Dubai World’s Fair

Have you ever arrived at a new city and discovered a fabulous event. But that something fabulous is fully booked. Winter of 2023, there was a blockbuster exhibit of Vermeer in Amsterdam. Vermeer painted only 34 pictures, all of which are gems. By the time, we, Americans, heard about it, it was fully booked, not a waitlist. Similarly, when we New Yorkers heard about the new, Guys and Dolls in the Bridge Theater in London, it was sold out for 12 months. (Quick aside: some sold out exhibitions offer podcasts with photos and excellent information- the Vermeer did).

Blue and yellow tulips and daffodils in Keukenhof park in Holland

How can this side of the pond, know what spectacular events are on the horizon? The easy ones are international events like the Olympics or a World’s Fair- yet how many of us knew about the Dubai World’s Fair? We found out because we had a group going to Dubai and hotel rates were high.  Some events are annual: Keukenhof flower festival in Amsterdam has the same dates each year as does the Chelsea Flower Show. Special annual events can be insanely expensive; these annuals include major sports events: Carnival in Rio, Cherry Blossoms in Japan, even Chinese New Year in China.

London, United Kingdom – May 22 2022: Flower display for Chelsea in Bloom 2022

For the most popular events, tour companies unfairly snap up tickets and hotel rooms then resell them as packages. This scalping occurred when Downton Abbey was at its peak popularity; tourists could only see Highclere Castle, if booked with a hotel package.  Wimbledon tickets are also sold in a package.

Special museum exhibits and new museum openings are easier for late bookers.  A place I discovered this year is The Stock Exchange in Paris, in French ‘La Bourse’. The building was transformed into a museum to hold the private art collection of billionaire, Francois Pinault. PS there are two other similar museums in Venice if you want to see more of his collection. Tickets were easy to obtain.

The Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo tops all new museum opening excitement. With 100,000 artifacts and Tutankhamun’s 5,600 tomb items, it will be the blockbuster. You can put your name on a list to be notified of opening dates; rumors are 2024. Here is the link: https://grandegyptianmuseum.org/opening/

A sampling of other museums you need to book in advance:The Louvre in Abu Dhabi, small but beautifully curated, set on an island; you go by boat, so you need to book the boat. Especially for museums in the Middle East, you must buy tickets ahead of time. There is no slow season because this part of the world receives tourists from East and West. Christmas in Europe is busy; November in India is busy.  Another new Emirates Museum is the Museum of the Future in Dubai. Its site already warns of increased demand for tickets.  Finally, The Women’s Travel Group recently visited Saudi Arabia. With its wealth, museums were new with elegant architecture, good signage, unusual exhibits, and free bottled water. Some had free snacks! We had to pre-book all visits, for both indoor and outdoor exhibits.

Here in New York , buy tickets now for the new Museum of Broadway, and the Richard Gilder Museum of Natural History.  Don’t expect to get into the best museum restaurants; for the Whitney Museum restaurant, you feel like Tiny Tim looking only from the outside.

Are festivals worth the effort? My opinion is not usually. Art festivals are notoriously insider based. Food festivals can be fun but the biggest food festivals, like SIAL, in Paris are trade only.   A wine festival like the Sonoma Wine Festival is $350 per person + high hotel rates. Love wine and want to taste 100 types? Book early for your accommodation, expect to pay higher than normal accommodation rates.

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

For famous shopping markets, definitely research. The famous outdoor market in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, ( one of the 1,000 things to see…) was moved to  a hangar type building. It used to spread over a field of animals, tribes people, crafts, clothing, jewelry with endless photo ops. Also for markets visits, you might need shipping. Research shipping up front or don’t fall in love with an African bambara from the Pan African Market in Cape Town, then find you cannot ship it home.

So summary, only go to a major festival or market, exhibition or event if  it is your special thing, and you read you will feel safe in the crowd. Festivals usually have an outdoor component so check the average weather. Know all private and public transportation choices, hotel and back. Use a transportation site like www.rome2rio.com for distance and options. Do not leave transportation to chance; there are cars waiting to overcharge tourists.

Bring your own snacks and water. Pay extra for less crowded time slots.  Look on line for local English language e-zines discussing safety, the best areas to see first, and where the toilets are. Look at the date stamp on any site you follow. Woodstock on line has great reviews; but it is gone.

Final warning: Notre Dame’s reopening date is December 8, 2024… book your flight and tickets now.