How do you decide which foreign city to visit next? The answer varies greatly from person to person, and may depend on the languages you know, friends in the area, or a concert or exhibition of interest that provides a good enough excuse for an adventure.
Sometimes it’s not so easy. There’s simply too much on offer. FOMO is the defining condition of our epoch: there are so many exciting places that are now affordable to reach, how can you know if you’ve made the best decision? Those of us who are lucky enough to travel for work are double-lucky that our travel decisions are made almost by lottery!
This cute new series of posters from Expedia aims to take some of the stress out of choosing where to go – and what you do once you get there. Aimed squarely at the weekend-breaker with a taste for the urban exotic, each poster reduces the attractions of its starring destination to a minimalist guide on how to see the city in a single day. Of course, you’re free to improvise once you arrive: but these stylish digital postcards offer bite-sized advice nuggets to help you pick a place to go in the first place.
Check out the Paris poster, for example. In five easy hops you descend from the heights of the Eiffel Tower to the depths of the Catacombs, an often-overlooked feature of France’s capital, where the bones of over seven million corpses are arranged for your aesthetic enjoyment and/or reflection! You’ll eat macarons for an energy-boost along the way; these colorful mini-meringues can be picked up from most patisseries and make a light alternative to the ubiquitous croissant (which, let’s face it, you probably filled up on at breakfast).
Expedia’s poster of Paris really draws out the hidden geometries of the city, and you’ll notice that there also seems to be a pyramid to visit as you make your descent. Yes, there is a pyramid in Paris, but it is the home of an awesome art collection rather than of ancient pharaohs. The royal connection is found once you make your way through the glass pyramid – which dates back to 1985 – and into the Louvre to which it leads. Today the Louvre is an art museum, but as early as the 14th century it became the dwelling place of kings and queens.
And if the pyramidal addition was controversial when it first landed, today it is celebrated – and makes the perfect sleek addition to Expedia’s minimalist representation of contemporary Paris.
Los Angeles’ poster gets a similarly geometric treatment for its poster; only it is star-shapes rather than pyramids that you’ll find. This time, you’ll start in the hills – try iconic Mulholland Drive – for a view of the Hollywood sign, before working your way down to the Walk of Fame on Hollywood and Vine. Here, the sidewalks are paved with terrazzo and brass stars that pay honor to over 2,500 showbiz heroes. Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Goldblum, and Minnie Mouse are among the Walk’s ‘Class of 2018’.
You’ll dine on a glamorous lunch of tuna tartare before recommencing you journey to the stars; this time to the literal stars, with a visit to Griffith Observatory. What could be more minimal, yet more exotic, than an afternoon contemplating the heavens? Admission to the observatory is also pretty minimalist – the tickets are free, to be precise – although you’ll need to pay four bucks per hour should you choose to park your car nearby.
From Berlin and Buenos Aires to Varanasi and Venice, Expedia have provided an at-a-glance shortlist from which to pick your minimalist adventure. Don’t forget to pack light, now!
