Europe - The Best Time to Visit

Europe’s New Digital Border System: What International Travelers Need to Know Before October 12

October 9, 2025 by Ben

EU Flag and shadows of People concept picture

The European Union is rolling out a major change to how it manages border crossings, and if you’re planning a European vacation, you’ll want to know about it. While EU citizens and long-term visa holders won’t be affected, anyone visiting Europe for stays under three months will encounter a new system. Called the EES (Entry/Exit System), it’s finally launching on October 12 after several delays. Here’s what you need to know. The End of Passport Stamps Until now, border control officers across Europe have manually stamped passports of non-EU travelers. That’s about to become a thing of the past. The … Read more

Corsica’s Bold Move: Subsidizing 250,000 Tourist Seats to Combat Overtourism

October 7, 2025 by Ben

Landscape with Calanques de Piana, Corsica island, France

It’s not every day that a destination pays to bring in more tourists—especially when fighting overtourism. Yet that’s exactly what Corsica is doing. The Corsican authorities have announced plans to subsidize 250,000 airline seats annually to the Mediterranean island, but there’s a catch: they’re only doing it during the off-season. The goal? Spread visitor numbers throughout the year rather than cramming everyone into the peak summer months, while filling the genuinely quiet periods when hotels and restaurants struggle. 12 Flight Routes Targeted This innovative scheme, which could set a precedent across Europe, will launch in the coming months. Corsican authorities … Read more

Could a “Golden Passport” Be Your Ticket to Living Abroad?

October 5, 2025 by Ben

A elegant family on a city break vacation enjoys the panoramic view over the skyline of Dubai, UAE

…assuming, of course, you have the financial means. Long established and widely practiced, the “golden passport” system allows people to relocate abroad relatively easily, bypassing many of the usual hurdles that others face when making such a move. Here’s what you need to know… What exactly is a “Golden Passport”? A “golden passport” refers to a special program that allows you to reside in—and even relatively easily obtain citizenship of—a country through investment alone. Often you can retain your original nationality too, if you wish. There’s also a similar option called a “Golden Visa,” which grants long-term residence permits, with … Read more

Why Graz, Austria’s Hidden Second City, Should Be Your Next Fall Getaway

October 2, 2025 by Ben

Classic view of the historic city of Graz with main square and famous Grazer clock tower in the background sitting on top of Schlossberg hill, Styria, Austria

Vienna, the Tyrolean Alps, and perhaps Salzburg with its Mozart connections—these are the places typically associated with Austria. Yet the country offers much more, and when it comes to cities, Graz is far too often overlooked. As Austria’s second-largest city after Vienna, Graz truly shines in autumn. Where is Graz? Home to 300,000 residents, Graz sits in southeastern Austria in the state of Styria, just a few miles from the Slovenian border and about two hours by road from Vienna. Here you’ll find Austria’s plains (or nearly so), foreshadowing what nearby Hungary calls the puszta—vast flat expanses of wild grassland … Read more

Night Trains in Europe: Why These Romantic Routes May Not Survive 2025

September 29, 2025 by Ben

Since their recent revival, night trains have been making a comeback across France and Europe. However, while the initiative seems admirable, it’s not necessarily proving successful. At least not on certain routes like Paris-Berlin and Paris-Vienna where these two services, launched just recently, may not make it through the year. A Return to Grace Let’s look back at the history. After experiencing strong development and reaching their peak between the 1930s and 1970s, night train services gradually declined in France and Europe, facing competition from high-speed trains, cars, and especially budget airlines for longer journeys. But in recent years, both … Read more

AI Hunts Down Thousands of Illegal Airbnbs on Spain’s Party Island

September 26, 2025 by Ben

We all knew this day would come eventually, but perhaps not quite so soon. Artificial Intelligence is now being deployed in the fight against overtourism, specifically targeting vacation rentals like Airbnb that aren’t playing by the rules. This is exactly what just happened in the Balearic Islands, particularly on Ibiza. Spain Leads the Charge… Because It Has To Spain remains one of the hardest-hit victims of overtourism, a phenomenon increasingly affecting destinations worldwide. The symptoms are familiar: vacation rentals multiplying like rabbits, squeezing out long-term housing options, and disrupting residents’ quality of life. That’s why the island of Ibiza decided … Read more

Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Nears Completion After Nearly 100 Years of Construction

September 22, 2025 by Ben

Barcelona, Spain - February 10th, 2016: Tourists at backside of famous church and cathedral Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. Seen from subway station Sagrada Familia. Church also called Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família - famous basilica built by Antoni Gaudi in year 1882 and til today not finished. Church is located in district Eixample in North of town. Some parts of church are UNESCO World Heritage.

While the towers of Notre-Dame de Paris have just reopened to the public after five years of restoration, another tower is set to make headlines in the coming months. Specifically, the eighteenth tower of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, which should be completed next year, marking the end (or near-end) of construction work on one of Europe’s most time-consuming monuments. June 1926-June 2026 It will have taken a full century for the construction site of one of Spain’s most famous landmarks to reach its final phase. But the task has been immense, given how imposing and intricate the basilica remains … Read more

Why Switzerland’s Flag is Almost Unique in the World (And What It Really Means)

September 21, 2025 by Ben

Flags are everywhere – countries, regions, cities, international organizations, various institutions, political movements, social causes, and countless other entities that have adopted them as commercial emblems or symbolic statements. There’s something for every taste and every field, often with quirks and specificities we tend to overlook. And if you look closer, many flags tell us a story – or rather, History itself. At least when it comes to countries… Today, we’re talking about the Swiss flag, which has an almost unique characteristic you might not have noticed… Switzerland and the Vatican It’s true that outside of Switzerland, not everyone has … Read more

Major Cyberattack Brings Three of Europe’s Busiest Airports to Their Knees

September 20, 2025 by Ben

London, England - September 1, 2015: Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport serving the UK city of London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United

Brussels, Berlin, and London Heathrow experienced severe operational disruptions this Saturday, September 20th, after a cyberattack targeted check-in and boarding systems provided by American company Collins Aerospace. The incident, which began Friday evening, forced several major airport platforms to switch to manual procedures, causing cascading flight delays and cancellations. The cyber attack specifically targeted Collins Aerospace’s MUSE software, a subsidiary of defense conglomerate RTX (formerly Raytheon Technologies). This system manages electronic passenger check-in and baggage drop-off at numerous airports across Europe. Faced with the inability to use automated terminals, ground crews had to revert to paper check-in procedures, multiplying wait … Read more

Berlin’s Museum Island Celebrates Its 200th Anniversary – Here’s Why You Should Visit Before It’s Too Late

September 19, 2025 by Ben

Museum Island and the bridge over the river Spree, beautiful panorama of Berlin, Germany.

A cluster of five world-renowned museums on the Spree River in the heart of Berlin. The Altes Museum opened to the public in 1830, the first building of a complex that now spans 105,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet). The site gained UNESCO World Heritage status in 1999. With the cornerstone laid in 1825, celebrations for the bicentennial began that year in the German capital. A Spit of Land Transformed into a Cultural Sanctuary The Spreeinsel (Museum Island) houses five major institutions built between 1830 and 1930. Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Altes Museum inaugurated this transformation of marshy terrain into … Read more