The CosmoCaixa science museum. Photo by Alan Bell.

By Regina Winkle-Bryan in Barcelona—

Visitors to Barcelona (especially those who stop by the tourist office) will no doubt learn about the Barcelona Card for museum and transportation discounts.

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, like CaixaForum, 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.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Kickin' cupcakes. Photo: Magnolia Bakery

As the weather gets colder and New York gears up for the holiday season, we’re daydreaming about sugary treats and high-kicking entertainment. We were happy, then, when we learned that two of our favorite city traditions are pairing up to offer a sweet deal.

Magnolia Bakery (the cupcake boutique made famous in “Sex and the City”) has joined forces with the Rockettes to offer a 25% discount for tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the purchase of a special “Rockette Red Velvet Cupcake.”

The cupcakes (pictured here) cost $3.50 and are only available at the bakery’s Rockefeller Center location (which is convenient if you plan to pop into Radio City afterward to purchase your tickets).

Full-priced tickets to the “Christmas Spectacular”, currently in its 76th year, run $45-$250, making the Magnolia discount especially welcome. This year, the show runs from November 13, 2009 through December 30, 2009. The cupcake deal is valid for the entire run.

We don’t know about you, but we think this is one offer that has legs.

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Capitoline Museums, covered by the pass. Photo: Samantha Collins.

By Samantha Collins in Rome–

The Roma Pass is a three-day discount card that gives you free or discounted access to some of Rome’s top museums, as well as free use of the public transport system. Launched to encourage visitors into the museums, the scheme is proving to be a popular one.

But at a cost of €23, will it save you money during your stay or is it better to “pass” and spend your money elsewhere?

What does the Roma Pass include?

· Free admission to two participating museums of your choice, including some of the most popular in Rome, including the Colosseum, Villa Borghese, and the Capitoline Museums. In many cases, pass holders have priority and can skip the line.

· Free unlimited public transport (bus, metro, tram and local train).

· A Rome map, including public transport networks.

· A list of participating museums, and an events guide with discount vouchers for exhibitions, shows, and events around Rome.

· Free medical advice from a multilingual helpline.

Where can you buy it?

Deal or no deal?

You can purchase a Roma Pass at any of the tourist information kiosks (PITs) that you find around the city centre, including outside Termini Station and Castel St. Angelo, and at the participating museums.

The pass is valid for three days, and it expires at midnight on the third day after you have used it for the first time. You can also buy it online, although the service is not very reliable.

Is it good value?

Well, if we assume that you are something of a “culture vulture,” rather than a “hotel hermit,” it is pretty much certain that you will take a bus or two, use the metro at least once, and would like to visit at least one museum or monument. Considering that the Colosseum is the most visited attraction in Italy, it is also safe to assume that is high on your list.

So let’s add it up:

A three-day pass to use the public transport system will cost you €11. Standard admission to the Colosseum costs €9. You are still €3 short, but you have one more museum left and a whole host of discount tickets to use.

So with the time you saved not queuing at the Colosseum (pass holders use a special turnstile), you could move on to drool at the wonderful Bernini sculpture of Apollo and Daphne at the Villa Borghese (entrance €8.50), or admire Caravaggio at the Capitoline Museums (€6.50)… and still have saved enough for a cappucino and a cake.

Is it for you?

Of course, it’s possible to simply wander around Rome only seeing the outside of buildings and not spend a thing. Yet whilst the Roma Pass probably won’t save you an enormous amount of money, it may get you into places that you may have otherwise missed.

The pass also encourages you to explore a little beyond the centre, with places such as the Appia Antica Catacombs included in the scheme. With your route map and transport ticket, you should be able figure out how to get out and about and see a little more than you would otherwise.

However, if you are happy to spend your time wandering Rome’s narrow streets on foot, and the thought of spending an afternoon in a museum brings out a cold sweat, then the Roma Pass probably would not pass the value test.

For more information on the pass, check out the Roma Pass website.

About the author: Samantha Collins is a freelance travel writer and editor, who has lived in Rome for the past two years.  She is originally from Manchester in the UK.  Read all about her adventures by visiting her blog, Travel Tales from Italy.

Popularity: 10% [?]

A concert at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. Photo by ioniriq

By Audrey Sykes in Amsterdam—

The Dutch thrive on a passion for deal-making, and Amsterdam’s lively theater and music scene is, fortunately, not immune to great deals. Locals in search of half-price tickets to a wide-variety of entertainment events (from high to low-end), head straight to the Last-Minute Ticket Shop.

Always half off, no more, no less

Located at the southwest corner of the Leidseplein (Leidseplein 26, trams: 1, 2 and 10 from Central Station), the Last Minute Ticket Shop offers same-day half-price tickets to the theater, classical and rock concerts, cabaret acts, comedy shows, movies, and more.

It’s wise to show up early as tickets are limited (hours are daily from 12.00 to 19.30), yet ticket lines are rarely long. Chances of getting tickets are good, as you are only able to snag the half-priced tickets from the shop in person. Note that the shop’s ticket phone line (+31 (0) 900-0191) and website are reserved for those paying full price. (However, you can check out the website to view the day’s half-priced offerings.)

At the shop, large computer screens list available shows, listing artists, show times, locations, genres, language options, prices and ticket availability. The helpful staff is ready to answer questions about translation and events. Individuals may be limited to the number of tickets they can purchase, depending on availability. Cash, major credit cards, and EU debit cards are accepted, and the shop charges a €1 service charge per ticket.

An all-Amsterdam affair

Participating venues range from Amsterdam’s most famous concert halls to local stages. Whether it’s opera at the glamorous Concertgebouw or rock fests at Melkweg, the Last-Minute Ticket Shop offers a wide variety of options… at a great discount. Classical orchestra performances for €22, local comedy theater for €7.50, and feature flicks at the Filmmuseum for €5 are just some of the many offers we’ve seen.

Tell us: Have you ever bought a discounted seat or know other ways to score cheap tickets in Amsterdam? Leave your comment below!

About the author: Audrey Sykes hopped across the pond from the US three years ago for a Masters degree in global journalism. Since then, she’s lived all over Europe, reporting and editing for music sites, snowboard mags, and travel media.

Popularity: 11% [?]

High-end undergarments for cheapo prices at Sympa in Paris.

By Theadora Brack—

I see London, I see France… I see Cheapo underpants!

I’m still giddy with excitement. You see, I’ve just discovered Paris’ route de la soie (“Silk Road”). It’s a road through the less-traveled bargain clothing stores of Montmartre. Follow my lead and you, too, can find high-end clothing at bargain-bin prices.

The Panty Raid low-down

Our search takes place at Les Magasins Sympa Grandes Marques Griffées, or just “Sympa” for short.  Sympa is a bargain clothing store with several outlets in Montmartre. Here you can find lingerie, dresses, blouses, skirts, and coats–all designer seconds from previous collections. These shops are just a stone’s throw from the steps of the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur at Metro Anvers.

Save the more popular shopping districts (rues Rivoli, Hausmann, St. Honoré and de Rennes) for window shopping (or, lèche-vitrine, “window licking” in French). On the racks, shelves, and bins of the Sympa shops, you’ll find the same trendy brands, like Kookai, Jennyfer, Naf-Naf, Pimkie, Printemps, Sinéquanone, and Sandro, but for a fraction of their original cost.

Fancy Pants

The Sympa stores are located along the rue de Steinkerque, a street once notorious for its prostitutes and dance halls. Today, you can rummage through the bargains in these same buildings–under new management, of course!

Imagine the surreal charm of shopping for your “unmentionables” inside the former brothel that Pablo Picasso frequented during his “blue period”! Another Sympa now occupies part of “le bal de l’Elysée Montmartre,” where the famed Can Can star (and famorite muse of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec) La Goulue made her racy debut before defecting to the nearby Moulin Rouge. You can nab your own knickers in the very room where she once flashed hers so fetchingly at the absinthe-quaffing crowds.

If only these walls could speak.

Ah, but at Sympa maybe they do. I recently purchased armfuls of Etam’s exquisite delicacies, trimmed with yards of lace and bows, and each possessing a provocative name like “Extravagante,” “Hypnotique,” “Promesse,” “Malicieuse,” “Offrande,” “Merveilles,” “Amourette,” “Faveur,” “Tentation,” and finally, “Bliss.”

As I sauntered home along the cobblestone streets, still under the spell of my panty raid, I could swear that I spotted Aristide Bruant drift by, whistling at me and looking rather dapper in his black cape and long red scarf. Or was that Monsieur Dalí, perchance?

Tips for Lingerie Shopping

1. First, get fortified with un café or, better yet, une bière.

2. Leave handbag at home. Carry cash in pocket.

3. Don’t forget sense of humor.

4. Hang tough. Own your corner of the bargain bin!

5. There are no dressing rooms. Know your European size numbers.

6. The best deals are always in the exterior bins on the sidewalks.

7. Hate crowds? Shop weekday mornings.

8. Saturday mornings are usually delivery day, but every day is a drastic sale day at Sympa.

Practical Info

Sympa locations:
62, blvd. De Rochechouart, corner of Steinkerque
1 bis, rue de Steinkerque
18, rue d’Orsel, corner of Steinkerque

Days and Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 AM—7 PM

Metro: at Anvers (Pigalle and Abbesses are nearby, too)

While you’re in the neighborhood…

In the mood for art after your panty raid? Four museums in the quartier de Montmartre:

Espace Dalí (Dive into the convoluted imagination of the surrealist master!)
Days and Hours: Monday through Sunday, 10 AM—6:30 PM
Metros: Anvers, Abbesses
Discounts: children under 8 free

Le Halle Saint Pierre
(Visionaries, naives and outsiders—and a cozy café!)
2, rue Ronsard
Days and Hours: Monday through Sunday, 10 AM—6 PM
(Special August Days and Hours: Monday through Friday, 12 Noon—6 PM)
Metros: Anvers, Abbesses

Musée de Montmartre (Where Impressionism began!)
12 rue Cortot
Days and Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 11 AM—6 PM
Métros: Abbesses
Discounts: children under 12 free

Musée de l’érotisme (Ooh la lah!)
72, boulevard de Clichy
Métros: Blanche, Pigalle
Days and Hours: Monday through Sunday, 10 AM—2 AM
Don’t miss the permanent exhibition on Montmartre’s famous brothels!

About the author and photographer: Theadora Brack is a writer working in Paris. Her fiction has appeared in more than 30 literary publications, including 3AM International, The Smoking Poet, Beloit Fiction Journal, Mid-American Review, and the Haight-Ashbury Literary Journal.

Popularity: 15% [?]

A plaque marks the site of the former Berlin Wall

Sure, to save more money in Berlin you could just eat pretzels until you’re blue in the face. Hey, we’ve done it. They’re cheap and filling. Or, you could snag a city pass and take advantage of discounts on transport and museums, and freebies all around town.

Two passes in particular, the Schaulust Museen Berlin pass and Berlin’s Tourism Board’s Welcomecard offer particularly good deals for quick trips.  Take a look.

SchauLUST-MuseenBERLIN ticket

With the 3-day Schaulust-Museen Berlin pass, travelers have access to about 70 Berlin museums and collections, for free! You must use the ticket for three consecutive days. The museums pass is not valid for some special exhibitions, so check with the tourism board, or via their web site, for more details. Cost: €19 (€9.50 for students with valid identification).  

What museums can you visit?

Highlights of the pass include the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,  the Preussischer Kulturbesitz (including the Bode Museum), the incredible Pergamon Museum, Egyptian Museum and Gemaldegalerie (painting gallery).

In addition, you can hit up Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin, the German Technology Museum, and the Brücke Museum. The 3-day “Museumspass” is available online and at the Berlin infostores.

Berlin’s Welcomecard

Another terrific option is the Berlin Welcomecard. It’s a great value offering free public transportation, a pocket map, and 50 percent off admission to more than 140 museums and city sights. 

This year, to help mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Berlin Tourism Board launches a new 5-day Welcomecard (it’s previously only been available in 2-day and 3-day versions).

Cost:  The pass is €16.50 for a 48-hour period, and €22 for a 72-hour period. The new 5-day card costs €29.50. Also new this year, a special card that tacks on free shuttle service to and from Tegel or Schonefeld airport. Prices vary, so check the site for details.

What should you pick up?

If you plan to see museums and also see the city, the Welcomecard could be just the ticket. Since it gives you free transport for up to 5-days (depending on which type of pass you buy), you can jet around freely, stopping in at museums and other sights where you’ll also enjoy a hefty discount.

Our pick? Well, we’re art buffs and we love to ride bicycles and pound the pavenment, so no matter how cold or how far we plan to go, we’re always more likely to opt for the Schaulust-Museen Berlin pass.

Either way, neither card is a bitte pill to swallow. So, get packin’!

If you go, check out our budget hotel picks for Berlin here.

Popularity: 15% [?]

Rome’s Gucci store on Via dei Condotti, as photographed by scalleja

Rome, city of the Colosseum, the Vatican, and some of the most coveted art in the world, is also a well-known fashion center. Why not do as the Romans do, and snag a few fabulous—and free—haute couture shopping bags, before you head home?

Pack a bag

As Cheapos, we can’t exactly advocate an indulgent spending spree, but we can advise you to keep those glossy shopping bags, if such a spree should occur. (Hey, we’re all human, right?) The homeland of Armani, Prada, Versace, Dolce and Gabbana, and Gucci offers some of the snazziest fashions in Europe and most purchases come in fancy bags with pristine packaging.

Via dei Condotti is one of the richest streets in Italy and boasts the stores, and glossy bags to prove it. This is where to find the big names listed above. On Via del Corso, which runs through the historic city center of Rome, you’ll find Ferrari and Swarovski crystal while Piazza Navona is the best place for gallery-hopping and antique browsing. An “ingresso gratuito” sign in the window is your signal to poke around for free. A “saldi” sign means there’s a sale going on.

Cheapo tip: Find the least expensive item in a designer shop and buy it: think keychain, a towel, baby booties, or even a pen or pencil. The cheapest wares still come in pretty packaging and are easiest to pack. Back home, we’ve been known to carry a small, paper Gucci bag as a lunch sack. And, ribbons from sweet, haute-worthy packages make great hair ties!

While you’re at it…

Don’t forget the outlets! Rome is known for its factory warehouses full of discounted designer duds. We recommend you check out Fashion District Valmonte, just 45 minutes east of Rome’s city center, which boasts 150 designer shops (Calvin Klein, Pierre Cardin, and Sisley to name a few) and is Italy’s self-proclaimed “largest shopping project.” For directions and coupons for the outlet, visit Valmonte’s web site.

Popularity: 23% [?]

Photo by triptothegluefactory

Golf isn’t generally up our alley, but we’re nothing if not suggestable.

Dublin Tourism is now offering a host of great golfing offers from clubs around Ireland. Participating clubs include Malahide Golf Club and St. Anne’s Golf Club in County Dublin.

Until June 30, 2007, Malahide Golf Club is offering greens fees of just €30 for play on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays before 9:30 a.m., and only €40 for play after 9:30 a.m.

At St. Anne’s Golf Club the fees will stand at €40 until May 31 for play before 8:30 a.m. on any weekday.m

Popularity: 5% [?]