ART AND DESIGN

Explore art outside of the museum box. Graffiti, large-scale murals, sculpture, and creative multimedia integration is what our generation calls art, and the world is bursting with visual stimulation. Hit New York for a face full of graffiti, Tokyo for head-to-toe tat culture, and Amsterdam to pay a visit to the slithery snake wrapped around town. From the traditional museums of Paris to the makeshift studios of gritty Berlin, the street art culture of New York City to Gaudí’s twisted Sagrada Família, the multitude of ways people express themselves around the world will stir you with inspiration—and maybe expand your definition of art.

AMSTERDAM

COLOR THROUGH THE HAZE

Amsterdam’s street art is funky, trippy, and guaranteed to tickle your creativity. Sure you could spend your time trapped in musty museums, but why not breathe in some of that bracing North Sea air and check out the graffiti bombings around town instead? In a city of greats like Van Gogh and Rembrandt, street art is embraced as another form of fine art, just with a different medium and a more solid canvas. Leave the tourists to the Museumplein and find yourself among the avant garde of today’s times under Amsterdam’s bridges.

ROOTED IN PUNK

While painting on walls is caveman-years old, Amsterdam’s street art materialized in the early 1970s. Graffiti artists, also known as writers or bombers, emerged from the European punk movement, using graffiti as a way to express discontent with the troubling political and economic climate during that time. Earlier artworks focused more on political activism and rebellious poetry, while modern Amsterdam writers explore typography as a medium of expression. When you’re prepping for your trip, you can write your entire itinerary in the download-able font appropriately named “Amsterdam Graffiti.”

The Amsterdam municipal government has recently attempted to decriminalize graffiti by creating legal opportunities to paint in specially designated areas. The government is also working to legitimize some of the better-known artists by sponsoring or commissioning them, promoting their exhibitions, and even purchasing some of their works for museums.

THE HANDS THAT ROCK THE SPRAY CAN

Niels “Shoe” Meulman

The Bill Shakespeare of graffiti, Niels began tagging as “Shoe” in 1979 and achieved legendary status by the time he was eighteen. In the ’80s, he formed an international graffiti crew—“Crime Time Kings”—with Bando from Paris and Mode2 from London. He transitioned to legit graphic design in the ’90s, running his own firm, but remained rooted in the street art scene and is dropping shit to this day. Shoe’s distinctive style is known as Calligraffiti—a mash-up of calligraphy and graffiti—and he has recently released an eponymous book of his work.

Ottograph

If you have a velvet Andy Warhol print and an ironic lava lamp, you’ll love Ottograph, whose pop art influences can be seen all over Amsterdam. Ottograph began tagging at the age of ten and his vibrant graffiti is rich in social commentary, but not so cerebral you need to smoke a joint to understand it… although, it could enhance the experience.

Mickey

Mickey developed as a writer by scribbling names on any available surface. Her current street art has characteristic eyeballs and aliens embedded around the paintings, which, as she puts it, “watch the world.” Her day job is teaching second-grade future taggers.

DHM

Hugo Mulder, a.k.a. DHM, is like Spider-Man—graphic designer by day, bomb-dropper by night. You’ll soon begin to recognize the black-and-white tattoo style he’s been crafting since the mid-’80s, which covers stretches of the city.

X Streets Collective

A crew of talented artists with diverse styles, the collective includes notables such as Ives. The creative director of Project Amsterdam Street Art, Ives is an artist that emerged into the street art scene in the mid-’90s to beautifully combine stencil and freehand. Like the Justice League of street art, other members of X Streets—namely BUSTart, Zaira, Skatin Chinchilla, MLSS, Karma83, and Seifrei—merge their talents to create complex and diverse murals.

TOP ART SPOTS

Henxs

To mingle with the local artists and get a tag-a-long, head over to Henxs, a small shop near the Waterlooplein, whose clientele wear masks to avoid fume inhalation and balaclavas to hide their faces from the police. You can ask them how to contact bombers and where to find some of the hidden gems of Amsterdam.

Flevopark

Head east of the city to Flevopark where you can soak up the sun and visit some of the city’s vibrant bombs. If you fancy trying your hand at writing your name, the walls under the freeway in the skate park near Flevopark are all legal.

Red Light District

If you want art with a side of nudity, you can find graffiti in the Red Light District. One noteworthy mural of the ladies is on Dollebegijnensteeg near the canal. Make sure you venture over to Spuistraat where you can see a giant Technicolor serpent coiled around an entire Dutch row house. Your trouser snake is no match for this thirty-footer.

You can only gaze at so many Starry Nights before your thoughts circle back to sex. In addition to all the other sexiness characteristic to Amsterdam, it’s also home to Muse du Sexe—the oldest sex museum in the world. The display cases in the Venustempel (Venus Temple) are full of ancient toys and wax figures of Mata Hari and her partners. When the seventeenth-century building was reclaimed in 1985, an antique, erect Hermes figurine was found in the rubble and you can have a look-see while resting comfortably on the museum’s cushioned benches. It’s a full-sensory experience, with muffled naughty noises pumped in through the walls. Don’t miss the photo op between two massive boners. Displays of sex through the ages have cultural value—and where else could you see a medieval statue of Satan with a hard–on? This hornifying activity only costs 4 euros, which would only buy you a set of blue balls in the Red Light District.

BARCELONA

GAUDí-LAND

Catalan traditionalists love their fine art museums, and the street kids deck out the cityscape with incredible murals. Local artists are constantly at work, creating mind-bending pieces that build on their artistic history and move it forward. But while many styles and expressions exist in this undoubtedly artsy city, nothing sets Barcelona visually apart from the world more than the architectural contributions of Antoni Gaudí, Barcelona’s deranged master of plaster. His drippy, twisted buildings puncture the otherwise classic Spanish city blocks and turn them into stare-worthy attractions.

SOLITUDE BUILDS CHARACTER

All of that quirk definitely came from somewhere. Antoni Gaudí was born in 1852 in Reus and was a sickly kid with rheumatism (creaky joints), which forced him to sit around and look at shit by himself instead of interacting with other kids. Since walking was difficult, Tony rode a donkey and spent his early days observing animals and nature. A vegetarian for most of his life, his respect for nature shone through everything he did. Not surprisingly, he was never much of a people-person and is rumored to have died a seventy-three-year-old virgin.

LEARNING THE RULES TO BEND

Gaudí first came to Barcelona in 1868 to study architecture and, even though he was a pretty shitty student, managed to graduate and leave a lasting impression. As is often the case with weirdos, Gaudí’s professors thought he was either a complete moron or a total genius. The city of Barcelona took a chance on Gaudí and commissioned him to design lampposts for the Plaça Reial. Although you could blink and miss them, the art nouveau lamps are still lighting the way today. We’re betting on genius.

CASA VICENS

With the lampposts, Gaudí gained some serious street cred and was commissioned to build a house for a rich family that owned a ceramic tile factory. From 1883 to 1888, Gaudí worked on Casa Vicens, drawing from his fascination with Oriental details and Moorish architecture to create the ridiculous McMansion. As a tribute to the man who paid him, Gaudí detailed the casa with the owner’s multicolor tiles, which made the whole thing look like a shimmering fish at sunrise. His next projects continued to decorate the city with architectural weirdness. In 1910, he completed Casa Milà, which resembles stone waves; it was almost too damn weird for the government’s approval. Inspired by nature, Gaudí’s geometrically defying designs can be seen in many other buildings around town, like the Casa Calvet and Casa Batlló. Park Güell is an entire park of surrealist sculptures and structures, perching high above the city like a tripped-out thought bubble.

SAGRADA FAMÍLIA

A Catholic bordering on fanatic, Gaudí dedicated most of his adult life to designing a church that would scare the bejesus out of Jesus. Gaudí began working on Sagrada Família—the most famous site in Barcelona—in 1882, and it’s still not finished. The dripping, curling towers hit you in the face as you walk out of the train station, and your eyes take a few minutes to adjust to its insanely unique design. Part Gothic, part Naturalistic, and all Gaudí, Sagrada Família is so intricate and complex that dozens of architects and builders are still working to realize Gaudí’s vision, over 130 years after construction began.

DEATH BY TROLLEY

An artist through and through, old man Gaudí was one of those famous guys who dressed like a bum to prove a point. Gaudí was struck by a tram in Barcelona in 1926 and, since he looked less than decent, was given the kind of medical attention homeless people get (i.e., sideways looks and a Band-Aid). When it was discovered that he wasn’t a mere (human!) hobo, Gaudí was asked if he wished to be transferred to a better facility, but he declined. After several days in a crappy hospital, Gaudí succumbed to his injuries and died. Point proven. Lesson learned? Listen to your mom and always wear clean underwear because you never know when you’ll get hit by a trolley and be mistaken for a homeless person.

BERLIN

GRITTY ART, WAREHOUSE SPACES, AND STREET STYLES

Breaking free from its Wall-divided days, Berlin is united through its artistic expression. Like the city itself, art in Berlin is innovative, unconventional, and constantly changing with the creative, free spirits of its people who fight control by coloring the machine’s monotony. One part raw, one part refined, and all parts real, Berlin’s explosive art scene will inspire you to get your hands dirty.

GRITTY ART

After a lengthy period of historic oppression, the progressively liberal trend that plows forward today is voiced and displayed through the creative artists who live, breathe, and decorate Berlin. Their art tells the tale of a city transcending its past and flourishing in its freedom. As such, themes can cover everything from societal chaos to peace, prosperity, and community. This means that you’re as likely to find a portrayal of a decapitated cat’s head cooking in an oven as you are a building-size depiction of East and West Berliners uniting. Most will be raunchy; all will be nice.

WAREHOUSE SPACES

The beauty of Berlin is that it’s still coming up. A new player in a long-established game, Berlin isn’t yet influenced by the poshness and snobbery sometimes associated with art. Exhibits and venues are as down-to-earth as the artists. You’ll find dozens of dilapidated buildings inhabited by starving artists showcasing their work all throughout the city, especially in the district of Mitte. Walk right in and look around; each room has a different flavor, and most of the works are for sale. In SOX, you’ll find an all-outdoors gallery on Oranien Street in Kreuzberg. Window-shopping at its finest, the tiny window space (only a few yards wide) switches up its showcase every few weeks.

STREET STYLES

Berlin is hailed as the mecca of urban art. First thrown up in the ’60s in response to the creation of the Berlin Wall, street art has shifted from cries for equality to mind-fucking murals that turn the city’s streets into colorful canvases portraying the political progression. The biggest in the international game—Banksy, Invader, and Blu, to name just a few—have sprayed their marks on Berlin, alongside the works of local guys like El Bocho, Alias, and XOOOOX. Lucky for you, finding street art in Berlin is as easy as finding decent schnitzel around town. For a sure thing, walk along the East Side Gallery, the largest (just under a mile long), still-standing segment of the Wall painted by dozens of artists as a freedom memorial.

Currently controlled, inhabited, and decorated by the people, Berlin is like that first college apartment where all your artsy friends got drunk and drew in your hallway, except there’s no deposit to worry about.

CHEFCHAOUEN

MOROCCO’S BLUE CITY

Like a Smurf village nestled into the Rif mountains, Chefchaouen looks like the sky dipped down for a minute and stained the buildings blue. Close to Tangier, this city has been in a tug-of-war with Spain for centuries, and hints of Spanish architecture and art mix into the Moroccan motif here. Nothing in Morocco’s blue city will ever leave you feeling gray.

BEHIND THE BLUE

The Spanish Inquisition force–fed Christianity to anyone and everyone in its path and left many Muslims and Jews scrambling for a place to call home. Moriscos and Marranos—or Christian-converted Muslims and Jews, respectively—settled here along-side Berber tribespeople to duck out from the Spanish. In existence since 1471, Chefchaouen has always been a hideout where beliefs all blend to blue.

While pretty to look at, the town’s distinct hue isn’t aesthetically motivated. The blue comes from Jewish teachings, which say that this magical hue, when interwoven in prayer shawls, keeps you connected to God. From the looks of it, the good people of Chefchaouen have a 5G connection.

TO DO IN BLUE

As is true for many parts of Morocco, this city is split in two. The old medina with its punch of red terra-cotta tiles, contains the kasbah—a fortress that houses a garden, museum and art gallery—and the Grand Mosque, an octagonal mosque closed to non-Muslims but nonetheless, a wonder to peep from outside. The new city, the center of which is Plaza Mohammed V, which was designed by Spanish artist Joan Miró.

Tagines made with those punch-you-in-the-buds spices are the specialty here and their goat cheese—a boldly flavored creamy curd—is a tourist attraction in and of itself. The blue city walls provide an enticing background to the colorful goods on sale, like one-of-a-kind wool garments, carpets, and intricate ceramics.

All hikes through the hills, where you’ll experience sweeping views of the all blue surroundings cradled by the Mediterranean ocean, start at Chefchaouen. These strolls take you through little villages, thick greenery, and around mountain streams. At night, constellations come alive in the clear sky to remind you that we all see the same stars… except the people of Chefchaouen get to see the unobstructed-by-smog version.

GREENS IN THE BLUE

Let’s not forget that the blue city sits inside the green Rif mountains; as in the kind of green you smoke. “Chefchaouen” means “watch the horns,” which speaks to the goat-horned mountain peaks behind the city. And when you’re high on their supply, those goats really come to life. For more on taking a good Moroccan toke, check out page 134.

MOSCOW

MAGNIFICENT STRUCTURES

Mother Russia has been busy building incredible structures for centuries. Moscow’s architecture is a mix of old and new, with a majestic collection of clustered domes, skyscrapers, fortresses, and creative homes that’ll take your breath away (if the cold doesn’t snatch it first). These are a few of Moscow’s most magnificent structures to get you started on your exploration of Russia’s eclectic take on architecture.

ST. BASIL’S CATHEDRAL

Sittin’ pretty in the Red Square with its iconic bulbous spires, St. Basil’s looks like it was built by a master sand castle crafter using many buckets and shaping tools. Ivan the Terrible had the structure built in 1561 and architect Postnik Yakovlev was chosen for the job, but little else is known—except that Ivan may have had Postnik’s eyes removed postconstruction so that he would never again make anything as beautiful. So it goes. When first erected, St. Basil’s was a solid white with gold domes and flare in the form of helmeted, multicolored, and patterned onion domes. A new bell tower and various structures were added throughout the centuries. St. Basil’s—a nickname taken after the “holy fool” Basil that’s buried under it—was almost destroyed by Stalin because it got in the way of his massive parades on the Red Square.

BOLSHOI THEATRE

With its towering Pantheon aesthetic, the Bolshoi Theatre is as statuesque as the Russian ballerinas that have been twirling inside it since 1780. The theater—then called the Petrovsky Theatre—was first erected by Prince Pyotr Urusov and his business bro Englishman Michael Maddox, but when the duo fell into debt, it was transferred to the government. The theatre went up in flames in 1805, was rebuilt, and then again burned to shit in 1812 during Russia’s battle with Napoleon. In 1825, the theater’s architects decided to go big (i.e., “Bolshoi”) rather than go home. The Bolshoi Theatre was rebuilt as a massive venue for Russia’s most talented troupes, with sweeping staircases and a lavish auditorium that could accommodate 2,000 ballet-goers. But the Bolshoi wasn’t in the clear just yet: it burned down again in 1853, was rebuilt, succumbed to decay, was used as a gathering place for the propaganda-spewing Bolsheviks during the Soviet Union, was hit by a bomb in 1941, and underwent major reconstruction throughout the early 2000s to achieve its current immaculate glow. If that’s not some resilient shit, we don’t know what is!

MELNIKOV HOUSE

Lesser known but nonetheless magnificent, this one-of-a-kind house was built by 1920’s avant-garde architect Konstantin Melnikov. It looks like a fallen water tower with punched-out hexagonal window holes, but there’s so much more than meets the eye. The interior is a completely transformative experience, with light entering in patterns like a kaleidoscope and bouncing off the curved walls, wooden floors, and sculpted staircases. The house represents a unique form of architecture unseen in the rest of Russia. Sadly, while plans to turn the house into a museum are being considered, it is quickly crumbling.

THE KREMLIN

This “fortress inside a city” is how Russia does the White House. It’s comprised of immaculate structures including four cathedrals, five palaces, and a massive enclosing wall that contains the Kremlin Towers. The Kremlin’s famous residents have included dukes, tsars, Catherine the Great, Stalin, and Lenin. The Kremlin was a comfortable place from which to run the Soviet Union. The Grand Kremlin Palace alone has over 700 rooms and currently houses the country’s president—who, if it were up to us, would be riding around that thing in a hovercraft all day long.

GUM DEPARTMENT STORE

The GUM looks more like a place where you get your wrists whacked with a ruler for disobeying the headmaster than a store. GUM is an abbreviation derived from Russian which stands for “state universal market” and is the name given to many of the Soviet era stores where people cashed in their government-issued coupons for goods (i.e., stood in endless bread lines). Moscow’s GUM, which is now ironically a department store, faces the Red Square and is the largest in the country. The ceiling is all glass, and the breathtaking interior is made from various materials like granite, marble, and limestone. The body of Stalin’s wife—who committed suicide in 1932—was displayed here when Stalin used the space as his personal office.

BONUS:

Lenin’s Mausoleum is an all-red tomb that sits in the middle of the Red Square, and Lenin has chilled inside this thing on display since 1924. When future humanoids dig for our remains, they’ll likely think Lenin was our mummy god.

NEW YORK CITY

THE GRANDDADDY OF GRAFFITI

Where it all began. The street art in New York City still decorates all of its extremities—from roofs to bodegas to subway tunnels, creeping into tourist photos, and dazzling up advertisements and bar bathrooms. Lace your kicks, look out for the cops, and shake up your paint can—we’re throwing up our tag on the NYC graffiti game.

THE BIRTH OF TAGGING

The NYC street art craze began in the late 1960s when a teenage foot-messenger known best as TAKI 183 started to spray his name all across northern Manhattan. Although it’s said that another graffiti writer, Julio 204, brought tagging to Manhattan, TAKI 183’s fame—including a 1971 New York Times cover story—is credited for inspiring others to test their hand at painting up the city’s streets.

While some were “getting up” slowly, others “bombed” ’hoods to get their names out there quickly, outfitting Lower East Side tenement buildings in top-to-bottom tags. Bombing hit its heyday in the early ’70s and remains popular today.

Moving art installations were created when artists took their talents to the subways. With competition for recognition rising, artists worked at night—alongside giant NYC rats—while tagging subway cars to move their names throughout the boroughs. Subway cars were wrapped in murals, a large-scale design pioneered by the artist known as Super Kool 223 and mastered by the infamous graffiti quintet, the Fabulous Five.

Just as shit got really interesting, the Clean Train Movement of 1989 decommissioned any train with graffiti on it—leading to poor enough service that the graffiti masters eventually stopped. The MTA is only now realizing how much it pissed off its art-appreciating riders and recently launched various public art promotions—or PG attempts at “cleaning up” graffiti by replacing it with city-approved art. Luckily, regardless of its legality, underground street artists continue to thrive above-ground. Street art in New York continues to grow, spanning vertical space from high up on rooftops to the ground level and down into mole-people territory.

ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Known for pioneering a certain style, collaborating on murals, or just covering a lot of city space, in NYC, these artists are essential to the scene:

Tracy 168

Known for creating Wildstyle graffiti by fusing block, bubble, and curling lettering styles.

Fab 5 Freddy

Notorious for merging the hip-hop nation with the graffiti underworld of New York. Although it has long been said that graffiti is simply a visual representation of hip-hop, according to Freddy, both are separate artistic forms of counterculture.

Dr. Revolt

Another old-school artist, the “doctor” painted up subways cars with the best of them. His mainstream claim to fame was designing the logo for Yo! MTV Raps. Word to your mother.

Kenny Scharf

First inspired by Hanna-Barbera cartoons, this Brooklyn artist’s signature big-eyed blobs can be found anywhere from East Village mural spaces to the runway, where he collaborated with American designer Jeremy Scott to create a funky-fresh line in 2014. He also got into welding together trash he collected around his Brazil studio and designed a limited-edition wine label for Villa Zapu.

Tats Cru (a.k.a. The Mural Kings)

Muralists (the original three were from the Bronx) who have been painting up large NYC walls and subways for twenty-five years. Artists continue to join the crew every year, painting larger and more elaborate murals, competing in graffiti battles, and even taking part in a documentary to promote their craft. A famous member of the “Cru” was Fat Joe, whose tag name was “Crack.”

Cope2

From the South Bronx, Fernando Carlo has been at it since the late ’70s, and you can find his bubbled-out name just about anywhere from SoHo billboards to video games to chucks.

FINDING STREET ART

From personal to political, various meaningful pieces cover the city from sewers to delis to bridges to your hostel to our house and back. You’re bound to find at least simple tags on any given street block or in any subway station. The popularity of New York street art has even gotten the attention of corporate marketing execs, who place their ads near famous pieces to lure the eyes of art-loving potential consumers. Nonetheless, here are a few places that’ll get you in the thick of it:

Train Windows

The best graffiti window-watching can be done from the G train as it emerges above-ground from Brooklyn to Queens (stops: between 21 St.-Jackson Avenue and Court Square).

The Graffiti Hall of Fame

Wrapping an old playground on 106th and Park in East Harlem, this wall has been in a state of artistic evolution for three decades. Home to live graffiti battles, the biggest names in New York street art venture to this famed concrete slab to throw up their pieces.

The Lower East Side

Housing a large concentration of skinny, starving artists, this part of the city contains the legendary graffiti wall near the intersection of Houston and Bowery that has displayed the stylings of various artists for over thirty years. While it’s now a fully legal spot to spray, the art that graces its facade changes frequently and is still pretty impressive. Also, you’ll be glad to know that the historical tenement buildings are still tagged to shit.

Brooklyn

Catch the L train across the river and go straight into Bushwick. Right off the Jefferson stop, you will be treated to the decorations of Jefftown, organized by a group of street artists called the Bushwick Collective. The group holds special art events but on any given day, the four-block radius around the station is painted up with special pieces by international artists like London’s Stik, deconstructionist Nychos, and Brooklyn’s most recognizable artist Pixel Pancho.

PARIS

THE WHOLE ART EXPERIENCE

Paris is really just one big fucking art exhibit. From the world’s most trafficked museum to an oil stain on the sidewalk, Parisians have managed to put art everywhere and make everything art. Suffer through the long gallery lines, discover some hidden gems, and soak up the massive street art scene to get the complete art experience.

MUSÉE DU LOUVRE

Why Others Go

A six at best, the “beautiful” Mona Lisa is somehow the most famous painting in the world. It has also pretty much been unanimously voted the most overrated tourist attraction in Europe. When you fight through a sea of seniors to view the 30 x 21–inch painting behind a barricade and bulletproof glass, you’ll understand why.

Why You Should Go

Luckily, the Louvre redeems itself with 35,000 other pieces that solidify its spot as the best collection in the world. Also, there’s enough nakedness here to fill the coffee-table book Le Louvre Nu (“The Nude Louvre”), which stars the museum’s most beautiful (naked) women. Mona Lisa isn’t among them.

Then Hit the Streets

Paris’s Belleville neighborhood is the Louvre of street art. Works from every major French street artist is here—including Blek le Rat, JR, Fred le Chevalier, Kouka, Invader, and the 1984 crew. The street art clusterfuck down Rue Dénoyez is the climax, and like any good orgy, it rotates its contributors often.

THE CENTRE POMPIDOU

Why Others Go

Pompidou’s National Museum of Modern Art is the second-largest collection of modern and contemporary art in the world, with work from Kandinsky, Picasso, Dalí, and Andy Warhol. Its BPI public library is a favorite among local college students. Like Paris’s other art museums, the entrance lines routinely spill onto the street.

Why You Should Go

If you want to avoid the crowd or need to save that 14-euro entrance fee for crêpes, check out the free Atelier Brancusi modern art museum on Pompidou’s plaza. Constantin Brancusi was a Romanian sculptor who spent most of his life in Paris. In his will, he left the entire contents of his small Montparnasse studio—from column sculptures to chisels—to the French state on the condition that the studio would be reconstructed exactly as it was the day he died. The museum is a glimpse into the creation of his abstract work and his obsession with the spatial relationship of his pieces.

Then Hit the Streets

Even more discreet than the Atelier Brancusi, the subjects of Sandrine Boulet’s work are everyday street sites that wouldn’t normally catch your attention. Boulet photographs regular objects, then adds illustrations to transform them. An ironing board becomes a butterfly, an excavator becomes a giraffe, an oil stain becomes the hair of Amy Winehouse, and a debris chute and bush become the lower half of a well-endowed Adam and an au naturale Eve. Why does Boulet mess with street scenery? Her words: “When you are a kid, you spend hours laying [sic] down in the grass seeing/visualizing amazing things in the clouds. Well, I have decided this should never stop.”

MUSÉE D’ORSAY

Why Others Go

In the birthplace of impressionism, Orsay bridges the art movement gap between the Louvre and Pompidou. Plenty of works by Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, and Van Gogh make it worth the stop, but with three million visitors a year, the elbow room gets a little tight.

Why You Should Go

The setting, a majestic nineteenth-century train terminal, was almost demolished before being converted into a museum. While tourists funnel through the permanent exhibits, the ever-evolving and always impressive temporary exhibits get much less attention. Orsay also hosts lunchtime concerts, film screenings, and festivals for when you need a little more free movement.

Then Hit the Streets

Princess Hijab, Paris’s most reclusive street artist, exhibits her work in train stations in much shorter-term, temporary exhibits. Late at night, Hijab paints black veils over the faces and airbrushed, half-naked bodies of subway fashion advertisements. Her motives could be to draw attention to France’s Islamophobic laws against Muslim headdresses or to combat in-your-face sexuality. No one knows who she is, and it’s unclear if she really is Muslim or even a female.

PRAGUE

PRAGUE’S AA PROGRAM (ABSINTHE AND ARCHITECTURE)

Europe’s most elaborate and Grimm-worthy buildings make anyone wonder what the fuck architects were on back in the day. Stop wondering; the answer is absinthe. Often referred to as the “green fairy,” absinthe is a vilified but seductive spirit, distilled with wormwood, and is rumored to make you trip hard. Getting lost in the big bad stone woods of Prague’s Old Town streets is a must. Might as well bring the fairy along to spice up the ride.

THE TINK OF DRINKS

Up to 180 proof, absinthe is a licorice-flavored green drink traditionally made from hallucinogenic wormwood, anise, and sweet fennel. The first uses of wormwood date back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, but it wasn’t until the French developed a wine tolerance in the eighteenth century that absinthe grew in popularity. Hallucinogenic fans from Toulouse-Lautrec to Edgar Allan Poe swore that this shit takes it to a new level, though no one has ever proved that the fairy is indeed magical. In a classy joint, it might be served with a sugar cube balanced on a silver spoon, and it’s usually diluted with water. The Czechs set theirs on fire and let it simmer down before swallowing. Either way, it’s as alcoholic as it gets. Arm yourself with this trip-juice and head to town.

CREEPY OLD TOWN

Prague is divided into ten districts. One of these, the Old Town, is the epicenter of the city’s cellar-like speakeasies and legendary electronic clubs. Float till 3:00 a.m. sipping flaming booze on U Bukanýra, a muthafuckin’ houseboat, and then wake up early to walk it off. Old Town is prime exploring grounds for lavish buildings, ornate details, and famous shit. The giant Prague Orloj (astronomical clock), has been tripping people out since 1410 on the Old Town Square. Death, a creepy-as-hell mini skeleton, strikes the time, and Apostle figurines perform an hourly procession. To lighten up the morbid mood, stare at the swirling bright pink colors of the Goltz-Kinský Palace, and then the marble and gold accents in Malá Strana.

THE PRAGUE CASTLE

On the opposite side of the square is the Prague Castle, the previous home of royal families, and currently, the president. The castle complex has a bunch of exhibition halls and gardens to wander through. It’s not a castle without a cathedral, and the Gothic spires of St. Vitus are twisted enough to start a revolution.

CAFÉ SLAVIA

Once you’re good and inspired, visit Prague’s go-to hang out for the great romancers of absinthe. The art deco Café Slavia was an idea hub for nineteenth-century Czech visionaries, who drew on the green fairy for artistic inspiration. Instead of adding anise or fennel, the Bohemians drank that shit straight up—made only with wormwood and enough alcohol to fuel an Irish family reunion. When absinthe was “rediscovered” by some Brits in the 1990s, the straight-up stuff got sent out.

HOUSE OF THE BLACK MADONNA

After channeling your inner Van Gogh at Café Slavia, get your Picasso on and stroll by the House of the Black Madonna just off Celetná Street in Old Town. Cubist architecture is a Czech thing, so you deserve a flaming shot for the occasion. Once it takes hold, get lost in the intricate jeweled and tiled facades of Josefov (the Jewish quarter). When you’re ready to sit down and give your mind a ride, check out an elaborate set at the National Marionette Theater. Puppetry is to Prague what bagels are to New York City.

ROME

ETERNAL GODS OF THE ARTS

For 2,500 years, “The Eternal City” has been pumping out masterpieces in stone and on canvas. From its distinctive ancient architecture during Rome’s golden age to the defining sculptures and paintings of the Renaissance, Rome has somehow managed to preserve its art history through centuries of war, earthquakes, and neglect. These are the still-standing highlights from Rome’s two greatest eras in this giant museum of a city with a killer food court.

WAY BACK IN THE DAY: ANCIENT ROME

Around 500 BCE, the Roman Forum truly began to take form; it served as the headquarters for all things Roman as the city spent the next millennium rising to and falling from the top of the Western world. The Coliseum is the greatest standing work of Roman architecture and engineering. Back in the day, this is where gladiators slaughtered each other to the delight of the Roman public. The Pantheon is the best-preserved ancient Roman building and was used continuously throughout history as a gathering place for the army, then Catholics, then dead people, and now tourists.

WHEN THINGS GOT REAL ARTSY: RENAISSANCE

The Renaissance, which means “rebirth,” marks the period in the fifteenth century when Rome woke up from its 1,000-year-long power nap (otherwise known as the Middle Ages) and decided to regain its awesomeness. Romans rediscovered the works of their golden age, which inspired new movements in literature, science, politics, and most important art. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the masterpiece of all things Renaissance and resides with the pope in the Vatican City.

In violation of the Catholic Church’s poverty vow, the Vatican Museums and St. Peter’s Basilica hold an art collection worth hundreds of billions of dollars. That popular chapel ceiling, Michelangelo’s most famous work, is among the holdings, although he only reluctantly agreed to Pope Julius II’s insistence that he create it. In the pope’s defense, there is no better way to say “I love Jesus” than intimidating an artist into spending four years painting 5,000 square feet of ceiling teetering a deadly sixty-five feet in the air. Other infamous works here include Raphael’s The School of Athens, Michelangelo’s Pietà, Ignazio Danti’s Gallery of Maps, and Leonardo’s St. Jerome in the Wilderness.

STILL OLD, NEWER ART: POSTRENAISSANCE

It would have been easy for Rome to call it quits after the Renaissance, sit back with a cannoli, and just marvel at its work, but that wouldn’t be very “eternal.” A walk around the city will lead you to plenty of more recent gems. The Spanish Steps are great for chilling or working off that gelato. If you throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, you’re guaranteed to return to Rome. Since there’s no way you’ll tackle all of Rome in one visit (it took the rest of Europe four centuries), that change may be a smart investment.

TOKYO

TATTOO CULTURE

While the Spartans were busy manhandling Xerxes in 300 BCE, the Japanese were inking up. Even before ink, the indigenous Ainu of Japan were marking and scarring themselves with tribal designs to represent honor and beauty. When the Meiji emperor outlawed tattooing in 1868, it was driven underground, and like anything illegal, the more illicit tattooing got, the cooler it became. Nowadays, tattoos are a sacred art form that still makes a rebel statement, and there are more than 500 parlors across Japan.

NEEDLES ALL OVER

Think that back-piece makes you hard? Traditional irezumi covers the entire body, shoulder to foot, front to back, with one uninked strip down the middle in the front. A person apprentices for years to become a master tattoo artist of the traditional irezumi style, and once ready, his teacher even gives him a special name: Hori (carved) plus the adopted name of the teacher. The most famous shop in Japan, Scratch Addiction in Tokyo, was the country’s first official parlor and is still a pilgrimage site for all serious irezumi enthusiasts. Unique to Japan, this style of tats is only for those serious about pain.

CAN’T MAKE A FULL-BODY COMMITMENT?

The country that gave the world Pokémon and Princess Mononoke has been around the artist block. Men used to hold a monopoly of using or going under the gun, but modern Japanese ladies love their ink. Several top artists in Japan are women, and lady-run Studio Muscat in Tokyo is your best bet for a black and gray. If you’re going for color, a dragon symbolizing good luck and wealth is a popular Japanese tattoo. Another good one is a half-sleeve cherry blossom, a Samurai shout-out to honor life’s pleasures. If you’re an anime nerd looking to represent, hook up with a master geek at Chopstick Tattoo in Osaka.

LOOK BUT DON’T PRICK

The Yokohama Tattoo Museum, run by Horiyoshi III (Japan’s unofficial Tattoo King), is a must for any fan of ink culture. It’s a small museum dedicated to his personal collection of weird-ass things like shrunken heads and tattooed skulls. Since a tat at the studio upstairs costs as much as a Prius, better give this place a long hard look and take your needle-cravings to the many other shops in the area.

ROOTED IN PUNK

Niels “Shoe” Meulman

Ottograph

Mickey

DHM

X Streets Collective

TOP ART SPOTS

Henxs

Flevopark

Red Light District

TOO MUCH ART, NEED MORE SEX?

SOLITUDE BUILDS CHARACTER

LEARNING THE RULES TO BEND

CASA VICENS

SAGRADA FAMÍLIA

DEATH BY TROLLEY

GRITTY ART

WAREHOUSE SPACES

STREET STYLES

BEHIND THE BLUE

TO DO IN BLUE

Fun Fact

GREENS IN THE BLUE

ST. BASIL’S CATHEDRAL

Fun Fact

BOLSHOI THEATRE

Fun Fact

MELNIKOV HOUSE

THE KREMLIN

Fun Fact

GUM DEPARTMENT STORE

BONUS:

THE BIRTH OF TAGGING

ARTISTS YOU SHOULD KNOW

Tracy 168

Fab 5 Freddy

Dr. Revolt

Kenny Scharf

Tats Cru (a.k.a. The Mural Kings)

Cope2

Train Windows

The Graffiti Hall of Fame

The Lower East Side

Brooklyn

MUSÉE DU LOUVRE

Why Others Go

Then Hit the Streets

THE CENTRE POMPIDOU

Why Others Go

Why You Should Go

Then Hit the Streets

MUSÉE D’ORSAY

Why Others Go

Why You Should Go

Then Hit the Streets

THE TINK OF DRINKS

THE PRAGUE CASTLE

HOUSE OF THE BLACK MADONNA

POP IN FOR A PEEK

WAY BACK IN THE DAY: ANCIENT ROME

WHEN THINGS GOT REAL ARTSY: RENAISSANCE

STILL OLD, NEWER ART: POSTRENAISSANCE

NEEDLES ALL OVER

CAN’T MAKE A FULL-BODY COMMITMENT?

LOOK BUT DON’T PRICK