If you can stay at local's place, why visit hotels?) The locals live in the city for a long time, they know where to go out, where to have lunch or simply go shopping. Moreover, hosting people are usually extra hospitable, so it's way too easy to make friends all over the world.

Music: Led Zeppelin, Guns n' roses, Aerosmith, BMTH, Enter Shikari, Mumford & Sons, Macklemore, Eminem Movies: Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino as directors. Books: Ray Bradbury, Jules Verne, Richard Bach