Amsterdam: "The world's biggest street party"

Years ago, I saw an episode of Sex and the City that featured a discussion about the Eiffel Tower. A pouty young Parisienne called it hideous—or rather, as she pronounced it, eeeeedious. The impression stuck, and I later moved to Paris with the idea that this landmark was unloved by the locals. That notion turns out to be nonsense. The city of Paris is now in celebration mode as the Old Gray Lady turns 120. Adoring articles are running in the local press, and Parisians are making plans to visit a new exhibition at city hall (Hôtel de Ville). The Gustave Eiffel, magician de fer exhibition will retrace the career and personal life of the renowned iron wiz. In addition to celebrating the Eiffel tower, the show introduces some of Eiffel's other remarkable works, from the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty to the locks of the Panama Canal. The show runs May 6–August 31 and is open from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. every day but Sunday. Admission is free, and crowds are expected (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, 4th arrondissement). Those who visit the Lady in person this summer will be treated to some new dining options. Following last year's renovation of the gastronomic Jules Verne, the Tower has just revived and reopened a second and cheaper restaurant. Prices at 58 Tour Eiffel are still a bit high. Count on €19–31 ($25–40) for lunch and €60–125 ($78–163) for dinner. That's pricey, but many travelers will find it worthwhile for the view over the Seine and Champs de Mars. Budget-minders can come instead for the goûter (afternoon snack) with wine and cheese or coffee and pastry for €20 ($26). Prices don't include the €8 ($10) elevator up to the first floor. Save some money and burn calories by taking the stairs for €4.50 ($6). These new choices are great, but the cheapest and most charming food option is still a picnic on the Champs de Mars. Bring your own bottle (ask your wineseller to open it if you’re not carrying around a corkscrew) and pick up some top-notch takeaway on the nearby rue Cler and rue Nicot. With baguette and fromage, this green lawn is the best seat in town for the hourly twinkle on the Tower. When the Lady bursts into sparkle at the turn of every hour, even the poutiest Parisians stop to smile.

This Saturday in Washington, D.C., more than 30 international embassies are hosting an Passport DC Open House. It's a chance for regular joes to take a peek inside a working embassy. There are more than 175 foreign embassies in the nation's capital. This is the second annual Passport to D.C., put on by Cultural Tourism DC. It's no surprise that the event is popular—150,000 people attended last year (with some lines extending around the block)—free food, live music, and often a traditional cultural experience are part of the open house at each embassy. Some highlights this year: the Royal Thai Embassy, where there will be traditional dance and music, a sampling of free cuisine, and free Thai massages. The Embassy of Ghana will feature famous Ghanaian drummer Okyerema Asante, and kids can stamp fabrics with Adinkra patterns. The Embassy of Botswana will have woven baskets, art, and jewelry on display, designed and made by local women of Northern Botswana, who are particularly crafty with Mokola palm and locally sourced dyes. See what all the embassies have on offer. The event is completely free, and there's even free shuttle service. The fun starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 4 p.m. For more travel blogs, go to alltop.

Channel your inner Indiana Jones at the interactive Museo Archeologico Virtuale, which opened last summer just south of Naples. Instead of encased artifacts, MAV has 70-plus multimedia installations that recreate nearby Pompeii and Herculaneum in their heyday, before Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. You do the discovering here: Your footsteps scatter virtual dust along the floor to expose intricate mosaics from Pompeii's House of the Faun, and your fingertips wipe away a misted glass to reveal a woman bathing after a visit to the caldarium. The walls of a central room, CAVE, surround you with projections of a Roman home, from the kitchens to the gardens, as if you're a guest. Dangling in the air of another room are holograms of lavish jewels that villa owners had grabbed when fleeing the eruption. (The actual jewels, now in a Naples museum, were found on the beach of Herculaneum.) Voices of such ancient inhabitants greet you with their stories, and the museum experience ends with a giant projection of Pompeii's Forum that gradually shifts from day to night, pre- and post-eruption. "Kids have come back here three or four times," museum director Walter Ferrara told me. "It's more fun than seeing the excavations." Via IV Novembre 44, Ercolano, $9, open daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Friends don't let friends travel with bad advice, say the people behind Where I've Been, the social-networking tool that pinpoints the countries and cities where you've traveled, lived, and want to visit next. Today, Where I've Been is expanding to become more than just a way to brag: Based on where the friends in your network have gone, you can now click on various icons on the map to look up reviews of hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, and other attractions. Members can also post photos and videos. Since the Where I've Been platform is compatible with sites like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Friendster, and hi5, the idea is you're more likely to trust a user review if it comes from someone within your social network. "What we're trying to do is be that aggregating source," says CEO Michael Dalesandro. The Ask an Expert function lets you pose questions to just your friends or to the general Where I've Been community. The site also pulls info from third-party sites like Citysearch, Kayak, and Hotelvideoreviews.com, and uses TripIt.com as its online planning service. The company is also highlighting its Travel Bucks currency. The more things you do on the site, the more virtual dollars you can earn to trade in for philanthropic causes, such as donating to a rainforest preservation fund. Dalesandro says he envisions the Travel Bucks one day being valid for free trips. EARLIER TripIt launches a free iPhone app for travel planning MORE WAYS TO CONNECT Don't forget: You can also sign up for a free myBudgetTravel account on BudgetTravel.com, where you can create Travel Journals and share your photos and videos. If you sign up today, you'll be entered to win a trip to Ireland.