BudgetTravel

10. THE ILLUSIONIST

Eisenheim (Edward Norton) falls for a duchess (Jessica Biel) and uses magic--and his wits--to thwart Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). Set in Austria in 1900, The Illusionist was shot in the Czech Republic. 'The best Vienna is Prague,' says location manager Jaroslav Vaculik.

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Magic Castle Eisenheim wows with a trick inspired by King Arthur at Dobris Chateau (011-420/318-521-240, semova@zamekdobris.cz, by appointment, $8). From Prague's Andel station, take a bus toward Príbram.

The Hunting Lodge The royal hunting lodge is Konopiste, in Benesov. The train ride from Prague's Hlavni Nadrazi station, toward Tabor (get off at Benesov) is an hour long (011-420/317-721-366, zamek-konopiste.cz, tours $8-$14, closed Mondays, open April to November).

Childhood Home Eisenheim grew up in Cesky Krumlov. From Hlavni Nadrazi in Prague, take the train to Ceske Budejovice, switch for a train to Cesky Krumlov; the trip requires four hours total.

9. SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY

Sydney Pollack's documentary delves into the mind and architecture of friend Frank Gehry. "I'm not sophisticated about architecture, so I don't look at it intellectually," says Pollack. "The buildings I get speak to me on an emotional level." Here are his three favorite Gehry buildings:

Guggenheim Bilbao The famous art museum, in northern Spain, "made all kinds of music in my head," says Pollack (011-34/94-435-90-80, guggenheim.com, $13, closed Mondays).

Marqués de Riscal Winery and Hotel Gehry's hotel in the Rioja wine country, 68 miles southwest of Bilbao, opened in October. Rooms start at $380 a night, but a 90-minute vineyard tour is $8 (011-34/945-18-08-80, marquesderiscal.com).

Vitra Design Museum "Vitra was the last building Frank did before discovering the computer," says Pollack. "He was playing with the same shapes that he later was able to have breakthroughs with." It's in Weil am Rhein, Germany, a 15-minute ride on bus #55 from Basel, Switzerland; the bus stops right outside (011-49/7621-702-3200, design-museum.de, $10).

8. THE DA VINCI CODE

Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) gets called to the Louvre, where he meets cryptologist Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou); they're soon on a hunt for the Holy Grail. The adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller was shot in England, Scotland, Malta, and France.