The first time I was in Paris, I went to the Louvre and -- like a million other tourists before me -- headed straight for the Mona Lisa. Since the famous French museum houses one of the most extensive art collections in the world, I'll admit that making a beeline for a painting I'd already...

"Museums have long served as surrogates for travel, a particularly important role before the advent of mass tourism. They have from their inception preserved souvenirs of travel, as evidence in their collections of plants, animals, minerals, and examples of the arts and industries of the world's cultures. While the museum collection itself is an undrawn...

"Museums are inextricably related to that phenomenon known as "tourism." Both museums and tourism are relatively modern phenomena which were once exclusively the province of the rich and powerful and which developed, especially during the Victorian era, into institutions for the ordinary citizen. Both are "public" in that they are mass phenomena that take place...

Sometimes I like to find examples of fun things that vagabonders have done with their lives. I think that we sometimes get so stuck in a rut, or scared of change, that we can't imagine any career or creative purpose outside of "travel writer" or possibly "Amazonian tour guide." Both of which are pretty darn...

The NY Times had an article about visiting the Louvre Musuem in Paris . While it's mainly about one museum, the writer uses it as a launching pad to discuss why we go to mueums. He also questioned whether modern tourism and technology may have cheapened the experience of seeing art. If you've traveled for...