Rick Steves Recommends Skipping This Free Perk In Europe To Avoid Tourist Crowds

Some people book a European vacation without considering the cost, but for most of us, saving money while in another country is vital. There are plenty of ways to cut down on expenses while on vacation, but travel pro Rick Steves actually says tourists should avoid one of them. On his website, Steves recommends skipping free museum days to avoid major crowds, which can make it difficult to see the artworks and artifacts. The travel expert argues that it's generally worth it to pay for admission to avoid the hordes of tourists, saying, "In Rome, the Sistine Chapel feels like the Sardine Chapel when admission is waived once a month. Likewise, the Colosseum and Roman Forum are a mob scene on their free days."

This means there might be a bit of preplanning for your vacation, by looking up the dates museums are free (and whether they require a reservation) before you book your flights and hotels. You can also choose other activities, like walking through the city, having a leisurely lunch, or enjoying a public park, rather than packing your day with sightseeing on free museum days. Steves says you may also want to avoid visiting high-traffic tourist attractions on days when many museums and sites are closed – Mondays or Tuesdays in Paris, for example. You can expect more people to be hitting the few sites that are open on those days.

While things can always change, at the time of this writing, quite a few famous European museums have free days. For instance, the Uffizi Galleries in Florence, and other national museums in Italy, are free on the first Sunday of every month, while the Louvre in Paris is free on the first Friday of the month (except during July and August) from 6 p.m. If you happen to be on vacation when a free museum day for the city is happening, this is a good time to check out other attractions, which may be less crowded. You may even want to check out the phony attractions that Rick Steves tells everyone to avoid, like torture museums, for instance. They may not be historically accurate, but if you know that going in, they can be a lot of goofy fun. If you're trying to save money, you can also look into discount tickets for some of your traveling party, like student and senior discounts, or places where kids get in free. Then there are museums that are always free, like the British Museum or the Tate Modern in London (though some exhibitions may have a fee).

Finally, if you do end up in a crowd at a free museum day, or anything else goes wrong during your trip, follow another tip from Steves, which is to avoid perfectionism on your vacation. In the end, you're standing in a room with a Botticelli masterpiece at the Uffizi Galleries, whether there are lots of other people there with you or not. Everything that happens, good or bad, is an experience worth remembering.