After a couple of nights at the fabulously upscale Le Meurice, I was ready to put away my high heels and dust off my jeans and sneakers. A short cab ride (or two Metro trains) later, I arrived at the tiny Hotel des Academies et des Arts. With only 20 guest rooms, no tophatted doormen, and absolutely nothing gilded, I was seeing a completely different side of Paris - one in which I was very comfortable.

Hotel des Academies et des Arts is, as the name implies, dedicated to the arts, and is tucked away into a Latin Quarter neighborhood where art supply stores replace upscale boutiques. In the past, you may have run into Picasso, Chagall, Hemingway or Sartre here. Next door to the hotel was a little curio shop with a skeleton in the window (no, it wasn't Halloween). Inside the hotel, "white body" sculptures and paintings by two artists adorn the lobby, hallways and guest rooms. I changed into my jeans and found a casual sidewalk café just around the corner.

• Review of Hotel des Academies et des Arts
• Photos of Hotel des Academies et des Arts
• Photos of Paris

^{Image of the lobby of the Hotel des Academies et des Arts in Paris copyright Charlyn Keating Chisholm, licensed to About.com.}

Terry Ward checks in to the Radisson Blu Gewandhaus in Dresden, Germany. "Once I learned that the building that houses this Dresden hotel had its beginnings as a hall of cloth cutters, the decor in the common areas made more sense. Period garments draped over mannequins in the lobby and prim ladies' hats displayed in the breakfast room are a few of the items that tie in the hotel's textile-oriented past.

"This is an old-school elegant hotel--not a place for high design fans to bed down (though you'll be surprised how modern the pool and sauna area are). But for a comfortable, and classy stay in the heart of Dresden's historic old city, the Radisson Blu Gewandhaus is a fine choice."

Read more:

• Review of the Radisson Blu Gewandhaus
• Photos of the Radisson Blu Gewandhaus
• Recommended Hotels in Germany

^{Image courtesy Ben Wadewitz}

Your travel inspiration for this week: Enjoying moules et frites (mussels and French fries) at the quite famous and very touristy Chez Leon in Brussels, Belgium.

Favorite Belgium Hotels:

• Sofitel Le Louise
• Conrad International
• Die Swaene

^{Image copyright Charlyn Keating Chisholm, licensed to About.com.}

Just before I left Brussels, I asked the concierge at the Sofitel Le Louise to set up a spa appointment for me. Our next stop was a very elegant hotel in Paris, and I felt like I needed to freshen up my look. I stepped into a spa just across the street next to Cartier. Learning I was there for a manicure, the attendant looked at my travel-worn fingernails with their chipped polish. "Oooooh. Ooooooooh. I say no more," she intoned in accented English, and discreetly left the room. I knew I'd made a wise choice.

I was, after all, booked at Le Meurice in Paris that night. After a short (1 hour and 15 minutes) train ride using our Eurail passes, we took a cab to Le Meurice. Outside the stately building, doormen in top hats helped us with our suitcases into the sumptuous lobby, designed (as are all the interior spaces) by Philippe Starck, who drew inspiration from Salvador Dali. And what a neighborhood! Right across the street from the hotel were the Tulleries, and a few blocks down, the Louvre. Le Meurice is central to everything and quite delightfully Parisian.

• Review of Le Meurice
• Photos of Le Meurice
• Photos of Paris

^{Image of The Gastronomic Restaurant at Le Meurice in Paris courtesy Kayak}

Most of us at one time have walked into a room and gotten a certain vibe - maybe a chill or a feeling that an invisible presence was there with us. It's an especially intense feeling when you spend the night in one of those creepy places. Have you ever spent the night in a hotel you felt may have been haunted?

If this has happened to you, what was it like? Did you hear, see, feel or smell anything unexplained? Did the experience change your mind one way or the other about the existence of ghosts? Tell your story and read what others have reported.

Braving a haunted hotel:

• Hotel del Coronado
• Queen Mary Hotel
• Napa Valley Inn
• Queen Anne Hotel

^{Image courtesy Rick Bacon}

Halloween's coming - are you in the mood for a fright? I can brave most horror movies, but spending the night in a haunted hotel can seriously creep me out. If you're considering it, be smarter than I was and bring a friend. A brave friend. And let me know how it goes.

How to Find Haunted Hotels

• Haunted Hotel Rooms
• Haunted Hotel Pictures
• Top 10 Haunted Hotels in the United States
• Haunted Hotels A-Z

^{Image from the spooky propeller room at the Queen Mary Hotel © Charlyn Keating Chisholm}

I fell in love with the Sofitel Le Louise, on a chic shopping street in Brussels. It was an easy walk to all the sights in Brussels; leaving the hotel was the difficult part. Dining al fresco on the beautiful terrace on cuisine created by a Michelin-starred chef is an experience I recommend highly. Even the cocktail menu is out of the ordinary; my drink came with a digital timer and a syringe. And my suite? Well, for starters, it had a private meditation room.

• Review of Sofitel Le Louise
• Photo Tour of Sofitel Le Louise
• Tour of Brussels

^{Image copyright Charlyn Keating Chisholm, licensed to About.com}

Despite my fears, I was brave enough to spend a couple of weeks in California, staying in haunted hotels and touring haunted spots. It was mostly fun, occasionally nerve wracking, and I didn't get much sleep. See what happened when I spent the night in three different haunted hotels.

A Night in a Haunted Hotel:

Napa River Inn

Queen Mary Hotel

Hotel del Coronado

Tips for Staying Overnight:

Before You Spend the Night in a Haunted Hotel

How to Take Pictures of Ghosts

More: Haunted Hotel Pictures from Guests | Haunted Hotels

^{Image of a spraypainted warning at the Queen Mary Hotel © Charlyn Keating Chisholm}

How is Halloween celebrated around the world? Some locales are just getting introduced to this spooky holiday. Others go all out to celebrate in different ways for kids and grown-ups. Take a peek at the diverse Halloween festivities going on just about everywhere. (If you happen to go to a few of the real haunted locations listed, try to take a ghost's picture.)

• Halloween in Los Angeles: The city with a flair for the dramatic is a natural place to celebrate Halloween. A theme park party, a tour of Haunted Hollywood, haunted houses and parades; Los Angeles pulls out all the stops.

• Halloween in the UK: If you're looking for authentic creepy atmosphere, there are so many spots in Britain to explore. Walk in the footsteps of Jack the Ripper, stay at a haunted inn, explore the most haunted village in England, or brave Exeter's apparition-filled Underground Passages.

• Halloween in Eastern Europe: If you love seeking out the strange or hunting for horrors, Eastern Europe has its share of sites that will send tingles down your spine. These sites include Lenin's Tomb in Moscow, the Bone Church near Prague, and Dracula's former haunts in Romania.

• Halloween in Japan: Kids love the Pumpkin Parade in Harajuku; Disneyland, Universal and Sanrio Puroland are among the locations for parades and parties.

• Halloween in Salem, Massachusetts: Undoubtably one of the spookiest places in America's psyche, Salem, Massachusetts was the spot where the witchcraft accusations and trials of 1692 went on. Go in-depth with a guide to attractions, accommodations, and Haunted Happenings.

• Halloween in New Orleans: America's most haunted city has unique events, including the annual Queen of the Damned Ball put on by Anne Rice's fan club, the Voodoo Music Experience, and a Ghostly Galavant through a haunted historic cemetery. Or, just have a drink in one of New Orleans' haunted bars.

• Halloween in New York City: Here's a memorable way to spend the holiday: watch a classic silent horror film accompanied by live bone-chilling organ music, then join the Grand Procession of the Ghouls, featuring costumes, creatures and special effects by Ralph Lee. It's happening at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine's Halloween Extravaganza.

Many more ... Read more...

I'm going to be honest with you. I was going to skip Brussels. I was prepared to catch fleeting glances of the entire country of Belgium out of the window of the high-speed train we were planning to take from Amsterdam to Paris. I have nothing against Belgium -- I planned to visit it one day. I just had other priorities.

Then we learned of the big festival in Amsterdam, and couldn't get a hotel room. Pricey Paris was already scheduled for five days -- adding more time would blow the budget. Suddenly, a weekend in Brussels sounded like a really good idea. Luckily, we had Eurail passes, so we could change our travel plans on the spot. The trains from Amsterdam to Paris pass right through Brussels, and most stop there, making it easy to visit for the afternoon or overnight.

Our three days in Brussels turned out to be one of the best parts of the trip. Why go to Brussels? My short list:

• The Street of Chocolate
• It's quirky. Surrealism. Comic strips. The new Underwear Museum. Their mascot is a little naked boy peeing into a fountain.
• The best mussels I've ever tasted
• So many types of beer, even I (not a beer drinker) found one I really liked
• Belgium frites, French fries double-fried so they are crunchy on the outside, melt-in-your-mouth on the inside

Tour Brussels in pictures

P.S. If anyone knows who the character above is, please, please, enlighten me in the comments below.

^{Image copyright Charlyn Keating Chisholm, licensed to About.com.}