3 Affordable New Ways to See Europe's Quaintest Cities

Anyone wanting to get a better idea of the changes taking place in how people decide where to eat, shop, and play should take a look at two new (weirdly named) websites, 4SQoogle and Voulez-vous Check-in Avec Moi. These sites make it easy to stalk the restaurants, shops, and night spots in major cities that are being buzzed about online right now. The concept is simple: The sites map the online "check-ins" recently posted by users of Foursquare, the most widely used geosocial service, which lets users check in at various locations. In other words, these sites give travelers a quick gauge of which venues smart phones users like a lot. Happily, the sites pull off this trick without revealing the names of individuals who check in, protecting their privacy. Here's the lowdown on these free new tools, which cover major cities and which can be used even if you don't belong to Foursquare or own a smart phone. 4SQoogle reveals the most popular spots in near real-time at any location that Foursquare users check in to frequently. Type a destination name in the search box to see little squares bouncing on a Google Maps mash-up. Click on any one square on the map to learn more details about the venue, and how popular it is. Or simply look at the "leaderboard," a list of the venues that have had the most check-ins recently. Find the most relevant results by clicking on whichever one of four categories of venue type you're the most interested in: food, nightlife, entertainment, and shopping. For example, by searching on "Chicago" and clicking on "Food," you would see that, recently, Chicago's most popular food spot among Foursquare users was the branch of Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea at 53 West Jackson Boulevard. In my tests, my test check-in appeared on 4SQoogle's map within about two minutes' time delay, so the results are close to real-time. (In case you were wondering, 4SQoogle's goofy name derived from Foursquare's abbreviation 4sq and Google, though the company isn't related to Google.) Limited to a few cities—namely, New York, Paris, and San Francisco—rival site Voulez-vous Check-in Avec Moi (checkinavecmoi.com) sounds like it must be French. But it is actually written in English. Like its competitor, it reveals where people are most frequently checking in via Foursquare, helping you decide what spots are hot. What makes it different from 4SQoogle is that, for each location, it tells you the ratio of guys to girls—at least among the Foursquare members who have checked in. That's intriguing, because there are no statistically significant differences by gender or education level among the users of sites like Foursquare, according to research conducted by Pew and announced in September. Hotspot-mapping sites are an unstoppable phenomenon and they will raise people's expectations hugely when it comes to trip planning. It used to be that information from a guidebook published months ago—or listings published in a newspaper within the past week—would suffice in helping people know how to plan a night in a city. But now that technology is being democratized, travelers may get used to possessing real-time information. For restaurants, stores, and nightclubs, this will create opportunities and hassles. SEE MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL 10 Most Useful Travel Websites Gowalla's New Focus as a Travel Guide TripTrace Wants to Be Your Travel Muse

Las Vegas is so many different things to so many different people. It can be a gambler's Eden, the ultimate family getaway, or a party-goer's paradise. Whatever Vegas is to its hoards of visitors, it's nothing if not constantly reinventing itself. And now, one of its original hotels is reinventing itself too. The Flamingo Las Vegas is working on refurbishing 2,307 hotel rooms into what the hotel is calling "stylish and contemporary accommodations." The ambitious revamp brings to bare how the Vegas of yore compares to today's newer, bigger, seemingly flashier Vegas. But is it a better Vegas? The Flamingo Hotel opened in 1946, during a decade when some of the very first hotels and casinos were laying their foundation in the desert town. And while it may seem like there is unstoppable hotel development in Vegas today, back then sometimes as many as two or three hotels were opening in a given year. In 1964, The Beatles arrived on The Strip and played two sold-out shows at the city's convention center. Vegas was making its name as a city of indulgence, indulgence in gambling, in blockbuster performers. And of course, a seedier side of the city was also emerging alongside all the glitz and glamour. For those who still cherish that bygone Sin City and the heritage properties that helped establish it, the first 500 rooms of the Flamingo refurbishment will be available starting Jan. 2, and all of the rooms will be finished by late 2012, under the leadership of Las Vegas-based firm, Westar Architects. "Flamingo has established itself as a one of the Strip's original resorts with a classic nostalgia reminiscent of vintage Las Vegas," said Rick Mazer, president of Flamingo Las Vegas. But with newer and newer kids on the block, like The Cosmopolitan, which is turning one year old this month, it’s getting harder for the older properties to keep up. But they have one thing the new resorts will never have — history. More from Budget Travel: 12 Things You Didn't Know About Vegas Hotel32 Bargain Rooms: 5 Tips for Exploiting the Hotel Debt Crisis

Myanmar, also known as Burma, is a controversial destination, known probably more for its years of dictatorial rule than for its serene landscapes and golden pagodas. But in the wake of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Myanmar last week — signaling improved relations between the two countries as Myanmar continues to take greater steps towards democracy — travel companies are starting to beef up their Myanmar offerings in anticipation of increased demand for the off-the-beaten track destination. "We definitely expect Ms. Clinton's arrival in Burma to further increase the popularity of our brand new 'Visions of Burma' trip," said Mickey Huang, marketing manager for General Tours World Traveler. Huang said that General Tours added a new Myanmar trip with "guarded optimism" for 2012 as the country made "tentative but clear steps toward democracy," including the release of opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest last year. Thus far, General Tours' "Visions of Burma" itinerary is already one of the most-viewed tours on the company's website, and of the 20 tours that are brand new for 2012, it is among its bestsellers, according to Huang. Patricia Weismantel, product manager for Asia cycling adventure company SpiceRoads, said that bookings to Myanmar are "going extremely well." One traveler just back from the Asian nation, said she was very impressed with what the country had to offer from a tourism point of view. "I returned from Myanmar just over a week ago and am still trying to get my head around the absolutely fantastic travel experience this was," said Judie Parr of Malibu, Calif. She said that despite all the preconceived ideas, concerns and worries, the actual travel experience was "amazing." "This is the best trip I have done in 35 years and has become one of my very top travel experiences together with a safari and Papua New Guinea," said Parr. That's quite an endorsement, but not all travelers might feel the same. There are definitely possible ideological issues tourists might have with heading to Myanmar, given its not-so-rosy political past. Would you consider going to Myanmar? More from Budget Travel: Is Travel to Cuba Worth the Hassle? 5 Surprising Foreign Laws That Put Travelers at Risk Poll: To Red-Eye or Not to Red-Eye?

While my friends and family were enjoying turkey in the US, this year over Thanksgiving I found myself on assignment in Queensland, Australia. In lieu of an American-style meal, I decided to search out local cheap eats. This didn't mean skipping calories, but did bring tasty treats — including Vegemite, bugs, meat pies and fish & chips. Vegemite, a dark brown, vitamin B-rich yeast paste, often spread on toast, was something I didn't like when I first tried it in the UK. But it turns out an Australian version, made by Kraft since 1923, is more subtle — and to me, more appealing. I learned from a local while traveling through the bio-rich UNESCO World Heritage-listed Daintree Rainforest (where among the notable creatures is crocodiles) that I had been eating Vegemite wrong. A very small amount of the salty paste (it tastes a bit like soy sauce) should be spread after you butter your toast, he advised, noting most people who don't know better use too much. It wasn't half bad. Having conquered that, I moved on to "bugs" — a type of prawn. No problem there, I like shrimp. You can wash the bugs down with a glass of Australian wine — maybe a Riesling from the Victoria "Ladies Who Shoot Their Lunch" label, if you want to splurge. Fish & chips was a no brainer, and I had a wonderful, crispy example for only $12 at the RSL (The Returned & Services League), the equivalent of the VFW in Cooktown. The northern Queensland town is most famous as the place where Captain James Cook had to beach the Endeavour for repairs in 1770 — there's even an annual reenactment. Also in Cooktown, a pal and I enjoyed a surprisingly good Italian pizza ($18) at the aptly named The Italian Restaurant. Meat pies are a personal favorite and no one does them better than the Aussies. When I arrived in the beach town of Port Douglas, I started asking where to get "a pie." I was directed to Mocka's, a fixture for some 40 years. Current owner Nigel Quinn had just officially opened shop for the day and was putting a tray of the savory pies in his display case when I walked in around 9 a.m. The scent of buttery piecrust and steak — the most popular filling — had me salivating. I had already had my Vegemite and toast for brekkie (Aussie for breakfast) but made room for a steak pie ($4.95) anyway. For the uninitiated, meat pies have both a bottom and top crust for easy eating by hand. Inside is meat and gravy that oozes slightly when you take a bite. It's decadent deliciousness — and nothing like the frozen chicken pot pies at home. Later, in the seaside city of Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, the meat and piecrust scent lured me into the newly opened Pie Face. The 24-hour pie shop is part of a chain of more than 60 stores, that was founded in Sydney by two fashion designers in 2003 – yes, apparently even those in the fashion industry eat the national dish, calorie-laden as it is. For $5.45, I grabbed a Thai chicken pie with just a touch of spice and ate every bit (they also do steak and a bunch of other varieties including a breakfast pie with bacon, eggs and cheese). Fortunately, Pie Face is soon to come closer to home. Next month an outlet is set to open on Broadway and West 53rd in New York, right near the Ed Sullivan Theater, home to the "Late Show with David Letterman." More in Budget Travel: Australia's Great Barrier Reef Made Easy Readers Best Australia Photos Eat Like a Local: Melbourne