A dear friend of mine says you either hate or love the opera. After perusing High Culture on a Low Budget by Olivia Giovetti, it’s clearly that she loves it. The closest I’ve ever come to an opera experience is through movies, the latest Woody Allen’s Match Point. I’m pretty sure I would love it though and Olivia’s Paris: Opera National de Paris, Prague: Prague Opera, and Moscow: The Bolshoi Opera definitely pique my curiosity.

I first heard about High Culture on a Low Budget through Europe A La Carte Blog’s Guest interview with Olivia and couldn’t resist checking it out. This savvy, informative blog is a must for anyone into the world of art, music and dance. Olivia has written about, among other things, ballet in Amsterdam, Portuguese art, Liverpool’s Tate Museum, St John’s Smith Square (apparently one of the best concert venues in the British capital), poetry readings in Barcelona, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal College of Music, the oldest and biggest music school in Scandinavia.

Previous posts include Vienna: Haus der Musik, my all time favourite Zurich: Tonhalle Orchester, Paris: Vive la Revolution des Musees!, Paris: Opera Garnier (and Beyond), Budapest: Budapest State Opera, and the most recent Zagreb: Strossmayer’s Old Masters Gallery, Aberdeen: The Scottish Ballet and Genova: Musei di Strada Nuova.

Before booking that weekend trip to Vienna, Prague, Paris, St Petersburg or any other European city, make sure to head over to High Culture on a Low Budget for up-to-date tips from an insider’s point of view. Who doesn’t want to know where to go for the best deals on exhibitions, museums, opera, theatre and classical concerts?