Europe attracts more tourists than any other continent: over 600 million international visitors annually, more than half of the global market. Out of Earth's ten most visited countries, seven are in Europe, with good reason. Transport infrastructure is generally efficient and well-maintained. At the other end of a short ride on a starkly modern high speed train, a brief flight, or an easy drive, you will likely be able to delve into a new phrasebook and culture. Europe has cultural heritage dating back more than three millennia: the continent has seen the rise and fall of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire, and birthed the Renaissance and the Industrial Revolution. Countless kingdoms, republics and empires have left archaeological sites and old towns galore, and the most magnificent cathedrals in the world for you to explore. Aside from history, Europe is the home of high culture, is renowned for its diverse cuisines, and is justly celebrated for its exciting and romantic cities. Europe stretches from the shivering Arctic Ocean in the north, to the pleasantly warm subtropical Mediterranean Sea in the south, and contains a vast array of temperate climates and variety of landscapes in between. The east of the continent is connected to Asia, and for historical reasons a boundary is usually drawn from the Ural mountains via the Caucasus to the Aegean Sea, while the continent's western extremities jut bracingly into the Atlantic Ocean. Amsterdam — canals, Rembrandt, hashish and red lanterns, the epitome of social liberal attitudes Barcelona — capital of Catalonia and home to Gaudí's famous Sagrada Família this place is much more than "Spain's second city" Berlin — scarred by four decades of division but experiencing an almost unprecedented boom, the capital of reunited Germany is one of Europe's most creative and innovative cities and still surprisingly affordable Istanbul — the heart of both the Ottoman and Byzantine empires, this bi-continental city is a bridge between east and west and Europe's largest London — Europe's financial metropolis and the former heart of the British Empire, packed with all sorts of attractions from sports to museums and two millennia of history Moscow — the heart and brain of the largest country on Earth, Moscow has the heritage of both the tsars and the Soviets and all the other current or former occupants of the Kremlin Paris — the "City of Light" and one of the most visited places on Earth: romance, cuisine, the Eiffel Tower and a surprising amount of green await you Prague — home to Kafka and medieval emperors, this city has tons of well-preserved history as well as a vibrant nightlife to keep you fascinated Rome — an empire was named after this eternal city of seven hills and today it is chock full of old and new, and even contains its own state, the Vatican Alps — both a barrier and a bridge for millennia, Europe's climate is formed by them and the continent's transportation funneled into their passes. This mountain range is also Europe's most beloved winter sports and hiking destination, as well as home to mythical mountains like Mont Blanc or the Matterhorn Białowieża National Park — the last and largest remaining parts of the immense primeval forest that once spread across the European Plain Cinque Terre — a gorgeous national park, which connects five picturesque villages Gotland — a sunny limestone island in the Baltic Sea with a legacy from the Hanseatic League Hardangervidda — a mountain plateau in Norway with astounding views of mountains and glaciers Mallorca — a Spanish island famous for seaside resorts, nightlife, and spectacular landscapes Meteora — six Eastern Orthodox monasteries built on natural sandstone rock pillars Plitvice Lakes National Park — beautiful turquoise-coloured lakes surrounded by a large forest Stonehenge — the well-known Neolithic and Bronze Age stone monument on Salisbury Plain Europe has an area of 10,180,000 km2 (3,930,000 square miles), and 742 million inhabitants. European nations came to dominate the world from the 16th century and onward. As the continent was devastated by the World Wars in the early 20th century, most Europeans now seek peace and unity. See also: Prehistoric Europe, European history Homo Sapiens reached Europe from Africa through the Middle East roughly 40,000 years ago, and displaced the Homo Neanderthalensis, which died out around 30,000 years ago. As writing, farming and urban culture all spread to Europe from the Middle East, European culture has owed much to "foreign" influences from its very beginning. The Mediterranean was one of the first centres of writing and city-states. Among its numerous cultures, those of Ancient Greece are the earliest well-known ones that arose in Europe. Greek poets such as Homer, Hesiod, and Kallinos dated to the 8th century BC are the oldest European writers still widely studied. Ancient Greece has been credited with the foundation of Western culture, and has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, science, and arts of the European continent. The city of Rome, inhabited since at least 800 BC, became the centre of the Roman Empire, which conquered much of Europe, as well as North Africa and the Middle East, and came to define a common European identity, through the Latin language and alphabet, as well as law and architecture. Christianity and Judaism were both found throughout the Empire by the early second century AD and the former seems to have been particularly popular with soldiers along the Germanic frontiers. After two centuries of on and off persecution, Constantine officially tolerated Christianity (though he did not convert until his dying moments) and intervened in theological debates, cementing a path that would lead to an openly Christian Empire that persecuted non-Christians and "the wrong kind" of Christianity alike. This pattern could be found throughout most of Europe in the ensuing millennium. Under the rule of Constantine's distant successor from another dynasty Theodosius, Christianity would be declared the state religion of Rome, and became mandatory for all Roman subjects, thereby leading to the eventual Christianisation of all Europe. Theodosius, who died in 395 after having briefly ruled both halves of the Empire, would also prove to be the last person to rule both the Eastern and Western Roman Empire, as the land was divided among his sons after his death. While this was not seen as a dramatic move at the time and such divisions had occurred before, the rift never healed, and the Western Empire fell some eighty years later. The cultural divide would deepen and ultimately result in a schism of Christianity during the Middle Ages that endures today. See also: Vikings and the Old Norse, Hanseatic League The Migration Period began around AD 300, and saw especially Germanic tribes moving across the continent, in part fleeing from Hunnic invasions. Military and political errors led to humiliating defeats for the Romans such as the Battle of Adrianople of 376 that saw emperor Valens and most of his army perish fighting Goths. Around AD 500 (AD 476 is a commonly cited date, but there are good arguments for slightly different dates) the Western Roman Empire ceased to be, with most of it invaded by Germanic tribes, such as the Franks in Gaul and Germania, and the Visigoths in Spain. The millennium that followed the fall of Rome has by posterity been called the Middle Ages. The eastern half of the Roman Empire continued on as the Byzantine Empire, which dominated the eastern Mediterranean for a thousand years, was significantly weakened by the fourth crusade sacking Constantinople in 1204 and finally ceased to be when its capital (Constantinople) was finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453, who came to dominate southeastern Europe until the First World War. Roman scholarship survived in the Byzantine Empire, and later in the Muslim World. The Franks rose to power under the Merovingian dynasty, and converted to Catholic Christianity in the 5th century. An Arab-Muslim force landed on the Iberian peninsula in 711, wiping out the Visigoths, conquering most of Iberia within the next few years, before being stopped by the Franks near Tours and Poitiers in 732. Much of Spain remained Muslim until the 15th century. The most notable Frankish ruler Charlemagne conquered much of Western Europe, and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the pope in 800 AD. The Carolingian empire largely disintegrated on Charlemagne's death in 814, and the last East-Frankish king of the Carolingian dynasty died in 911. The 9th and 10th centuries are also remembered for the Viking raids and expeditions from Scandinavia across most of Europe. The 10th to 13th centuries are known as the High Middle Ages, and saw a wave of urbanisation especially in Western Europe, with the rise of cathedrals and universities, the first of which, University of Bologna, has remained in continuous operation since 1088. The High Middle Ages were marked by the Crusades; a series of military campaigns launched by the Catholic church, many of them towards the Holy Land. Several crusades went nowhere near Jerusalem and one ended in the conquering and destruction of Constantinople, weakening the Byzantine Empire enough that it would collapse two centuries hence. Merchant-ruled city-states such as the Hanseatic League, Novgorod, Genoa and Venice, came to control much of commerce in Europe, while the Mongol Empire came to conquer most of the European plains in the 13th century. The Black Death (bubonic plague) killed one-third of Europe's population around 1350, making it probably the worst epidemic in European history. The Black Death led to an increase in anti-Jewish pogroms and is cited as causing dissatisfaction with secular and religious authorities which had been largely powerless to stop it. See also: Early modern Europe An intellectual movement called the Renaissance (rebirth) began in Italy and started to spread across Europe in the final years of the 15th century, rediscovering Classical Graeco-Roman culture. The invention of the printing press made books much more affordable, leading to broader literacy and the emergence of literature in languages besides Latin. This also enabled the faster spread of "heretical" ideas during the Protestant Reformation that unlike prior reform movements did not stay contained to scholarly circles (writing mostly in the vernacular and not Latin) and was not snuffed out in its infancy or contained locally like the 15th-century Jan Hus movement in what is now the Czech Republic. This period, which saw the invention of movable type, the voyages of Columbus and Vasco da Gama and the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, is usually considered the beginning of the Early Modern Era. The 17th and 18th centuries would bring about the Age of Enlightenment, which saw the birth of modern science, as well as the introduction of secularism and constitutional government. The ideals of the Enlightenment would greatly influence the founding fathers of the United States during the American War of Independence, with many of these ideals being incorporated into the United States Constitution. Gunpowder weapons revolutionised warfare, including artillery that could tear down most medieval fortresses. A series of wars, especially the very destructive Thirty Years' War of the 17th century, replaced the political patchwork of nobles' fiefs and city-states with centralised empires, such as the Russian Empire, the Austrian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. From the late 15th century, European navigators found the way to Asia, the Americas (see voyages of Columbus) and Oceania. They paved the way for Spain, Portugal and later other countries to establish colonies and trading posts on other continents, through superior military power, and epidemics that decimated much of the native populations, especially in the Americas and Australia. The independence of the USA, Haiti and many other parts of the Americas at the turn of the 18th to the 19th century ended the first wave of colonialism. European interests turned to Africa, India, East Asia and Oceania, and from the 1880s onward Africa was colonised during what is commonly known as the "Scramble for Africa", leaving only Liberia and Ethiopia independent. Most colonies became independent in the decades following World War II, and today only Spain has some small possessions in mainland Africa, while Spain and Portugal continue to control some islands off the African coast, and France, Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands still maintain overseas territories in various parts of the world. Immigration from former colonies has shaped the face of Europe, and of countries such as France, Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal and Spain in particular. See also: Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, British Empire, Industrial Britain, Nordic history The Industrial Revolution began in Britain in the 18th century (see Industrial Britain), but took a century to spread to continental Europe. Modern times in Europe are considered to have begun with the 1789 French Revolution, which was the beginning of the end of European aristocratic power and absolute monarchy, and led to a series of wars, including the Napoleonic Wars. Although Napoleon was ultimately defeated, the legacy of his rule over much of Europe can still be seen today, with the concept of secularism (also known as the "separation of church and state") having been introduced by Napoleon into the occupied territories. The 19th century saw the rise of democracy, social reform and nationalism, with the unification of countries such as Germany and Italy. Some historians speak of the "long 19th century" beginning with the first major liberal European revolution in 1789 and ending with the beginning of the First World War, giving rise to the "short 20th century" that spans the 75 years from 1914 to 1989 and was dominated by the rise and fall of Soviet-style communism and an overall decline in the importance of Europe on the world stage. The First World War, at its time known as the Great War, caused unprecedented destruction, and made the end to the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires. The Soviet Union replaced the Russian Empire, and fascist movements rose to power in Italy, and later in Spain, Portugal, Germany and Greece. While Europeans were weary of war, the League of Nations failed to stop the Second World War, which came to be the most destructive war ever in Europe. See also: Soviet Union, Second World War in Europe, Holocaust remembrance, Cold War Europe During the Second World War, there was destruction, wide-spread human suffering and large-scale war crimes. It singlehandedly ended the period in which the dominant power of Europe was the dominant power of the world, and the United States and the Soviet Union became the new superpowers. The war led to a broad consensus across all political camps and in several countries that more cooperation among European countries was necessary to avoid another even bloodier war. Furthermore, the spectre of the Soviet-dominated East made cooperation appear more desirable for those countries in the West where parliamentary democracy had returned after the war. The first step was to cooperate in the fields of Coal and Steel (both essential to modern industry and any war effort) with West Germany, France, the Benelux states and Italy creating the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. While Britain was a sympathetic spectator, it believed at the time that its interest lay in the Commonwealth and the (at the time still considerable) remains of the British Empire, so it did not join this or any other attempt at European integration until two decades later. The six members of the European Coal and Steel Community meanwhile pressed on, signing the Treaty of Rome in 1956 and making more and more steps at common institutions, with formalised meetings of heads of government or ministers and a European parliament with democratic elections every five years. The 2014 elections were again the second biggest election in the world by numbers of votes cast (after Indian federal elections). The end of the Second World War also gave rise to the Cold War, which was perhaps most visible in Europe. Most of Europe was either dominated by the Soviet Union or closely allied with the US, with only a handful of neutral countries like Yugoslavia, Austria, Finland and Switzerland and even those that officially stayed neutral often heavily leaned one way or the other. The remaining dictatorships in the western aligned countries slowly fell - Spain transitioned to democracy shortly after Franco's death, Portugal's "Estado Novo" did not long outlast its founder Antonio Salazar and the Greek military junta fell in 1974. Meanwhile, Leninist dictatorships in the East remained firmly entrenched, even in places like Romania, Albania or Yugoslavia where leaders were able to implement less Moscow-dominated foreign policies or in places like Poland, Czechoslovakia or Hungary where popular uprisings had to be quashed by Soviet or domestic tanks. However, when Mikhail Gorbachev took over in the USSR, the economic malaise and political oppression led to widespread protests and by 1989 most regimes were either falling or reforming and Soviet tanks were not rolling in this time. While this is rightfully remembered as a mostly peaceful revolution, there was some violence in Romania and its president Nicolae Ceaușescu was the only dictator to meet a violent death. The fall of communism also re-ignited ethnic and religious conflicts in the Balkans and the former Soviet Union, resulting in violent conflicts that have not been resolved. Germany reunited in 1990 and the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 bringing the Cold War to an end. As the process of European integration proved successful, most countries that could soon joined the European Communities. Ireland, Denmark and the United Kingdom (after France gave up on its longstanding veto to British membership) joined in 1973, while Greece, Portugal and Spain joined in the 1980s after their dictatorships had been replaced by democratic regimes. Another round of enlargements occurred in 1995 when due to the end of the Cold War three democratic and capitalist neutral countries - Austria, Sweden and Finland - joined after there was no Cold War need to withhold participation any more. At the same time more and more powers were given to the European level and it was renamed the European Union in 1992 with a new currency to be introduced in 2002 after attempts to link European currencies in stable fixed exchange rates faced threats of speculation. However, the euro, as the new currency came to be called, was not introduced in all countries then-members of the EU, and it is today used by countries that are not members of the EU and will likely not join the EU for years to come, like Monaco or Kosovo. Several other countries that had pegged their currencies to the French franc or the Deutsche Mark now peg their currencies to the euro instead. The end of the Cold War also raised the question of whether former Soviet allies could join the EU and when and how this would take place. Unlike most previous expansions of the EU, which admitted no more than three countries at a time, this expansion was the biggest to date and on 1 May 2004 four former Soviet satellites (Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary), three former Soviet Republics (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) one former Yugoslav Republic (Slovenia) and two former British colonies in the Mediterranean (Cyprus and Malta) joined the EU in what was dubbed the "Eastern Expansion". Romania and Bulgaria joined in 2007 and Croatia became the second former Yugoslav Republic to join in 2013. Seven countries are in different stages of "accession talks", but none of them are anywhere close to resolution and some of them seem to be maintained more out of diplomatic courtesy than anything else. Iceland submitted an accession bid in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis but has subsequently expressed no intention of joining. North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia are applicants, but are considered to be economically and politically not ready for joining. The continued negotiations with Turkey (which seem to only exist on paper anyway at the moment) are in constant threat of being ended outright over diplomatic disagreements with its government. Norway and Switzerland remain outside the EU and are not having talks about accession. However, all non-members mentioned here have various forms of bilateral agreements and often follow EU rules and regulations and are sometimes party to some European agreements that are partly linked to the EU. While the Iron Curtain is no more, Russia joining the EU is generally regarded unthinkable, and in some of the former Soviet states or satellites, whether to seek cooperation with Russia or with the EU is a major political issue. Neither Russia nor the EU has been particularly keen to pursue closer political relations with the other, to the extent that they won't allow their own allies to have close relations with the other. Georgia and Ukraine have made overtures towards breaking away from the Russian sphere of influence, and joining the EU and NATO; in response, Russia has annexed Crimea from Ukraine and sponsored separatist movements in both countries. In the 2000s, populist far-right parties have challenged the established parties in the EU, and there has been a rise in anti-Muslim and xenophobic sentiment in many European countries. This has partly coincided with the Arab Spring and many refugees from upheavals in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Muslim-majority countries arriving in Europe, with the "immigration crises" in 2015 closing Schengen borders. In 2016 the United Kingdom voted by referendum to leave the EU, and left it on 31 January 2020. Europe makes up the western one fifth of the Eurasian landmass, bounded by bodies of water on three sides: the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Europe's eastern borders are ill-defined, and have been moving eastwards throughout history. Currently, the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian and Black Seas and the Bosporus Strait are considered its eastern frontier, making Istanbul the only metropolis in the world on two continents. Cyprus is also considered a part of Europe culturally and historically, if not necessarily geographically. The geographic boundaries are a contentious issue and several eastern boundaries have been proposed. Europe's highest point is Russia's Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus Mountains, which rises to 5,642 m (18,510 ft) above sea level. Outside the Caucasus, the highest point is Mont Blanc in the Alps at 4,810 m (15,771 ft) above sea level. Other important mountain ranges include the Pyrenees between France and Spain and the Carpathians that run through Central Europe to the Balkans. Most regions along the North and Baltic Seas are flat, especially eastern England, the Netherlands, northern Germany and Denmark. The North and Baltic Seas feature labyrinthine archipelagos and hundreds of miles of sandy beaches. Europe's longest river is the Volga, which meanders 3,530 km (2,193 mi) through Russia, and flows into the Caspian Sea. The Danube and the Rhine formed much of the northern frontier of the Roman Empire, and have been important waterways since pre-historic times. The Danube starts in the Black Forest in Germany and passes through the capital cities Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade before emptying in the Black Sea. The Rhine starts in the Swiss Alps and caused the Rhine Falls, the largest plain waterfall in Europe. From there, it makes up the French-German border border flowing through Western Germany and the Netherlands. Many castles and fortifications have been built along the Rhine, including those of the Rhine Valley. Most of Europe has a temperate climate. It is milder than other areas of the same latitude (e.g. north-eastern U.S.) due to the influence of the Gulf Stream. However, there are profound differences in the climates of different regions. Europe's climate ranges from subtropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to subarctic and arctic near the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean. In general, seasonal differences increase further inland, from a few degrees on small Atlantic islands, to burning summer sun and freezing winter on the Russian plains. Atlantic and mountain regions have high precipitation; especially north-western Spain, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, the Alps, and the Dinaric mountains on the western Balkans. North of the Alps, summers are slightly wetter than winters. In the Mediterranean most rain falls in the winter, while summers are mostly dry. Winters are relatively cold in Europe, even in the Mediterranean countries. The only areas with daily highs around 15°C in January are Andalucia in Spain, some Greek Islands, and the Turkish Riviera. Western Europe has an average of around 4–8°C in January, but temperatures drop below freezing throughout the winter. Regions east of Berlin have cold temperatures with average highs below freezing. Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia have average highs of -5°C and lows of -10°C in January. Most of the Nordic countries have averages below -10°C. Winter in Europe might be most comfortable to spend in the light and warmth of a big city, unless you specifically want to enjoy the snow. In December, Christmas markets and other Christmas and New Year attractions can be found. While tourism peaks during the holidays, the rest of the winter is low season in cities, providing decently cheap accommodation, and smaller crowds at famous attractions. While the winter sport season begins in December in the Alps and other snowy regions, daylight and accumulated snow can be scarce until February. Mountains in the Alps, Pyrenees, Carpathians and Scandinavia have snow well into spring while the valleys get warm; allowing visitors to experience many seasons on the same day. The highest peaks of the Alps have perpetual snow. Most of Europe has the most comfortable weather in summer, though southern Europe can get unbearably hot. In August, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Benelux, Germany and northern France have average highs of around 23°C, but these temperatures cannot be taken for granted. The Mediterranean has the highest amount of sun-hours in Europe, and the highest temperatures. Average temperatures in August are 28°C in Barcelona, 30°C in Rome, 33°C in Athens and 34°C in Alanya along the Turkish Riviera. Many workplaces close down in July or August, leaving the cities deserted and the seaside crowded. Autumn provides colourful trees and harvest of fruits and vegetables, with associated festivals (see agritourism), and is a good time to visit the countryside. Summers have longer daylight than winter; the variation increases with latitude. At 60 degrees north (Shetland Islands, Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki and St Petersburg), white nights can be enjoyed in June, while the sun is above the horizon for only six hours in December. North of the Arctic Circle, visitors can see the Midnight Sun in summer, and the Arctic Night in winter. The Network of European Meteorological Services has a useful website providing up-to-date information for extreme weather, covering most of the EU countries. Most European languages belong to the Indo-European language family, with grammatical similarities and shared vocabulary. They can be broadly divided into the following sub-families: Germanic languages — English, Scots, German, Dutch, Frisian and the Nordic languages (Danish, Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish) Romance languages, which are the descendants of Latin — national languages French, Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, Italian and Romanian, as well as regional languages such as Corsican and Galician. Balto-Slavic languages — are found throughout Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans; such as the Slavic Bulgarian, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Polish, Serbian, and the Baltic Latvian and Lithuanian Celtic languages — found in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, they comprise Breton, Cornish, Irish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. Other Indo-European languages include Albanian, Armenian and Greek, as well as the Romani language (an Indo-Aryan language) of the Roma people. There are also languages unrelated to the Indo-European languages. The Uralic language family includes Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Sámi and some minority languages in Russia. Turkic languages include Turkish and Azerbaijani. Other exceptions include Maltese (a Semitic language), Georgian (a Kartvelian language) and Basque (a language isolate). Speaking a Romance language may be of some use in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy and Romania as there are many similarities in words and grammar, while the same is true if you speak one of the Slavic languages in the East. Some training helps in identifying the similarities, as some of the differences are systematic. English proficiency varies greatly across the continent, but tends to increase the further north you get; in the Netherlands and the Nordic countries, most people can communicate in English with varying degrees of fluency. German-speaking areas in the middle also have good levels of proficiency. In the south and east you'll often be out of luck, especially outside major cities and tourist centres, though front line staff in the tourism industry usually speak at least basic English. In many formerly communist countries in Central and Eastern Europe, English is widely spoken by the younger generation who grew up after the fall of communism, but not by older people. Russian is still widely studied in Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan. It was widely studied as a second language in Central and Eastern Europe by the generations who lived through the communist era, but has largely been supplanted by English among the younger generations. Countries that were part of the former Soviet Union have significant Russian-speaking minorities. In some of these countries, when talking to non-native speakers, it may be important to make clear you don't think they are Russian, such as by asking in their own language whether they speak Russian. German is also a useful foreign language in Eastern Europe. The Latin alphabet stems from Europe, and is used for most European languages, often with some modified or additional letters. The related Cyrillic alphabet is used for Russian, some other Slavic languages and some non-Slavic minority languages spoken in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Both these alphabets were derived from the Greek alphabet. Other writing systems in use include the Georgian and Armenian alphabets. Rules for entering Europe depend on where you are going. Citizens of European Union countries and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) can travel freely throughout the continent – except Russia, Belarus and parts of the Caucasus – so the following applies only to non-EU/EFTA citizens. If you are entering a Schengen country and you plan to visit only other Schengen countries, you need only one Schengen visa. The nationals of the following countries do not need a visa for entry into the Schengen Area: Albania(1), Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina(1), Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova(1), Monaco, Montenegro(1), New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia(1), Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia(1, 2), Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan(3) (Republic of China), Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine(1), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Venezuela, additionally persons holding Hong Kong SAR or Macau SAR passports and all British nationals. The non-EU/EFTA visa-free visitors noted above may not stay more than 90 days in a 180 day period in the Schengen Area as a whole and, in general, may not work during their stay (although some Schengen countries do allow certain nationalities to work – see below). The counting begins once you enter any country in the Schengen Area and is not reset by leaving one Schengen country for another. However, New Zealand citizens may be able to stay for more than 90 days if they visit only particular Schengen countries. See the New Zealand Government's explanation. If you are a non-EU/EFTA national (even if you are visa-exempt, unless you are Andorran, Monégasque or San Marinese), make sure that your passport is stamped both when you enter and leave the Schengen Area. Without an entry stamp, you may be treated as an overstayer when you try to leave the Schengen Area; without an exit stamp, you may be denied entry the next time you seek to enter the Schengen Area as you may be deemed to have overstayed on your previous visit. If you cannot obtain a passport stamp, make sure that you retain documents such as boarding passes, transport tickets and ATM slips which may help to convince border inspection staff that you have stayed in the Schengen Area legally. The 90-day visa-free stay applies for the whole Schengen area, i.e. it is not 90 days per country as some assume. Citizens of the above countries who wish to travel around Europe for longer than 90 days must apply for a residency permit. This can be done in any Schengen country, but Germany or Italy are recommended, because many other countries require applicants to apply from their home countries. Non-Schengen countries, on the other hand, maintain their own immigration policies. Consult the country article in question for details. If you wish to visit a non-Schengen country and return to the Schengen area, you will need a multiple-entry visa. Cyprus and Ireland are EU members, but they are not part of the Schengen Area while EU members Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are in the process of joining the Schengen Area. To add confusion Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Norway and Gibraltar are not EU members but part of the Schengen area. The United Kingdom also continues its own immigration policies after Brexit. If your rights in the European Union or Schengen depend on your connections with the UK, or vice versa, check your status and rights carefully in light of the ongoing negotiations. Countries in the European Union maintain similar customs controls. They form a customs union and you usually do not need to pass through customs when travelling between EU countries. There are still some goods that need handling at customs, or special permits, etc., also travelling inside the EU, and the customs may do checks not only at the border. Check details if you have a pet, arms, medicines, exceptional quantities of alcohol, or similar. Note the difference between EU countries and Schengen countries. Between what countries you have to pass through customs does not depend on where you have to go through immigration controls or vice versa. You are legally allowed to bring through the EU border limited amounts of tobacco (exact numbers depend on your arrival country) and 1 litre of spirits (above 22% alcohol) or 2 litres of alcohol (e.g. sparkling wine below 22% alcohol) and 4 litres of non-sparkling wine and 16 litres of beer. If you are below 17 years old it's half of these amounts or nothing at all. Countries not in the EU maintain their own customs policies. The largest air travel hubs in Europe are London (LON: LCY, LHR, LGW, STN, LTN, SEN), Frankfurt (FRA IATA), Paris (CDG IATA, ORY IATA), Amsterdam (AMS), Madrid (MAD), Moscow (SVO, DME, VKO), and Istanbul (IST) which in turn have connections to practically everywhere in Europe. However, nearly every European capital and many other major cities have direct long-distance flights to at least some destinations. Other, smaller airports can make sense for specific connections: for example, Vienna (VIE) has a very good network of flights to the Middle East and Eastern Europe, while Helsinki (HEL IATA) is the geographically closest place to transfer if coming in from East Asia. If coming from North America, there is an abundance of cheap flights from the United States and Canada that connect in Reykjavík (KEF IATA) to virtually any major city in northern and western Europe. If you are coming from Asia, Australia or New Zealand, the big Middle Eastern hubs of Dubai (DXB IATA), Doha (DOH IATA) and Abu Dhabi (AUH IATA) have an abundance of fights on Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways respectively connecting virtually all the major European cities to all the major cities in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Depending on your final destination it might make sense to avoid the last connection, or rather replace it with a train-ride, as many airports are connected to the train-network (sometimes directly to high-speed lines) and some airlines offer tickets for both train and plane in cooperation with a railway company (which often works out to be a steep discount) (see: rail air alliances). However due to the quirky nature of airline-pricing the exact opposite might be true as well, meaning that a "longer" flight might actually end up being cheaper. As everywhere: caveat emptor! The Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing and Vladivostok to Moscow is a classic rail journey. The Historic Silk Road is becoming increasingly popular with adventurers trying to beat down a new path after the finalised construction of a railway link between Kazakhstan and China. The Almaty–Urumqi service runs twice per week, and Moscow is easily reached from Almaty by train. Other options include several connections from the Middle East offered by Turkish Railways (TCDD). There are weekly services from Tehran in Iran to Istanbul via Ankara, but the services from Syria and Iraq have been suspended, hopefully temporarily, due to the ongoing armed conflicts in those countries. For information on how to get from Istanbul to many other points in Europe by train see our itinerary on the Orient Express. It is still possible, but expensive, to do the classic transatlantic voyage between the United Kingdom and the United States. The easiest option is by the historic, and only remaining ocean liner operator, Cunard Line, which sails around 10 times per year in each direction, but expect to pay USD1,000–2,000 for the cheapest tickets on the 6-day voyage between Southampton and New York. If your pockets are not deep enough, your options of crossing the North Atlantic without flying are pretty much limited to freighter travel and "hitchhiking" with a private boat. Most major cruise ships that ply the waters of Europe during summer (June–September) also do cruises in Latin America and Southeast Asia for the rest of the year. That means those ships have a transatlantic journey twice per year, at low prices considering the length of the trip (at least a week). These are often called positioning cruises. MSC has several ships from the Caribbean to Europe at April and May. There are several lines crossing the Mediterranean, the main ports of call in North Africa are Tangier in Morocco and Tunis in Tunisia. If you're time rich, but otherwise poor, it may be possible to "hitchhike" a private boat there as well. There are virtually no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the Schengen Agreement, except under special circumstances during major events – and in later years during some crises. Likewise, a visa granted for any Schengen country is valid in all other Schengen countries. Be careful: not all European Union countries are Schengen countries, and not all Schengen countries are members of the EU. See the table above for the current list. Since 2015, the free mobility within the European Union has been disrupted somewhat by the large number of refugees entering the area. Some borders have been closed (at least partly) and traffic at some is much less smooth than normal. Identification documents are now being asked for at some border crossings. Expect delays at international borders. Airports in Europe are divided into "Schengen" and "non-Schengen" sections, which effectively act like "domestic" and "international" sections elsewhere. If you are flying from outside Europe into one Schengen country and continuing to another, you will clear passport control in the first country and then continue to your destination with no further checks. However, if travelling between an EU Schengen country and a non-EU Schengen country, customs controls are still in place. Travel between a Schengen country and a non-Schengen country will entail the normal border checks. Regardless of whether you are travelling within the Schengen Area, at some ports and airports, staff will still insist on seeing your ID card or passport (this may now also occur at land borders, particularly Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland). As an example of the practical implications on the traveller: Travel from Germany to France (both EU, both Schengen): no controls Travel from Germany to Switzerland (both Schengen, Switzerland not in EU): customs checks, but no immigration control Travel from France to Ireland (both EU, Ireland not in Schengen): immigration control, but no customs check. Travel from Switzerland to Ireland: immigration and customs checks Citizens of EEA/Schengen countries never require visas or permits for a stay of any length in any other EEA/Schengen country for any purpose. The only remaining exception is the employment of Croatian workers in some countries. Main article: Rail travel in Europe Europe, and particularly Western and Central Europe, has trains which are fast, efficient, and cost-competitive with flying. High-speed trains like the Italian Frecciarossa, the French TGV, the German ICE, the Spanish AVE and the cross-border Eurostar and Thalys services speed along at up to 320 km/h (200 mph) and, when taking into account travel time to the airport and back, are often faster than taking the plane. The flip side is that tickets bought on the spot can be expensive, although there are good discounts available if you book in advance or take advantage of various deals. Roughly speaking, European high-speed rail tickets work similar to airline tickets with the best offers for non-refundable tickets on low demand routes and times and high prices for "last minute". If you want flexibility without spending an arm and a leg, various passes can be a good deal. In particular, the Inter Rail (for Europeans) and Eurail (for everybody else) passes offer good value if you plan on traveling extensively around Europe (or even a single region) and want more flexibility than cheap plane (or some advance purchase train) tickets can offer. Sometimes individual railroads offer one-off passes for their country, but they are often seasonal and/or only announced on short notice. The most extensive and most reliable train travel planner for all of Europe is the one of the German railways (Deutsche Bahn, DB), which can be found here in English. As most long-distance trains and almost all high-speed trains are powered electrically, and through economies of scale even in diesel-trains, trains are "greener" than cars and a lot "greener" than planes. How trains fare compared to buses depends mostly on three factors: the fuel (if electric, then how the electricity is generated), the occupancy and road congestion (congested roads make buses inefficient). The most fuel-efficient train that operates in Europe, DB's ICE3, consumes the equivalent of 0.3 litres of petrol in electricity per seat per 100 km (62 mi). If you are a proponent of ecotourism the website of Deutsche Bahn offers a CO2 emission calculation tool to help you calculate the carbon footprint for your trip. Most large cities in Europe have an extensive urban rail network that is usually the fastest way around town. All flights within and from the European Union limit liquids, gels and creams in hand baggage to 100 ml/container, carried in a transparent, zip-lock plastic bag (1 l or less). The bag must be presented during security checks and only one bag per passenger is permitted. Dozens of budget airlines allow cheap travel around Europe, sometimes cheaper than the train or even bus fares for the same journey, however "legacy" airlines (or their subsidiaries) can be a better deal when you have luggage. The cheapest flights are often offered by low cost airlines such as Eurowings, EasyJet, Norwegian, Ryanair, Transavia, Vueling and WizzAir. All of these flights should be booked on the internet well in advance, otherwise the price advantage may become non-existent. Always compare prices with major carriers like British Airways, Air France-KLM or Lufthansa. Only in very few cases prices are higher than €80 on any airline when booking a month or more ahead of time (except on very long routes, e.g. Dublin–Istanbul). You should also make sure where the airport is, since some low cost airlines name very small airports by the next major city, even if the distance is up to two hours drive by bus (e.g. Ryanair and Wizzair's "Frankfurt"-Hahn, which is not Frankfurt/Main International). Budget airlines tickets include little service; account for fees (e.g. on luggage, snacks, boarding passes and so on) when comparing prices. Many airports throughout central Europe have several airlines that serve warm water destinations around the Mediterranean, particularly Palma de Mallorca and Antalya. They are aimed towards outgoing tourists on package deals but almost all of them sell (remaining) tickets "unbundled". Depending on your plans, particularly if you go "against the flow" (e.g. Heading into a cold weather destination at the beginning of the holiday season) they can offer amazing deals and their luggage fees are usually among the lowest in the business. At some airports they may also be the only airlines on offer besides a lone flight by the flag carrier to its hub. See also: Intercity buses in Europe, Intercity buses in Germany, Intercity buses in France Cheap flights and high speed rail have relegated buses to second or third fiddle in many markets, serving the needs of migrants, secondary routes, or countries with poor rail, such as the Balkans, and sparsely inhabited areas such as the Nordic countries or Russia. However, legal reforms in Germany and later France have allowed bus companies to serve cities that had seen no or hardly any intercity service. Cooperation between bus companies may be non-existent. Expect to have to check connections locally or separately for every company involved. Systems vary from one country to the next, though the bigger players (e.g. Flixbus, Eurolines, Student Agency) are increasingly active in several countries. For a long time, buses mostly served package tours, or were chartered for a specific trip. One exception to this was in a sense the European answer to Chinatown buses, companies based in Eastern Europe, the Balkans or Turkey and mostly serving as a means for the diaspora to visit the home of their forebears. While most of those companies still exist doing what they always did, they are today overshadowed by more tourist oriented companies with denser networks and a bigger focus on domestic routes. Eurolines connects over 500 destinations, covering the whole of Europe and Morocco. Eurolines buses make very few stops in smaller cities, and are generally only viable for travel between large cities. Eurolines offers several types of passes but each individual journey must be booked in advance of its departure date/time. That means that, depending on availability, you may or may not be able to simply arrive at the bus terminal and board any available bus. The pass works well for travellers who either prefer only to see major cities, or who intend to use the pass in conjunction with local transportation options. Touring (German variant of Eurolines), Sindbad (Polish), Linebus [formerly dead link] (Spanish) and National Express (from the UK) are other options. Newer players include Flixbus, student agency, Megabus and ouibus. Most of these companies originated in a certain country and still mostly serve that country, but cross border services or domestic services in a third country are becoming increasingly common. Main articles: Baltic Sea ferries, Ferries in the Mediterranean, Ferry routes to Great Britain The Baltic sea has several routes running between the major cities (Gdańsk, Stockholm, Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga, etc.) Most ships are very large and on a par with Caribbean cruise liners both in size and service. In the Atlantic, Smyril Line is the only company sailing to the rather remote North Atlantic islands of Iceland and the Faroe Islands. It sails from Denmark, which also has numerous lines to Norway and Sweden. There are also numerous services to Denmark, the Benelux and even across the Biscay to Spain. Further south there is a weekly service from Portimão to the Canary Islands via the remote volcanic Madeira island. There are many ferry routes serving the United Kingdom and Ireland, not just between Great Britain and Ireland, but also around the numerous other islands of the archipelago, most extensively in the Western and Northern Isles of Scotland. From southern England and the Republic of Ireland, several routes still cross the English Channel to France and Spain, despite the opening of the Channel Tunnel. The Channel Islands are also all connected to one another and to France and England by high-speed catamaran. In the North Sea, services operate from Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands to ports on the east coast of England. The hovercraft has been withdrawn from Cross-Channel service due to competition from the Channel Tunnel, but there is still a hovercraft service from mainland Britain to the Isle of Wight. In the Mediterranean Sea a large number of ferries and cruise ships operate between Spain, Italy and southern France, including Corsica, Sardinia and the Balearics. And on the Italian peninsula's east coast, ferries ply across the Adriatic sea to Albania, Croatia, Montenegro and Greece, with Bari as one major terminal of many. And finally the Black Sea has several ferries sailing across its waters, although service can be fairly sketchy at times. Poti, Istanbul and Sevastopol are the main ports. Nearly all the Black Sea ports have a ferry going somewhere, but rarely anywhere logical – i.e., often along the same stretch of coast. There are various ferries on
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