Yes, we know it sounds dreadfully sad, but we have been spending the long winter evenings poring over maps. Maps are a must for travel planning, and an essential companion on the road. We count a good map as indispensable on all but the simplest of European journeys. A GPS is great but it is » Read more

Europe’s culture moguls will have their eyes on Brasilia over the next fortnight, as UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee meets in the Brazilian capital to review applications for a new round of World Heritage Sites. Candidates for the 2010 UNESCO List The historic center of Amsterdam is in the running this year for one of the » Read more

Most of us are so utterly used to very territorial notions of citizenship that it is hard to get our heads around places that defy the norm. We have long noticed that citizens of southern Limburg, and especially in and around the city of Maastricht, seem considerably less Dutch (and conversely much more European) than » Read more

Croatia may not be as expensive as the French Riviera or Italy’s Cinque Terre coast, but it’s certainly getting there. An undiscovered oasis years back, it’s now packed with plenty of tourists. When I decided to head to Croatia, albeit during high season, I was surprised to find prices higher than I expected: A midrange » Read more

Tuesday evening. The skies are gray. And we’re a million miles away, thinking about some of the following things… 1. Like another low-cost carrier sale. TUIfly is selling off winter one-way fares for €11 apiece, taxes and surcharges included. On sale through midnight on Sunday, October 28, these fares are good for travel from November » Read more

We purchased a Belgrade-Ljubljana one-way JAT ticket on Sunday night, for travel in late July. We were, as the Brits say, chuffed. The ticket came to just RSD5,942 (€74; $99). The JAT search engine worked fine, and we were approaching that magic, banal moment that drives all online air travel purchases: the invitation to print » Read more

It’s Wednesday, a.k.a. midweek madness freak out day. On our minds: 1. The Tirol tourist site. First of all, there’s no regional tourism logo as timeless as that white-on-red “Tirol, “the dot of the “i” safely lodged in the cross of the “t.” But beyond that, the Tirol tourism site is just so crisp and » Read more