Art historian Jessica Fahy and Eoghan Corry, Editor of Air & Travel Magazine joined Philip Boucher-Hayes on Today with Clair Byrne to share their travel tips for lesser known hidden gems to visit. Listen back above.
At its best, travel is an opportunity to soak up new cultures, see beautiful scenery and learn from communities through food, conversations and the odd bit of leaving your comfort zone.
Sadly, none of that happens when you're queueing two hours in the belting sun for the same Instagram photo everyone else has grabbed before heading back to your hotel.
Popular holiday destinations like Paris, Florence and Athens, among others, are popular for a reason but how do you delve into the culture when the museums are stuffed to capacity and possibly not in your price range?
Fahy pointed to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, one of the most impressive houses of classical and Renaissance art in Europe and a must-visit destination for many tourists. Of course, it's incredibly busy at the best of times, leading you to strain "over the heads of other people" for the barest glimpse of Botticelli's The Birth of Venus.
Instead, she suggested visiting the nearby Pitti Palace, which houses the Palatine Galleries where you can see works by Raphael and Titian, as well as five other museums including a costume museum and porcelain museum.
Being clever with how you visit these significant art pieces is important too, as Fahy noted about the David statue by Michelangelo, which you can see a copy of in the Piazza Michelangelo, the Palazzo Vecchio or in the V&A Museum in London, which was a cast made directly from the original in the 19th century.
Corry, meanwhile, suggested considering queues, crowds and prices when planning your trip.
"If you're staying in a marquee city in peak season, you're paying a fortune. What I would say is for every single one of those marquee cities, for every Barcelona there's a Tarragona, for Paris there's Provence."
These other locations "give the feel for the country", Corry said, as well as giving you a "base" from which to explore for less of the cost.
Certain attractions, such as the Louvre, are eternally popular and many tourists are going to want to go at some point.
"These are museums with 20 million visitors a year, they've huge management problems. The reason they have trouble managing the crowds is they're marquee attractions. They are the places that we travel halfway around the world to see."
Rome is a city that many travellers will have on their bucket list but it can be swarmed by tourists for much of the year. Corry suggested Nettuno, an old-fashioned coastal city located roughly an hour outside the capital city that doesn't have sprawling hotels but is typically cheaper.
"It has a huge history of Irish tourism, which is a very niche area, because when Irish people, in the 50s and 60s, first started going on holidays, they really thought it was a ... spending too much money to go treat yourself and we weren't a 'treat yourself' kind of nation.
"A couple of tour operators packaged it as a pilgrimage where you spent a week in Nettuno and a week in Rome, so you could get your papal blessing and enjoy the sun!"
If queues and prices are putting you off seeing some magnificent artwork, Fahy pointed out that you can view stunning works for free if you know where to look. A series of three works about St. Matthew by Caravaggio can be seen in the Contarelli Chapel, with just a €1 donation needed.
Christ the Redeemer, a celebrated work by Michelangelo, can also be seen in the Santa Maria sopra Minerva.
For more hidden gems when travelling, listen back above.
