Categorizing your DVD collection, chaperoning your kids on a night-at-the-clown-museum sleepover (shiver…), or doing other things you normally work hard to avoid is no consolation for not biking Tuscany’s sun-kissed hills or geisha-hunting in Tokyo. When Wall Street money mongers jet to sumptuous spa-cations, why should you suffer a cash-flow-challenged staycation substitute? Especially when there’s an affordable alternate route — departing from your couch cushion — to Italy, or Greece’s sugary white-sand beaches, Tibet’s misty peaks, Africa’s vast plains, or any other cinemacation destination you desire.

Here’s a hodgepodge list of foreign-themed film faves to help inspire your itinerary…

Destination: Italy

Mafia Mecca or not, Sicily has a softer side, whether its rocky, sepia-tinged countryside hosts chipmunk-cheeked Toto’s sentimental boyhood recollections of Cinema Paradiso mentor Alfredo, or the machine-gun-escorted wedding march of a Godfather-groomed groom. Screen wanderers who prefer a landscape of grapevines, voluptuous hills, and dark-eyed Italian suitors can savor a few sultry hours Under the Tuscan Sun.

Destination: Spain

Vibrant modern art, medieval cathedrals, Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson …Vicky Cristina Barcelona’s breezy, sun-speckled Mediterranean seaside drips with a variety of sensual scenery.

Destination: Greece

Pierce Brosnan singing an ABBA SOS? No. The most spellbinding part of Mama Mia!‘s spectacle is undeniably the ancient, white-washed stone and sparkling, cerulean champagne waves of the musical’s Grecian paradise stage.

Destination: Africa

Sizzling orange sunsets, untamed savannah, lions charging through the brush, dazzling ivory flocks of birds, primitive tribes — Oscar winner Out of Africa is an epic Streep-Redford romance that captivates with epic cinematography.

Destination: Australia

Despite flaws in plot or “Down Under” authenticity, Baz Luhrman’s Australia delivers a tempting feast of tourism-ad-quality outback sights. For a grittier glimpse of never-never land as well as Aboriginal mystique and moxie, try the true run-away-home-tale Rabbit-Proof Fence or dreamtime drama Walkabout.

Destination: Ireland

If you adore hearing the brash highland burr of 007 sweet-talking a Russian spy into returning her pistol to her bikini holster, then you’ll swoon when Connery serenades his darling Irish lass in Darby O’ Gill and the Little People. Also swoon-worthy: the lush emerald isle scenery dotted with rustic cottages and eerie Druid ruins. (The comical cautionary fable’s pint glass also poureth over with crafty leprechauns and creepy banshees.)

Destination: Japan

American actors embarrassing themselves in absurd whiskey commercials, Blade Runner-esque neon traffic jams, all-hours karaoke bars — if you crave the fast-food, high-tech tourist-in-Wonderland flavor of today’s Japan, take Coppola‘s Lost in Translation tour. If you seek more sedate, spiritual, natural beauty and don’t mind traveling back in time, delve into The Last Samurai or a sublime Kurosawa classic like The Sea is Watching or Kagemusha.

Destination: France

The quirky-sweet Amelie and the mouthwatering Chocolat — both exquisite, enchanting fairytales set in the city of love that capture France’s old world charm, eternal elegance, and intoxicating romantic ambiance.

Destination: Tibet

Tibet’s Shangri-la of snowcapped peaks, rugged valleys, and sky-bound Buddhist temples is a treacherous trek except via the safer stay-home route, 7 Years in Tibet.

Destination: Mongolia

Two things that stun about Mongol: Genghis Khan’s warm and fuzzy side and breathtaking vistas. Those enchanted by Mongolia will easily be entranced by neighboring Tuva and the ethereal sound of its Genghis Blues.

Destination: Belgium

Never mind the hostile dwarfs, prostitutes, and surreal violence, In Bruges brims with medieval storybook scenery. No wonder its charming canal city setting, Bruges, has been dubbed the “Venice of the north.”

Tags: australia, dvd recommendations, mongol