What's New in Europe for 2008
By Rick Steves
Europe is a wonderful work in progress. Travelers will be greeted by a host of new museums, improved infrastructure, and special events. And with the dollar down against European currencies, this year it's more important than ever to be well-informed as you make your travel plans. Fresh from researching Europe for my guidebook series, here's my report to you on what to expect this year.
There's a lot that's new, so this is a long article. If you want to speed-scroll to a particular region, use the handy links below:
Throughout Europe
Some red-tape issues are popping up throughout the Continent. A number of countries require your passport to be valid for 3-6 months after your ticketed date of return: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Portugal, and Switzerland; while this law is rarely enforced, occasionally a traveler with a passport about to expire is not allowed to enter a country.
Many countries have upper age limits on car rentals, which vary by rental company and location: age 69 — some parts of UK and Northern Ireland; age 70 — Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Slovakia, and Turkey; age 75 — Republic of Ireland; age 80 — Denmark. You can sometimes get around these age restrictions by leasing a car instead.
Prodded by a recent class-action settlement, credit-card companies have actually slightly reduced fees charged for international transactions (from 2-5 percent to 1-3 percent).
Italy
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| Rome's Arch of Peace, which kicked off the Pax Romana, is housed in the first new building in central Rome since before World War II. |
Italy is gung-ho for restricted traffic zones in its city centers. This is great for pedestrians, but not for drivers who are finding $100 fines in their mail when they arrive home. If you drive in Rome, Florence, Milan, Lucca, Siena, San Gimignano, Orvieto, or Verona — in restricted areas marked by a Zona Traffico Limitato sign — your car's license plate will be photographed and you can be fined without ever being stopped by a cop. Pay attention to signs, get parking advice from your hotelier, and park outside restricted areas.
Rome: With a revolution brewing among the throngs of tourists stung by the Vatican Museum's stingy hours, the museum has agreed to stay open longer in 2008: Monday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (last ticket sold at 4:00 p.m.); as usual, it'll be closed on Sunday except for the last Sunday of the month, when it's free and open 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. (last entry at 12:30 p.m.). While some Catholics would love a private audience with the pope, those passed away with John Paul II — Pope Benedict XVI doesn't do them.
It's a good time to be a fan of ancient Rome. On Palatine Hill, the Augustus Rooms, four newly restored rooms in a house from the era of Emperor Augustus open in March of 2008 (entry included in the Colosseum/Palatine Hill ticket). Nearby, a small part of Nero's Golden House has reopened, but it's in a sad state of ruin — more historically significant than interesting. The Roman Forum is no longer free; as of mid-March, you'll need a combo-ticket (including the Colosseum and Palatine Hill) to enter.
Travelers are rediscovering the Ara Pacis — the first-century "Altar of Peace" built by Emperor Augustus to kick off the Pax Romana. It's wonderfully displayed in a state-of-the-art exhibit housed in a starkly modern building — the first new construction in Rome's old center since 1938.
You may notice lots of big holes in the city as the new Metro line C is built (from the Colosseum to the large square, Largo Argentina). Appropriately for the Eternal City, it won't be complete until 2020.
Florence: If you're planning a visit to the Uffizi Gallery, the more-popular-than-ever showcase of Italian Renaissance paintings, reserve a ticket and entry time at least a month ahead (to avoid the two-hour-long ticket-buying line at the gallery). The simplest option is to ask your hotelier to make the reservation (most will do this for free or for a small fee). You can try to make the Uffizi reservation yourself by phone (from the US, dial 011-39-055-294-883), but the line is often busy, and once you get through, it seems that they almost enjoy keeping you on hold and then disconnecting you.
Venice: The Clock Tower on St. Mark's Square has finally opened, giving visitors a close-up look at the clock innards as well as expansive views of the square and beyond from the terrace. Unfortunately, you can only see it with a reservation-only guided tour (€12, includes Correr Museum). You can make the reservation in person at the Correr Museum, from the States by dialing 011-39-041-520-9070, or online at www.museiciviciveneziani.it.
Venice's web of vaporetti and traghetti stops has changed. There's a new vaporetto stop at the Rialto Market. Gone is the San Zaccaria-San Marco vaporetto stop (the farthest west of the three San Zaccaria stops near St. Mark's Square). The traghetto crossing from San Marco-Vallaresso to La Salute Church is no more (because the vaporetto now takes you there in one quick leap for a special discounted ticket).
The glorious dome of Venice's La Salute Church will likely be covered in scaffolding in 2008. The proposed 10-year, multi-billion-dollar Moses Project, designed to protect Venice from flooding through the use of underwater barriers, was funded several years ago...but construction has yet to begin. Meanwhile construction is underway on the Grand Canal's new, ultra-modern fourth bridge, made of glass, steel, and stone. The Calatrava Bridge will connect the Santa Lucia train station with Piazzale Roma as early as this summer...if it's finished on time.
In nearby Vicenza, 2008 promises to be a great year as the town celebrates the 500th birthday of Palladio, the homegrown architectural genius (www.andreapalladio500.it).
Milan: Reservations to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper still book up long in advance. It's better to book by phone than online: If you call, you'll have a greater selection of days and time slots to choose from, since their user-unfriendly website doesn't reflect cancellations (from the US, dial 011-39-02-8942-1146, www.cenacolovinciano.org).
Milan's new Museum of Art and Science offers a hands-on look at Leonardo's work — sketches, paintings, and models of inventions — during the 20 years he spent in Milan. One exhibit describes how to tell the difference between genuine art and copies or fakes. The cathedral's Duomo Museum is still under renovation and may be closed for the first part of 2008, as is the train station (expect chaos until the dust settles, and even after that).
Britain
Public places are now smoke-free, including hotels, B&Bs, restaurants, and even pubs. Expect places that sell food to be non-smoking indoors, with smokers occupying outdoor patios and doorways.
Save money on local calls by picking up an inexpensive English mobile phone (which can be as low as £20 for a phone complete with a SIM card and some minutes), particularly if you're staying at B&Bs, which rarely have in-room phones.
If you'll be visiting London for five days or more, you'll save time and money getting around on the Tube (London's underground) and city buses with an Oyster Card. You buy this plastic transit card for a small fee and then enjoy discounted rides — reloading for more credit as necessary.
The Heathrow Express train connecting London's Paddington Station with Heathrow Airport is now the most expensive rail journey per mile in Britain. Save money by riding the Tube or using the regular train.
Those going to the Continent (under the English Channel) on the Eurostar bullet train will enjoy an even faster trip on a faster track. The train now departs from London's St. Pancras International Station (no longer the Waterloo Station).
The London Transport Museum reopened in November. Whether you're cursing or marveling at the buses and Tube, this fascinating history of London's public transportation system is a delight.
The British Museum's Reading Room, normally free and open to the quiet public, will instead host special exhibitions (on Chinese Terracotta Warriors through early April, and Roman Emperor Hadrian from late July through October), requiring a separate entry fee. The vast museum itself remains free.
The British Library, also free, will undergo an extensive reorganization in 2008. In particular, one of the original Magna Carta documents and the only existing medieval manuscript of Beowulf will be off display for much of the year.
There will be no organ recitals at St. Paul's Cathedral in 2008 or 2009 as its organ will be under restoration.
Bath's new Thermae Bath Spa — which finally opened after years of delays — is already popular with locals and tourists alike. Consider an evening visit (last entry is 7:45 p.m.), when the crowds thin out and the town twinkles from the rooftop pool deck.
Blenheim Palace has a new multimedia exhibit called the "Untold Story" — 300 years of history told by a maid named Grace Ridley. While interesting, the palace's Churchill exhibit should remain your first priority.
Stratford-upon-Avon is sharing the limelight with another Stratford (an area just outside of London by the same name), which is the location of the 2012 Olympics. (To avoid confusion, use Stratford-upon-Avon's full name when buying train tickets.) In Stratford-upon-Avon, the Royal Shakespeare Company has closed its Globe and Swan theaters for renovation and is using the Courtyard Theater as its main stage. The thrust-design Courtyard Theater is the prototype for the in-the-works theaters, scheduled to reopen in 2010.
Near Inverness, the new visitors center at Culloden Battlefield is open. This state-of-the-art facility traces the events leading up to the fateful (for the Scottish) battle, giving each side's perspective (Scottish and English). The exhibit immerses the visitor in a high-budget reenactment of the battle, where you're surrounded on all sides by attacking soldiers (on 360-degree movie screens).
Ireland
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| At Ireland's Cliffs of Moher you'll no longer enjoy the thrill of a cliff-hanging photo op. |
There's a new visitors center at the Cliffs of Moher. After years of easy access to the cliffs, numerous fatal accidents (and suicides) prompted the hiring of "rangers," whose main purpose is to keep people from getting too close to the cliff edge. The upside: They lead guided tours several times a day in the summer.
In Galway, the Siamsa folk theater, which featured Irish music, singing, and dancing — including the step dancing popularized by Riverdance — will be closed in 2008 (and may not reopen after that). Sadly, in Kilronan on Inishmore Island, the Ragus Irish song and dance group is also no longer performing.
The British Army has finally pulled out of Northern Ireland (after 38 years mired in the "Troubles"), a healthy sign that the region's worst days are in the past and tourism will no longer be such a tough sell in Ulster. As if to celebrate, Belfast has opened a 196-foot-high Ferris wheel, similar to the London Eye. It will spin crowds of tourists, who pay $12 for the 15-minute trip.
The Netherlands
As of mid-2008, the Netherlands will ban smoking in hotel rooms, restaurants, cafés, and bars (but, remarkably, not the marijuana-selling coffeeshops). Since one-third of the Dutch population smokes tobacco, it'll be interesting to see if the ban is effective.
To avoid long lines at Amsterdam's three top sights (Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, and Van Gogh Museum) you can now book tickets online at www.annefrank.org (€0.50 surcharge but worth it), www.rijksmuseum.nl, and www.vangoghmuseum.nl (no extra charge for the latter two). The only Dutch sightseeing card worth considering is the Museumkaart (€39.95), good for many sights in Amsterdam and throughout the Netherlands and generally a good deal if you'll be visiting six or more museums.
Amsterdam's new public library is just to the east of the central train station. This huge, multistory glass building is a state-of-the-art facility with dozens of free Internet terminals; it's a great place to check email (www.oba.nl).
The wild and crazy Stedelijk Modern Art Museum's annex (next door to the new library) will close at the end of September. When the Stedelijk reopens in December 2009, it will be back in its original location, just down the road from the Van Gogh Museum (www.stedelijk.nl).
The Jewish Historical Museum added a new, permanent exhibition on the Jews of the Netherlands in the 20th century. Personal artifacts and touch-screen computers help to tell the devastating history of the Nazi occupation. By purposefully showing mundane daily objects, the museum helps make an almost inconceivable period of time meaningful and real (www.jhm.nl).
Amsterdam's mayor is closing 50 of the city's prostitution windows; many sex workers who'd rather continue renting their spaces and functioning like normal (if provocatively-dressed) business people, fear that their trade will be driven underground, criminal elements will move in and they'll be exploited.
France
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| This is the only place you can smoke at a French café — outside. |
France's new President Nicolas Sarkozy, and recently appointed Prime Minister Francois Fillon appear to be America-friendly, so we can expect no more cries for Freedom Fries from people who don't get out much.
Travelers will encounter some construction headaches at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport as it continues major renovations. While getting into Paris may be a little bumpy, getting out is slicker than ever with the opening of new bullet train lines. The big news in northeast France is the TGV Est bullet train, serving Reims, Verdun, Colmar, Strasbourg, and beyond. It has cut travel times in half, bringing Reims within 45 minutes of Paris, and Colmar within 2.5 hours of the capital. And you can now book and print rail tickets and reservations online at www.sncf.com (click on British flag for English) — in some cases, you may even get deals.
For those who are too old or too young for traditional car rental, and who want to rent for 17 days or more, consider leasing a car through Auto France or Europe by Car.
As for trends in French restaurants, famous chefs are opening cheap signature bistros, where hungry visitors can dine on less elaborate, yet still top-name cuisine at more affordable prices in simple surroundings (in Lyon, look for Paul Bocuse's Le Nord, Le Sud, L'Est, and L'Ouest restaurants). Another trend is to offer two-course fixed-price menus (at lunch and at dinner) for less money and weight gain than the traditional three- or four-course menus. The cheese course has suffered partly because of this, and partly because of the French desire to eat more healthfully.
The healthy trend is hitting smokers, too. The French have followed the Irish and Italians in making all bars, restaurants, and cafés smoke-free (those sitting outside can still light up). This could be a challenge in a culture so wrapped up in café-sitting, where people have a decades-old ritual of stopping at the corner café for a drink and a smoke. But the movement against second-hand smoke is strong throughout Europe and, as country after country adopt bans, smokers adjust and life goes on.
While the new smoke-free law is favored by 78 percent of the French, the devil is in the details. Some hoteliers think it's sufficient to ban smoking in the rooms, but not in lobbies, hallways, elevators, and breakfast rooms. Some hotels proudly advertise themselves as 100 percent smoke-free, while others designate certain floors as non-smoking.
Paris and nearby: As befitting France's artistic capital, Paris has lots of art news. The new Quai Branly Museum, a favorite among locals, is loaded with so-called Primitive Art from Africa, Polynesia, Asia, and America (www.quaibranly.fr). The renovated Petit Palais (and its Musée des Beaux-Arts) has second-tier art from Courbet, Monet, and other 19th-century painters; it's free and worth a quick visit. At the Louvre, the Venus de Milo, tired of her old digs in the Denon wing, has moved to the Sully wing. The Rodin Museum has opened its new, modern entrance hall with a bookstore and temporary exhibit gallery.
At Versailles, the Royal Opera House will likely be closed in 2008. The rest of the palace and grounds should be open throughout the complex's continued renovation. Le Passeport, the one-day pass, has emerged as the best way to fund a Versailles visit (particularly if you buy it in Paris, as it covers your round-trip train ride).
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| Nice, long suffering through its own "big dig," is finally being put back together. |
Chartres Cathedral, home of perhaps the greatest Gothic church experience in Europe, is now even more interesting. The venerated 2,000-year-old "veil: of Mary — said to be the gown she wore when she gave birth to Jesus — is once again on display, behind bulletproof glass.
Nice: The center of Nice, the normally elegant capital of the French Riviera, finally gets some relief after being a construction mess for years. The first of three new light-rail lines (Le Tramway) is now fully operational, conveniently connecting Nice's main train station, place Massena (a five-minute walk to the beach), Old Nice, and the bus station.
While Nice is a jumping-off point for nearby beach resorts, it's also a haven for art lovers. And that scene is better than ever. The Chagall Museum's new entry is complete (and dazzling), and the Matisse Museum's renovation is finally finished. And down the road in Antibes, the Picasso Museum plans to reopen this summer after a major overhaul.
Reservations: You can now reserve tickets to see France's best cave for original Cro-Magnon paintings (Grotte de Font-de-Gaume) by email at fontdegaume@monuments-nationaux.fr. And you can book tickets in advance for France's most famous mountain lift (the Aiguille du Midi in Chamonix) online at www.compagniedumontblanc.com.
Germany
Munich celebrates its 850th anniversary this year with a series of cultural events (theater, cabaret, concerts, exhibitions, tours, and so on), mostly on weekends in June and July. Munich's new Jewish Museum features a small but well-done exhibit on Jewish life, and its City Museum will reopen with shiny new exhibits after an extensive renovation. The charming new Beer and Oktoberfest Museum is located in a creaky, low-ceilinged but brightly lit house (the oldest in the city center) and covers the history of Munich's breweries and the origins of Oktoberfest, its famous annual keg fest. The renovated and now futuristic — rather than frumpy — BMW Museum has reopened. And just outside Munich, at Dachau, a new visitors center/café opens in 2008.
In Berlin, a crisp mini-museum called "The Kennedys" has just opened on Pariser Platz; it's a cross between an archive of documents related to JFK and Jackie's visit to Berlin during the Cold War, and a photographic shrine to the good-looking couple. On the other end of Unter den Linden boulevard lies the Hohenzollern Palace (blown up by the East Germans and rebuilt as the "Palace of the People" to standard communist-era eyesore standards). While its facade is being restored to its Prussian glory, the new interior will hold a mall. Also in Berlin, the building that formerly housed the Egyptian Museum (which moved with its famous bust of Nefertiti to the city's Museum Island) reopens this spring as the Scharf-Gerstenberg Museum, featuring Surrealist art.
Switzerland
In June, several Swiss and Austrian cities, including Zürich and Bern, will host the Euro 2008 soccer championships (see schedule at www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/index.html). Expect crowds.
Zermatt's former Alpine Museum, now renamed the Matterhorn Museum, has been rebuilt as a glass-dome-covered quasi-archaeological dig, featuring old buildings of Zermatt's past. (If you ever need to say "glass-dome-covered quasi-archaeological dig" in German, that's "Glaskuppelverdecktquasiarchäologischeausschachtung.")
Lausanne's funicular, connecting the lakefront with the upper part of town, should be finished by the end of 2008 (until that time, a bus covers the route).
Scandinavia
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| In the charming Danish island town of Ærøskøbing, the Night Watchman both teaches and entertains nightly. |
In Copenhagen, Denmark, the helpful Use-It tourist information center is closing, leaving visitors at the mercy of the for-profit "Copenhagen Right Now" franchise (which deceptively presents itself as a tourist information service). The modern high-rise Danhostel Copenhagen City is a great value for travelers of any age, especially for those traveling alone in expensive Scandinavia. Also in Copenhagen, Rosenborg Castle will continue to be renovated through 2008, with more rooms opening to the public as work is completed.
In Roskilde, just west of Copenhagen, the Viking Ship Museum's replica warship called the Sea Stallion — built by museum volunteers using ancient techniques — sailed to Ireland in 2007. They'll sail it back to Roskilde in 2008, where it will be part of a special exhibit.
In the charming Danish island town of Ærøskøbing, you can now join the Night Watchman on his rounds for a fun tour of the village on summer evenings.
Oslo, Norway's striking new Opera House will open in 2008, part of redevelopment of the city's harbor across from the main train station. The compelling Norwegian Holocaust Center is now open — and fittingly located in the former home of Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling (on Bygdøy, Oslo's "museum island"). The Holmenkollen Ski Jump will close for part of 2008 and be rebuilt in preparation for the 2011 World Ski Jump championship, but the adjacent Ski Museum should remain open.
Elsewhere in Norway, the main E16 highway between Oslo and Bergen now passes through the "Norway in a Nutshell" town of Aurland before plunging into the world's longest tunnel. To avoid those efficient but dark 15 miles, you can follow the old road over the mountains, pausing scenically at the new Stegastein viewpoint.
Entrance fees have been reinstated at state-run museums in Stockholm, Sweden, making the Stockholm Card a better value for visitors (sold at the tourist information office and at www.stockholmtown.com). From April through October, you can bike cheaply around the city for the day through the CityBikes program. The Museum of Medieval Stockholm will be closed through the fall of 2009 for renovation, but some of its collection will be temporarily displayed at the Kulturhuset at the square, Sergels Torg. The much-anticipated ABBA: The Museum, dedicated to the Sweden's dancing queens — and kings — of 1970s disco, will keep fans waiting until June, 2009 before it opens (www.abbamuseum.com). Along with standard exhibits of band members' costumes and instruments, photos, and memorabilia, there will be a studio and dance floor where you can tape yourself channeling your inner ABBA. "Waterloo," anyone?
Spain and North Morocco
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| The hilltop fortress of the Alhambra, in Granada, Spain, opens its gates readily to those who have a reservation. |
In Barcelona, the curvy Palau Güell should reopen in 2008, offering the public a chance to see one of the finest interiors designed by the city's most famous architect, Antonio Gaudí. To track down more great architecture by Gaudí and his Modernista buddies, stop into the tourist information office (at Plaça de Catalunya), where you can get discounted tickets and a helpful route map showing all of the city's Modernista buildings.
In Madrid, the Prado Museum's expansion continues in 2008 and may jumble the museum's layout. A new memorial at the Atoche Metro station remembers the victims of the March 11, 2004 terrorist bombing. Walk beneath the 36-foot-high glass cylinder to read thousands of condolence messages in many languages. Interactive terminals allow you to leave a handprint or a message, or watch a memorial video.
Toledo's El Greco Museum will likely be closed for renovation through 2008, but its 20 El Greco paintings will be on display at the nearby Victorio Macho Museum. Toledo's Alcázar — the fortress that evokes so much Civil War history emotion among Spaniards — will hold Spain's National Military Museum when it reopens, hopefully in 2008.
Granada's Alhambra, a fortress built by the Moors to keep out the Christians, now welcomes everyone...especially those with a reservation. (All others wait in a long line.) When you book your hotel room, ask if your hotelier can make an Alhambra reservation for you; many offer this as a service to their guests. Or you can order tickets on your own online (www.alhambra-tickets.es) or by phone (from the US or Canada dial 011-34-902-888-001).
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| Tangier — gateway to Morocco — is enjoying a make-over thanks to the new king's affection for the place. |
In Sevilla, the town's grand boulevard — the Avenida de la Constitución, once thundering with noisy traffic — is now a pedestrian-only thoroughfare. Suddenly cafes and shops along Sevilla's main paseo have appeal. This is a good opportunity to see how the character of a city changes when a major thoroughfare goes traffic-free. To make your strolling even more enjoyable, Sevilla (like cities all over Spain) stretches sail-like canopies across the streets in the height of summer to offer a little relief from the fierce sun.
North Morocco: The North African city of Tangier remains a popular day-trip from resorts along Spain's south coast. It has shed its "Tijuana of Morocco" image, thanks to the new king, who is promoting tourism and investing heavily in the city's infrastructure. The town is as Moroccan as ever...yet more enjoyable and less stressful. The Spanish town of Tarifa is the best base for this quick little African detour. It's a simple one-hour fast boat from there to Tangier, where you can explore on your own, or with a private guide.
If you're wondering about the proposed tunnel linking Spain and Morocco, it's now in the serious study and planning stage, and both countries hope to begin the 15-year building project within a few years. The vision: In the year 2025 trains will zip under the nine-mile wide Strait of Gibraltar, making those "fast boats to Africa" suddenly seem very slow.
Portugal
While Portugal's economy is thriving, the capital city of Lisbon is still rife with petty thieves. As elsewhere in Iberia, for your safety, assume beggars are thieves and assume any commotion on the street is a distraction created by teams of thieves. Most Lisbon pickpocketing takes place on the trolleys. Enjoy the ride, but keep an eye on your belongings.
Lisbon's central Rossio train station recently reopened. Renovations continue in Lisbon's Bairro Alto neighborhood at the view terrace — Miradouro de São Pedro Alcântara — and the São Roque Church and Museum. Rumors suggest that these sites will reopen in early 2008. After years of renovation, Lisbon's bullring is now open, offering curious tourists a chance to see a traditional Portuguese bullfight. The bull leaves the ring alive — and it's the matador who's generally left bloodied.
And at the pilgrimage destination of Fátima, the Church of the Holy Trinity finally opened this past fall. The gigantic modern church has a capacity of 9,000, providing much-needed room for the large number of pilgrims who couldn't begin to fit inside the town's 900-seat basilica. Whether you're a participant or just an onlooker, the religious festival that erupts here around the 13th of nearly every month is a spectacle you'll never forget.
Eastern Europe
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| In Croatia, Split's harborfront promenade — the Riva — has been modernized, but some people miss the old jumble of mismatched umbrellas and tables. |
Throughout Europe, treaties determine who must show a passport at which borders. Eastern Europe is following Western Europe's lead by opening up borders. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, the Baltic countries, and Slovenia — but not Croatia — just joined the Schengen Agreement for land and sea borders (it applies to airports beginning in March). That means you can freely pass between these countries, and existing Schengen countries (such as Germany, Austria, and Italy), without stopping at any borders. Passport stamps will become even more rare, and you'll get a better night's sleep on international overnight trains.
Croatia: In Split, the harborfront promenade called the Riva has been completely overhauled. The café umbrellas, concrete, and patchwork landscaping were replaced by a broad, sleek, bright-white public space. While some people enjoy this snazzy and slick people zone, many locals think it clashes with the higgledy-piggledy Old Town.
Croatia's top destination, Dubrovnik, is being re-discovered...including by cruise-ship crowds. On a very busy day in summer, as many as 30,000 passengers (seven giant ships' worth) inundate the little Old Town. Non-cruise travelers should do their sightseeing (especially walking around the City Wall) early or late to avoid the midday crush and heat.
The Nona Ana catamaran — which swiftly connects Dubrovnik to Mljet Island (with its national park) — has extended its run. In the summer, it now also continues four times each week to the ever-popular island town of Korčula.
Slovenia: In Ljubljana, a new funicular effortlessly zips visitors up from the riverside market to the castle above town. The city's airport — which already had two names ("Ljubljana Airport" and "Brnik Airport," for a nearby village) — was recently given a controversial third moniker: Jože Pučnik Airport. The recently deceased Pučnik was one of many politicians instrumental in Slovenian independence in the 1990s.
Poland: Kraków is changing fast, including an ongoing transformation of Oskar Schindler's old factory (near the Kazimierz Jewish quarter) into a museum. The main office building will host an exhibit about the non-Jews who aided Holocaust victims, while the old factory buildings will become an art gallery. Also in Kraków, the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art will likely return to Cloth Hall on the Main Market Square, and three new stained-glass windows based on century-old designs by Polish Art Nouveau headliner Stanisław Wyspiański are now displayed in the newly opened Wyspiański Pavilion.
Renovations at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp Museum continue. The plan is to spread the existing exhibit through more buildings — mostly on the ground floors — to allow easier movement through this poignant memorial.
Warsaw is improving its infrastructure. The Royal Way thoroughfare through the most historic stretch of town — until recently a congested mess of potholed asphalt — is being replaced with wide, beautifully landscaped sidewalks. Once gloomy and urban, downtown Warsaw is fast becoming an appealing place to hang out.
In Gdańsk, the wonderful "Roads to Freedom" museum (about Lech Wałęsa and the Solidarity movement in the 1980s) has moved to a temporary location not far from is original home in the shipyard where the protests took place. That part of the shipyard will be renovated into a super-modern zone of shops and homes, with the museum moving back in a few years. Other parts of the city are also undergoing a long-overdue redevelopment, in preparation for the Euro Cup soccer championship coming here in 2012.
Hungary: In Budapest, a new tour company leads visitors through an old WWII-era military hospital and bunker under Castle Hill. Just up the street from the Great Synagogue, Budapest's Jewish community recently reopened the Rumbach Street Synagogue, designed by the great Viennese architect Otto Wagner in the late 19th century.
In Eger, a delightful new Marzipan Museum shows off truly impressive sculptures by local marzipan artist Lajos Kopcsik, including a sword, minaret, gigantic wine bottle, suitcase, Russian stacking dolls, old-time phonograph, grandfather clock, giant bell...and paintings galore (such as Van Gogh's sunflowers and Picasso's musicians). Who'd have thought candy could be great art?
Czech Republic: Renovation of Prague's Charles Bridge, which began last year in conjunction with the beloved bridge's 650-year anniversary, continues. The bridge, which connects the Old Town and Prague Castle, remains open (and crossable) even during construction.
From ancient history to modern art, Europe continues to beckon and inspire travelers. For more details on what to see in all these countries (and how to save money in the process), check out the new 2008 editions of my guidebooks. Happy travels!