Europe String

I know – it’s only August. But if you are thinking of a winter trip to Europe now is the time to get booking. Check last week’s post about airfare sales for some airline hints. Why should you consider Europe in the winter? Because less is more – lower prices, fewer people. Here are three good winter time destinations.
Athens: While most people dream of a Greek holiday on the beach – Athens is an excellent winter time choice as well. Temps will be in the 50’s Fahrenheit/around 10 Celsius and prices drop dramatically. Plus, there are a ton of …read more

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The Sunday Telegraph, a UK newspaper recently surveyed a bunch of popular tourist attractions around the world to see which city was the most expensive for travelers. I know this will come as a big surprise to some of you but LONDON turned out to be the biggest pound snatching town.
The paper looked at the cost of visiting 9 of each city’s most popular attractions plus the price of an open-top bus ride in London and 10 other cities around the world. In Europe, they also examined Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Cardiff and Berlin. The price for all …read more

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Doing a little online research before your trip always pays off. It’s handy to read local newspapers, visit tourism office websites and even local blogs to get a firsthand, up to date view of the country or city you are going to be in. Many tourism bureaus work very hard at not only getting people to their city or country, but offering a ton of suggestions on what to do and where to go. Here are some ideas for adding little extras to your trip.
In the UK, comedy fans, or those looking to explore a different part of the country, …read more

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What could be more budget friendly then walking? No transport costs, (or the headaches of figuring out how it works) the opportunity to stumble upon previously unheard of museums, monuments and cafes and best of all – a real glimpse of the city you are visiting. Here are three suggestions for foot-friendly cities.
Prague: Prague is an amazing, compact city that is actually better experienced walking. There’s no trams or buses through the Old Town, and unless you are in an a car (NOT recommended) using the feet is how to explore. You can easily begin your day in Old Town …read more

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What’s the budget travelers favorite word? FREE! ‘Cause I don’t care how cheap something is – if it’s free, it fits my budget. So how about a free city tour? These are fairly easy to create yourself nowadays; either using suggestions from a guidebook or finding one online. But what about the personal touch? Here are some suggestions for FREE guided tour in cities around Europe.
Free Prague Tours offers, well, free tours of Prague. Started in May 2007, they’ve grown from 1 tour a day and 5 guides to 15 guides and 3 tours a day (2 free, 1 super cheap.) All …read more

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I’m a walker – and will always provide walking instructions and suggestions to anyone who asks for directions – whether they wish to walk or not. However, taking public transit does have its perks: resting the tootsies, covering long distances, avoiding bad weather, etc. Some cities have normal bus/tram routes that practically double as a sight-seeing tour. You may or may not know what you are seeing, but the views are interesting, you may see a part of the city you hadn’t planned on and, oh you are sitting for the price of a public transport ticket. Sweet.
Berlin: Bus …read more

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Last weekend a friend and I headed to the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. This tourist attraction is easy to reach – take tram 17 north from the main train station for about a 15 minute ride.
The weather has been ridiculously warm and sunny here in Munich this month, and the grounds of the palace were full of folks out for a Sunday stroll in the sun. The grounds are open to the public and free of charge.
There are also various parts of the palace and its surrounding buildings that one can pay to enter. There are various combination tickets available, …read more

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This charming town in the Alsace region of France is so cute it might make you weep.
Photo source: personal collection

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And wooden shoes, and giant wheels of cheese… sometimes I’m almost shocked when confronted with stereotypical cultural icons in a country. Like part of me expects them not to really exist or something, except in a synthetic format marketed to tourists. And yes, there’s plenty of that in the Netherlands, too.
But it is possible to see glimpses of the real thing as a tourist, even though the presence of a whole lot of other tourists might make the experience seem less authentic. For example, the Kinderdijk area is the perfect place to see good old-fashioned Dutch windmills. This UNESCO World …read more

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The city of Nuremberg, Germany, is full of great fountains, but the most entertaining one has to be the Ehekarussell, or Marriage Carousel. This giant fountain depicts various scenes from a “bitter-sweet married life” as described in a poem by Hans Sachs. I had a hard time finding any “sweet” scenes…

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