Europe Travel Guides: 33 Countries, One Continent
Reykjavik to Athens, fjords to Greek islands. Honest guides, real budgets, and routes we've actually driven, hiked, and occasionally got lost on. Pick a country below and start tinkering.
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More Variety Per Mile Than Anywhere on Earth
Breakfast under the Eiffel Tower, lunch in a Bavarian beer garden, and you can still make Prague for dinner. That's the magic of Europe: 40-plus countries, hundreds of languages, and a thousand years of history arguing with itself on every street corner. We've tinkered our way across most of it, from Iceland's lava fields to Greece's warm shores, and these guides are the result. Real trips, real budgets, and real mistakes you now get to skip.
- 33 countriesCovered on this hub
- 90 in 180 daysSchengen visa-free rule
- £55 / $74 / €64Budget per day, from
- May, June & SeptSweet spot months
- Euro + 10 moreCurrencies in play
Best Time to Visit Europe
There's no bad time, just different trade-offs. Here's the honest version of when to go and what it'll cost you.
Spring
Mar to MayCities wake up, prices stay sensible, and southern Europe is already warm. April and May are seriously underrated for Greece, Portugal, and southern Italy.
Summer
Jun to AugPeak everything. Long days, festivals, beach weather, and the biggest crowds and prices of the year. If you're tied to these months, book flights and rooms well ahead.
Autumn
Sep to OctOur favourite window. Warm seas, golden light, wine harvests, and shoulder-season prices that run 20 to 30 percent below peak. September is basically a cheat code.
Winter
Nov to MarThe cheapest flights and hotels of the year, plus Christmas markets in Germany, Austria, and Czechia, and ski season in the Alps. Pack layers and lean into it.
What to Expect, Region by Region
Europe splits roughly into four personalities. Most first trips mix two of them.
Western Europe
The classics. World-famous cities, brilliant rail links, and prices to match. This is where most people start, and honestly, fair enough.
Southern Europe
Mediterranean sun, ancient ruins, and the best food-per-pound ratio on the continent. Sailing, beaches, and history stacked on history.
Northern Europe
Fjords, northern lights, saunas, and design-perfect cities. Pricier per day, but the landscapes genuinely don't look real.
Eastern Europe
The value champion. Fairy-tale old towns, hearty food, and your budget stretches roughly twice as far as it does in Paris.
Guides by Country
All 33 European destinations we cover, from Alpine villages to Atlantic islands. Every card opens that country's full hub of guides, itineraries, and budgets.
- AlbaniaView guides
- AustriaView guides
- BelgiumView guides
- BulgariaView guides
- CroatiaView guides
- CyprusView guides
- Czech RepublicView guides
- DenmarkView guides
- EnglandView guides
- FinlandView guides
- FranceView guides
- GermanyView guides
- GibraltarView guides
- GreeceView guides
- HungaryView guides
- IcelandView guides
- IrelandView guides
- ItalyView guides
- LatviaView guides
- MaltaView guides
- NetherlandsView guides
- NorwayView guides
- PolandView guides
- PortugalView guides
- RomaniaView guides
- ScotlandView guides
- SlovakiaView guides
- SpainView guides
- SwedenView guides
- SwitzerlandView guides
- TurkeyView guides
- UkraineView guides
- WalesView guides
Ready to Book the Big Stuff?
Two searches cover 90 percent of any Europe trip: where you'll sleep and how you'll get there.
Find Your Stay
Hostels from £20 / $27 / €23 a night, boutique hotels, and everything in between. Compare thousands of properties across Europe in one search.
Search Hotels on Booking.comGrab a Flight Deal
Budget carriers hop between European cities from around £20 / $27 / €23 one way. Compare routes, dates, and package deals before prices creep up.
Compare Flight DealsTop 5 Things to See and Do in Europe
Yes, they're famous. They're famous because they're brilliant. Here's our take on the five you shouldn't skip.
Paris, France
The City of Love earns the hype. World-class museums, corner cafes, and the Eiffel Tower glittering on the hour after dark. Go up Montparnasse Tower instead for the view that actually includes the Eiffel Tower.
Explore our France guides →Venice, Italy
A city built on water that shouldn't work but absolutely does. Skip one gondola ride, take the number 1 vaporetto down the Grand Canal at sunset, then get properly lost in the back streets of Cannaregio.
Explore our Italy guides →The Northern Lights
Green and purple ribbons dancing over the Arctic. Head to Iceland or northern Scandinavia between September and March, get away from town lights, and give it a few nights. When it hits, nothing else compares.
Explore our Iceland guides →Athens, Greece
The Acropolis at golden hour is one of those moments where 2,500 years of history stops being abstract. Then it's souvlaki, rooftop bars with Parthenon views, and a ferry to the islands the next morning.
Explore our Greece guides →The Scottish Highlands
Glens, lochs, castles, and weather with a personality disorder. Drive the North Coast 500 or base yourself near Glencoe. Bring a waterproof, and don't trust a single forecast.
Explore our Scotland guides →Latest Europe Guides
Our newest articles, itineraries, and city guides from across the continent.
Europe Travel Resources
The booking sites and tools we actually use on our own trips. No filler, just the stuff that works.
Hostels
Dorm beds and private rooms across every European city, with millions of traveller reviews.
Search Hostelworld →Hotels & Apartments
Our go-to for everything from budget doubles to boutique splurges.
Search Booking.com →Car Hire
Compare rental prices across Europe. Essential for road trips through the Alps, Highlands, or Balkans.
Compare with DiscoverCars →Tours & Activities
Skip-the-line tickets, walking tours, and day trips in every major European city.
Browse GetYourGuide →eSIM Data
Land connected. One eSIM covers the whole of Europe from about £4 / $5.50 / ™€4.70.
Get an Airalo eSIM →Travel Insurance
Non-negotiable. Medical bills abroad get scary fast, and good cover costs less than a nice dinner.
Compare with VisitorsCoverage →Flight Compensation
Delayed or cancelled EU flight? You could be owed up to £520 / $700 / €600. Takes minutes to check.
Check with CompensAIR →Airport Transfers
Pre-book a driver and skip the taxi-rank roulette after a long flight.
Book a Transfer →When Travel Goes Sideways
Lost passports, pickpockets, cancelled flights. It happens to the best of us. Here's how to handle it like a pro.
Travel Problems Hub
From missed connections to lost luggage, the fixes for travel's most common headaches.
Visit the Hub
Robbed Abroad?
The exact steps to take in the first 24 hours after a theft, from police reports to emergency cash.
Read the Guide
Travel Compensation
EU air passenger rights are strong. Know what you're owed for delays, cancellations, and downgrades.
Claim What's YoursEurope Travel FAQs
The questions we get asked most, answered honestly.
Do I need a visa to travel around Europe?
Most UK, US, Canadian, and Australian passport holders can visit the Schengen Area visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. That covers most of the continent on one entry. The UK, Ireland, and a few others sit outside Schengen and count separately.
One heads-up: the EU's new EES border system is rolling out and the ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to follow. It's a quick online form, not a visa, but check the official EU site before you fly.
When is the cheapest time to visit Europe?
October to March, hands down. Flights and hotels drop 20 to 40 percent outside the summer rush. The exceptions are Christmas market season in December and ski resorts in February, which run on their own pricing planet. September is the sweet spot if you want summer weather at shoulder-season prices.
How much does Europe cost per day?
Backpackers can do it on roughly £55 / $74 / €64 a day in the west, and closer to £35 / $47 / €41 in Eastern Europe. Mid-range travellers should plan around £120 / $160 / €140 a day with private rooms and restaurant meals. Comfort seekers, budget £250 / $335 / €290 and up. Where you go matters more than how you travel: Prague and Krakow stretch a budget about twice as far as Paris or Zurich.
Should I travel Europe by train or plane?
Trains for neighbours, planes for long hops. Rail wins on city-centre to city-centre trips under about five hours, and night trains save you a hotel night too. For London to Athens type distances, budget airlines are faster and usually cheaper if you pack light. Watch the luggage fees though, they're where the 'cheap' fare goes to die.
What's the best first-time Europe route?
The classic western loop: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague. Great rail links, easy logistics, and five wildly different cities in two weeks. If you'd rather have sunshine, run the Mediterranean instead: Barcelona, the French Riviera, Florence, Rome, then a Greek island to finish. Neither is wrong.
Is Europe safe for travellers?
Very. Most European countries rank among the safest in the world. The main thing you're guarding against is pickpockets in busy tourist zones and on packed metros, especially in Paris, Barcelona, and Rome. Zip your bag, keep your phone off the cafe table, and you'll almost certainly be fine.
Not Sure Where to Start?
Take the pressure off. Our Start Here page walks you through planning step by step, or browse every destination we cover and see what grabs you.