austria & switzerland

• Der Standard. The website for the primary Austrian newspaper that is on-line. Many articles are accessible online. Unfortunately, there is no English translation.
• Neue Zuercher Zeitung. The English window of the primary Swiss newspaper. The site tends to have 3 or 4 articles from the paper translated into English. The Swiss Week in Review is the most in-depth of the sites offerings.

• about.ch. A virtual book covering what you might learn in Swiss kindergarten—geography, currency, government structure—to the depth it might be covered in kindergarten. The site goes less heavy on text, and more heavy on color maps, charts and timelines. The layout makes all of these numbers and factoids very accessible.

• Go Switzerland. Contrary to the title, this website is a good resource to begin exploring both Austria and Switzerland on the web. The site has pre-sorted all of the links it provides under well-organized lists, but provides little concrete information outside of these lists.

Austria specific

• Austria Tourism. Flashy full-page pictures draw you into a site that relies primarily on other servers to provide information on specific regions, and towns. The most helpful, specific information falls under the events and culture sections. The former covers most major events, while the latter provides varied tidbits and factoids.
• Vienna.at. The English link for Vienna’s primary website, is hidden at the bottom of the page. While there is an odd mix of German and English in the content of the site, there are lengthy write-ups in English, of many of the major tourist spots; these write-ups include opening hours, and phone numbers. The city-guide has useful transportation information. The site has little information tailored to budget travelers.
• Salzburg Info. A basic English language website from the Salzburg tourist office. Covers the essentials, including upscale hotels, restaurants; the most useful section is probably the well-organized "events" section, which provides links to the city’s major festivals. If you want to get a hint of the treats Salzburg holds check out the 360 degree panoramic cameras stationed around the city.

Switzerland specific

• MySwitzerland.com The Swiss government’s official tourist website (also serving Liechtenstein) offers specialized information in six languages. You can also create a personal profile on the site, which allows you to store vacation ideas, and any reservations you make on the website. The slightly broken English is in contrast with the beautiful design of the pages (the pictures in the "gallery" are particularly worth looking at), but the well-organized site will quickly steer you to a description of most travel destinations in Switzerland. The descriptions are unsurprisingly one-sided. Most information the site contains about specific accommodations and restaurants is not oriented towards the budget traveler. One particularly useful section for the active traveler is the one on bike routes. Nine routes are suggested that will take you across the country.
• Geneve Tourisme. The website offers basic insights into the capitol of French speaking Switzerland. Includes descriptions of the cities main highlights as well as a sundry assortment of briefly described daytrips outside of the city.
• Ostschweiz. This website pushes the frequently overlooked, eastern Swiss vacation spots — an added plus is that it’s in English despite the smaller number of Anglpohone travellers coming to the region. While it claims to cover eastern Switzerland, the site actually only covers northeastern Switzerland.

• JGH. The home website for Austrian hostels run by IYHF. The site is completely in German. If you would like a map of where all the hostels are located, click on Gästehäuser on the main page. From the map you can find phone numbers and addresses.
• Jugend herberge. The wonderfully welcoming homepage of the Swiss Youth Hostel association, begins with a fun trivia question, and continues on with dancing cartoon characters, all in English, French or German. While there is no list of hostels, you can, for no charge, order one of the organizations pamphlets; one pamphlet has all hostels, one has just city hostels, and once has hostels that are geared to families.
• Backpacker.ch. This is the website of the organization that has been established to unify independent hostels in Switzerland. These hostels tend to be more oriented towards student travelers, who are interested in socializing. The most useful function is the map that displays all 25 hostels in the organization. The organization also publishes a short newsletter that is light on actual information, and heavy on advertising pitches for the organization’s hostels and activities.

• Two Austria-specific search engines are currently under construction (and may be operational by the time you read this): www.suchmaschine.at and www.search.at.
• www.search.ch. A bare bones search engine that will serve as a very broad portal to a world of Swiss information. The home page has two functions that allow you access presorted information by region, and topic. Unfortunately the English links are rather few and far between, though, the site, predictably, gives loads of links for tourist information.
• www.sear.ch. A more flashy Swiss search engine. The site gives access to 4.5 million Swiss websites, and also provides the option of searching non-Swiss websites. This site is particularly useful because it allows you to search by language of the website; you can also choose to conduct case-specific searches.

Belgium, the Netherlands, & Luxemburg

• Principia Cybernetica. This site provides excellent links to other sites about Belgium, including the government site, regional information, food, and culture. There are also maps and comprehensive information about the EU. Their What’s New section features full length articles on festivals, museums, and events.
• euroBRU. The best site for Brussel. It has information on the city, attractions and history. It also includes information about the neighboring countries.
• Europeonline. This a good general website and search engine for Luxembourg which provides a lot of information about relations and transportation with other European countries.

• Visit Belgium. This is the Belgian government tourist office site. It includes an introduction to Belgium and information on art cities, accommodations and travel tips.
• Visit Holland. This is the main tourist website for the Netherlands and includes information on the arts, culture, and history of the country. It also has information for travelers, including off-the-beaten-path destinations, and a great accommodations search engine — under Search, select accommodations. You can enter all the information and specifics of your request, from the price to the view.
• Amsterdam.nl. For tourist information as well as comprehensive city history layouts and resources, this site is excellent. It also has a city-wide search engine.
• Visit Luxembourg. This is the official tourist office website for Luxemburg. It includes information about the events, history, regions, activities, sports, and tourist facts of Luxemburg.
• Luxembourg-ville. This is the official website for Luxemburg city. It includes practical information, including directions, as well as attractions and sites.

• Free Sun and Hotels Belgium. Both these sites allow viewers to search for hostels and hotels in Belgium. The second site is actually part of a larger site that has coverage of all the European countries.
• Visit Holland. See tourist information, above.
• Hotels.lu. Though cheest, this is the best search engine for hotels and hostels in Luxembourg. It also provides other tourist information.

Eastern Europe

• In Your Pocket. Fantastic virtual guides to select Baltic and Eastern European cities.

• Trafika.cz. has online versions of all the major Czech newspapers and magazines.
• Prague Post. The site of Prague's weekly English-language newspaper also includes useful the Prague Post Tourist Information Page.

• Czech.cz This is a very pretty, professional site created by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is quite comprehensive, listing everything from history, people, literature, to current events and sports. It also has "tourist information" and "practical information for foreign visitors" links, which contain lots of colorful pictures. It also contains a Czech Republic-specific search engine.
• Eunet.cz is the site of the Prague Information Service, available in 5 languages
• A-Z Prague the Total Guide to Prague, in English
• Cesky Krumlov The official information system of the Cesky Krumlov region, in Czech, English and German. This site includes "panoramic videosequences" – pretty damn neat.
• Brno-city. Like the other sites, this one is very comprehensive, with pictures and all that. In Czech, English and German. Also contains a search engine.

• CD Rail greets visitors to Czech Railways' official homepage (in Czech, English and German) with a very funny photograph of an ancient-looking train.
• Jjizdnirady gives you timetables for the Czech national bus system.

France

• Paris Tourist Office. This is the mammoth maman of Paris sites. See all of your friends, like that iron dame. Be swaddled in blue, white and red sheets of inclusion. Find out cheerful and useless captions on baguettes.
• "The Paris Pages." A collection of links and other joys not unlike the tourist office site. Also comes in English.
• www.champselysees.org. Interactive photo journey. I touch the photo and he touches me. Pleasure.
• Paris-anglo.com. A full-featured city guide to Paris covering travel, studying, housing, and business. As yet, it promises a lot more than it provides, though the transport listings are great.

• QConline. You can see what an apartment looks like here. Then you can go to Paris and look at it again. But then again, more people probably just come here than there.
• www.apalachee.com. Listings without the virtual reality. Just the text. Which some might argue is a virtual world on its own.

• Beaucoup.com. Shiny, groovy searching in English. It even has those handy Yahoo-style category corrals, so you don’t even have to think. Pleasant and more pleasant.
• Carrefour.net. A Franco-centric search engine that only lists sites written in French — to date it's got about 6500.

Germany

• Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
• Die Welt, in English.
• Bundesregierung.

• www.germany-tourism.com. The German national tourist office site.
• Berlin Info for Berlin.
• Maxcess for Munich.
• Dresden for Dresden

• All-hotels.com
• Drive Europe
• Urlaubstip

• www.acoon.de
• www.aladin.de

Greece & Cyprus

• ANA. The Athens News Agency presents up-to-the-minute news about Athens and Greece, covering current events (local and international), fluctuations in business and stock market, and — of course — the weather.
• Hellenic Radio provides the latest news about Greece, in both Greek and English.

• Government.gr The Greek government English-language web page provides some information about the offices, officers, and governing system of the Greek state, including links to the departments of higher-ups. Much more information is available in Greek at this site.
• CIA Greece Factbook The CIA's encyclopedic compendium of facts about Greece, including its area, population breakdown, and yearly military expenditures, with information about the economic and governmental setup of the country. The view is Amerocentric, but the abundant details make the page worth visiting.
• Athens.olympic.org. The official web page of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

• Odysseus, an English-language web site which highlights the cultural slant of Greek life, welcomes visitors and travelers—after all, Odysseus himself traveled around Greece for twenty years. The page includes links to film, sculpture, museums, bookstores, and sports, and indexes cultural events throughout Greece.
• Athensguide. Matt Barrett, a longtime Greek traveler and obsessive Hellenophile, give personal pointers for visits to Athens and its environs. He lists an enormous amount of practical and helpful information, including pronounciation of Greek food names, where to find internet cafes, and how to find the best clubs in Athens.
• Interkriti. The most populous city on Crete, Iraklion (or Heraklion), lies at the midpoint of the island. This site links to maps, historical information, and information about accommodations and travel.
• Kypros.org offers links to almost every Cyprus government agency, from post offices to airlines. It has a link to the Cyprus tour-guide, which has comprehensive listings on practical information.
• GayGREECE provides information about many Greek towns and cities which is tailored to a gay and lesbian audience, with virtual tours of many locales.

• Greek Travel is the first page of a multitude of Greek-centered web pages. Extensive listings of hotels, advice for getting cheap rates, and more general advice about visits to Greece pepper the site.
• Greekhotel.com. This site links to a network of Greek hotels throughout the mainland and islands. Though the site is by no means comprehensive, it's nevertheless helpful.

• GoGreece An excellent starting point for searches about Hellas, the Internet Guide to Greece encompasses a search engine, links to news reports, travel information, and a live radio feed. In addition, it provides information about Greek history and current events, including maps, references, discussions, and listings for Greek businesses, schools, news sources, and sports.
• Phantis is a useful Greek search engine which accommodates region-specific queries and indexes web pages according to category. The page also links to Greek city sites and to major stories about Greece in the international news.

Ireland

• The Irish Times
• The Irish Independent
• The Belfast Telegraph

• Bord Fáilte is the central tourist board for the Republic of Ireland that lists accommodations, sites, and city and town information for virtually every region of the country.
• The Northern Ireland Tourist Board has an equivalent website, with special virtual vistas and information on local castles, food and pubs.
• Visit Dublin. Check out what’s happening at the hottest new city-destination in Europe and the mouth from which the Celtic Tiger roars.

• Both An Oige (Irish Youth Hostel Association) and Hostelling International Northern Ireland (HINI) provide priceless information on the extensive network of International Youth Hostels that criss-crosses much of the Emerald Isle, plus information on how to join.
• Intervac International Home Exchange can match your house with one that is Irish, for a modest administration fee; a great deal if you own a home or possess a slick pad in New York City (or Madison, Wisconsin) that may appeal to Irish travelers.

• Bord Fáilte provides a search engine for tourist related information within the Republic of Ireland.
• Yahoo UK offers data on everything from weather and shopping to sports and the regional financial markets. Just select the "Ireland only" option at the start of your search or the "UK" option for information on Northern Ireland.

Italy

• RAI - The state broadcasting organization — the BBC with a Latin flair.
• Rome Post, designed in the fashion of major U.S. newspaper sites, is an excellent source for English-language news from the capital city and the Vatican.
• Italian News. This bare-bones site provides links to dozens of Italian language news sites. In Italian only.

• Comuna di Roma. An intimidating Roman site with up to the minute events information and metric tons more.
• I Love Rome. But don’t we all? The coolest thing about this site is that it lets you search all the movie theaters in the city for the time and place of any show you want to see. Also contains maps and information on sites and accommodations, public transportation, etc.
• Roma 2000. Specifically set up for the Jubilee year 2000, this slick site has info on millennial events throughout 2000 as well as general tourist information.

• Italian Government Tourist Board (ENIT). This catch-all for the Italian tourist is an unapologetic promotion for the Italian tourist industry. While it provides tourist office locations and nuts-and-bolts information on hotels, museums, attractions and events by region, don’t expect any critical reviews. Most information is accessible from the main English page by clicking the "Data banks" icon. If you get to a page in Italian, do not fear; the actual listings for each establishment are in English.
• Italian Tourist Web Guide. A great general Italian travel site, itwg.com is more easily navigable than the government site and contains more listings for the traveler looking to go off the beaten path. Includes online hotel booking and a comprehensive links page. Lotsa stuff!
• Tour Italy. How to travel on the cheap. Includes booking, cultural information, many regions, etc.
• www.tuscanytravel.com has everything on staying and eating in Tuscany.
• In Italy. Listings of cooking programs throughout the country.
• Enjoy Rome. Allow the friendly folks at Enjoy Rome, a local tourist agency, to assist you with their hotel-finding, walking tour and other varied services.

• Alitalia. Italy's national air carrier's homepage offers schedules and booking.
• Aeroporti di Roma. This site has information including maps and flight info for Rome’s two major airports, Leonardo da Vinci (Fiumicino) and Ciampino.
• Ferrovia dello Stato. The official site for Italian Railways. Schedules, ticket information, special offers, station maps, etc.
• Autostrade.it. Highway tolls, routing and general information about the Italian state highway system.
• ATAC is Rome’s public transportation system; the site offers maps, fares, schedules and other information on how to get around the city.

• Hostels-aig. The Italian Youth Hostel Association.
• Hostels of Europe. This site contains a comprehensive listing — but no reviews — of hostels in Rome. It also lists discounts at hostels, restaurants and attractions available to Hostels of Europe cardmembers (the card can be ordered online for $15 US).
• Ware.it has info on Agriturismo, which involves staying on farms in rural areas of Italy
• In Italy — a GREAT overall info site for Italy with tons of accommodations of all types and levels of quality. Also has information on EVERY region in the country, transportation information, travel information, and cultural information.
• Associazione "Il Torrente". Mainly a site for B&Bs and short-let apartments, it allows you to search by price and feature. However, it is not a good site for the "window shopping" travel planner.
• Bed & Breakfast Association of Rome. A very useful site for those seeking broad listings of B&Bs and apartments available for rent in the Eternal City. The site even provides information on how to speak with a living, breathing human being, though the site also has an online reservations form.

• www.yahoo.it and www.lycos.it need no introduction.
• Shinyseek With its snazzy ad-plastered webpage, ShinySeek is clearly a well-capitalized search engine for the Italian mass market. Besides a general search engine, the site offers features such as a sito della settimana and a "Top 50" list. In Italian only.
• Italian WebSPACE. This aquamarine web-designer’s nightmare is not as eyecatching as ShinySeek, but its general search is comparable and its categorical organization of websites (Art, Government, Science and Technology, etc.) is better. In Italian only.

Spain and Portugal

• El Pais. The on-line version of the liberal El Pais, one of Spain’s most widely-read newspapers.
• ABC. Spain’s oldest national daily paper on-line. Very conservative and pro-monarchist.
• CNN en espanol. CNN’s Spanish website, with a wealth of links to other Spain-related websites.

• Spaintour. The official Tourist Office of Spain homepage has won several Internet awards and appears to be very comprehensive: a ton of nicely organized practical, regional, historical, and cultural information etc., available in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean.
• bcn.es. This is the official Barcelona website, put up by the Barcelona City Council in English, Spanish or Catalan, reader’s choice.
• Madridman.comAn extremely comprehensive and popular site devoted entirely to Madrid: useful information for visitors as well as history, culture and current events sections.
• Portugal.org. This official "Welcome to Portugal" website has information for the traveler as well as a list of useful web links.

• Renfe. The website of Spain’s national railway system.
• Auto-res. The official website of one of Spain’s biggest national bus companies, serving mostly central and northern Spain.
• Eurolines.es. Eurolines is a Europe-wide coach operator. Includes service to Portugal and Morocco from Spain.

• Mais Turismo. A condensed on-line version of the Portugal Hotel Guide, available in English, French, German and Portuguese.

• Yupi. The self-proclaimed #1 Spanish search engine, covering most Spanish-speaking countries.
• Biwe The name stands for "Buscador en Internet de Webs en Espanol". The Spanish equivalent of Yahoo.
• Sapo. The most comprehensive and widely-used Portuguese search engine.

United Kingdom

• BBC news. The British Broadcasting Corporation runs Europe's largest content website with up-to-the-minute national and world news available in numerous languages, including Welsh and Gaelic.
• Guardian Unlimited . Not just another newspaper website, the Guardian (a liberal British broadsheet) offers pages of features, comments, and analysis as well as front-page headlines.

• Timeout.com. The London site. Run by Time Out London’s famous scene mag, timeout.com gives you the lowdown on how to have a good time in the world’s most swinging city. If the sheer magnitiude of London nightlife daunts you, look here for guidance.
• Londontown.com. Bills itself as "The Official Internet Sight for London." Information for weekend visitor as well as the traveler planning a long-term stay. Information on sights, nightlife, and daytrips. The "Special Feature" microscopes different London neighborhoods and offers useful suggestions for spending time in London’s lesser known areas.
• Camdentown.net This exhaustive site brings order to Camden's chaos. Featuring restaurant reviews, complete pub and club listings (including the scoop on which pubs stay open later), and an overview of Camden's myriad markets, Camdentown.net offers useful info for Camden novices and street market vets alike.
• London Transport. Everything you need to know about getting around London. Schedules, routes, and fairs for buses, subways, and Thames river services are all here. Official maps are especially useful. Links to other UK transportation sights.
• Docklands Light Railway. See London’s Docklands from DLR’s elevated rails. The DLR runs in zones 1-4. Tube tickets valid in the appropriate zones.

• Visit Britain. The official site of the British Tourist Authority offers a comprehensive look at destinations, accommodations, and much that a traveler to Britain might need. Interactive maps prove especially useful. Use this sight to begin planning your trip.
• Budgettravel.com. Contains an abundance of links to sites dealing with budget travel and budget accommodations in London and around the UK. Links to regional tourist boards as well as a bulletin board for traveler comments make this a useful website for those seeking quality at reasonable price. Also includes valuable information on UK transportation.

• UK hotels register. Lists inexpensive hotels close to west London’s nightlife and theater. Make reservations online. Graphics let you see what you’re paying for.
• beduk.co.uk. Information on B&B’s in London and across the UK. Beware—not all accommodations are budget. Book rooms online. Helpful for couples and families who want to view accommodations before booking.

• MSN.co.uk. Lots of valuable links to UK info. Unlike a lot of co.uk search engines, lists British sights primarily. Look here for news and financial information.
• UK.yahoo.com. Links to news, sports, weather, and more. Fancier than Google, but not as efficient. Doesn’t always list sites intuitively, but confines listings to UK.