We’re big fans of the city-wide all-night party trend in Europe. Paris seems to have come to the party first in October 2002 with its “Nuit Blanche” of performances, gallery openings, monument tours, and late-night shenanigans.

Rome followed the next year, launching “Notte Bianca” with great success. Indeed, according to party planners, the party has become an event the Italian capital “can no longer do without!”

Rome has just announced that “Notte Bianca 2007″ will take place the night of Saturday, September 8th (with some events happening the day before). This year’s show will promote a message of cultural difference and understanding, and will feature hundreds of acts performed by artists all night long throughout the city.

Which kind of events? According to the event’s website:

For Saturday September 8th the programme includes performances, concerts, plays, dance shows, magic and circus arts, contemporary art installations, fireworks, even a concert of church bells, all characterised by tradition and experimentation, merging together for one night an ensemble of artistic capabilities, cultural scope, knowledge, techniques and ways of expressing art and entertainment, all very different one from the other, and that is both multifaceted and harmonious.

We’re there. More information and event schedules: official site.

Meanwhile, Paris has only said that this year’s event will take place in October. For more info, the mayor’s office is already hyping it on their website.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Photo by pnoid00

On June 23, 2007, Budapest will hold its third Night of Museums to celebrate St John’s Midsummer Night. Traditionally, this is the night when fires are kept burning for unmarried girls to jump over and so guarantee themselves a husband, and fruit is thrown into the fire to guarantee a good harvest.

Torches and candles will be lit and fire-blowers will perform outside the National Museum—one of 29 museums and public collections taking part in this year’s Night of Museums. All 29 places will stay open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. and will host special programs, concerts, and dance performances in addition to their usual exhibitions. In previous years, some venues have been known to offer a snack and a glass of wine—or a hot chocolate. But the highlight of the night has to be the special show of erotic Roman artifacts at the Aquincum Museum!

The night is marvellous fun and a paradise for Cheapos. Free buses transport culture hounds to museums, departing from Erzsébet Tér every 30 minutes. Tickets for all events can be bought from the Budapest Transport Company (BKV) for HUF500 (€1.95; $2.65). For details of exhibitions and programs, check out the night’s schedule.

Popularity: 8% [?]

This is probably the biggest music festival in central London beyond the (BBC) Proms.

Tickets aren’t cheap. Day passes are going for £40. A two-day pass costs £75, a three-day pass costs £105, and a four-day pass costs £135.) So, yeah, not cheap. But we bet you could just walk by and enjoy yourselves, listening to The White Stripes, The Klaxons, Gotan Project, Air, LCD Soundsystem, Modest Mouse, Kaiser Chiefs, and many more.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Photo by SagenVrabel

Attention lovers of the extraordinary! Your world headquarters will soon be set up at Merrion Square Park.

From June 15 through June 17, 2007, this Dublin city center park will play host to the Street Performance World Championship, three days worth of the ordinary, extraordinary, and downright unbelievable. From sword swallowers to bull fighters, this is one competition that will have it all.

Be sure to check out the acts and locate their venues early, as the popular performers are sure to attract a large crowd. And as this is Dublin, remember to bring both your umbrella and your sunglasses—you don’t have to be a fortune teller to know that you’ll probably need both!

Popularity: 5% [?]

The fourth annual Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (DGTF) began yesterday and continues on until May 20, 2007, with 35 productions entertaining audiences at ten venues across downtown Dublin.

This year’s festival presents productions that either have a gay element, theme, or relevance. Theatre troupes from the UK, USA, Canada, Spain, South Africa, and the Ukraine are taking part and Award winning Broadway sensation Rick Skye is making his Dublin debut in the Irish premiere of A Slice O’Minelli, a high energy cabaret set to have audiences rolling in the aisles.

Tickets prices for DGTF events vary. Discounts are available for students, the unemployed, those with disabilities, and senior citizens. But with tickets starting as low as €14, and some events going for free, you won’t have to break the bank to attend.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo by Eulinx

Shine a little sunlight on Berlin and the city’s attitude warms right up with it. And after sleepwalking through another winter of 4 PM sunsets, this city deserves to party!

Berlin kicks off the springtime outdoor festival season with Spring Fest, on now through April 15, 2007 at the Zentrale Festplatz on Kurt-Schumacher-Damm. Festivities include rides, performances, yummy treats, and of course, plenty of beer and sausages. On April 7, fireworks will top it all off starting at 9:45 p.m.

The Cheapo-friendly festival costs €1.50 to get in (kids under 14 free), and Wednesdays are Family Day, with half-price discounts on rides. Hours are 3 pm – 11 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays; 3 pm – 12 am on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 pm – 11 pm on Wednesdays, Sundays and Easter Monday. The festival will be closed on Good Friday.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Photograph by Elen Farkas

Vienna is subdivided into 23 districts. On Sunday, March 25, 2007 for the first time, Vienna will hold the Tag der Wiener Bezirksmuseen, or the day of district museums. Starting at 10 a.m., all district museums in Vienna will be open to those interested in finding out more about each district’s culture, history, and significant residents.

Aside from exhibitions, there will also be press conferences, seminars, and matinee concerts. In the inner First District, discussions of its famous citizens (Ludwig van Beethoven, the playwright Johann Nestroy, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others) are scheduled. In the Eighth District (Josefstadt) a special exhibit, “Hollywood in der Josefstadt” is in planned. Noted Viennese luminaries such as Billy Wilder (who became a popular director in Tinseltown with “Sabrina” and “The Seven Year Itch,”) Oskar Werner, and Fritz Lang will surely be hot topics.

For more information, summary of events and the addresses of the museums, visit the City of Vienna’s Web site or call +43 (0)1 403 6415. Admission is free.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Photo courtesy of Linus Gelber

This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Institute Curie in Paris is hosting a daffodil festival. The event, which is a fundraiser for cancer research, will transform the famous esplanade of the Panthéon into an aquatic garden with palm trees, banana trees, and over fifty thousand daffodils—with picnic spaces and plenty of benches for wandering Cheapos to rest their weary feet.

For you mime-ophiles out there (you know who you are!), musicians and street performers will also be participating. A 2€ donation earns you the right to pick a daffodil as a souvenir.

The place de la Panthéon is in the 5th arrondissement, metro Cardinal Lemoine. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday March 16 through Sunday March 18, 2007.

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Apparently, if it’s under 3,000 quid (€4400; $5800) it’s deemed affordable. For a junior analyst at Goldman Sachs, maybe. For the rest of us, London’s Affordable Art Fair is just an opportunity to browse and see what’s on offer in the contemporary art world these days.

If you’re in London today (March 15, 2007) through Sunday (March 18, 2007), head down to Battersea Park for a eyeful. There are over 100 galleries and artists exhibiting from all over the UK and abroad.

It’s under a tenner to get in. If you print out this nifty e-voucher it’s free. All you need to do is click here, print out the voucher, and bring it with you to the ticket desk.

Popularity: 2% [?]

photograph courtesy of clairevet

Cheapos, pay attention! Printemps du Cinema, organised by the National Federation of Cinema, is a not-to-be-missed event in France. From March 18-20, 2007, all cinemas in France will be selling tickets for €3.50 instead of the usual €9.50. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see new releases or catch up on films you haven’t yet found the time to check out.

For nationwide listings, go to allocine.fr. Amongst the current mainstream releases are Breaking and Entering, Letters from Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls, Blood Diamond, and The Last King of Scotland. Make sure you are going to a V.O. (version originale) showing—which means the movie will be screened in its original language with French subtitles—as opposed to V.F. (version francaise) film.

Paris has a welter of unique and charming independent cinemas worth seeking out for the aesthetic experience of a visit alone. La Pagode, for example, is an authentic Japanese pagoda built in 1895 as a gift from a French businessman to his wife. Today it is a delightful art house cinema complete with a garden and tea room, located at 57 bis, rue de Babylone 75007. Metro: Saint François Xavier.

Popularity: 2% [?]