Reasons to Travel to Europe

Culture

• Taking only a few hours by train, you can travel from the Venetian canals of Italy to the German-speaking side of the Swiss Alps to the vineyards of France. The continent packs several cultures, languages, food types and peoples into an area barely the size of the United States. If you don't happen to like what a particular nation has to offer, all you have to do is travel for a few hours, and you'll experience new adventures in a new land.
  
  

History

• Europe's history stretches back many millennia. Whether you're interested in Roman temples, medieval castles and cathedrals, Renaissance art or Victorian factories, you'll find attractions from many eras waiting for exploration. Your own genealogy may derive from Europe, which means you can travel down personal family trees to hunt down your ancestors.
  
  

Art

• Much of what you learned about Western art comes from Europe. Italy has Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" and Michelangelo's "David." France displays the luxuries of Versailles. And London invites applause with its Shakespearean plays and modern-day musicals. The venues of Europe offer a variety and excellence of painting, sculpture and performing art that is unparalleled in the world. Since much of this art is subsidized by government, tickets to admire these beauties are often much cheaper than they would be in the United States.
  
  

Food

• You may be familiar with Italian food from your neighborhood bistro or French cuisine from high-priced city eateries. These American offerings pale in comparison to the real thing, which can be found only in Europe. Not only will your palate delight to the delicacies that different nations offer, but you'll discover that different cities and regions within the same country will have unique versions of the same recipe. For example, try having spaghetti with marinara sauce in Venice, Rome and Palermo, and revel in the differences among spices and flavors.
  
  

Transportation

• While some American cities do have well-developed transportation systems, a trek across the United States frequently involves the hassles of air travel as well as driving rental cars in unfamiliar territory. Europe erases these travel concerns through frequent, reliable and low-cost train travel to any point in the continent. Couple this with the superb subways, trans and buses of many cities, and transportation becomes the least worrisome part of your continental trip.