10 Geeky Summer Destinations

Being lakeside isn’t really your thing? Here are ten travel destinations where you can wear your geeky t-shirts proudly!

• Tokyo, Japan – Akihabara District

This neighbourhood in Japan’s capital is by far the capital of the high-tech world. There is no place like Akia. It is the geek’s Disneyland: huge game rooms, Anime theatres, Cosplay, internet hotels, Manga, etc… the Mecca for geeks.

• Las Vegas, USA – Star Trek Convention

Trekkies unite, Vegas is hosting the legendary Star Trek Convention this summer from August 5th-8th, 2010. This is your chance to trott like Spok in full costume. No Star Trek Convention is complete without a tour of Vegas’ most famous casinos and buildings: the Luxor,  Stratosphere Tower, Hotel New York…

• California, USA – Silicon Valley

From Mountain View (Google) to Cupertino (Apple), the Silicon Valley has been THE centre of information technology (IT) since 1938. Don’t miss the birthplace of Hewlett-Packard (a garage at 367 Addison Ave in Palo Alto) or the Museum of Innovation in San Jose.

• Toronto, Canada – Fan Expo

From August 27th-29th Toronto will host one of the largest geek exhibitions of the year. This festival brings together the best of all tech-worlds: comic books, horror, SF, anime, manga and video games.

• Matmata, Tunisia – Hotel Sidi Driss

Made famous for its appearance in Star Wars, this hotel was Luke’s house on the

planet Tatooine. On top of this Matmata is also represented in the video game Call of Duty. This Berber village is worth the detour if you are a Star Wars fan or not.

• Munich, Germany – Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum is without a doubt the best science and technology museum in the world. With around 20 sections, just about every corner of the scientific world is covered.

• Cologne, Germany – Gamescom

Gamescom is the European equivalent of E3. It will be held this year in Cologne in August from the 19th-22nd, 2010. For three days attendees will have the chance to test and play the latest games and consoles and even compete for prizes.

• Melbourne, Australia – Worldcon

Worldcon is the most important SF convention in the world, an annual event taking place since 1934. All genres of Science Fiction are covered: films, literature, games, comics, music, etc. This year Worldcon will be held from September 2nd-6th.

• Geneva, Switzerland – CERN

Interested in atomic energy? The European Centre for Nuclear Research is open to the public and offers guided tours in order to better understand the process of creating energy.

• Matamata, New Zealand – Hobbiton

Bilbo Baggins and Frodo’s home can be found in Matamata. Explore the Shire and see the scenes from the Lord of the Rings come alive at this magical place. Touch the Party Tree and make a wish.

Img: Supercon / flickr cc