Europe Everything about Europe

 

If you are flying to or within Europe then you will of course require to book a flight with one of several European airlines. The European airlines you select will then dictate many things about your journey – the duration, the cost, the food available, the entertainment and much more – and so choosing the European airlines you are going to use is an important way to make sure you find the service that will best suit your needs. The flight is the first and last part of your holiday – it is what will set the mood for the rest of your stay on the continent and it is the last thing that will stick in your mind once you’re back.

To select your European airlines often you will use either a travel agents, or an online holiday website like Expedia. From here you will select your destination and your dates and the hotel and you will be given some package deals to select from as a result. These package deals will include the European airlines and this is one of the things that will effect the price.

One tip to remember is that you shouldn’t yet book your holiday at this point – as in some cases booking the elements of your holiday separately can actually be less expensive than going for a package deal – or get it for the same price but with better European airlines. Look up ‘cheap flights to…’ and include your destination by searching in Google and then look at the European airlines there. It may be that some European airlines keep their costs down by not going on websites like Expedia that take a commission.

Now once you have all of the information you will need to choose the best European airlines for you. Of course if you have a set budget then this might limit your choice a little, but otherwise you can pick between a cheap flight or a more luxurious one. Cheap European airlines include things like FlyBe, Alitalia and Ryan Air, while the more luxurious options include European airlines like Virgin Atlantic. While FlyBe will offer just the very basics, Virgin will offer things like a large selection of films, free comfort bags and more leg space. Also it is important to bear in mind that with some European airlines you might risk paying hidden costs – things like check-in fees or higher baggage fees; so read the small print and find out exactly what you are paying for. At the same time – even among the cheaper European airlines some are more comfortable than others (Alitalia is far superior to RyanAir for instance) so it’s a good idea to read the reviews online first.

Finally bear in mind that there are ways to make the journey more expensive or less expensive regardless of your European airlines. For instance getting a transfer flight that takes you via another destination will drastically reduce costs, while choosing to go business class will of course cost you a lot more. Take time and effort choosing your European airlines – it could just make or break your holiday.

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There are many great countries to visit in Europe, and any of them offers a unique experience with lots to see and do. Here we’ll look at visiting England in Europe, and give you a quick guide to what it’s like, what to do, and what to expect.

Of course when you visit England in Europe you need to decide which part of the country you want to visit. Here there are lots of options, but your decision will drastically effect your experience. Of the many places to go in England in Europe, some popular options are Brighton, Bristol, Bournemouth, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Cornwall and of course London. Of these Brighton, Bristol and Bournemouth will give you an experience of seaside towns and you can expect slightly better weather and the chance to visit the beach. Meanwhile Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester are big industrial cities (honorable mention should also go to Birmingham), while London is the capital and boasts all of the most famous sites.

If you travel to England in Europe then you can expect to meet a lot of English people of course. While everyone is different regardless of their nationality, there are definitely national ‘traits’ and tendencies. Expect the English to be very quiet and reserved and generally polite, though there is also a big drinking and pub culture and the streets in the larger cities can become quite ‘rowdy’ at night meaning it’s not always entirely safe to walk through built up areas at pub closing time.

This pub culture however is a big part of visiting England in Europe and when you’re there you should definitely take the time to visit a pub, get a pub lunch, and to try some beer. The cuisine in England mostly comes from this and to try some of the local grub you should order yourself pie and chips, cottage pie, a roast dinner or a fry up. However because of the large number of immigrants in the larger cities you can also sample a lot of other cuisines while in England in Europe and Curry and Italian restaurants are very common.

Tips are not usually included in the bill bear in mind and it’s expected that you will tip then 10% of the overall price. You should also tip taxi drivers, but generally no other services. Remember that England still uses the British pound and not the Euro, and that one dollar is roughly equal to sixty pence.

There are lots of great things to see and do in England in Europe and these include the large sites in London such as the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Nelson’s Column etc. There are also lots of other activities scattered around the country such as theme parks like Thorpe Park and Alton Towers, or other days out such as Longleat, The London Dungeons (highly recommended), or Splashdown. Hopefully this quick overview of visiting England in Europe should entice and prepare you for visiting, but be sure to do more research into the precise area you’ll be visiting in order to get the very best experience.

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If you’re looking for family fun in Europe, then look no further than Euro Disney. Euro Disney is a theme park/resort in Paris that features hundreds of recognisable characters, elaborate animatronics, shops, restaurants, thrill rides, decorated streets, playgrounds and more for people of all ages to enjoy. For anyone choosing to visit Euro Disney a great day out is promised and in fact there’s enough to do to last several days if you decide to stay. Here we’ll look at how to get the most from your Euro Disney trip and to ensure that you don’t miss any of the major attractions.

When you visit Euro Disney, the first decision you need to make is whether you are going to stay in the resort and there are many themed hotels in the area if you choose to stay there. These are great fun for children, and for groups of young people to meet each other and mingle. At the same time by staying in the Euro Disney resort you will be able to get up early and be the first on all the rides and thus avoid some of the more devastating queues. However it is of course a significant amount of extra money and there are plenty of places to stay very cheaply that all offer shuttle buses to the park.

When you arrive there are two parks to choose from and it is recommended that you get tickets for both to get the most out of your stay (just one park will likely not provide you with more than a day’s worth of things to do). You will also need to face some of the aforementioned queues, so it’s imperative to decide which major rides you want to go on early on. The queues for these will be shorter in the morning and in the evening, so if you get the major ones like Space Mountain (now Space Mountain II), Aerosmith and the Tower of Terror out the way early on then you can tick them off your list and these are great worthwhile rides to check out (but maybe not suitable for youngsters). If you also get a queue jump you can avoid the queue by going away and coming back once the queue has died down.

The reason you should get the majority of these out the way is that you don’t want to spend the day queueing or feeling like you’re ‘missing out’. If you see just a few early on or book yourself in to see them, you can enjoy the rest of Euro Disney at a more leisurely pace without pressure and this is a much more pleasant approach to take. Try walking around the Tree House, getting lunch or looking at the Dragon in the Castle and generally enjoy the atmosphere during the busiest hours. Then – when the park begins to close, you’ve find you can quickly run around and have second goes on many of the larger rides.

The secret to enjoying Euro Disney is not to let a few big rides rule the day or spend hours queueing, but rather to feel the fun of the place, to eat meals, to get lots of photos and to just admire the atmosphere.

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  Europe is a vast continent with many different countries to visit. Within these countries are hundreds of different cities, nature reserves, towns, villages, historical sites and natural formations making it incredibly difficult to know which places to visit in Europe when travelling there. Here we’ll try to narrow down some of the top places to visit in Europe so that you can get the most from your travels and be sure not to miss some of the true highlights of this fantastic continent. Some of these will be cities, some will be historical sites and some won’t fall into any of these categories – but all of them are fantastic experiences and some of the best places to visit in Europe.

 

Glacier in Austria: There are many glaciers in Austria, and these include the Dachstein glacier, Kitzsteinhorn glacier, Rettenbach glacier and Pasterze glacier among others. These are all great places to visit in Europe for the excitement on standing on a floor made of ice, the fantastic surrounding mountains, and the brilliant photo opportunities they provide.

 

Auschwitz: Auschwitz is the famous concentration in Poland. Not one of the nicest places to visit in Europe, but certainly one of the most historically significant places to visit in Europe and one that is incredibly mind boggling and famous the world over.

 

The Zakopane Mountains: The Tatra mountains in Zakopane are one of the most spectacular mountain ranges in Europe and also one of the most accessible. Certainly one of of the places to visit in Europe that can offer the most fantastic vistas and amazing sense of scale.

 

Dubrovnik: Dubrovnik in Croatia is a fantastically colourful city, and looking down from the city gates at a view of the rooftops and coastline is one of those ‘wow’ moments that come very rarely.

 

Amsterdam: Amsterdam is one of the places in Europe that is known the world over – and for that reason alone it is a must-visit. At the same time though it’s also a great spot for stag and hen parties and famous for debauchery – as famous as it is infamous but also very modern and beautiful.

 

Meterora: Meteora in Greece is one of the best places to visit in Europe because it is one of the oddest places to visit in Europe features buildings perched on top of huge rocks, originally built by monks to bring them ‘closer to God’.

 

The Plitvice Lakes: The Plitvice Lakes in Croatia are some of the most beautiful and spectacular lakes in Europe making it one of the places to visit in Europe with the most natural beauty. It also features astonishing waterfalls and just about every colour possible.

 

Krakow: Krakow in Poland is a fantastic gothic city with a nightlife set mostly underground and many huge castles and churches.

 

Stone Henge: In Wiltshire, England, Stone Henge is a mysterious historical site and people travel from miles around to wonder about the why and the how of this famous stone structure.

 

Euro Disney: For family fun and something a bit more commercial, Euro Disney is one of the best places to visit in Europe and offers a vast range of things to do.

 

London: London is another one of the most famous places in Europe with lots of sites such as Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. It also offers fantastic shopping and many other attractions.

 

The Champ-Elysées: All of Paris is of course worth visiting, but from the Champ-Elysées you can see the Arc de Triumph, Cleopatra’s Needle, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower all from a single spot making it one of the best places to visit in Europe. At the same time the road itself is incredibly long, very famous and filled with the most upmarket restaurants, bars and shops. Crossing the road itself is something of an adventure…

 

The Vatican City: The Vatican City amazingly is actually a country and the smallest country in the World. This itself makes it one of the places to visit in Europe already, but at the same time it also offers an amazing view from the top of St Peter’s Basilica, the fantastic museum (visit it at night for more amazing atmosphere), and the beautiful St Peter’s Square.

 

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Europe is filled with many amazing cities, some of which are huge modern metropolises, some of which are quaint and unusual urban areas and others of which are historical and unusual in their layout and what they have to offer. While any of these are great to visit, it’s the largest cities in Europe that have perhaps the most global impact and that many people are interested in. Here we will look at the top ten largest cities in Europe by population.

 

Moscow:

Topping this list of the largest cities in Europe is the capital of Russia with a huge population of around 10,600,000 people making it also the seventh largest city in the world.

 

London:

London is the Capital of England and an important industrial and economic centre within Western Europe. It’s also one of the largest cities in Europe and one with lots to do from tourists whether it’s riding the London Eye or visiting Big Ben.

 

St Petersburg:

Two of the top three biggest cities in Europe are situated in Russia which is no surprise considering the country itself is so large as to span continents.

 

Berlin:

The capital of Germany with a population of around 3,400,000. Famous for cobbled streets and for the Berlin Wall and other historical sites.

 

Madrid:

Madrid in Spain is a great holiday destination (particularly La Puerta del Sol) and also one of the largest countries in Europe.

 

Roma:

Roma (or Rome to me and you) is one of the most famous as well as one of the largest cities in Europe and has many famous sites such as the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. At the same time it is also famous for containing within it the smallest country in the world: The Vatican City. Which is almost ironic…

 

Kiev:

Kiev, capital of the Ukraine, is another of the largest cities in Europe and a highly important industrial and scientific centre for Eastern Europe.

 

Paris:

Paris is the eighth largest city in Europe, but that is not what it’s known for. Instead Paris is known as the city of ‘love’ and is a popular destination for many young couples. It is also a city rich in history and with many famous sites to behold making it a number one tourist destination for everyone travelling to Europe.

 

Bucharest:

Bucharest in Romania is one of the lesser known largest cities in Europe despite its large population.

 

Budapest:

Budapest -Hungary – is one of the most beautiful cities (the most beautiful according to many admirers) in Europe as well as one of the largest cities in Europe – just about making it onto this list of the ten largest cities in Europe.

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Visiting Europe by train is a great way to see a lot of the country relatively cheaply and without having many of the difficulties involved in travelling different ways. The other options when it comes to visiting Europe involve hitchhiking which of course is fairly dangerous and unreliable, flying which is very expensive, going by boat which will only give you access to the coastal European countries, or driving which has many difficulties. Doing Europe by car instead of Europe by train may be more suited to families who have children and lots of cases which could make using the train slightly more difficult and less practical. However families are unlikely to want to travel between European countries and are more likely to want to stay in one country anyway. For individuals wanting to travel between countries, going by car would involve too much hassle with the various different laws in different countries, getting insured to drive and finding a car rental that lets you cross over the borders or buying or transporting a car to Europe.

As such then Europe by train is perfect for backpackers and those who want to see lots of Europe cheaply. It’s even more convenient thanks to the fact that there are so many different passes and deals available for those who do want to experience Europe by train. For example Rail Europe offer a range of different passes for visiting a country that allow you to visit anywhere within that country by train within a set time frame. Alternatively they also do offers such as the Eurail Pass which allows you to select the number of countries you want to visit and you can expect to pay around $500 for a ticket that lets you visit five different European countries by train. This is far cheaper than travelling across these countries with individual tickets and a great way to see more of Europe more cheaply. What would have been far too expensive to achieve previously then, will suddenly become a very affordable trip.

Doing Europe by train doesn’t mean you’ll miss out on England either – and thanks to the Eurostar tunnel it’s now possible to cross the channel by train with or without a car on board too. This makes it possible to do all of Europe by train and means you don’t have to leave anything out of your travels.

On top of all this, seeing Europe by train will mean that you can sleep while you travel or read rather than having to keep your concentration up. At the same time it can feel very romantic and exciting and creates a much more authentic experience of each country.

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Europe is a great place to go for city breaks. There are a vast range of exciting cities in Europe that each offer history, entertainment, dining, drinking, shopping and more. Mostly you can see everything you need to see in a weekend and that makes it the perfect way to drink in some culture and have an exciting experience without having to shell out and get the time off work for a full length holiday. Here we will look at some of the best European city breaks and what they have to offer.

 

London: London has lots to offer and is one of the most popular European city breaks of them all. It has amazing shopping – particularly in the form of Harrods (which is a shopping centre/entire day out) or Oxford Street (or Hamleys for the kids). Then there’s the entertainment which is extensive from museums to aquariums and the millenium eye to Madame Tussaudes. The food and drinks are also top notch as is the sight seeing with things like Big Ben, The Houses of Parliament and Nelson’s column all within walking distance. Like all the best European city breaks there’s also the great transport in the form of the underground which means you can reach all these places easily.

 

Krakow: Krakow is not the capital but the second largest city in Poland. Still though it’s one of the most exciting European city breaks offering the impressive Wawel castle to look around as well as the nearby salt mines and prison camp. All over Krakow though is incredible gothic architecture, and the nightlife as well as the dining is almost exclusively underground making this a very different entry to our European city breaks.

 

Paris: Paris is the most romantic place for European city breaks and so should be considered for any couples wanting to get away. It also has more sights than many other European city breaks including the Eiffel Tower, Cleopatra’s Needle, Notre Damme, The Arc de Triumph, The Louvre and more. There are also countless museums to look around, sprawling gardens and generally tonnes to see. And of course this being Paris there are some excellent places to dine or just to get a cup of coffee and watch the world go by. For the best shopping, bars and restaurants visit the The Champ Elysée. For something a bit different alternatively you could always visit Disney Land Paris too.

 

Prague: While there are many other fantastic European city breaks, Prague is the last we have time for on this short list. Highly beautiful and romantic (particularly at Christmas) Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic and the second largest city there. Again like other European city breaks it offers many attractions and sights such as the Astronomical Clock, Prague Castle, Old Town (and the bridge), Jewish Quarters and more – but truly it is all a sight to see in itself.

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