Europe Travel Guide

In May 2004, the European Union welcomed ten new countries on board including the Czech Republic and Hungary.

Now it's as easy to visit the amber jewellery shops of Vilnius in Lithuania as it is to climb the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The job of unearthing Europe's many treasures just got harder!

Flower-strewn alpine meadows, craggy coastlines, dramatic seas, lakes and rivers, snowy peaks and bubbling geysers are but a few of the natural wonders on offer.

Meanwhile, classical and modern arts clamour for attention all year round in historic royal palaces, gilt-edged theatres, contemporary galleries, acoustically-perfect concert halls and at the many outdoor festivals throughout the summer.

Now mostly unified by the perky euro, you don't even need to flash your passport or change money at the borders between most European nations.

Having said that, local cultures remain fantastically diverse and possessed of many culinary and cultural idiosyncracies. Eat, drink and be happy.