musuems and nightlife

[bps04]

hey everybody

what musuems rate as CANT MISS in these cities

Athens
Rome
Florence
Venice
Budapest
Vienna
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam

and any suggestions/advice on pubs, bars, clubs, hotspots or shows in or around there?? also i'm going to israel, who knows what to do in tel aviv?

[madamtrashheap]

bps04, here are some Clubs in this Post to get you started:
pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=CCadvice&action=display&n=1&thread=3824&page=1

Plus in Rome you might like to go out at night in the Campo de'Fiori (square). The Plaka area of Athens has lots of bars and restaurants, but there are also areas like Neo Psychiko or Thisson that have more of a local vibe. Just a word on Budapest, great town, but I hear the scam of luring tourists into bars and then hitting them for an "exit" fee (upwards of US$500) is still going on - that's no way for an EU country to behave! It seems to be a lot less frequent now, but if you are approached by anyone telling you they know a great bar and would you like to join them, politely decline and be on your way.

As for the museums, it's difficult to list them all, (plus your version of "can't miss" might be my version of "can't abide"! ;D) but have a look through the Boards as we have all contributed little tidbits about each place at some point recently. And grab a guidebook (or Google) and look at the list of museums/attractions in each city that might interest you.

[herrbert]

It depends a little bit on what you like to see.

I can imagine you want to the see the David-statue when your in Florence, so the Accademia is a must. And I would also say the Pergamon museum in Berlin is a must-see. For the rest it's your interests that should guide you. There a dozen possibilities to take a look at some 'alround'-art museums (the normal stuff paintings from 1500 till now, personaly I am bored with that, but that me). the Uffuzi (Florence), the Kunsthistorisches Museum and Belvedere (Vienna) and the Rijksmuseum (in Amsterdam) are loaded with this, and yes they all will have unique, and big masterpieces in their collection.

If you want modern art, then I suggest the MuMoK in Vienna (you can find it at the MQ -> museumquartier). A very good collection of work by van Gogh you can find at the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (worth a visit, for sure). Maybe you would also consider some other museums, and learn more about WWII, try the Jewish museum in either Berlin or Amsterdam.

For nightlife, check out if there are some gigs, at the Kesselhaus/Machinenhaus in Berlin (aka Culturbrauerei), or Paradiso or Melkweg in Amsterdam. (for the other towns, I don't know a lot about the nightlife).