Europe Local Customs

  Svyturys from Klaipeda
by HORSCHECK
 
  • Svyturys from Klaipeda
      Svyturys from Klaipeda
    by HORSCHECK
  • Cafes at Pl. de la Sorbonne
      Cafes at Pl. de la Sorbonne
    by Beausoleil
  • one of many faience shops in Moustiers
      one of many faience shops in Moustiers
    by angiebabe
  • personally signed by its crafter
      personally signed by its crafter
    by angiebabe
  • Sea of flames under the cross on All Saints' Day
      Sea of flames under the cross on All...
    by J4r0
 

Most Viewed Local Customs in Europe

26.

Parlez vous francais?   Paris

Parlez vous francais?, Paris

 115 Reviews  Before our trip to Paris, my French vocabulary consisted of "croissant" and "crepe" - pronounced improperly, I may add. Armed with just these two terms, I figured we wouldn't starve but wouldn't be... 

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27.

Coffee Shops / Drugs   Amsterdam

Coffee Shops / Drugs, Amsterdam

 54 Reviews  The weed and hash menu is displayed openly for people to see. Look and decide what you want to purchase, or not. It is a CHOICE. Even though they are not really known for their weed, I have heard... 

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28.

Do As Romans Do   Rome

Do As Romans Do, Rome

 160 Reviews  News: TUSCAN VILLAGER WINS 148 MILLION EURO ON SAT, AUG 22! This week, Aug 20, was the 86th draw without a winner and pushed the pot to 146.9 million euros for Italy's SuperEnalotto jackpot. It... 

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29.

Food / Drink   Barcelona

Food / Drink, Barcelona

 92 Reviews  The locals flock to get all they can of the ham and pasteries that abound around the city. We saw the real store that only sold the jamon, and yes; it is expensive no matter how you cut it, or how... 

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30.

Carnival   Venice

Carnival, Venice

 44 Reviews  Carneval di Venezia ( Carnival of Venice ) is a must visit at least once in your lifetime, and to get into the spirit of things, a mask is a must. Venice has seen some form of mask going back to the... 

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31.

Etiquette   Vienna

Etiquette, Vienna

 29 Reviews   What I committed in Vienna, that lot of Viennese are fair. It is strange for me to see newspapers put into box (and not locked) and it is written: "put 1 euro there and bring newspaper". It means... 

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32.

Food and Drink   Berlin

Food and Drink, Berlin

 23 Reviews  The Internationales Berliner Bierfestival is a blast of a festival held near the Alexanderplatz. I counted 3 separate major stages where bands were playing, and the booths of beer vendors went on for... 

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33.

Drinking   Dublin

Drinking, Dublin

 37 Reviews  There is a famous saying that god created alcohol so that the Irish won’t take over the world. Indeed, some of the most popular sights in Ireland are alcohol-related such as Whiskey tasting or a visit... 

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34.

Beer!   Prague

Beer!, Prague

 39 Reviews   Statistically Czechs are one of the top beer drinkers in Europe. There are huge species of beer possible to buy in shops. Actually beer here is not only used for drinking, but also to make soaps,... 

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35.

Culture   Madrid

Culture, Madrid

 56 Reviews  In Spain, there's no need for a special reason to go out and celebrate, it's seems like the city is always prepare to go out and have good time. In Madrid, the official fiestas , by calender , are... 

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36.

Eating   Brussels

Eating, Brussels

 43 Reviews  Belgium chocolate is famous, and remarkably linked to Tourism. I think that it is impossible to approach Manneken Pis without being compelled to enter one of the many shops that rival to make the most... 

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37.

Lifestyle & Habits   Copenhagen

Lifestyle & Habits, Copenhagen

 25 Reviews  On the Hop on Hop off bus tour we learned about the garden allotments. In Danish culture the allotment garden has become a symbol of blue-collar culture - with all the positives and negatives... 

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38.

Food and drink   Lisbon

Food and drink, Lisbon

 49 Reviews  If you're one that loves sweets and a dessert especially after a meal, this one is for you. However, that is if you love the tropical fruit mango since this particular dessert, and very much a... 

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39.

Language   Stockholm

Language, Stockholm

 20 Reviews  One of the things Swedes really don't like is someone coming to Sweden speaking any other language than Swedish or English. The way we see it is that we have made an effort to learn the international... 

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40.

Dining and Drinking   Milan

Dining and Drinking, Milan

 25 Reviews  The custom of aperitivi is helpful when you're on a budget. Many of the bars in Milan, for the price of a drink, will give you food to go along with it. You can easily make it into a light... 

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41.

Behavior & Superstitions   Moscow

Behavior & Superstitions, Moscow

 49 Reviews  Tourist-turned-journalist: "Any advice where I should go to find hard-core authenticity? Drunk tractor drivers having a race, head-scarved babushkas with goats, men jumping into snow after the banya,... 

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42.

Dining and Drinking   Krakow

Dining and Drinking, Krakow

 4 Reviews  You will notice people walking around eating a long sandwich covered with pasta sauce and cheese. In actuality, it is a baguette, split in half. cooked in the over until the cheese is melted. Here... 

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43.

Sauna (The Finnish Sauna Society)   Helsinki

Sauna (The Finnish Sauna Society), Helsinki

 6 Reviews  We deliberately chose a hotel with a swimming pool in Helsinki and were shocked to find the pool only opened around 2 hours per day. This is because the pool is part of the sauna experience. Finnish... 

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44.

Eating / Drinking   Edinburgh

Eating / Drinking, Edinburgh

 32 Reviews  When I told one of my friends I was going to Edinburgh, he said "You must try haggis!" I asked him what it was, but he told me (ironically) that I'd better just ordered it in a restaurant in... 

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45.

Legends and urban stories   Antwerp

Legends and urban stories, Antwerp

 19 Reviews  There is some Antwerp legend (I'm afraid I don't remember the details but it's not important) about a giant and a man who fight, the man wins and cuts of the giant's hand (natives - feel free to... 

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46.

Beers / Chocolates / Flemish Frites (Fries).   Brugge

Beers / Chocolates / Flemish Frites (Fries)., Brugge

 20 Reviews  While you are in Brugge you MUST try fries with mayonnaise (of course unless you are not a big fan of mayonnaise). I never thought it would be that good until I tried it. When we ordered them, they... 

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47.

Culture   Warsaw

Culture, Warsaw

 39 Reviews   Warsaw has not one but two legends of mermaids. - One is the story of a fisherman named WARS , who while fishing in the river found a mermaid named SAWA, they fall in love and she asked him to found... 

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48.

Alcohol   Tallinn

Alcohol, Tallinn

 7 Reviews  Estonian beer proved to be really good, even from the point of taste of a spoilt German tongue. I learned that the Purity Law we Germans are so proud of (beer may contain hop, malt, water and yeast,... 

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49.

Topless Sunbathing   Nice

Topless Sunbathing, Nice

 5 Reviews  Topless sunbathing is permitted on the beaches of the Cote d'Azur. You'll see a mix of women with their tops on or off as you enjoy the beaches. The lesson to be learned is not to stare like a... 

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50.

April Fair   Sevilla

April Fair, Sevilla

 9 Reviews  Next to the Feria you find a huge lunapark, called "Calle del Infierno" - Hell's street. When you walk around there you understand why it got this name. You can find merry go rounds but also some... 

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

GERMANY: Trabbi & more in "Ostmobil / Dresden"

by globetrott

"Ostmobil" is an excellent collection of old Trabbis and other vintage-cars made in the former GDR / DDR. This collection is shown in the 1st floor (USA:2nd floor) of a shoppinghall in Dresden., called Neustädter Markthalle, that looks nice already by itself with a great architecture.BUT my best memory was the great collection of Trabbants - a part of them is shown on my picture-combination :Lets start on top : "Villa Sachsenruh" on the left is a Trabbi with a tent on the top and it shows the Trabbant from the movie "Go Trabbi go!" - a movie , made shortly after Germany was re-united and it shows such a Trabbi going to Rome.On the right : Trabbi and Camper LC9, beeing just 220 kg in order to be able to be torn by a Trabby.On the righ below : The tarbbi of NVA, the army of the DDR And finally on the left :Trabbi P60 Pick Up. It was planned that way in 1960 by Dr.W.Lang, the constructor of...

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GERMANY: Next Passionplay in Oberammergau is 2020

by globetrott

Passionsspiele Oberammergaua tradition since 1633The small town of Oberammergau in the South of Bavaria is mainly famous for its passionplay with a tradition of more than 380 years. It all started in 1633, shortly after the 30-year-war, when millions of people had died because of the plague and some inhabitants of Oberammergau voved that they would perform such a passionplay every 10 years, when the plague would be over.2010 was a full sucess and The next passionplay will start in May 2020Tickets might be between 49 and 163 euros p.p.Most tickets will be sold with a hotel-arrangementsthese prices start with 280 euros p.p. andthose are sold already a long time in advance !see prices and some more details when clicking on my link below !

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AUSTRIA: Hallstatt & the painted headsculls

by globetrott

The small village of Hallstatt is built on a very small piece of land between the mountains and the lake. Also the church and the small graveyard are built into the mountain, and as space was limitedon that graveyard since centuries, graves could be used only for a few years, before the bones were put into the so called 'Beinhaus', after beeing beautifully decorated and inscribed with the names of the dead bodies.I guess, a visit on a graveyard like this, where you may actually still see your relatives and ancestors has to be something special.The "Beinhaus" (carnel) is normally locked and you can just have a look through the fence-door - but at certain times (mainly in summer )you may enter there, after paying a small fee of 1 euro. If you want to, you can even touch the headbones there !.

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SWITZERLAND: enjoy the ALPHORN

by globetrott

The Alphorn is a traditional swiss musical instrument and when you are lucky you will be able to hear a performance on Mount Pilatus or at other tourist-places, that is really a lot of fun. This instrument was used in the beginning in order to transfer messages from one alp to another and it needs a lot of breath to make a melody, that is mostly quite deep and consisting only of a few tones.That day in summer 2009 there were 2 different groups of alphorn-players at Pilatus and finally they played togeather.click here for a sample of Alphorn-music at youtube

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SWITZERLAND: free rides on your birthday

by globetrott

Travel to Switzerland on your birthday, becausemany attractions will betotally free for you !____________________And the Brienzer Rothornbahn is just one of the attractions that is free of change on your birthday ! The only problem is that these offers are mostly mentioned only in the samll prints of the GERMAN webpages, BUT of course they are ment for tourists as well !Just bring your identity-card and you will get a totally free ride up and down.The funicular to the Niesen (close to Spiez) offers the same and for connecting these 2 places you can take one of the many ships of Brienzersee and Thunersee and these ships will be free as well on your birthday. It will be hard and totally impossible to catch ALL of these free birthday-offers on a single day, but why dont you leave the rest for the next year : The train to Schynige Platte (Wilderswil, close to Interlaken) has that...

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GERMANY: Munich & Oktoberfest

by globetrott

Oktoberfest will always start in SEPTEMBER !It will always end the 1st sunday in October, and will start 2 weeks before on saturday at 12.00 noon.As October 3rd is the German national holiday, this rule is a bit different, and the fest might be extended, when Oct. 3rd is a monday or tuesday .sounds complicated, but it is not !!The schedule for the next years is :2011: Sept.17th - Oct.3rd2012: Sept. 22nd - Oct. 10th2013: Sept. 21st - Oct. 06th2014: Sept.20th - Oct.05thBe prepared :1)Book your hotel by all means, at least when you plan to come to Munich on Friday-Sunday +oct. 2+3.2)Leave your car at home, take the subway - police is everywhere watching you, and the subway and S-bahn connections are great !

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AUSTRIA: a collection of funny tomb-inscriptions

by globetrott

I am afraid, this is only something for people who will understand german quite well, but its an unique idea and so I list it here:The Museumsfriedhof in Kramsach/ Tirol is a museum of funny tombstone-inscriptionsThis is a small openair-museum that you will find inside of the garden behind of a company that obviously is producing modern tombstones and started collecting old and funny inscriptions that they found in various cemeteries of the area of Bavaria and Tyrol. They have a souvenirshop as well. Go inside, there is no entrancefee for the museum and it is a lot of fun to read these inscriptions, BUT You actually have to understand german in order to really enjoy this. Kramsach is about halfway between Innsbruck and Kufstein, take the Highway-exit "Kramsach" The museum is open for visitorsdaily between 09.00am and 06.00pmUnfortunately PHOTOGRAPHY IS FORBIDDEN THERE !!!Thats why I...

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European Heritage Days

by ATLC

Mostly in September, there are 49 European countries that celebrate Heritage Day. Many listed monuments, public and private, are open for the public during those days and special events and activities take place. A lot of those activities and the entrances are free.Best to have a look at the website below, which also includes a PDF list of all the activities and dates in the various countries.

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Czech Republic: too much beer lovers

by Raimix

Czech Republic is known as one of the best beer producer in Europe. Actually drinking beer or even making food or cosmetics consisting beer is quite typical thing in Czech land.There are so much good quality beer and still cheap beer that after a week is hard not to increase weight. In my case I needed to walk as much as possible in Prague and surroundings to stay the same weight as always :)

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Spain: too much leisure time

by Raimix

It looks like hot time in Spain is a time of being at work just for a few hours. Of course, that not true, but Spain is a country having (if I am right) the biggest number of holidays in Europe as well as typical of Southern Europe siesta hours, when it is too hot to work. It looked like there is also usual thing to make frequent coffee breaks or to be not so punctual.Anyway, I guess for Central – Northern Europeans not to work when it is just hot looks strange, as work culture and strictness are different.

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Q:  Hey, This summer I have about a month out and id like to travel around the EU, I come from the UK so Visa's and the like are... 

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A: If you're a student and live in the UK the option you want to look at is a thing called "interrail". Just google it. Be mindfull however of the following caveats: - In... 

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