Contents List of Map viii What s New in Europe 1 1 Planning Your Trip to Europe 3 1 Visitor Information...............6 2 Entry Requirements & Customs......9 3 Money.......................11 4 When to Go...................13 What Time Is It, Anyway?.........14 Europe Calendar of Events........15 5 Travel Insurance................20 6 Health.......................21 7 Specialized Travel Resources.......22 8 Planning Your Trip Online.........25 9 Staying Connected..............25 Number, Please: Calling Europe....26 Online Traveler s Toolbox.........28 Frommers.com: The Complete Travel Resource................29 10 Getting There..................29 Getting Through the Airport.......30 11 Packages for the Independent Traveler......................34 Ask Before You Go..............34 12 Escorted General-Interest Tours.....35 13 Special-Interest Trips.............35 14 Getting Around Europe...........37 Train Trip Tips.................39 The Rules of the Road: Driving in Europe...............40 15 Tips on Accommodations.........41 2 Austria 44 1 Vienna.......................44 Native Behavior................48 Fast Facts: Vienna..............51 Coffeehouses & Cafes...........59 for First-Time Visitors............62 Wine Tasting in the Heurigen......70 2 Salzburg......................72 Fast Facts: Salzburg.............75 Cafe Society...................80 for First-Time Visitors............83 3 Innsbruck & Tyrol...............89 Fast Facts: Innsbruck............92
iv 3 Belgium 104 by George McDonald 1 Brussels.....................104 Native Behavior...............109 Fast Facts: Brussels............110 for First-Time Visitors...........119 A Cool Little Guy..............121 2 Bruges......................130 3 Ghent......................139 4 The Czech Republic 144 by Hana Mastrini 1 Prague......................144 Fast Facts: Prague.............151 A Few Dining Warnings.........160 Kavárna Society...............164 for First-Time Visitors...........165 2 West Bohemia & The Spas.......173 Spa Cures & Treatments.........176 A Crowd Alert................184 5 Denmark 190 1 Copenhagen..................190 Fast Facts: Copenhagen.........196 for First-Time Visitors...........206 Copenhagen s Little Mermaid.....208 2 Day Trips from Copenhagen......214 6 England 217 1 London.....................217 Discount Passes for Public Transportation................221 Fast Facts: London.............222 Where to Have a Cuppa........239 for First-Time Visitors...........242 The Pub Crawl, London Style.....256 2 Oxford & Stratford-upon-Avon....258 Calling on Churchill at Blenheim Palace.............264 A Visit to Warwick Castle........272 3 Stonehenge & Bath............272 Two More Magnificent Houses: Longleat House & Stourhead.....283
v 7 France 286 1 Paris........................286 Discount Transit Passes.........290 Fast Facts: Paris...............292 The Top Cafes................307 for First-Time Visitors...........308 2 The Loire Valley Châteaux........324 3 Provence & the Côte d Azur......338 8 Germany 367 1 Berlin.......................367 Fast Facts: Berlin..............374 Native Behavior...............386 for First-Time Visitors...........387 Come to the Cabaret!..........399 2 Munich & the Bavarian Alps......401 Fast Facts: Munich.............406 for First-Time Visitors...........415 What s Brewing at the Beer Halls?...................422 Outdoors in the Bavarian Alps....426 3 The Romantic Road............434 9 Greece 451 by Sherry Marker 1 Athens......................451 Fast Facts: Athens.............460 Rising Stars in the Psirri District...476 for First-Time Visitors...........480 Athens s New Museums.........487 2 The Northern Peloponnese & Delphi......................493 3 The Cyclades.................516 10 Hungary 547 by Ryan James 1 Budapest....................547 Fast Facts: Budapest............555 Coffeehouses: Historic & Traditional...................565 for First-Time Visitors...........565 Bathing in History: Budapest s Thermal Baths................570 2 The Danube Bend..............574 The Best Lángos Ever...........577
vi 11 Ireland 580 by Christi Daugherty 1 Dublin......................580 Fast Facts: Dublin..............587 for First-Time Visitors...........601 Native Behavior: The Art of Pouring Guinness............606 2 Kerry & the Dingle Peninsula......613 3 Galway City..................628 12 Italy 635 1 Rome......................635 Fast Facts: Rome..............639 for First-Time Visitors...........651 2 Florence.....................666 Fast Facts: Florence............671 for First-Time Visitors...........680 3 Highlights of the Tuscan & Umbrian Countryside...........687 4 Venice......................698 Fast Facts: Venice..............702 for First-Time Visitors...........709 13 The Netherlands 717 by George McDonald 1 Amsterdam..................717 Native Behavior...............722 Fast Facts: Amsterdam..........725 for First-Time Visitors...........737 Checking Out the Red-Light District......................743 2 Environs of Amsterdam..........751 3 Delft........................754 4 Leiden......................755 14 Norway 758 1 Oslo........................758 Fast Facts: Oslo...............764 2 Bergen & the Fjords............776 15 Portugal 785 1 Lisbon & Environs..............785 Fast Facts: Lisbon..............790 for First-Time Visitors...........802 The Quintessential Lisbon Experience: Fado..............807 2 The Algarve..................812
vii 16 Scotland 830 1 Edinburgh & Environs...........830 Fast Facts: Edinburgh...........835 Native Behavior...............842 for First-Time Visitors...........846 Britannia: The People s Yacht.....851 2 Glasgow.....................857 Fast Facts: Glasgow............860 3 Tayside & Grampian............874 Playing the World s Oldest Course................880 Spotting Nessie...............885 17 Spain 888 1 Madrid......................888 Fast Facts: Madrid.............894 Tapa to Tapa to Tapa...........904 for First-Time Visitors...........910 2 Barcelona....................922 Fast Facts: Barcelona...........927 for First-Time Visitors...........937 3 Andalusia & the Costa del Sol....947 Splendid Strolls...............954 18 Sweden 970 1 Stockholm & Environs...........970 Fast Facts: Stockholm...........974 for First-Time Visitors...........986 19 Switzerland 996 1 Geneva.....................996 Fast Facts: Geneva............1001 A Tour to Mont Blanc.........1014 2 Bern & the Bernese Oberland....1015 Fast Facts: Bern..............1018 Glaciers in the Sky: A Trip to Jungfraujoch.........1031 Index 1041