Rail Europe

Rail Europe consists of ten high speed trains. They are Eurostar, Thalys, TGV, Eurostar Italia, Lyria, AVE, Inter-City Express (ICE), Cisalpino, Artesia, and Talgo. Eurostar deals include travel through the Channel tunnel and connect you to major cities in under two and a half hours. For example, you can travel from: London to Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes London to Lille in 1 hour 20 minutes London to Disneyland Paris in 2 hours 15 minutes

Thalys

The Thalys train provides direct links to 17 cities including Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in over 50 round-trips a day. It can even take you from Paris to Brussels in less than ninety minutes.

The TGV

The TGV is your choice when traveling to France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. Lyria – Gives you a spectacular view from the rolling French countryside to the majestic Swiss Alps. Artesia – This high-speed train takes you from the best of France to the best of Italy by day or night, via connecting city pairs of Paris and Rome, Dijon and Milan, Chambrey and Florence and 13 others.

Talgo

Talgo passes through brilliant coastal landscapes moving you from one port city to another in stress-free comfort, such as Montpellier, Narbonne and Perpignan in France, and Barcelona, Alicante, Cartegena, and Valencia in Spain.

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London has always been associated with being an expensive city, but with new figures stating the contrary, we are expecting more travellers to take advantage of London’s tourism offerings, as well as discover other notable emerging travel spots around the UK.

London is a gateway city for other famous landmarks and tourist attractions in the UK, so with a more affordable London, we look forward to receiving more regional travellers looking to take advantage of major events and attractions throughout the country.

The Price Comparison report studied 26 products in 33 different countries across the world. It showed that Oslo was the most expensive city for the third year running.

The report claimed that London is more affordable than Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin.

London has fallen dramatically down a list of the world’s most expensive cities as retailers slash prices in an effort to stimulate consumer spending, according to a new global study.

The authoritative International Price Comparison annual report compares the average retail price of 26 of the world’s most popular consumer goods in 33 countries.

The latest findings provide the most tangible evidence yet that retail prices in the UK have significantly dropped. In 2007, London was the second most expensive city on the planet but it is now the 14th cheapest out of the 33 countries audited – below the global average for the overall cost of goods. According to the PriceRunner.co.uk London prices have dropped in a number of product categories this year, including a 33cl takeaway coffee (from £1.83 to £1.63); a litre of milk (£1.03 to £0.86); and even a Big Mac (£2.45 to £2.29).

And as retailers continue to drop prices in an effort to stimulate high street spending PriceRunner predicts that – if the trend continues – London may soon earn a reputation as being one of the cheapest cities in the world.

An Industry spokesman said: “London, New York and Paris are often held up as cities with a very high cost of living. While Paris is still the fourth most expensive place on the planet, New York is now the fourth cheapest – and remarkably, even prices in London have dropped below the global average. London is now significantly cheaper than many competitive destinations, including Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Berlin.”

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One of the most popular city breaks from the UK is the drinkers’ weekend in Dublin but there’s so much more to the city than just the Black Stuff. Flights from regional English Welsh and Scottish airports are reasonably cheap, you don’t need a passport ( check security ID requirements before travelling) and the language is easy to understand. Dublin has been crowned the friendliest city in Europe twice and yet it also boasts an eclectic mixture of contemporary architecture and historical sites of interest.

Literary City Breaks

Dublin is the birthplace of many famous writers, such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Bram Stoker, so there is a lot of atmospheric nostalgia in Dublin for the literature fiend. You can visit the The Dublin Writers Museum where they exhibit books, letters, portraits and personal items or the Interactive Bram Stoker Museum, and there are organised Dublin literary pub crawls for those who would mix two hobbies into one pastime.

Around Dublin City

City breaks to Dublin have an advantage over many other European cities in the size of Dublin itself, which is a serious European capital and yet small enough not to be surrounded by huge sprawling suburbs, motorways and industrial connurbation, So you can escape to the countryside the coast and the mountains with a simple short ride on the DART mass transit system or even a bus. This puts Day trips to the many beaches, cycling safaris, or hiking trips onto the agenda. The Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour, departs  Dublin every morning, taking in Limerick, stunning views of the Aran Islands a walk along the Cliffs of Moher.

Theatre Breaks in Dublin

Dubliners themsleves come on theatre breaks to London and London city breaks for the big musical shows but also enjoy a thriving theatre scene in Dublin itself. Some famous Dublin actors are Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The Abbey, founded in 1904, is also worth a visit due to its fascinating background and literary connections.

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Diverse. This is a word that describes city breaks to Europe very well. But which breaks are worthwhile and which less so? Weeks of online research will lead you to the conclusion that every country on the European continent deserves a short visit. Eastern Europe for instance has a charm in itself and you will be amazed at the wonders of some of the countries like Romania and Slovakia. Or rather experience the western charm of France, Spain or Wales. Your experince here no matter where you go will be marked by encounters with interesting people of a rich cultural diversity.

One very popular European holiday is what is referred to as City breaks. This is a nice way to spend your time in one city and nowhere else.This is almost a perfect way to get very close to the country and the locals.

Glasgow City Breaks

It is a great shame that the majority of visitors to Edinburgh (the capital city of Scotland and the nation’s top holiday destination) fail to visit the wonderful city of Glasgow which is only a short distance away.

Glasgow is growing in popularity as a vacation destination but most tourists are attracted to the city because of it’s reputation for having exciting nightlife. Glasgow has much, much more to offer visitors, especially the more culturally minded, and below I introduce one superb places to visit associated with arts and culture.

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum:

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery is Glasgow and Scotland’s premier museum and art gallery, and home to one of Europe’s great civic art collections.

Then after a hard day’s European cultural intake in Glasgow you can take a break in one of the city’s many pubs:

Three Judges pub - Glasgow city breaks

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Prague is great, just returned from there.

Krakow is also great.

both are very reasonably priced.

Prague, I rented a great condo, great location, large, see link. About US$135 per nite. But I next time, I would look into a condo on Castle Hill, as that is where I spent most of my time, and it’s a tram ride or a long walk from the condo I rented, in Josefev (or something like that) just NE of the old town square. Talk to Jiri, he may have something else.

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Well I’ve heard flights to Amsterdam are pretty cheap, I’d have a look there. It’s much more exciting to go abroad, even if it isn’t that far. Maybe even Dublin? That’s always popular.

If you’re looking for a ‘spa break’, maybe centre parcs? Ok, not exactly a spa break, but you’re in the middle of a forest, it’s calm, you’ve got the swimming pool, restaurants etc. It cant be that expensive surely, but it depends on how long you decide to go. You say a city break though, so maybe just book yourself in somewhere nice for just a weekend? The less nights you spend there, the higher your budget. Find a balance!

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For £200 it would be a miracle to find a city break for two, as a European break means two return flights, which even with a budget airline company will cost about £120 minimum.

Although Sardinia can be cheap depending on where you stay, the flights there will usually cover most of the £200 anyway. (Eurostar is also extremely expensive which i have never really understood.)

Alternatively, what you could do is drive yourselves to Paris or Rouen (which would be cheaper and close enough to visit Paris during the day). Taking the Eurotunnel will set you back about £70 each way, depending on the time and date you go through it.

Otherwise, you’ll have to loosen the purse strings,

If not, somerset is quite nice this time of year…

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Belgrade-One of Europe’s oldest cities!!! Belgrade’s wider city area was the birthplace of the largest prehistoric culture of Europe.
The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city’s premier attractions. They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Paši? Square, Terazije, Students’ Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Prince Michael Street, the Parliament, the Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants and shops on both sides of the river. The hilltop Avala Monument offers views over the city.
There is also Beli Dvor or ‘White Palace’,house of Royal family Karadjordjevic ,open for visitors.The palace has many valuable works from Rembrandt, Nicolas Poussin, Sebastien Bourdon, Paolo Veronese, Antonio Canaletto, and others.
Ada Ciganlija is a former island on the Sava river, and Belgrade’s biggest sports and recreational complex. Today it is connected with the shore, creating an artificial lake on the river. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders during the city’s hot summers. There are 7 kilometres of long beaches and sports facilities for various sports including golf, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby union, baseball, and tennis.
]During summer there are between 200000 and 300000 bathers daily. Clubs work 24 hours a day,organising live music and overnight beach parties.Extreme sports are available, like bungee jumping, water skiing and paintballing.[99] There are numerous tracks on the island, where it is possible to ride a bike, go for a walk or go jogging.
Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife, and many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of Belgrade are the barges (splavovi) spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.
Many weekend visitors—particularly from Greece,Montenegro,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia—prefer Belgrade nightlife to that of their own capitals, due to a perceived friendly atmosphere, great clubs and bars, cheap drinks, the lack of language difficulties, and the lack of restrictive night life regulation.
A more traditional Serbian nightlife experience, accompanied by traditional music known as Starogradska (roughly translated as Old Town Music), typical of northern Serbia’s urban environments, is most prominent in Skadarlija, the city’s old bohemian neighbourhood where the poets and artists of Belgrade gathered in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Skadar Street (the centre of Skadarlija) and the surrounding neighbourhood are lined with some of Belgrade’s best and oldest traditional restaurants (called kafanas in Serbian), which date back to that period.

IVO ANDRIC-SERBIAN NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE;
“…the greatest splendour of that sky above Belgrade, that are the sunsets. In autumn and in summer, they are broad and bright like desert mirages, and in winter they are smothered by murky clouds and dark red hazes. And in every time of year frequently come the days when the flame of that sun setting in the plain, between the rivers beneath Belgrade, gets reflected way up in the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the sun paints even the remotest corners of Belgrade and reflects into the windows, even of those houses it otherwise poorly illuminates.”…

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