Travel Tips & Trends

> Last chance to visit the Colorado History Museum
> Airport attractions
> Disneyland or Disney World?
> Top 10 cities for live music
> Who’s traveling?

Last chance to visit the Colorado History Museum

Courtesy of DMCVB

The Colorado History Museum, located in downtown Denver at 1300 Broadway, will be winding down its exhibits over the next five months as it prepares to close permanently on March 28, 2010. Until then, admission to the museum is free — so it’s a good time to visit and take this last opportunity to see a museum that has brought state history to the public since 1977.

The current special exhibition, “Allen True’s West,” showcases the murals of Colorado artist Allen True from 1912 to 1950. “Imagine a Great City,” an exhibit focusing on 150 years of Denver history, also runs through November and December.

Permanent collections will eventually be relocated to the new History Colorado Center, which is under construction one block south of the current museum and is scheduled to open in late 2011. The center will also house the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the State Historical Fund, the Stephen H. Hart Research Library and other Colorado Historical Society functions, with new exhibitions funded through private donation.

Until the end of March, the Colorado History Museum is open 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays. For more information call 303-866-3682.

Airport attractions

Got time between flights? Here are some interesting things to do at three major U.S. airports.

O’Hare International Airport, Chicago: Check out the Brachiosaurus in Terminal One. It’s the largest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world. Also worth seeing in Terminal One is the kinetic neon sculpture in the underground walkway between concourses B and C. The constantly moving, changing colors are surprisingly soothing. Travelers with children will want to visit Terminal Two’s award-winning play area, “Kids on the Fly,” designed by the Chicago Children’s Museum.
San Francisco International Airport: If you don’t mind exiting security, SFO has a tropical aquarium on the Departures level in Terminal One, as well as a full-service salon and day spa for massages and facials. In Terminal Three, visit InMotion Entertainment to rent a portable DVD player and movies. In the same area is Kids’ Spot, a play area with interactive science exhibits from the San Francisco Exploratorium.
McCarran International Airport, Las Vegas: It wouldn’t be Las Vegas if you couldn’t hear the beep and zing of the slot machines. Gaming machines can be found throughout Terminals One and Two. Or check out the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum on Level 2, with 30 display cases and a video presentation on local aviation history.

Talk to a AAA travel agent (866-235-7070) for more information on any of these trips.

Disneyland or Disney World?

Courtesy of Disney

Want to take your kids on their first Disney trip, but can’t decide whether to head east or west? Here are some points to consider when choosing between Disneyland and Disney World.

Disneyland covers a much smaller area (85 acres compared to 135 acres at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the smallest of Disney World’s four theme parks). This makes it more walkable for little legs, and hotels are closer, making it easier to return to your room during the day if somebody needs a nap or has a too-much-excitement meltdown.

Disney World has more thrill rides, while Disneyland has more areas aimed at young children. If you want to visit several different parks during the vacation, Disney World is probably the better choice. It includes four parks—Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom—as well as two water parks and five golf courses. It’s also in the vicinity of other theme parks aimed at older teens and adults, such as Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Disneyland is more of a single destination, despite its neighboring park Disney’s California Adventure.

Both have plenty to offer the first-time visitor of any age, but in general, choose Disneyland for a visit with very young children and Disney World for the older kids and teens.

Top 10 cities for live music

The Society of American Travel Writers recently polled its members to come up with the best North American cities for live music—and Denver made the list as the home of one of the world’s best venues. In order of votes received:

New Orleans, Louisiana. “New Orleans bleeds music. It’s in the air, in the water, in the people. You can’t go to New Orleans without the music swallowing you whole.” (Lisa A. Tomaszewski, travel editor, HMP Communications.)
New York. “Where else can you Rent a seat next to some Guys and Dolls, let down your Hair and be transported anywhere from the South Pacific to Chicago?” (Evelyn Kanter, freelance travel writer/photographer.)
Austin, Texas. “Austin is home to the yearly South by Southwest Music Festival, where nearly the entire city becomes a music venue for a week.” (Joshua Hinsdale, freelance travel writer.)
Nashville, Tennessee. “Nashville isn’t just the home of country music. It’s the heart and soul of country music.” (Steve Winston, freelance travel writer.)
Chicago. “Chicago’s reputation as home of the blues can’t be understated. The diverse neighborhoods and city-sponsored events also offer live music. It’s all here, all the time.” (Laurie Borman, freelance travel writer.)
Memphis, Tennessee. “Barbecue and blues, blues and barbecue. Memphis is a foot-tapping, sensory delight.” (John H. Ostdick, freelance travel writer.)
Montreal. “Montreal is a hotbed of world music and free music festivals.” (Nancy Lyon, freelance travel writer/photographer.)
Las Vegas. “From Elvis and Frank, through Barbra and Barry, to Celine and Bette, Vegas has been the venue every great act hopes to get booked into.’’ (Bob Jenkins, freelance writer.)
Branson, Missouri. “Where do top sidemen go when they tire of the LA lifestyle? To Branson.” (Lorraine O’Donnell Williams, travel writer.)
Denver. “Red Rocks is the most visually stunning outdoor amphitheatre in the country, maybe the world.” (Ted Alan Stedman, freelance travel writer.)

Who’s traveling?

No matter what the economic situation, millions of travelers are on the move every day. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) recently released the following statistics:

Worldwide, there were 922 million international tourist arrivals in 2008.
France received the highest number of international tourists, followed by the USA. Spain was the third most popular destination and China was fourth.
Travel to more exotic destinations has steadily become more popular worldwide: Europe and the Americas received more than 95% of the world’s tourist arrivals in 1950, compared to 82% in 1990 and 76% in 2000.

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