Head to Istanbul, Prague and Madrid for best value weekend away

Those looking for the best-value European city breaks this fall should head to Istanbul, Prague or Madrid, according to a new study. Travel site Skyscanner carried out research comparing flight and hotel costs as well as tourist attraction fees to determine the best-value city breaks in Europe this fall.

Tips for Riding Europe's Subways and Buses

Europe's public-transportation systems are so good that many urban Europeans go through life never learning to drive. Their wheels are trains, subways, trams, and buses (plus the occasional taxi). By riding with the locals, you too can take advantage of Europe's convenient network of buses and rails.

10 Europe Country in Autumn

Paris in springtime is lovely, but autumn shines brightly throughout Europe, when oppressively hot temperatures in the Mediterranean have all but disappeared and crisp nights greet the northern and alpine regions. Unlike those April showers, fall is often quite dry, perfect for one more bike ride through a series of Belgian villages, paddling across a lake beneath the Alps or joining a fall wine crush in the south of Spain. However you intend to spend your autumn holiday abroad, these European destinations will add plenty of color to your experience.

Ukraine Country

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. Ukraine borders the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast, respectively. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after the Russian Federation.

According to a popular and well established theory, the medieval state of Kievan Rus was established by the Varangians in the 9th century as the first historically recorded East Slavic state which emerged as a powerful nation in the Middle Ages until it disintegrated in the 12th century. By the middle of the 14th century, Ukrainian territories were under the rule of three external powers, the Golden Horde, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Kingdom of Poland. After the Great Northern War (1700–1721) Ukraine was divided between a number of regional powers and, by the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Russian Empire with the rest under Austro-Hungarian control.

A chaotic period of incessant warfare ensued, with several internationally recognized attempts at independence from 1917 to 1921, following World War I and the Russian Civil War. Ukraine emerged from its own civil war, and on December 30, 1922 Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic became one of the founding republics of the Soviet Union. The Ukrainian SSR's territory was enlarged westward during the civil war shortly before, and after World War II, and further south in 1954 with the Crimea transfer. In 1945, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the founding members of the United Nations.

Ukraine became independent again when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. This dissolution started a period of transition to a market economy, in which Ukraine was stricken with an eight-year recession. Since then, however, the economy has experienced a high increase in GDP growth. Ukraine was caught up in the worldwide economic crisis in 2008 and the economy plunged.

GDP fell 20% from spring 2008 to spring 2009, then leveled off as analysts compared the magnitude of the downturn to the worst years of economic depression during the early 1990s. However, the country remains a globally important market and supplier, particularly, the world's third biggest grain exporter (as of 2011).

Ukraine is a unitary state composed of 24 oblasts (provinces), one autonomous republic (Crimea), and two cities with special status: Kiev, its capital and largest city, and Sevastopol, which houses the Russian Black Sea Fleet under a leasing agreement. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Ukraine continues to maintain the second largest military in Europe, after that of Russia.

The country is home to 46 million people, 77.8 percent of whom are ethnic Ukrainians, with sizable minorities of Russians (17%), Belarusians and Romanians. Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine. Russian is also widely spoken. The dominant religion in the country is Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which has heavily influenced Ukrainian architecture, literature and music.

Turkey Country

Country Facts
Area: Approx 780,000 sq km (300,000 sq miles)
Population: 71.9m (July 2008 est.)
Capital city: Ankara
People: Majority Turks. Certain non-Muslim minorities recognised under the Treaty of Lausanne including Jews, Armenians and Greeks. Other ethnic peoples include Kurds, Circassians and Bosnians.
Language: Turkish (official), Kurdish

Religion: Muslim
Currency: Turkish Lira (TL)
Major political parties: AKP (Justice and Development Party), CHP (Republican People's Party), MHP (Nationalist Action Party), Government: Parliamentary republic
Head of State: President Abdullah Gul
Prime Minister: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (AKP)
Foreign Minister: Prof Ahmet Davutoğlu (AKP)

Turkey known officially as the Republic of Turkey is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast.

The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.

Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.

Oghuz Turks began migrating into the area now called Turkey (derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, i.e. "Land of the Turks") in the 11th century. The process was greatly accelerated by the Seljuk victory over the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert. Several small beyliks and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion. Starting from the 13th century, the Ottoman beylik united Anatolia and created an empire encompassing much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia and North Africa.

After the Ottoman Empire collapsed following its defeat in World War I, parts of it were occupied by the victorious Allies. A cadre of young military officers, led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his colleagues, organized a successful resistance to the Allies; in 1923, they would establish the modern Republic of Turkey with Atatürk as its first president.

Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with an ancient cultural heritage. Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organisations such as the Council of Europe, NATO, OECD, OSCE and the G-20 major economies. Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member of the European Economic Community since 1963 and having joined the EU Customs Union in 1995.

Turkey has also fostered close cultural, political, economic and industrial relations with the Middle East, the Turkic states of Central Asia and the African countries through membership in organisations such as the Turkic Council, Joint Administration of Turkic Arts and Culture, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Economic Cooperation Organisation.

Turkey's location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia makes it a country of significant geostrategic importance. Given its strategic location, large economy and military strength, Turkey is a major regional power.

Switzerland Country

Switzerland, in its full name the Swiss Confederation (Latin: Confoederatio Helvetica, hence its abbreviation CH), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western Europe, where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Switzerland is a landlocked country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2 (15,940 sq mi). While the Alps occupy the greater part of the territory, the Swiss population of approximately 8 million people is concentrated mostly on the Plateau, where the largest cities are to be found. Among them are the two global cities and economic centres of Zurich and Geneva.

The Swiss Confederation has a long history of armed neutrality, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815 and did not join the United Nations until 2002. It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world.[6] Switzerland is also the birthplace of the Red Cross and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office. On the European level, it is a founding member of the European Free Trade Association and is part of the Schengen Area although it is notably not a member of the European Union, nor the European Economic Area.

Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, and has the highest wealth per adult (financial and non-financial assets) of any country in the world. Zurich and Geneva have respectively been ranked as the cities with the second and third highest quality of life in the world. It has the world's nineteenth largest economy by nominal GDP and the thirty-sixth largest by purchasing power parity. It is the twentieth largest exporter and eighteenth largest importer of goods.

Switzerland comprises three main linguistic and cultural regions: German, French, and Italian, to which the Romansh-speaking valleys are added. The Swiss, therefore, though predominantly German-speaking, do not form a nation in the sense of a common ethnic or linguistic identity. The strong sense of belonging to the country is founded on the common historical background, shared values (federalism and direct democracy) and Alpine symbolism. The establishment of the Swiss Confederation is traditionally dated to 1 August 1291; Swiss National Day is celebrated on the anniversary.

Destination Facts
Area: 41,293 sq km (16,000 sq mi)
Population: 7.8 million (2010)
Capital City: Berne
People: German (64%), French (20%), Italian (6.5%), Rumantsch (0.5%), Other (9%)
Languages: Swiss German, French, Italian, Rhaeto-Rumantsch
Religion(s): Roman Catholic (46.1%), Protestant (40%), Muslim (4.3%)
Currency: Swiss franc (SFr)
Major political parties: Radicals (FDP – [party president] Fulvio Pelli), Christian Democrats (CVP - Christophe Darbellay), Social Democrats (SP - Hans-Juerg Fehr), People's Party (SVP - Toni Brunner)
Government: Seven member Federal Council
Political system: Federal Republic with strong local governments (cantons)
Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs: Johann Schneider-Ammann
President of the Confederation 2010 and Foreign Minister: Micheline Calmy-Rey (since 2003)
Membership of international groupings/organisations: Council of Europe, EAPC/PfP, EBRD, EFTA, IBRD, IMF, OECD, OSCE, UN, UNESCO, UNHCR, WTO, Schengen

Sweden Country

Introduction
The sophistication of the city and the charm of the village. From berserker Vikings to Nobel Prize in just a few centuries - Sweden really has earned its reputation as a model for progressive society. Throw in its gorgeous people, high standard of living, clean-lined design and magically archipelagic capital, Stockholm, and you're onto a very good thing.

Gothenburg and Malm ö beckon with urban delights, and away from the cities, Sweden takes in vast areas of scenic coastline and idyllic islands. The wilderness areas of Norrland have the legendary midnight sun in summer, Arctic Scandinavia's highest mountain and marvellous hiking trails.

Geography:
Sweden is the biggest sausage in the Scandinavian sizzle, covering an area of 450,000 sq km (175,500 sq mi). The dominant characteristics of the landscape can be attributed to glacial activity. The 7000km-long (4330mi) coastline, particularly in the west and near Stockholm, is constantly cut by fjords (long, narrow sea inlets). Lubbers rue that it doesn't get much drier inland, with about 100,000 lakes plugged into Sweden. The islands of Ö land and Gotland, south of Stockholm, consist of flat limestone, but they're sand-fringed and have been turned into beachy retreats for urban escapees. Norrland (a practical term for the northern 60% of the country) is sparsely populated, comprising a near-uniform expanse of forest, river and rapid. Norway provides a natural frontier to the west on the other side of Skanderna, Sweden's modest mountain range. Sweden's highest peak is the glacier-capped northern peak of Mt Kebnekaise at 2111m (6924ft).

Destination Facts
Capital: Stockholm
King: Carl XVI Gustaf
Prime Minister: Fredrik Reinfeldt
Government: Constitutional Monarchy
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 449964
Population: 9024186
People: 90% Swedes, 3% Finns, 0.15% Sami (indigenous Lapp inhabitants)
Languages: widely spoken predominantly Lutheran (87%)
Currency: Swedish Krona (Sk)
Major industries: Forestry, mining, agriculture, engineering and high tech manufacturing, telecommunications, IKEA
Major Trading Partners: EU, US
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October
Country Dialing Code: 46

Getting there and away
The main international airport is Arlanda, half an hour's bus ride north of Stockholm. There are daily services to and from most European capitals. Most flights from North American and Asian centres fly through Copenhagen, where you may have to change planes. The airport departure tax is included in ticket prices. Buses and trains link up with ferries to provide services to and from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, Poland, Estonia and the UK. Swedish ports of entry include Gothenburg, Helsingborg, Malm ö and Stockholm, although ferries from northwest Finland head straight for Ume å and Skellefte å in northern Sweden and services to Germany leave from Trelleborg.

Getting around
Daily domestic flights crisscross the country, but Sweden's extensive bus and train systems render flying unnecessary unless you're really pressed for time. Trains are the basis of Swedish transport outside cities, serving regional centres more quickly than buses. Buses are often the only option once you get off the beaten track. Swedish roads are of a high standard, marred only by their popularity with moose, reindeer and elk around dawn and dusk. You need only a recognised full licence to drive in Sweden: an international licence is unnecessary. Women should ask for discounts (tjejtaxi) in Stockholm taxis at night. The motorways are not open to cyclists but the long, specially designed and scenic cycle routes are better anyway. Archipelago boats sail around Stockholm and Gothenburg, and steamers on lakes such as V ä ttern, Siljan and Tornetr ä sk in Lapland make popular summer cruises and handy links if you are cycling or walking. Skippering your own boat can be perilous, given the dramatic changes in water level. Expect to encounter difficulties upon the slightest divergence from marked channels.

Weather
Sunshine junkies should visit Sweden between late May and late July, scooting out before the August rains. Monthly average temperatures in Stockholm are highest in July at about 22° C (70° F), when you can rely on nine hours of tan time. The average temperature in the northernmost mountains at this time is about 11° C (52° F), but you should be prepared for occasional sub-zero temperatures and snowfalls, even in summer; the range of temperatures north of the Gulf of Bothnia is almost 30° C (86° F). Sweden's northern latitude means that it never gets really dark from mid-May to late July, with the trade-off being a pervasive December dimness. Annual rainfall is greatest around Gothenburg at well over 700mm (28in) and falls mainly as snow in Lapland, blanketing the region for 200 days of the year. Many coastal ports are frozen all winter, while the Stockholm archipelago can be iced in for a couple of months.

Spain Country

Introduction
The Spanish passion for living is deliciously contagious. Once away from the holiday costas, you could only be in Spain. In the cities, narrow twisting old streets suddenly open out to views of daring modern architecture, while spit-and-sawdust bars serving wine from the barrel rub shoulders with blaring, glaring discos.

Travel is easy, accommodation plentiful, the climate benign, the people relaxed, the beaches long and sandy, the food and drink easy to come by and full of regional variety. More than 50 million foreigners a year visit Spain, yet you can also travel for days and hear nothing but Spanish.

An Alhambra straight up with a side-order of Gaudí. Long a meeting point (and battleground) for myriad civilisations, the country brims over with remnants of a glorious, chaotic past. Fascinating pre-historical, Classical, Moorish and Christian sites rub shoulders with the marvellous legacies of 20th-century artists.

Geography:
Spain and Portugal share the Iberian Peninsula, a vaguely square-shaped realm at the far southwestern edge of Europe. Spain occupies some 80% of this peninsula and spreads over nearly 505,000 sq km (194,982 sq mi), making it the biggest country in Western Europe after France. More than half of the country is made up of vast, elevated tablelands - the mesetas - and five major mountain ranges stretch across the country. In fact, with an average altitude of 650m (2133ft), it's the highest European country after Switzerland. Landscapes range from the deserts of Andalucía to the green wetlands of Galicia, and from the sunbaked plains of Castilla-La Mancha to the rugged snowcapped Picos de Europa and Pyrenees.

Spain's coast is as varied as its interior. The long Mediterranean coast alternates between rocky coves and inlets and flatter, straighter stretches with some long beaches. The Atlantic coast has colder seas and whiter, sandier beaches. The Costa de la Luz, from the Strait of Gibraltar and the Portuguese border, has many long sandy beaches backed by dunes. In the northwest, Galicia is deeply indented by long estuaries called r í as, with plenty of sandy beaches. It also has Spain's most awesome cliffs, at Cabo Ortegal and the Serra da Capelada. Along the Bay of Biscay, the Cordillera Cant á brica comes almost down to the coast, and the beaches are mostly coves and small bays, though still sandy.

Destination Facts
Capital: Madrid
King: Juan Carlos I
President: José Luis Rodrí guez Zapatero
Government: parliamentary monarchy
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 505000
Population: 42700000
People: Castilians, Basques, Catalans, Galicians, Moroccans, South Americans
Languages: Also known as Castellano.Official language of Basque country.Also known as Galician and Gallego.Official language in Catalunya.
Religion: 85% Roman Catholic; 2% Jewish; 2% Muslim
Currency: Euro (€)
GDP: Approx. €730000000000
Major industries: Textiles &-ent apparel, food ent-amp; beverages, metals, chemicals, shipbuilding, tourism
Major Trading Partners: EU (especially France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, UK, Benelux), US
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in September
Country Dialing Code: 34

Getting there and away
Spain is dotted with international airports, and connections with the rest of Europe are good. If you're coming from the UK or from Morocco, you could consider a ferry. Otherwise, bus is the cheapest option, unless you're a whipper-snapper with an under-26 rail pass.

Getting around
Getting around within Spain is best done by bus; the bus network gives you better coverage and more mile for your dollar than the rail system. If you're swanning off to the Balearics, you can go the whole luxury hog and get a flight, or pleb it on a ferry.

Weather
The meseta and Ebro basin have a continental climate: scorching in summer, cold in winter and dry. Madrid regularly freezes in December, January and February and temperatures climb above 30° C (86F) in July and August (locals describe it as: nueve meses de invierno y tres de infierno - nine months of winter and three of hell). Valladolid on the northern meseta and Zaragoza in the Ebro basin are even drier, with only a little more rainfall per year than Alice Springs in Australia. The Guadalquivir basin in Andaluc í a is only a little wetter and positively broils in high summer. This area doesn't get as cold as the meseta in winter. The Pyrenees and the Cordillera Cant á brica backing the Bay of Biscay coast bear the brunt of cold northern and northwestern airstreams, which bring moderate temperatures and heavy rainfall (three or four times as much as Madrid's) to the northern and northwestern coasts, including cities like A Coru ña.

Even in high summer you never know when you might get a shower. The Mediterranean coast as a whole, and the Balearic Islands, get a little more rain than Madrid and the south can be even hotter in summer. Barcelona's weather is typical of the coast, milder than in inland cities, but more humid. In general you can rely on pleasant or hot temperatures just about everywhere from April to early November (plus March in the south, but minus a month at either end on the northern and northwestern coasts). In Andaluc í a there are plenty of warm, sunny days right through winter. In July and August, temperatures can get unpleasant, even unbearable, anywhere inland (unless you're high enough in the mountains). Snowfalls in the mountains start as early as October and some snow cover lasts all year on the highest peaks.

Warning
A bomb exploded in a car in Bilbao on 9 October 2007, seriously injuring one person. The attack seems to have been politically motivated. Travellers should be alert when visiting large cities and monitor news services for further developments.

Slovenia Country

Introduction
Sunny in climate and temperament, Slovenia is moving up the tourist hit parade. Rich in resources, naturally good looking and persistently peaceful, Slovenia has been doing just fine since its break from the former Yugoslavia in 1991. No longer the undiscovered, bargain gem that it was, Slovenia still remains a wonderful antidote to much of Europe's crowds and high prices.

Many Slovenian cities and towns bear the imprint of the Habsburg Empire and the Venetian Republic, while up in the Julian Alps you'd almost think you were in Bavaria. The relative affluence of this country on the 'sunny side of the Alps' is immediately apparent.

Geography:
Slovenia occupies about 2% of central Europe - 20,256 sq km (7817 sq mi) of land area - and it's about the size of Israel or Wales. To the north is Austria and to the south Croatia. Shorter borders separate Slovenia from Italy in the west and Hungary in the east. Slovenia is predominantly hilly, with more than 90% of its surface over 300m (984ft) above sea level. Forest covers almost half of the country (making Slovenia one of the world's 'greenest' countries) and agricultural land - mostly made up of fields, orchards, vineyards and pastures - covers a further 43%. There are six main regions within the country: the Alps; the pre-Alpine hills; the Dinaric karst (a limestone region of caves and underground rivers) below the hills; the Slovenian littoral, 47km (29mi) of Adriatic coastline; the flat Pannonian plain; and the lowlands, which make up around one-fifth of the country, mostly in the east and north-east. The interior is drained by rivers including the Sava and the Drava (which empty into the Danube), the Soca, which flows into the Adriatic, the Mura and the Krka. The Kolpa River marks much of the border with Croatia.

Destination Facts
Capital: Ljubljana
President: Danilo Türk
Prime Minister: Borut Pahor
Government: parliamentary democratic republic
Time zone: GMT +1
Area: 20273
Population: 1935677
People: 83.1% Slovenian, 2% Serb, 1.8% Croat, 1.1% Bosniak, other 12%.
Currency: Euro (€)
Major industries: Textiles, manufacturing, timber products, agriculture
Major Trading Partners: EU (esp. Germany, Italy, France, Austria), Croatia
Daylight Saving: From last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October
Country Dialing Code: 386
Languages: A South Slavic language written in Roman alphabet and closely related to Croatian and Serbian.This is the preferred language of the young.
57.8% Roman Catholic, 10% none, 2.4% Muslim, 2.3% Eastern Orthodox Christian, 1% Protestant, 3.5% unaffiliated.

Getting there and away
Tourism to Slovenia has taken off recently with the launch of cheap Easyjet and Wizz Air flights from western Europe to Ljubljana. Slovenia's national airline, Adria Airways, has nonstop flights between Ljubljana's Brnik airport (LJU) and practically every major city in Europe, as well as from Tel Aviv. There's a departure tax of 36.00 for passengers leaving by air, which is usually included in the ticket price. Buses travel between Slovenia and Italy daily, using Nova Gorica in Slovenia as the easiest exit and entry point. Koper also has good bus connections with Italy: some 17 buses a day go to and from Trieste, 21km (13mi) to the northeast. It's also easy to travel by bus to and from Hungary, Croatia, Austria and Serbia-Montenegro. The main train routes into Slovenia come from Salzburg (four to five hours away), Trieste (three hours), Vienna (six hours) and Zagreb (two to three hours). Trains between Amsterdam and Ljubljana take 18 hours. There are dozens of international border crossings if travelling by car, motorcycle, bicycle or even on foot. On weekends between mid-April and mid-October, it's possible to sail between Venice and Izola (one of Slovenia's Adriatic coast towns) by catamaran.

Getting around
Except for long journeys, bus is the preferred way of getting around Slovenia. There are frequent departures and the network has an octopus' reach across the country. In some cases, there's no choice; travelling by bus is the only practical way to get to Bled and Bohinj, the Julian Alps and much of the coast from Ljubljana. You might need to make a reservation on Friday afternoons, when many students leave Ljubljana for the weekend. With the exception of the new ICS express train between Ljubljana and Maribor, travel by rail is best left to sightseers: one of the prettiest rides chugs through the Soca Valley. Driving a car can be a good way to get to some of the most beautiful and isolated towns and villages in Slovenia, and rental prices are reasonable. Rental agencies at Brnik Airport and in Ljubljana have the most competitive rates. The country's tolls and petrol prices are relatively inexpensive. Slovenians drive on the right.

Weather
Slovenia's coastal area has a Mediterranean climate, typical of the coastal regions of the Adriatic. While summer is quite pleasant and mostly dry with average highs usually just below 30° C (86° F), cold northeastern bora winds and heavy rainfall often detract from the appeal of an otherwise mild winter. Inland the eastern European climate takes hold. Central Slovenia's winters are cold, though while the sun is out the mercury is usually just above zero (32° F). Unfortunately the charming summer days that sit in the high 20° Cs (low 80° Fs) are often subject to significant downpours that continue for the rest of the year.