EuroCheapo's hidden europe Articles

Oct 03 For travelers well used to booking their European rail tickets months in advance, this time of the year can be frustrating. Following the general precept that many train tickets can be booked three months in advance, you’d have every reason to expect that tickets for Christmas and early January are just now becoming available. New » Read more

Sep 26 Last month we sung the praises of small towns on the River Elbe, and it was our enthusiasm for that river which last weekend drew us to Torgau. Bypassed by freeways and main rail routes, Torgau catches the flavors of small-town Germany. It is laid-back, unpretentious and inexpensive. Reforming zeal Torgau is a place that » Read more

Sep 12 London’s summer of sporting and regal frolics draws gracefully to an end, and all the post-Olympiad talk is of legacy. Londoners can ponder these issues at leisure over the coming weeks while enjoying a fine piece of Britain’s maritime legacy. The world’s last sea-going paddle steamer The Waverley is coming to town. Cast back to » Read more

Sep 06 Yep, we had a hunch we might be making a mistake when we did it. One should never throw away old guidebooks. But our bookshelves were indeed getting too full, and the office manager somehow had a point when, having taken a long hard look at our workspace, she moved straight to the point: “I » Read more

Aug 29 The best guidebooks go through many editions, and canny publishers ensure that each edition just gets better and better. Our bookshelves are crammed with old guides, and it’s interesting to see how successive editions of classic 19th-century guides (like Baedeker’s Switzerland) both shaped and reflected evolving patterns of travel and tourism. We especially like the » Read more

Aug 22 The summer ends all too abruptly, as folk rediscover their workaday routines. But for those able to stretch their travels on into September and beyond, late summer and fall offer some great bargains. Switzerland tops our list for post-season exploration. The crowds of high summer have gone, the vineyards of Lavaux are laden with grapes, » Read more

Aug 15 We have become great fans of less-planned journeys. Cast back a generation and travelers were much less worried about having every aspect of their itinerary planned out in advance. There was a happy spontaneity to travel. That’s changed. Nowadays, travelers view their vacations as investments that need to be properly planned and carefully managed. The » Read more

Aug 01 Ask many visitors what drew them to Berlin this summer and the chances are that they will mention “the Wall.” Odd, is it not, that one of the major attractions of the German capital is a wall that is no longer there? Dark tourism Berlin is a standard stop-off point on Europe’s dark tourism circuit, » Read more

Jul 25 Germany is not blessed with much of the Alps, and most of the country’s small Alpine towns live well from tourism. They are not, it has to be said, our favorite spots. Bad Reichenau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen are more resorts than real mountain communities. Oberstdorf has sold its soul to skiing, and Füssen is overcrowded with » Read more