The Louvre, Orsay, the Pompidou.   These are not only some of the best museums in Paris, they are the among the best museums in the world.   However, Paris has some other attractions that would probably be superstars if they were not overshadowed by these heavy-hitters.   On your next tour to Paris, after visiting the big shots, visit some of the names that are overshadowed by the best museums in Paris.

Whether I am planning a small group tour to Italy, planning a personal trip to Spain, or helping someone put together a tour of Europe, I always find myself coming back to the same websites.   The components of any tour to Europe is going to be airfares, hotels, transportation reservations, and tickets.    In this blog post, I have listed the best travel websites that I use in planning a tour to Europe for small groups or for anyone else.

Hotels can make up the most expensive component of a tour to Paris.   When The Traveling Professor tours Paris either individually or when taking a small group tour to Paris, hotel selection is important but not only for cost.   Having a hotel in a central location is a top priority too.   In that I mean it is accessible to good transportation, it is in a place where there are dining, shopping, and entertainment options after I am done with a day of touring.   And of course, getting a good, sound sleep is important too.   On top of all of that, getting a good value is the icing on the cake.   Rely on The Traveling Professor's experience and get his picks for three of the best budget hotels in Paris in today's blog post.

Let's address a very practical question in this Rome blog post:  how to get to the Rome city center and your hotel from the Rome airport.   We are going to assume that on your tour to Rome you will be arriving at Rome Fiumicino airport.   On The Traveling Professor small group tours to Italy, we provide private limo pickup.  However, if you are on a tour to Rome by yourself, we will talk about public transportation options and private ways to get into the city.

The travel landscape is going to change in 2015 perhaps more than in any year in memory.   There are changes in currency, airfare issues, security issues, problems with crowds and prices.   Norway is emerging as a favored destination on The Traveling Professor's small group tours and we are going to tell you why you should consider a tour to Norway in 2015.

Of course on a tour to Paris we love to visit museums, historic sites, eat, and shop.  But there is more to do on your next trip to Paris.  There are some terrific ways to relax and in this blog post I have listed 5 fun things to do while on a tour to Paris.   We would love to hear your comments too.

On our Paris tours we see and do a lot.  On occasion, I get a request to do something offbeat or unusual in Paris.   Sometimes people will ask me to tour the sewers of Paris, sometimes it is the Pere Lachaise Cemetery.   On more than one occasion I have been asked by travelers to tour the pet cemetery located on the outskirts of Paris.   However, at the top of the list of offbeat things to see are the Paris Catacombs.   For a description of this unusual Paris tour, read today's blog post.

When picking a hotel in Venice, I use several criteria.   First of all, I want the hotel to be in a good location, but not in the middle of crowded or noisy area.  It needs to be close to attractions, near good restaurants and transportation.   I also want a hotel to be family owned.  I think they provide a higher level of personal service that is absent in those impersonal tourist hotels.   I need a hotel that is pleasing to the eye and comfortable, yet it won't bust my budget.   So, on your next tour to Venice consider staying at one of the hotels I recommend in my blog post.

For the 2nd year in a row, The Traveling Professor will be exhibiting and speaking at the New York Times Travel Show.   He will be there to speak with you about traveling to Paris, Italy, Peru, Chile, Norway, Argentina and Ireland.  It's a great way to meet The Professor and his staff to get travel tips and special insight on how to visit these exciting destinations.   For more details, see the blog post.

Florence is one of the most popular stops on The Traveling Professor's tours to Italy.   One of the big draws to Florence are the multitude of dining options scattered all about the city.  When we travel to Italy, we like to eat at top-quality spots without breaking the budget.  Take a look at my blog post to see my selections for the best places to eat in Florence.

Who wouldn't want to stay at The Ritz, Hotel Lotti, or Regina on their next tour of Paris?  Those are some of the most luxurious hotels in the world.   But when you want to kick back and just experience something unusual, Paris has its choice of those types of accommodations too.   Check out my blog post to find out about two of the most unique hotels in Paris.

Picking the best travel credit card can be a windfall in terms of mileage awards, free checked bags, priority boarding and a whole bunch of other benefits.   In the first part of this two-part series on travel credit card deals, I talk about the US Airways Barclays credit card.    Read the blog post to find out about a terrific travel credit card deal, maybe the best to be found anywhere.

The Traveling Professor has been looking at credit card deals as they apply to travelers.  We primarily look at what types of travel benefits these cards give in terms of miles, waived fees, and priority access.   In today's blog post we look at another card that offers the benefit of Admiral's Club membership as a perk.   Read The Professor's blog post to find out more about a great travel credit card deal.