Western Europe 12 - Contents - Lonely Planetmedia.lonelyplanet.com/shop/pdfs/western-europe-12-contents.pdf · Head to canal-laced Venice, art-filled Florence and historic Rome. Train

Irelandp381 Britain

p109

Germanyp257

The Netherlandsp499

Belgium &Luxembourg

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Austriap39

Italyp417

Francep181

Portugalp525 Spain

p561 Greecep333

Switzerlandp639

Western Europe

THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY

Alexis Averbuck, Kerry Christiani, Emilie Filou, Duncan Garwood, Anthony Ham, Catherine Le Nevez, Sally O’Brien,

Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Helena Smith, Neil Wilson

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

Welcome to Western Europe . . . . . . . . 6Western Europe Map . . . . 8Top 26 Experiences . . . . 10Need to Know . . . . . . . . . 22If You Like… . . . . . . . . . . . 24Month by Month . . . . . . . 28Itineraries . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

AUSTRIA . . . . . . . . . . 39Vienna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42The Danube Valley . . . . . 52Krems an der Donau . . . . . 52Melk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Linz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53The South . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Graz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54Klagenfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56Salzburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Werfen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62Salzkammergut . . . . . . . 62Hallstatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Tyrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Innsbruck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64Kitzbühel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Lienz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67Hohe Tauern National Park . . . . . . . . . . . 68Vorarlberg . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

BELGIUM & LUXEMBOURG . . . . . 73Brussels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Flanders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Leuven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Mechelen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84Antwerp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85Ghent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89Bruges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93Ypres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Wallonia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Mons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Liège . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Luxembourg . . . . . . . . . 100

BRITAIN . . . . . . . . . . 109England . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112London . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112Canterbury . . . . . . . . . . . . 141Salisbury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Stonehenge . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Bath . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144Oxford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Stratford-upon-Avon . . . . 150Cambridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154Castle Howard . . . . . . . . . 156Chester . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157Lake District National Park . . . . . . . . . . 158Wales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Cardiff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159Snowdonia National Park . . . . . . . . . . 161Scotland . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Edinburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162Glasgow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167Loch Lomond & the Trossachs . . . . . . . . . . 170Inverness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171Loch Ness . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173Isle of Skye . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

FRANCE . . . . . . . . . . .181Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184Versailles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202Chartres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203Giverny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203Lille & the Somme . . . . 203Lille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203The Somme . . . . . . . . . . . .204Normandy . . . . . . . . . . . 206Bayeux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .206D-Day Beaches . . . . . . . . . 207Mont St-Michel . . . . . . . . . 207Brittany . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208Quimper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208St-Malo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .209Champagne . . . . . . . . . . 210Reims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210Épernay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211Alsace & Lorraine . . . . . 212

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Contents

Strasbourg . . . . . . . . . . . . 213Metz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214The Loire Valley . . . . . . 215Blois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215Amboise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217Burgundy & the Rhône Valley . . . . . . . . . 218Dijon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218Beaune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219Lyon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220The French Alps . . . . . . 225Chamonix . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225The Dordogne . . . . . . . . 227Sarlat-la-Canéda . . . . . . . 227The Atlantic Coast . . . . 228Bordeaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228Biarritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .230Languedoc- Roussillon . . . . . . . . . . . 232Toulouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232Carcassonne . . . . . . . . . . . 233Nîmes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234Pont du Gard . . . . . . . . . . . 235Provence . . . . . . . . . . . . 235Marseille . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236Aix-en-Provence . . . . . . . . 238Avignon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .240The French Riviera & Monaco . . . . . . . . . . . . 241Nice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241Cannes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244St-Tropez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245Monaco . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246Corsica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Ajaccio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248Bastia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249Bonifacio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250

GERMANY . . . . . . . . 257Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260Central Germany . . . . . 275Dresden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275

Leipzig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277Weimar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .280Erfurt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281Bavaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283Munich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283Garmisch- Partenkirchen . . . . . . . . . .290Berchtesgaden . . . . . . . . .290Romantic Road . . . . . . . . . 292Nuremberg . . . . . . . . . . . . 295Bamberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297Regensburg . . . . . . . . . . . .298Stuttgart & the Black Forest . . . . . . . . . 299Stuttgart . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299Heidelberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301Black Forest . . . . . . . . . . .302Freiburg im Breisgau . . . .303Frankfurt & the Rhineland . . . . . . . . 304Frankfurt-am-Main . . . . . .305The Romantic Rhine Valley . . . . . . . . . . . .308Moselle Valley . . . . . . . . . . 310Trier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310Cologne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312Düsseldorf . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315Aachen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317Hamburg & the North . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Hamburg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318Lübeck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326

GREECE . . . . . . . . . . 333Athens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 334The Peloponnese . . . . . 344Nafplio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344Epidavros . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345Mycenae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345Mystras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345Olympia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Central Greece . . . . . . . 346Delphi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Meteora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .346Northern Greece . . . . . 347Thessaloniki . . . . . . . . . . . 347Cyclades . . . . . . . . . . . . 350Mykonos . . . . . . . . . . . . . .350Naxos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354Santorini (Thira) . . . . . . . 356Crete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359Iraklio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359Knossos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361Hania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362Samaria Gorge . . . . . . . . . 365Dodecanese . . . . . . . . . . 365Rhodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365Kos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367Northeastern Aegean Islands . . . . . . . 369Samos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369Lesvos (Mytilini) . . . . . . . 370Sporades . . . . . . . . . . . . 372Skiathos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 372Ionian Islands . . . . . . . 373Corfu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373

IRELAND . . . . . . . . . 381Dublin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383The Southeast . . . . . . . 393Kilkenny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393The Southwest . . . . . . . 394Cork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .394Killarney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .398Ring of Kerry . . . . . . . . . . .399The West Coast . . . . . . . 401Galway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401Aran Islands . . . . . . . . . . .403Connemara . . . . . . . . . . . .404Northern Ireland . . . . . .404Belfast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404The Causeway Coast . . . .409Derry/Londonderry . . . . . 410

ITALY . . . . . . . . . . . . .417Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419Northern Italy . . . . . . . . 439Genoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .439Cinque Terre . . . . . . . . . . .440Turin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442Milan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443The Lakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447Verona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .448Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .450Trieste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459Bologna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .460Ravenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 461Tuscany & Umbria . . . . 462Florence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .462Pisa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470Lucca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471Siena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472Perugia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474Assisi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476Southern Italy . . . . . . . . 476Naples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476Capri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .483Sorrento . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .484Amalfi Coast . . . . . . . . . . .485Sicily . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487

THE NETHERLANDS . . . 499Amsterdam . . . . . . . . . . 501The Randstad . . . . . . . . 510Haarlem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510Leiden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 511Den Haag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512Delft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 514Rotterdam . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515Utrecht . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519The South . . . . . . . . . . . 520Maastricht . . . . . . . . . . . . .520

PORTUGAL . . . . . . . 525Lisbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527Sintra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537Cascais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538The Algarve . . . . . . . . . . 539Faro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539Tavira . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540Lagos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .540Silves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 541Sagres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542Central Portugal . . . . . . 542Évora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542Monsaraz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 543Peniche . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .544Óbidos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 545

Nazaré . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546Tomar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .546Coimbra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 547Luso & the Buçaco Forest . . . . . . . . . .548Serra da Estrela . . . . . . . . 549The North . . . . . . . . . . . . 549Porto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549Viana do Castelo . . . . . . . 555Braga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556Parque Nacional da Peneda-Gerês . . . . . . . 557

SPAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . 561Madrid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 564

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Castilla y León . . . . . . . 579Salamanca . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579Segovia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 581Castilla-La Mancha . . . 583Toledo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583Catalonia . . . . . . . . . . . . 584Barcelona . . . . . . . . . . . . .584Tarragona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597Aragón, Basque Country & Navarra . . . .600Zaragoza . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600Around Aragón . . . . . . . . .602San Sebastián . . . . . . . . . .602Bilbao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .604Cantabria, Asturias & Galicia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606

Santillana del Mar . . . . . .606Santiago de Compostela . . . . . . . . .606Around Galicia . . . . . . . . .608Valencia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608Balearic Islands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .611Mallorca . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611Ibiza . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614Andalucía . . . . . . . . . . . . 616Seville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616Córdoba . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621Granada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624Málaga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .628Extremadura . . . . . . . . . 631Cáceres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631

SWITZERLAND . . . . 639Geneva . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 640Lake Geneva Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645Lausanne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645Gruyères . . . . . . . . . . . . . .646Valais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647Zermatt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 647Bern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648Central Switzerland & Bernese Oberland . . . 650Lucerne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .650Interlaken . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652Jungfrau region . . . . . . . . 653Zürich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 655Northern Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . 659Basel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659Ticino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660Locarno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .660Lugano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661Graubünden . . . . . . . . . . 662St Moritz . . . . . . . . . . . . . .662

Directory A–Z . . . . . . . . 668Transport . . . . . . . . . . . . 677Language . . . . . . . . . . . . 686Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692Map Legend . . . . . . . . . . 702

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY P410, NORTHERN IRELAND

SURVIVAL GUIDE

Itineraries

AUSTRIAHUNGARY

POLAND

BELARUS

UKRAINE

BULGARIA

ROMANIA

PORTUGAL

Nice

Zürich

Granada

Barcelona

Venice

Bari

Florence

ATHENS

PARIS

LISBON

AMSTERDAMLONDON

BERLIN

VIENNA

ROME

DUBLIN

NorthernIreland

SantoriniSicily

GERMANY

SPAIN

BRITAIN

SWITZERLAND

NETHERLANDS

GREECE

BELGIUM

FRANCE

IRELAND

ITALY

SCOTLAND

ENGLAND

WALES

Sardinia(It)

Corsica(Fr)

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Have limited time but want to see a bit of everything? Hit the highlights on this trip. Start in Dublin, sampling its vibrant pubs and traditional Irish craic. From Ireland, fly to London for great theatre. Then catch the Eurostar train through the English Channel tunnel to unmissable Paris.

Travel north to Brussels for amazing beer and chocolate, then further north to free-spirited Amsterdam, making time to cruise its canals. Go east, stopping for a cruise on the Rhine, and spend a few days exploring (and surviving) the legendary nightlife in Berlin. Next, visit Vienna for architectural and classical-music riches. Zigzag west to Zürich and the Swiss Alps for awe-inspiring ski slopes and vistas.

Head to canal-laced Venice, art-filled Florence and historic Rome. Train it to Bari and take a ferry to Athens, then explore island beaches, starting with the stunning Santorini. Connect by air or go by ferry and train to the French Riviera (aka the Côte d’Azur) to check out quintessential Mediterranean destinations such as Nice. Continue to Barcelona, then the Moorish towns of southern Spain like Granada. End your trip in the hilly quarters of Lisbon, toasting your grand journey with Portugal’s port wine.

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

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Beautiful weather and breathtaking scenery are the draws of this comprehensive tour that takes in famous towns and cities from antiquity to the present. Start in southern Spain in orange-blossom-filled Seville and soak up the architecture, sunshine and party atmos-phere. Make your way up the eastern coast past the Moorish town of Málaga and on to Granada and Córdoba. Then it’s back to the coast at Valencia, home of Spain’s famous rice dish paella, for a ferry hop to the parties and beaches of the Balearic Islands.

Back on the mainland, Barcelona brims with the architecture of Gaudí. From here, head into France’s fabled Provence region, where in Marseille you can see the fortress that was inspiration for the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. Then leave the sea for Provence’s lush hills and lavender-scented towns around the rampart-hooped city of Avi-gnon. On to the French Riviera and its playground for the rich and famous, St-Tropez. The charming seaside city Nice is a perfect jumping-off point for other nearby coastal hot spots such as Cannes.

Cruise by ferry to Corsica and experience the traditional lifestyle of quiet fishing vil-lages. Hit the bustling old port of Bastia, Napoléon Bonaparte’s home town Ajaccio, then the glittering harbour of Bonifacio to hop on a ferry south to Sardinia and on to Sicily to visit colossal temples and its famous volcano, Mt Etna.

Catch a ferry to Naples, on the Italian mainland, and take a trip to Pompeii. Move east to Brindisi for a ferry to Greece that passes rocky coasts seen by mariners for millenniums, landing in Patra. Head to Athens to wonder at the Greek capital’s an-cient treasures before boarding a plane or ferry to magical islands such as Crete and Mykonos. Return to Italy, taking time to wander amid the ruins and piazzas of Rome. Continue north through Tuscany, stopping at Pisa to see its famous ‘leaning tower’. Fin-ish up along the Ligurian coast, travelling via the coastal villages making up the Cinque Terre, strung between plunging cliffs and vine-covered hills, to the port city of Genoa.

6 WEEKS

Pompeii

Bastia

AvignonSt-Tropez

Cannes

Nice

Córdoba

Barcelona

Valencia

Málaga

Pisa

Genoa

Granada

Naples

Seville

TUNISIAALGERIA

MOROCCOLIBYA

SPAIN

FRANCE

GREECE

BELGIUM

Sicily

Crete

Sardinia(It)

ITALY

SWITZERLAND

GERMANY

AUSTRIA

ROMANIA

SERBIA

Corsica(Fr)

ROME

BalearicIslands

Ajaccio

BULGARIA

ALBANIA

CROATIA

HUNGARY

CZECHREPUBLIC SLOVAKIA

MACEDONIA

BOSNIA &HERCEGOVINA

KOSOVO

MOLDOVA

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Get a feel for three of Europe’s most distinct countries on this relatively compact jaunt. Start in Paris, of course. Visit the châteaux of the Loire Valley, then take the fast TGV train to Brittany. Walk the 17th-century ramparts encircling St-Malo and sample authentic Breton cider. Track south along the Atlantic coast, where red wine reaches its pinnacle around Bordeaux. Cross the border to the Basque city of Bilbao, best known for the magnificent Guggenheim Museum, before continuing to the pilgrim-age shrine of Santiago de Compostela.

Spain’s art-filled capital, Madrid, is prime for night owls: an evening of tapas and drinks in tiny bars can postpone din-ner until midnight. Spend a day exploring the Roman aqueduct and storybook castle in beautiful Segovia. Don’t skip the sand-stone splendour of lively Salamanca. Use a car to explore the many hill towns of Andalucía. Narrow, winding roads traverse sunburnt landscapes and olive orchards be-fore reaching the whitewashed buildings of Ronda, whose 1785-built Plaza de Toros is considered the national home of bullfight-ing. Finally, go west via Seville to Portugal’s pretty Algarve region, finishing in Faro.

2 WEEKS France & Iberia

You’ve done the major capitals, now see the rest of Europe. The far west of Ireland is rugged and uncrowded; start in bohemian Galway, departure point for the wild Connemara region and windswept Aran Islands, then travel to Northern Ireland – Belfast in particular. Head across to the dynamic Scottish city of Glasgow. Swing south to the walled English city of York. Hop across to the Netherlands, where buzz-ing Rotterdam is a veritable gallery of modern and cutting-edge architecture.

Travel to the dynamic eastern German cities of Leipzig and Dresden. Turn south via the stunning Bavarian student hub of Regensburg to the temperate Swiss town of Lugano, on the shores of its sparkling namesake lake. Cross into Italy and stop at the cultured city of Turin, with its regal palazzi (mansions) and baroque piazzas, followed by beautiful Umbria spots such as Perugia. In Italy’s south, explore frenetic Naples and the winding Amalfi Coast, with villages perched above the glittering sea. Scoot over to Sicily to experience its ancient and colourful culture. Marvel at the Grecian Valley of Temples in Agrigento, which rival anything in Greece itself.

4 WEEKS

HUNGARY

SLOVENIA

POLAND

AUSTRIA

SERBIA

SWITZERLAND

SLOVAKIA

KOSOVO

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LUXEMBOURG

SPAINRonda

Salamanca

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York

TurinSantiago deCompostela

Faro Agrigento

Glasgow

Naples

Bilbao

Rotterdam

Perugia

Bordeaux

MADRID

PARIS

BELFAST

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BELGIUM

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Brush up on your Deutsch on this central European jaunt. Fly into Munich, home to famous beer halls and beer gardens. Head into the Alps and behold the most enchanting castle on a hilltop you’ll ever see: the real-life model for Disney’s Sleep-ing Beauty’s castle, Neuschwanstein, in tiny Füssen. A short jaunt east brings you to Austria’s harmonious combination of hills and music: Salzburg. Travel west to Switzerland’s lakeside city of Lucerne, where iconic half-timbered bridges cross glacier-cold waters. Ascend to one of the cosy chalets of Wengen, where an impos-ing wall of glacier-capped alpine peaks looms before you.

Head north into Germany and catch a high-speed train to Cologne to see its stunning cathedral and explore its lively Altstadt (old town). Set aside a day for a river cruise up the Rhine from Koblenz, gliding past steep hillsides covered in vineyards and crowned by castles. Take another high-speed train east to irrepress-ible Dresden and delve into its vibrant cultural scene. Finish in Berlin, revelling in its heady history, galleries, hip neigh-bourhoods and unrivalled nightlife.

2 WEEKS

Europe’s German Accent

Watching Europe from the window of a train or gazing at the sea rolling past the handrail of a ferry – that’s the way genera-tions of travellers have explored the conti-nent, and it’s still as idyllic today.

Start in the engaging Scottish capital Edinburgh, then take the train to pulsat-ing London and on to Harwich for a ferry crossing to Hoek van Holland. From here, trains connect to the dynamic, contem-porary Dutch city of Rotterdam and the fabled, gabled canalscapes of Amsterdam.

Take a fast train to Cologne and then relax on a river cruise down the alluring Rhine. Alight at Mainz and connect by train through Basel to Interlaken for the slow-moving trains and trams that wend through the majestic Alps. Next take a train past rugged scenery to stylish Mi-lan. From here, fast trains zip to Tuscany’s capital, Florence, a veritable Renaissance time capsule, then snuggle up on a night train to Paris, feeling the romance in the rhythm of the rails.

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RotterdamCologne

Basel

The Rhine

Milan

Florence

AMSTERDAM

LONDON

PARIS

EDINBURGH

BERLIN

Dresden

Lucerne

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BRITAIN

NETHERLANDSGERMANY

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SWITZERLAND Füssen

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WALES ENGLAND

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N O R T HS E A

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Anthony HamSpain Spain is one of Anthony’s great loves. In 2001, Anthony (www.anthonyham.com) fell in love with Madrid on his first visit to the city. Less than a year later, he arrived on a one-way ticket, with not a word of Spanish and not knowing a single person. After 10 years living in the city, he recently returned to Australia with his Spanish-born family, but he still adores his adopted country as much as the first day he arrived.

Catherine Le NevezThe Netherlands Catherine’s wanderlust kicked in when she first roadtripped across Europe, including the Netherlands, aged four, and she’s been returning to this spirit-ed, gezellig country ever since, completing her Doctorate of Creative Arts in Writing, Masters in Professional Writing, and post-grad qualifications in editing and publish-ing along the way. Catherine has worked as a freelance writer for many years and during the past decade or so she’s written scores of Lonely Planet guidebooks and articles covering destinations all over Europe and beyond. Catherine also wrote the Plan Your Trip and Survival chapters.

Sally O’BrienLiechtenstein, Switzerland Since moving to Switzerland in 2007, Sally has revelled in swimming the country’s lakes and rivers, snowboarding down its astounding mountains, scoffing its cheese and chocolate, and quaffing local-secret wines. Writ-ing about this dreamy country for Lonely Planet and heading out on the road with her family to explore every last corner of her adopted home only adds to the fun.

Andrea Schulte-Peevers Germany Born and raised in Germany, and educated in London and at UCLA, Andrea has travelled the distance to the moon and back in her visits to some 75 countries and now makes her home in Berlin. She’s written about her native coun-try for two decades and authored or contributed to some 80 Lonely Planet titles, including all editions of the Germany country guide and the Berlin city guide.

Helena SmithBelgium, Luxembourg Helena Smith is the author of Lonely Planet’s Pocket Brussels & Bruges, and was very glad to return to Europe’s most eccentric country to work on this guide, as well as adding Luxembourg to her list of countries visited. When not travel writing, Helena writes about food and community at www.eathackney.com.

Neil WilsonBritain, Ireland Neil was born in Scotland and, save for a few years spent abroad, has lived there most of his life; he is based near Dunkeld in Perthshire. An endur-ing passion for the great outdoors has inspired hillwalking, mountain-biking and sailing expeditions to every corner of Britain and Ireland. Neil has been a full-time author since 1988 and has written more than 70 guidebooks for various publish-ers, including Lonely Planet guides to Scotland, England and Ireland.

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Alexis AverbuckGreece Alexis lives in Hydra, Greece, takes regular reverse R&R in Athens, and makes any excuse she can to travel the isolated back roads of her adopted land. A travel writer for two decades, Alexis has lived in Antarctica for a year, crossed the Pacific by sailboat and written books on her journeys through Asia and the Ameri-cas. She’s also a painter. Visit www.alexisaverbuck.com.

Kerry ChristianiAustria, Portugal Ever since her first post-grad trip to Austria, Kerry has seized every available chance to travel back to the country of Mozart, Maria and co. Hang-ing out in the cream of Vienna’s coffee houses, road-testing Christmas markets and glimpsing the first snow of the season in the Alps were highlights this edition. Her love affair with Portugal began as a child hiking the cliffs of the Algarve. She’s re-turned countless times since, and remains captivated by this country’s creative spirit and beautifully melancholic soul. Kerry has authored/co-authored around two dozen travel guides, including Lonely Planet Austria, Pocket Lisbon and Pocket Porto. She tweets @kerrychristiani and lists her latest work at www.kerrychristiani.com.

Emilie FilouFrance Emilie was born in Paris and spent most of her childhood holidays roaming the south of France. She now lives in London, where she works as a freelance journalist specialising in development issues in Africa. She still goes to France every year for holidays and loves feasting on local market products, especially cheese and wine. See more of Emilie’s work on www.emiliefilou.com; she tweets at @emiliefilou.

Duncan GarwoodItaly Duncan is a British travel writer based near Rome. Since he moved to Italy in 1997, he has travelled extensively in his adopted homeland and worked on about 30 Lonely Planet guides, including Rome, Sardinia, Sicily and Italy’s Best Trips. Memories from his most recent trip include a barbecue in a Palermo street mar-ket and catching an open-air concert in Trieste’s vast central piazza.

OUR STORYA beat-up old car, a few dollars in the pocket and a sense of adventure. In 1972 that’s all Tony and Maureen Wheeler needed for the trip of a lifetime – across Europe and Asia overland to Australia. It took several months, and at the end – broke but inspired – they sat at their kitchen table writing and stapling together their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week they’d sold 1500 copies. Lonely Planet was born.

Today, Lonely Planet has offices in Franklin, London, Melbourne, Oakland, Beijing and Delhi, with more than 600 staff and writers. We share Tony’s belief that ‘a great guidebook should do three things: inform, educate and amuse’.

OUR WRITERS

Although the authors and Lonely Planet have taken all reason-able care in preparing this book, we make no warranty about the accuracy or completeness of its content and, to the maxi-mum extent permitted, disclaim all liability arising from its use.

Published by Lonely Planet Publications Pty LtdABN 36 005 607 98312th edition – October 2015ISBN 978 1 74321 581 4© Lonely Planet 2015 Photographs © as indicated 201510 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Printed in ChinaAll rights reserved. No part of this publication may be copied, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, except brief extracts for the purpose of review, and no part of this publication may be sold or hired, without the written permission of the publisher. Lonely Planet and the Lonely Planet logo are trademarks of Lonely Planet and are registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Lonely Planet does not allow its name or logo to be appropriated by commercial establishments, such as retailers, restaurants or hotels. Please let us know of any misuses: lonelyplanet.com/ip.

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