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It's good to saturate yourself with the arts every now and then. That's the great thing about festivals. Back to back days filled with music, dance, and theater have the power to transport you to a realm outside your daily life. One of the best takes place in the Hungarian capital each spring. This year, the Budapest Spring Festival celebrates its 30th anniversary March 19 - April 5.

From orchestras to chamber music ensembles and choirs performing in church settings, the festival's classical music selection is vast. Pillars of the Eastern European classical music scene, the Budapest Festival Orchestra and Hungarian National Philharmonic perform concerts dedicated to the work of Beethoven and Bartok, while piano virtuosos Tamas Vasary and Pawel Kowalski both showcase evenings devoted to Chopin. For dance lovers, a handful of international companies, including the Royal Danish Ballet and Ballet Flamenco de Andalucia bring Balanchine grace and the poetry of Garcia Lorca to the festival stage. Of course no artistic program in Hungary is complete without a little folk music and dance. Both the 100-Member Gypsy Orchestra and the Young Hearts Hungarian Dance Ensemble will add plenty of Carpathian flair.

With performances taking place at a dozen theaters, opera houses, and basilicas around the city, guests of the dazzling Le Méridien Budapest will be surrounded by a varied selection of exceptional performances during the Budapest Spring Festival's entire 18-day run. From Chopin to Shakespeare. The choice is yours.

It's safe to say that any city that dyes its river green is pretty serious about its St. Patrick's Day celebration, and Chicago is no exception. A rich Irish tradition plus a love for beer and parades make it a memorable place to spend the holiday. With the Four Points by Sheraton Chicago Downtown as your home base, you can celebrate a traditional holiday with some memorable twists.

If you're there for the river dyeing and noon parade, which actually happens this Saturday, you'll want to start your morning at Rock Bottom's Kegs and Eggs event. The microbrewery will serve a buffet packed with scrambled eggs, French toast, bacon, and, of course, homemade brews, from 9-11 in the morning, giving you plenty of time to get your fill before heading to the river, which turns green at 10:45 a.m. Cap off a long day spent outdoors with a gourmet dinner at Mrs. Murphy and Sons, which serves upscale Irish fare year-round: among its offerings are a fish and chips salad, shepherd's pie topped with buttermilk mashed potatoes, and whiskey marmalade barbecue ribs served with Guinness mac and cheese. On the big day, head to Frasca for dinner. This much-loved pizzeria and wine bar is a spot that unsurprisingly skews more Italian than Irish-most days of the year, but on March 17 it'll serve a wood-fired Guinness Pizza that features a Guinness crust topped with potatoes, béchamel, and white onions. End the night by grabbing a few pints of Harp a few blocks from the hotel at Celtic Crossings, a bar that's as Irish as they come.

There's no faster motor sport than Formula 1 racing, where drivers take their cutting-edge vehicles around a track at speeds well over 200 mph. On March 25-28, 2010, the sport makes its way Down Under, where the Australian Grand Prix will draw thousands of racing fans to Melbourne for a dramatic spectacle of sight, sound, and speed. The world's most skilled drivers will drive 58 laps around the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park, with the winner hoisting the cup and basking in the glory that comes with victory in Australia's premier racing event. In addition to the big race, there are a number of supporting events designed to captivate any motoring enthusiast, including a V8 Supercar Challenge - with muscle-cars tearing up the Albert Park Street Circuit - and the Shannon's Historic Demonstration, which brings out the classic Italian racers of the early to mid-twentieth century. But I'm most curious about the MINI Challenge Series, in which drivers pilot identical cars around the track, highlighting the amazing skill and daring of the winner. It just might inspire you to join your local racing club. Guests at the Westin Melbourne might enjoy this high-octane extravaganza.

The Phillips Collection doesn't arrange their artworks by date, type, nationality, or artist. Instead, they simply arrange and rearrange them based on the way different pieces work together visually in an effort to "reinforce conversation." Known as America's first museum of modern art, The Phillips Collection opened to the public in 1921. Established as a memorial to his father and brother, Duncan Phillips founded the museum with his mother Marjorie. Over 3,000 modern and impressionist works by the likes of Degas, Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Klee comprise the impressive trove, but the museum's piece de resistance is undoubtedly Renoir's "Luncheon of the Boating Party," which Phillips purchased in 1923. Two other highlights include the Rothko Room and The Migration Series, a sequence of sixty paintings by Jacob Lawrence that depicts the movement of African Americans from the South to the North between the two world wars.

Guests of The Fairfax at Embassy Row, an exquisitely elegant hotel in the lively Dupont Circle neighborhood, are especially well suited for a visit to the Phillips Collection. It's about a one minute walk away! Try to plan your visit for the first Thursday of the month when the museum hosts "Phillips after 5." Live jazz, gallery talks, a cash bar, and loads of art combine to create one lively cultural bash. There's also a Sunday concert series featuring classical chamber music, and a new "Leading European Composers" series, which highlights the work of current composers from Europe.

[image by Robert Lautman, courtesy of The Phillips Collection]

If it were in any city other than New York, the Brooklyn Museum would be the most popular museum in town by far. After all, it boasts no less than 1.5 million works of art and antiquity, from Pablo Picasso's 1942 classic Woman in Gray (Femme en gris) to one of the most spectacular collections of ancient Egyptian art on the planet. But this being New York, it's overshadowed by (admittedly spectacular) institutions like the Met, the MoMA, the Guggenheim, and the American Museum of Natural History. But don't let that stop you from visiting, because a short trip on the subway (or an even shorter taxi ride) will reward you with the rarest of experiences: a world-class museum with plenty of breathing room. Browse the permanent collection without being elbowed and jostled, or check out temporary exhibits (see video) like To Live Forever: Art and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, which explores the Egyptians' belief about life, death, and the afterlife. A host of compelling exhibits are planned for this year, including American High Style: Fashioning a National Collection (with works by designers such as Elizabeth Hawes and Christian Dior) and Andy Warhol: The Last Decade, with nearly 50 paintings, photos, and sculptures from 1977 - 1987. Nothing second-rate about that. Starwood has hotels throughout the New York City area, including the soon-to-open Sheraton Brooklyn New York Hotel.

Italian opera, Saudi Arabian song, and West African percussion resound through the performance halls and art spaces of Bahrain this month as the island nation celebrates its fifth Spring of Culture. The vivid festival dedicates a whole month to a vast assortment of artistic endeavors including music, dance, film, theatre, literature, poetry, and design. This year, jazz superstar Diana Krall takes the stage at Arad Fort on March 12, for her very first Persian Gulf performance. The Brazilian dance troupe, Bale de Rua (see video) showcase their fancy footwork March 17 and 18, combining elements of Capoeira, hip hop, street dance, and samba into a sensationally rhythmic and mesmerizing performance. And the Rome-based Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio puts a modern spin on Mozart's "The Magic Flute" on March 25.

Enjoy a wealth of international culture in the springtime paradise of this 22-island archipelago. A pearl of a country just off Saudi Arabia's east coast, Bahrain is blessed with warm weather year-round, and March is a lovely time for sunbathing at the Sheraton Bahrain Hotel's outdoor swimming pool or upon the soft sands of nearby beaches - the perfect way to get relaxed and refreshed for one of Spring of Culture's exciting evening performances.

Due to its location at the midpoint between north and south, the Washington, D.C. area has a particular affinity for spring, with a number of different festivals and events that celebrate the warmer weather and longer days. Throughout the month of April, for example, Sherwood Gardens (pictured) in Baltimore comes alive as more than 80,000 tulips sprout from the earth, blanketing the rolling landscape with color. The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. (March 27 - April 11, 2010), meanwhile, honors its beautiful cherry trees - a gift from Japan in 1912 - with parties, concerts, art festivals, and Sakura Matsuri, a traditional Japanese street fair. Flowermart 2010 takes over the Washington Monument on May 7 and 8, featuring flowers by the bushel and entertainment ranging from a hat and cap contest to the high-energy moves of the Waxter Center Hi-Steppers. And if you happen to be a student of American history, head on over to George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, which has Gardening Days in April and will host its annual Spring Garden Party on Mother's Day Weekend in May. Starwood has hotels throughout the Washington, D.C. area, and with the Better Tomorrows offer, you can save 50% off a second night for every night you pay a regular rate at participating hotels like the stylish W Washington D.C.

Cape Town is not only one of the world's most beautiful cities, it's also one of the most diverse, with a melting pot of cultures that can make any visit feel like an around-the-world tour. The city's diversity is the theme of the 2010 Cape Town Festival, which brings together popular African artists and entertainers from across the globe to celebrate the idea that the cultural whole is so much more than the sum of its parts. The festival will be held in the Company's Gardens on Queen Victoria Road in the city center from March 19 - 22, 2010, with dozens of dancers and musicians supporting the "One City, Many Cultures" campaign, including popular African artists such as Angolan R&B singer Anselmo Ralph and 2face Idibia, a Nigerian hip hop musician and songwriter whose award-winning hit song "African Queen" captivated the continent in 2005. In addition to the music, there will be hundreds of vendors selling Cape Town cuisine ranging from Kenyan cassava bread and Ethiopian chickpea bites to Indian samosas and Thai noodle dishes. So grab a bite to eat and maybe a bottle of delicious South African wine and experience the amazing diversity that is Cape Town. Starwood has two Cape Town properties, the Westin Grand Cape Town Arabella Quays and the Arabella Western Cape Hotel & Spa, a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection.

[image via Cape Town Festival]

From March 12-14, 2010, Chandler, Arizona will host one of the most bizarre festivals in the American southwest, bringing together thousands of people, hundreds of vendors, and a gaggle of huge, flightless birds. That's right, it's time for the Ostrich Festival, and if you've never had the pleasure of observing these fascinating birds, there's no better opportunity than this. The festival takes place in Tumbleweed Park, a few miles from central Phoenix, and features three days of music, food, and ostrich-related activities that the whole family can enjoy. The fun begins on Friday afternoon with events like medieval jousting, a stunt and thrill show, and pig races, but its the first set of Ostrich Races at 4:00 p.m. that draw the huge crowds. Ostrich jockeys actually climb atop the birds and race around a track at alarming speeds, with the birds giving it their all to cross the finish line first and bask in the glory. Races are held throughout the weekend, along with a large ostrich exhibition area, kids zone, petting zoo, and carnival midway. More than 150 vendors offer souvenirs and local cuisine (including ostrich burgers), while the musical guests include national acts like War and Jason D. Williams as well as local favorites the Sugar Thieves and Cold Shott and the Hurricane Horns. Even if you can't make it to the fairgrounds, you can catch the Thorobred Chevrolet Ostrich Festival Parade, which winds through town with floats, antique cars, marching bands, and Ollie the Trolley. It's a fitting spectacle to celebrate the strangest of birds. Starwood has hotels throughout the Phoenix area, including the Sheraton Crescent Hotel.

[image via Ostrich Festival]

Ringed by beautiful mountain vistas, Chongqing's zoo (Chongqing Dongwuyan) is the home of several hundred rare species of animals, but the undisputed highlight of the center is its panda enclosures, which house both giant pandas and red pandas. They are open daily between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m., a window of time that also serves as panda dining hours. So it may be a safe bet to say visitors are then able to capture in their still cameras and videos the bears at their happiest moments during the day! While many people tend to skip out on the zoo after checking out the pandas (and possibly the tigers, the second most popular area), there are a few strange other features that may be worth exploring. The connection between disco wheels with animals and zoos may not be immediately clear, for example, but the zoo houses one very unlikely attraction with an area for patrons to roller skate.

Plan a vacation to Chongqing now for the end of the year and beyond and reserve a room at the Sheraton Chongqing, opening in December 2010. There, the concierge will assist in the planning of your zoo visit as well as any adventure that appeals. What are the most spectacular zoos you have ever visited? Please let us know in the comments section.