What’s New in Europe for 2003

European Travel Is Easier Than Ever

By Rick Steves

Each year my research staff and I personally update my guidebook series, covering all of Western Europe. After 300 cumulative days of research in 2002, here is a roundup of the most important changes we discovered. The good news: throughout Europe, travel is becoming easier than ever. Even better news: after the inflation and confusion surrounding the change-over to the euro, prices are stable. Here’s all the latest . . . hot out of the rucksack.

Italy

After a decade of restoration, Pisa’s Leaning Tower is open once again. To clamber up the 294 steps to the top of the tipsy tower you’ll need a reservation, which you can make in advance online atwww.opapisa.it or get when you arrive and buy your ticket ($15). If you reserve upon arrival, you’ll probably have to wait a couple of hours before your allotted time to ascend, so plan to check out other sights or enjoy a picnic while you’re waiting.

In Florence, it’s still smart to book ahead for the top sights, especially the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia. You can avoid hours of waiting by making a simple phone call—ideally a few days in advance—to reserve a time for your visit. From the U. S. dial 011-39-055-294-883 (answered weekdays and Saturday mornings in Italy by an English-speaking operator). If you haven’t reserved ahead, you can buy tickets for the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia at Florence’s lesser sights (such as the Museum of San Marco).

Visitors to Venice are confronted with a confusing array of passes and cards that cover various combinations of museums, transportation, or transportation plus museums. Keep it simple. You can easily get by with a $9 Museum Card to visit the Doge’s Palace. If you also want to tour the Museum of 18th-Century Venice (a.k.a. Ca’ Rezzonico), go with the Museum Pass for $15. You can purchase cards or passes at participating sights.

Some major sights in Rome—the Colosseum, Forum, and Vatican Museum—now offer tours in English, typically once a day (get schedules at any of Rome’s tourist information offices). To avoid the long lines at Rome’s Colosseum, you can now reserve your ticket in advance by calling 011-39-06-3996-7700 (if phoning within Italy, drop the 011-39). Or in Rome, buy your Colosseum ticket at either of the two Palatine Hill entrances nearby (the $8 ticket includes a visit to Palatine Hill within 24 hours; the $20 combo ticket covers seven sights in Rome).

Great Britain

You can bypass ticket-buying lines at London’s famous attractions—such as Madame Tussaud’s waxworks, the Tower of London, and the London Eye Ferris Wheel—by purchasing “Fast Track” tickets in advance for no additional cost at any of London’s tourist information offices. But avoid the “Fast Track” tickets sold for $45 at the London Eye Ferris Wheel—this pricey version gets you on the wheel without a wait—but at three times the regular cost.

Two pedestrian bridges now span the Thames. The Millennium Bridge, after some expensive wobble corrections, has reopened for good, linking St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tate Modern art gallery. The new Hungerford Bridge connects Trafalgar Square with the London Eye Ferris Wheel and Waterloo Station (the terminal for the fast Eurostar trains to Paris and Brussels via the Chunnel).

In the aftermath of 9/11, lockers at London’s train stations have been replaced by luggage storage services with airport-type scanners—expect about a 20-minute wait to drop off or pick up your luggage. Paddington Station is slowly resuming its early check-in service for flights from Heathrow Airport; this allows you to check your bag and fit in a few hours of sightseeing in London rather than wasting time at Heathrow. Ask your airline (before your London departure) if it’s represented at Paddington.

In southern England, Bath’s long-awaited spa is expected to open early in 2003. The Thermae Bath Spa, fed by the region’s renowned natural hot springs, will be ahedonistic marvel with all the “pamper thyself” extras (www.bathspa.co.uk).

Germany

In Frankfurt, the main tower welcomes guests to its rooftop, finished in 2000 and housing the Helaba Bank. The tower now offers the best public viewpoint from a Frankfurt skyscraper 650 feet above the city (€4.50, daily 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Neue Mainzer Strasse 52).

In the medieval walled town of Rothenburg, an excellent new Christmas museum has opened in the giant Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop. It features a unique and thoughtfully described collection of Christmas-tree stands, mini-trees sent in boxes to WWI soldiers at the front, early Advent calendars, old-time Christmas cards, 450 clever ways to crack a nut, and a look at tree decorations through the ages—including the Nazi era and when you were a kid (€4, Herrngasse 1).

Austria

After years of being closed for restoration, the Albertina Museum, containing Vienna’s sumptuous collection of drawings, etchings, and prints by the great masters—including Rubens, Rembrandt, Raphael, and a huge collection of drawings by Albrecht Dürer—reopens in March (€9, daily 10 a.m.-7 p.m.). Special exhibits in 2003 include “Edvard Munch” (Mar-Jun), “From Michaelangelo to Rubens” (Jul-Aug), and “Albrecht Dürer” (Sep-Nov).

Czech Republic

The Czech telephone system has axed area codes. You dial the same number (including the former area code) whether you’re calling across the country or across the street.

Some of Prague’s corrupt cabbies are using “turbo boxes” to speed up their taximeters—so using the meter doesn’t guarantee an honest fare. Ask for an estimated price before you get in a cab. Even easier, try Athos Travel, which offers stress-free taxi rides between the airport, train station, and your hotel (also books rooms, www.athos.cz).

The Netherlands

In Amsterdam, the main part of the Rijksmuseum, which displays the art of the Dutch Golden Age—starring Rembrandt, Vermeer, and more—will close for a massive renovation from the fall of 2003 until 2007. During this time, a selection of the masterpieces will be displayed in the Rijk’s south wing. The Van Gogh Museum will celebrate the artist’s 150th birthday with new exhibitions, starting with the artists who influenced van Gogh, then concentrating on the artists he influenced (for details, see www.vangoghmuseum.nl).

The nearby Heineken Brewery, long famous for its kegger-like “tours” has reopened after several years without tours. The new “Heineken Experience” offers less free beer but an entertaining and informative walk through the historic home of the leading Dutch beer (€7.50 for self-guided hour-long tour including three beers or soft drinks, Tuesday-Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Stadhouderskade 78).

France

Paris’ free museums now include the Carnavalet (the city’s history museum, housed in a 16th-century mansion); the Petit Palais (with 19th-century paintings by Delacroix, Cézanne, Monet, Picasso, and other masters); and the restored Victor Hugo house, which chronicles the life of the 19th-century literary legend of Les Mis fame.

The gardens at Versailles, formerly free on weekdays, now cost $3 during the week, and, as usual, $5.50 on weekends when the fountains perform. (Neither charge is covered by the Paris museum pass.) The weekday fees were added to cover restoration from the damages caused by a mega storm that ripped through the gardens in December 1999, uprooting thousands of 200-year-old trees.

In Caen, the fascinating World War II museum—the best of its kind in Europe—added a new Cold War wing, making it even more thought provoking than before (www.memorial-caen.fr). Thinking ahead, if you’re planning a visit to Normandy for the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2004, book your hotel reservations well in advance.

Norway

Sad news for railpass holders, the Copenhagen-Oslo overnight train has been discontinued, but the overnight luxury cruise that runs daily in both directions between these two capitals is still going strong (www.seaeurope.com). The optional dinner and breakfast smorgasbords on board beat the food you can get on any train.

The best trip from Oslo is to take the “Norway in a Nutshell” route—via train, fjord boat, and bus—over the mountainous spine of Norway to the coastal town of Bergen. Note that the morning train (at 8:11) from Oslo to Bergen is now a pricey “Signatur” train, requiring a hefty $40 reservation fee. Reserve in second class instead for just $7.

Denmark

For a great opportunity to meet locals in their homes, try dining with a Danish family. The “Wonderful Copenhagen” tourist office offers “Dine with the Danes” for about $35. They ask for a week’s notice to make the best possible match (see www.dinewiththedanes.dk).

Wherever you travel in Europe, make a point to meet the locals. It’s people who give the Old World a new luster. Your journey is a unique combination of the people you meet, the sights you see, and the kind of traveler you are. What’s truly new for 2003 is your trip.

RICK STEVES (www.ricksteves.com) is the host of the PBS series Rick Steves' Europe and the author of 30 European travel guidebooks, including Europe Through the Back Door, all published by Avalon Travel Publishing.