What are your best souvenirs?

My own personal photographs. They are, in my opinion, the single best souvenir and memory. Enjoy whatever you bring back.

If you're looking for me take sides then I'll take yours. At least what you bring home is useful to you. But for myself, I usually bring home 500-800 souvenirs - all photos I took myself. They mean more to me than anything else could. Four major trips to Europe so far and the only other thing I bought was this panoramic poster of central Paris that caught my eye because I could pick out the apartment we stayed in as well as the major sights. 21 months later it is still in the tube I brought it home in.

Unique fridge magnets, preferable out of natural materials - no plastic ones thank you. Easy to carry home along with the hundreds of photos taken.

I like to find a new pair of socks while traveling, they are easy to pack, useful and every time I put on my striped knee highs I remember the shop in Florence I got them at! :) I say set a budget for each of you for your own souvenirs, and to each his own, if your fiance chooses to spend his Euros on a beer stein, he has to carry it and find a place for it when you get home. Your scarf will take up no room in your backpack and you can rave about how light it is. :)

I'm with you on the scarves or other useful items, Michelle. Also a calendar, useful for a whole year, is nice. Bought a fabulous purse and wallet in Montalcino (made in Florence, family shop in Montalcino) that I use every day. DH bought a briefcase.

I always bring home small pieces of art work. Every day whichever room in my house I go into, I am reminded of the wonderful places I have been fortunate enough to have travelled to.

Memories, while they last.

Michelle, My best souvenirs are probably my photos. I always travel with a dSLR and try to get great shots of the places I visit. I have enlargements hanging in various places in the house, which are always a nice reminder of the trips. The only other item I tend to buy is T-Shirts (they're easy to pack). I don't buy them for every location, but a "Switzerland" shirt from my trip last year is one of my favourites. I've seen some art work in Rome that would have been nice, but I simply don't have to room in my Backpack to bring it home.

I take a lot of pictures while on a trip. After I get home I have an enlargement made of one of them to represent the trip and hang it it my hall so that I see it several times a day. It reminds me of my trip and memories are so much better, for me, than any souvenir.

Photographs, and I will often do a book after. Also clothes, inexpensive jewelry, and a few times some beautiful napkins. I tend to buy less each time, sometimes nothing but my pictures.

I usually bring a local food or alcohol souvenir. My wife likes to buy a Christmas tree ornament from each stop.

I'm a big reader, so I always look for a good bookmark to take home. (I don't always find one, but it's fun to look.) My first trip to Paris, I found two laminated, panoramic ones of places I'd been, and I still use them 10 years later.

I usually look for jewelry. It's easy to fit in the backpack. Just like your clothes from Paris, everytime I where it, it reminds me of the trip. I also shipped home wine glasses from Prague and a Black Forest clock from Rothenburg. Love them

Michelle, As a couple we love to take pictures and make a digital album when we get home. We always limit it to our 300 favorite pics. I also like to either pic up a CD at a gift shop (when renting a car) or download a soundtrack that is music from the country we are going. I listen to it on my Ipod on the train, in museums, while editing my pictures or at night while on the trip. I know music and memory go hand in hand. One of my favorite things to do on Sunday afternoons is listen to these soundtracks and click through the pictures. I can close my eyes and be in Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Paris, Rome, On top of the Swiss Alps, Haiti, Japan or wherever my mind takes me back to.
My Wife really likes scarves and fridge magnets. I have a black felt hat collection I started back in College. I have expanded it to straw and other types of hats but I try to buy black felt first if it fits. I also collect a patch from each country and stitch it to my Backpack. Thanks for taking me back to my travels in the middle of my work week.

Christmas tree ornaments, small, light weight and easy to pack home.

We do almost everything mentioned! Hubby takes marvelous pictures. I do sketches of the sites. He buys me lovely jewelery- usually from local craftsmen or at small shops. We have even gotten to know some of the craftspeople and ordered custom pieces over the years. We love to get unique Christmas ornaments- we even use things that others might not think of (like a handcarved Welsh love spoon) as ornaments. We often get the kitcsky things too- key chains, thinbles,china plates, magnets. And I love scarves. He sometimes gets T Shirts or polos. And our mantel is full of little houses, wooden shoes, snowglobes and other "stuff". It is all fun. I like the suggesstion that you each get your own. If I had to "give up" getting anything it would be the stuff on the mantel- I hate dusting!!! (LOL) I wear my scarves and jewelery and look at our pictures and my sketches- and the memories are very special.

IMO, clothes don't really make good souvenirs. They either don't last, or go out of style, and seem to lose their specialness after a short while. I prefer jewelry as souvenirs; easy to pack and will last alot longer.

We don't get many souvenirs. But I do usually buy one scarf each trip. They're not usually expensive, but I think of my trip each time I put on the scarf. My husband, WAY back when, before he and I met, took a student's trip to Europe with another friend. They got together recently, and were entertaining our kids with stories of all the beer mugs, purchased at various monasteries and other places they drank the beer, that they had brought back. They'd traded away most of their t-shirts and jeans (?), so their return baggage was mostly beer mugs and underwear. They both still have those beer mugs, about 25 years later, and were using two of them as they told the story. So really, any object that will have lasting sentimental value is a good souvenir, IMHO.

We are not huge shoppers of souvineers but we buy what we like if it is something that we or others may enjoy. Favorite is an oil painting that we bought in Paris. Second would be a porcelain umbrella stand from several years ago when luggage weight was not an issue. Scarves are always good and have bought gold charms from several destinations. Magnets that are different are another favorite-bought some at Alhambra gift shop that look like tiles-iow, really interesting magnets. You will regret it if you don't buy at least one Eiffel Tower from Paris-best place is stalls along the Seine. Museum shops have some nice and affordable items. Yes, Christmas ornaments, too-bring back memories each year as you decorate your tree (if you celebrate!)

I love this question!! My fridge is covered in fridge magnets... Rome cats, "no kangaroos in Austria", etc.. These have become my favorite souvenirs! I have a bizarre nativity scene collection, which has grown to include a mariachi band, lots of interesting people figurines, penguins, etc.. Neither of these do I hunt out, but always manage to come across a unique, funny or handicrafted item worth keeping. I also keep coins, small change. I have a jar full! My weakness: handicrafted wooden boxes (on display).
Previous trip follies: Murano glass and hand-painted wooden mirrors (carefully packed still). I take a lot of photos. I have an online set of albums up on Picasa (it costs peanuts for the extra storage). 3 years ago, I started producing photobooks for my trips, which I like much better than the clumsy photo albums. These are also much nicer to show. I don't do nick-nacks, but my cheezy little bronze Eiffel Tower has pride of place on my bookshelf ;-)

One word: Popener.

I enjoy bringing home reusable bags from grocery stores. They make great inexpensive, easy to transport gifts for all the family and friends. They are great conversation starters .

Every day, during downtime at hotel or dinner on on the train, one picture postcard to myself about the day. Result: Compact travel journal. Most memories per ounce.

I like finding things that I know are made in the area or at least locally or from local products - A high-quality tartan scarf from Scotland, beautiful cedar boxes in Morocco, Erzgebirge Christmas ornaments and smokers, Belgian lace Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs decorated in the regional style, or pottery made in the local design, or jewelry of course. Oh, and Belgian chocolate. Need I say more?

My home is decorated with beautiful posters from my favorite museums in Europe. I buy them rolled up and have them framed in the USA. Of course, bringing them home usually requires buying a new poster tube each visit rather than trying to explain to TSA why I am traveling to Europe with a large, empty tube. Beer glasses are difficult to travel with, being bulky and fragile, though I have carried a few unique beer bottles (empty) wrapped in my laundry on the way home. Beer coasters (beer mats) are much cheaper and easier to carry home. Practical items are also great. The 10,000 lira neckties I bought in Sorrento, Italy ($5 each at the time) turned out to be of decent quality as well as attractive and I wear them regularly now.

Wow - this topic comes up every now and then...do a search; there was a loooong thread about this 6-9 months ago...LOTS of great ideas! We have a Christmas tree full of ornaments (we try to help with Kathe Wolfahrt's electric bill LOL) and two cuckoo clocks, watercolors/pen-and-ink prints, we really like our kitchen utensils that we use every day ('stir sticks' for coffee - great for squeezing tea bags, coffee scoop, coffee spoons, kitchen towels, that loooong and skinny spoon made to reach the bottom of jars to get the last little bits, latte bowls), fridge magnets, beer steins out the wazoo -we'll be picking up several more this fall (ugh!), small scarves I usually use (rolled/folded) as a headband, keychain/charm used as a zipper pull on your favorite jacket, beer coasters ;-) ... (cont.)

(cont.) THIS TRIP, I'm looking hard for reusable shopping bags, and I'm thinking of starting a 'Cheesy Hall of Fame' with the most garish and gaudy examples of statues/figurines, magnets, etc., I can find! I REALLY hope I can find those fine, hideous Mary statues I saw in Siena 13 years ago...! They've probably been struck by lightning by now... Also, my in-laws still use the coffee tin they bought 20+ years ago in Germany. Back at home, you could use interesting boxes for the TV remote, 'daily' jewelry, dog treats... For smaller chotchkies, you can put them in cases (such as meant to hold footballs, dolls, etc.) to keep from having to dust them. Or, under cloches. PACK bubble wrap, tape, and bring a poster tube with as wide a diameter as you can stand (so that posters and prints don't have to be rolled to the size of a cigarette). My husband had a bad experience with underpacking some beer steins on our first trip...bring LOTS of bubble wrap for delicate things (esp. for heavy, delicate things). It weighs nothing, and it's cheap enough that if you don't need it you can leave it in Europe. Bring a sturdy duffle bag (or something comparable) that can be flattened in the bottom of your bag - check that on your way home so you can bring home those souvenirs you can't/don't want to carry onto the airplane. There's NO kangaroos in Austria?!? ;-) There's no basement in the Alamo...

Being a light packer my souvenirs tend to be "things I need but didn't bring." Either didn't bring at all or just didn't bring with me for the day and it got cooler than I thought or rained when the forecast didn't call for it.....Bottle opener, multiple sweatshirts, umbrella, nail clipper, etc.

When I was in university, my roommates and I somehow started a shot glass collection (don't really remember how it got started) and I kind of kept collecting after I graduated. But the shelf is now full and I'm thinking it's time to stop. My husband and I try to get a Christmas tree ornament wherever we go too.

I've often wondered about how to bring stuff home from europe. I plan on visiting france later this year. And I intend on taking lots of pictures!

My wife and I like to buy crystal from various countries. We have bought beautiful Italian pottery from Sienna,Stresa,and Venice. In Prague we bought some beautiful cups and should have bought some wine glasses we saw. At the Delph factory we purchased some small plates as a reminder of the factory. In addition we buy inexpensive items as reminders of places we have visited.
One expensive item we bought in Anacapri was a hand made dining room table/chairs with additional matching pieces for the dining room. This took 4 months to make and is the nicest piece of furniture we own.

I'm of two minds. I have a shelf at home in my office with cheesy souvenirs. LOVE them. Each time I look at them, it reminds me of the city we visited. They don't take up much room, and are just fun. I've tried to purchase clothing, but never been successful. Even the scarves I've brought home weren't that great, I like what I can find at my local stores better. I do shop the grocery stores for chocolate, or in one case, I even brought home extra fine flour to make my own pasta, just like in Italy....and it was GOOD! the other item I love are crafts from the region. Linens, like table cloths or napkins, a piece of ceramics, like an olive oil jar, or a canister that I can use everyday. I bought olive wood spoons in a tiny town in Italy and use them every single day! you will know it when you see it, if you have to have it. Just know that a couple of times in my trips I thought I'd walk away and think about something, and when I went back, it was gone....I guess it was meant to be that I didn't buy it, but I still regret not just opening my wallet and bringing the item home....never found anyhing like it again!

Crash, if you were MacGyver you could easily recreate your original purchases...just a little duct tape...a paper clip... Tom said, "Memories, while they last." - EXACTLY why I bring home some little something that I'll use often; my memories don't last all that long LOL! I need a little 'souvenir' (means 'remembrance' in French...). Whatever you decide to buy, GET IT WHEN YOU SEE IT! Don't plan on price-comparing, or swinging by that little shop on your way home, or getting one 'of those' when you get to ''. The price will probably only go UP, even though the sign says they'll be open tonight they won't be, and '' doesn't have any 'of those' LOL! Try it and see...at your own risk.

I bring home luggage stickers and then put them on a vintage suitcase (just starting my 2nd suitcase!) I found at the Goodwill. I also buy a silver charm to put on a charm bracelet. Inexpensive and easy to pack on both. I'm just starting my 3rd charm bracelet. I have a Roman soldier charm from Bath, an evil eye from Greece, the Eiffel tower from Paris...etc. etc.

Each time we return home from Europe we bring back only one souvenir----Fabulous Memories!

Christmas ornament--easy to pack and doesn't take up much space. The vacation ornament Christmas tree looks great.

I'm in the midst of rethinking the souvenir front. Over the years I've picked up books (local mysteries primarily, but also non-fiction), a ton of souvenir booklets, some art, jewelry, sweaters, and many, many photographs. The reason I'm having to rethink this is that I'm moving from a house in Wisconsin to a one-bedroom apartment in NYC. So, now I have to not only think, "Can I get this into my suitcase and do I want to lug it?" but also, "What will I get rid of in order to fit it into the apartment?" So, here's how I'm leaning, jewelry is still good. It's small and heck, I'll never have so much that I really need to worry about this. Sadly, the books and booklets have to go. I'm getting an iPad with a Kindle app or a Kindle (leaning toward the iPad because it can multi-task and so addresses that space issue) and will only buy a book that is not on the Kindle. I'll find downloadable substitutes for the booklets. I'll be very selective about the art - watch the cheap prints. ; ) I'll wear the sweaters more often so that some wear out leaving room for new ones. And for photos, it's going to be digital files and a very few prints. Pam PS Oh, I can buy the food and alcohol as it will disappear. I'll get a digital photo of us consuming it! LOL

Search Budget Travel Magazine's web site for their series on different world regions for "What to Buy for $100!" Note: They show at least 6 or so different items which together cost $100. I like to look at these articles to get ideas of the wonderful, affordable, and unique crafts for my souvenirs or gifts It gives me an idea of what to look for and where. And keeps me from buying items which are not so good.

Son takes photos and collects bottles along the way and packs into the dirty socks in a tube! Boy the TSA folks get a laugh from that! Empty bottles :) Hubby seems to find hats and ukelele's and loves maps. I still try to find silver charms for my charm bracelet and post cards. I want to get some lace items and papers from my upcoming trip this summer. I found some cards depicting sites around my SoCal county to leave as thank you notes.

A folding Lagiole knife (the Lotus knife) made by a knife craftsman in the town Thiers in France. Good knives have been made in that town for 500 years. The Lagiole lotus knife looks elegant, it has a creme colored horn handle. That general style of knife is the kind of knife that European people carry with them when they are hiking at mountains, for cutting fruit, slicing cheese,...
Actually, I bought that knife from a mail order catalog in the U.S.A. But it was made at Thiers in France. The word FRANCE was engraved on the blade which is made of very high quality stainless steel made in Sweden. You might be able to see a photograph of a charming old Lagiole knife in a book about knives, in a Barnes & Noble book store in the U.S.A.

The photos I take are my most important souvenirs. But I find I just can't control my impulse buying while in Europe. I love scarves, shirts, bottle-openers, refrigerator magnets, you name it. The only requirement is that these things be easy to pack for the trip home. I've never bought anything super-expensive but I have a fun story to tell about buying a coat in a Paris department store and then the next day trying to exchange it at Customer Service for a different size. What I went through trying to convince the woman in Customer Service (in French) that she should take back this coat that I'd obviously already worn has made a real-life "back-door" memory for me and a funny story to tell others.

Michelle - Like the others it's normally pictures. Occasionally a golf scorecard.

I'm with you Michelle! I love to buy scarves and clothes in Paris, London, Rome, Venice, Tuscany, as well as jewelry and small art works. One thing I treasure is a small crystal encrusted Eiffel tower that I got at the gift shop there. And I love sharing and revisiting all the pictures I take as well. The memories are the best souveniers.

my own pics and postcards! Often, postcards have the best, most ideal pics of certain locations, and they're inexpensive and easy to pack. For example, I took ENDLESS pics of Neuschwantein castle in Germany and Edinburg castle in Scotland......and they weren't as nice as the postcards! So, although I take many pics on each trip, postcards fill in nicely in my albums. Yes, I take digital photos when traveling and store thek on my computer, but still loving having hard copy albums of the highlights of each trip; call me old fashioned!

I get why people like their own photos, (see my last item) but I sense something else is what Michelle is getting at beside a photo. The more we travel, the more actual "things" seem to attract our shopping interests. So here is a partial list: Commedia dell'arte masks, from Venice. People who come to our house love them. We had them shipped Pasta pottery bowls and platters from Orvieto. Several trips now, we have bought these and they are great and it makes you hungry just looking at them. We have them shipped. My wife loves buying those print shirts that have scenes or look like artwork. Also t-shirts. My personnal favorite item I ever bought? (Your husband should take note here). A pocket knife in Sarlat, France. Still carry it with me, though I almost had it confiscated on 9/11 in Kansas City. I mailed it home to myself to save it. I would truly had been devastated if I had lost it then - or ever. Table clothes, from Provence. We have bought several on different trips, always at outdoor markets. We carry them home with us. Shot glasses (okay, so your husband may be on to something here). A beer mug could be interersting too. Beautifully crafted boomerangs (yes, we went there also and why Rick has not done an Australian trip???? or has he?). I also bought opals (!) Prints of absolute beauty. This is actually one of our favorite items to bring home. An ancient street view of Rome; Siena from circa 1600; Van Gogh and Renoir reproductions. Framed and hung on the walls of our home. They put them in tubes for you to travel home with them. Blow up prints of our own pictures, again framed and put on the walls of our home. Probably the most proud of these because we did them.

My memories are the best for sure!! Light weight, not likely to be lost, and very personal, not the tourist trap stuff...otherwise, have purchased jewelry for my daughters and secretary, scarves for friends, some olive oil as well...the smiles I receive in return are also great memories...

University sweatshirts from the major cities I visit. And I love sheep so I brought home a bag full of items with a sheep motif from Ireland.

The more I read these posts and look around my house the more I realize all the stuff I have brought home from travels. A few I forgot... herbes de provence and sea salt from the carmague, limoncello, paprika from hungary, spices from morocco. Lots of art supply stuff, pigment from Rousillion and pigment from Morocco, feather quill pens from England, Venetian glass pens and merano glass beads. The biggest expense a beautiful mask that I wore during Carnivale and the craziest purchase was a handmade pottery sink that I hand-carried (I did this 3 separate times ) One is now in a bathroom, and one may go into my wine bar, one broke as I left it outside in the winter. Leather albums in Florence and quilts from Provence. I am really not a big shopper...these were over many trips. But I always try to get things that I don't see at home, but that gets harder all the time.

I love the jewelry and the scarf I bought , but my favorite were the cheap little Eiffel tower key chains. I bought several of them and used them as Christmas tree decorations.

Apart from buying pieces of art, I have created my own pictures by chosing three or four photos from my trips, having them enlarged to A4 size and then having them block mounted ready to hang on the wall.

I always take pictures and pick up coins and a magnet. If I can't find one I like, I've glued a magnet to the back of an interesting coin. A bottle of wine - something my wife and I can open up a few of years later to remember our trip I also try to get a couple of unique or characteristic items (e.g. a beer stein in Germany, local artwork and pottery in Italy and Turkey).

I bring back empty wine bottles and other bottles and use them for Rose vases when I return home. My favorite is a 6 oz. coke bottle that I paid $10.00 in St.marks for a seat to listen to the music. Best $10.00 I ever spent.

My favorite is my PACE flag from Florence. It has been in peace marches with me. I spent the next trip to Italy taking photos of PACE flags. I spent one day in Florence taking photos of every fleur de lis I encountered. I made it through about an hour and then had to stop. Too many to record - on stop signs, bicycles, windows, doors, logos of every sort. Interesting photos. I always buy a scarf. I wear scarves a lot and each time I wear one I am taken back to that special place. I pick up flyers with lots of graphics to peruse once home and use in collage work. I collect interesting sugar packets. My favorites are packets from Florence with Uffizi art works - Medusa, Venus, etc. And they were free at our coffee haunt. And of course my espresso cup from that very special coffee bar. That I paid for!

We buy a small piece of art on each trip. I also buy at least one scarf. In cities that have a Starbucks I buy a city mug from that location. I also buy university tshirts or sweatshirts for my college aged daughter.

Wonderfully soft beige linen scarf from Bayeux I wear often, small watercolors from Paris, Tuscan pottery spoon rest, small leather purse from Florence, some jewelry from Venice, a pipe-smoking Santa from Lindau, black taxi tote from London that I use for my school bag, a few thousand photos saved in Picasa web albums, and memories, memories. A most significant souvenir was for my World War II dad, who died in January...a very small scoop of sand in a ziplock bag from Utah Beach where he came ashore in 1944 in the weeks following D-Day. I know, I know...it's a no-no, but the treat for my dad was priceless.

My first trip to Europe a LONG time ago, I bought a wooden globe/music box in Florence and a Nutcracker in Germany. Since then, my husband and I are always on the search for some type of wood sculpture or carving etc. On either side of our fireplace we have shelves displaying these "finds". As we are exploring, if we happend to come across the perfect wood object, that reminds us of our travels, we'll buy and be done with the sourvenir shopping. These make for much conversation when we have guests and every piece has a store behind it. For Christmas I change out the wood travel carvings with a collection of nutcrackers, of which the one from Munich was the first. But like everyone else, pictures are the best, and the beauty with digital cameras, no more canisters of film.

My husband and the small group of people he works with always search for the small "cheezy" sourvenir to bring back to the office. So their window sills are lined with this decor. He puts a price limit of $2-3 per item... so we are talking Eifel tower key chains, mini Statue of liberty, mini can of Guiness, Mini port bottles, etc. He finds that the best place to find these is when you are in the midst of the most touristy part of a city with the tacky sourvenir shops.

Pictures are a given... I also always come home with tons of postcards and book marks. I've also started collecting Christmas ornaments for our tree and for our parents. I also like buying new purses... I got one in Paris in November that I loved, and I really wanted to buy one in Amboise last month, but the shop never seemed to be open no matter what time of day or day of the week I went by! I try not to go to nuts with souvenirs, for budget reasons and packing reasons, but they are really a fun and easy way to re-live your trip :)

Oh and I forgot to add that I got three journals on my last trip, museum shops have great finds!

Jewelry; doesn't have to be gold, silver is inexpensive. Murano glass beads or ring or colored stones from the region, polished and set in a ring; or bracelet/necklace. Wear them home. A set of glass measuring tubes for the bar - small, pack safe and easy in middle of your suitcase, in a plastic bag coming back home. Small carved wood boxes with lids- made from local wood by local craftspeople. Leather change purse or makeup bag, made by local craftspeople. For him a new billfold, they're all over the place in Italy and Spain.

Here's a few threads on this topic from the past: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/55310/what39s-your-most-creative-souvenir.html http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/46541/memorable-souvenirs.html And for those souvenir regrets...: http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/45243/souvenir-regrets.html

And... http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/12966/your-favorite-souvenirs--just-for-fun.html