, so if you have kids it might pay off. I am not impressed by the discounts the card offers at local restaurants or shops, but I do like the 10% off at bars Dry Martini and Gimlet.

Again, it comes down to whether or not you will remember to use the card after two dirty vodka martinis…

The bottom line

To conclude, as a local here in Barcelona, I am neither for nor against the Barcelona Card. It is not something I will insist that my friends buy when they come to the city for a visit, as I do with the Articket. However, if you are going to spend a week in the city, then this card could save you some cash.  And, with the dollar taking a serious beating from the euro, that might be a really good thing.

The post The Barcelona Card Revisited: Is it still worth it? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

So that you know when it’s worth loosening those purse strings, here’s a guide to Berlin’s two most splurge-worthy museums complexes, the Museum Insel and the Kulturforum. And, of course, we’ll show you how to cut your costs.

Museum Insel: An art and architecture delight

A natural island nestled in the Spree, the Museum Insel (S-bahn: Hackescher Markt or Brandenburger Tor) consists of five museums housed in grandiose neoclassical buildings. You could save euros by simply strolling past the impressive exteriors, which feature columns, sculptures and double stone staircases, but it would be a shame to overlook the eight collections of artistic and archeological treasures located inside the Bode Museum, Pergamonmuseum (Pergamon Museum), Alte Nationalgalerie, and the Neues Museum.

Get the most bang for your buck at the world-renowned Pergamon, which features the walls of Babylon and other priceless artifacts that German archeologists dug up in Turkey and the Middle East in the early 20th Century (when the “finders keepers” mentality ran amok).

The talk of Berlin, however, is the newly renovated Neues Museum. Minimalistic interiors designed by British architect David Chipperfield provide a backdrop for the city’s Egyptian and pre- and early history collections. Not to be missed: a magical bust of Nefertiti that gives Mona Lisa a run for her money.

Cheapo style: Many Museum Insel museums boast free admission on Thursday evenings, four hours before closing (unless the museum is hosting a special exhibit). Normal admission costs between €8-10. Go ahead and skip special exhibitions, which cost extra (usually about €3): they usually aren’t worth the money.

The Kulturforum: Major exhibits and priceless paintings

Nestled just west of Potsdamer Platz’s sky rises, the Kulturforum (S-bahn & U-bahn: Potsdamer Platz) is a cluster of museums, libraries, and performance centers built in the 1960s and still going strong.

The two highlights are the Neue Nationalgalerie, a boxy, glass-sheathed museum designed by Mies von der Rohe, and the adjoining Museums für Europäische Kunst (Museums of European Art), a trio of three museums under one low-slung roof.

The Neue Nationalgalerie

Not only is the Neue Nationalgalerie an icon of modernist architecture, but the permanent collection of modern artwork by Max Beckmann, Salvador Dali, and dozens of other angsty European artists is among the finest in Europe. It is the museum’s stellar special exhibits, however, that make it not-to-be-missed on our list despite the steep admission (€12). Skipping a visit to the Neue would be like passing on the MOMA in New York or the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Museums für Europäische Kunst

If you aren’t into the exhibit at the Neue, pop next door to the Museums für Europäische Kunst, its exterior a mélange of historic and contemporary architecture. Its three museums, the Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery of Old Masters), Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts) and Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) are often overlooked by tourists, but we think they’re well worth the price of admission.

With its amazing collection of European art—including works by Botticelli, Caravaggio, Goya, and Rubens—the Gemäldegalerie is especially worth the splurge. If you hate sharing museums with hordes of tourists, this is the place for you: as the city’s best kept secret, it’s rarely (if ever) crowded.

Cheapo style: Individual admission to the Kulturforum’s museums is usually about €8 (€4 with a student card). But for the same price, you can score a one-day ticket that covers the above-mentioned museums, as well as the Kunstbibliothek (Art Library) and the Musikinstrumenten-Museum (Music Instrument Museum). The pass doesn’t include admission to special exhibits. Like the Museum Insel museums, admission is usually free four hours before closing.

When the Neue has two special exhibits on tap, a combination ticket goes for €12. Most of the time, exhibits set up in the main, glass-lined hall because they’re small and easy to check out from the lobby. It’s the larger, basement-level exhibits that are (usually) worth the price.

For museum buffs: The three-day Museum Pass

Note: If you’re a major culture buff (and have the capacity to take in a lot of art and artifacts in 72 hours), you should spring for the three-day museum pass that covers all of the city’s government-run museums, which includes all of the above-mentioned museums and then some. It will set you back €19 (€8.50 for students), but it will end up saving you tons of money—as long as you do some major museum hopping. The pass, however, doesn’t include admission to special exhibits.

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Enter the sleek new website of the “Polo Museale Fiorentino,” the city’s governing board for 20 museums, including the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Pitti Palace, the Museum of San Marco, and more. On the site, you can take virtual tours of each museum, read about upcoming exhibits, verify opening hours, and map out locations.

But our favorite feature: The site now offers online ticket booking for all museums, allowing users to bypass the long queue and restricted entrance schedule.

How it works

The process is simple: You choose the museum you wish to book, pick a date, and then select an available entrance time. (At the Uffizi, for example, you may choose entrances in 15-minute intervals.) Proceed to the checkout, pay with a credit card (a €3 processing fee is added), and a confirmation will be emailed to you. Take this email with you to the museum (arriving, of course, during the scheduled time slot) and hand it over at the “pre-booked tickets” counter to pick up your tickets.

Yes, the site adds a €3 booking fee. But we’ll happily fork that over in exchange for a speedy (and guaranteed!) welcome.

Other museum ticket booking websites are out there, and we’ve recommended them in the past, but they tack on far more than €3 to your ticket. One of the most popular sites adds €11.50 to each ticket! Save it for post-museum Chianti, folks!

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