TEXAS, USA — For the summer of 2021, Andrew Levitt and his friends had big plans. They were going to backpack through Europe.
"That was all canceled once the pandemic hit," says Levitt.
He thought his European to-do list would have to wait.
"Then we realized Texas had a bunch of places and they actually had, like, an Eiffel Tower and Stonehenge and all these things you’d do in Europe," Levitt says. "So what if we just took our Europe trip there instead?"
And they did, documenting it all on his YouTube channel.
"We went from the smallest of towns to visiting the three biggest towns," says Levitt.
The guys flew into Dallas and headed right for Italy. If eating some Italian food is on your to-do list, Levitt warns options there are limited.
Next stop: Dublin, where Things Celtic is a must-visit.
"I always tell people if you’re going to come to Dublin because it’s the Irish capital of Texas, you need to stop there," says Ellisa Tiscareno, president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce.
Dublin is where you can check those museums off your list. It has more per capita than any other city in the country.
"If you’re coming to town, I always tell people those are the places to hit and highlight: the museums, for sure," Tiscareno says.
Grab a beer in an Irish pub in Dublin before you head to London. Levitt says there wasn’t a lot there except a huge helping of Texas hospitality.
No channel crossing needed to get a photo with a Dutch windmill, just a trek to The Netherlands. I mean, Nederland. Close enough.
"Close enough” is what you’ll get to Greek pillars in Athens.
Levitt and his friends wrapped up their six-day, 1400-mile Europe-in-Texas tour in Paris.
"I couldn’t imagine a better way to end it all than with a visit to the Eiffel Tower," he says.
In between these cities you can hike the Texas equivalent of the Alps, visit Stonehenge or even tour a medieval castle.
"Our expectations were pretty low for that and what Newman['s Castle] gave us was pretty great," says Levitt, "so if you’re ever interested in anything like that, I would recommend that to everyone visiting."
Actually, he recommends the whole trip, even if you’re a native Texan.
"I find when you live in a state, you don’t usually do some of the touristy things or visit a lot of the state," Levitt says. "We got every taste of Texas I think you could get."
There are more cities you can add to the itinerary: Rhome, Naples, Liverpool, Belgrade, Geneva, Manchester, Holland, New Sweden, Florence, Stockholm and Edinburgh to name a few.
And the best part? You’ll never have to worry about a passport or currency exchange.