European Vacation Package Is Exciting And New Every Time

A trip to Paris is a dream come true for many of us. But the financial crisis and the lingering recession may have you second guessing or even postponing that dream trip to Paris. Familiarity and bit of inside knowledge are often the key to enjoying your vacation without breaking your budget and Paris is no different. So let’s take a look at the ways that European vacation packages can be utilized to best fit you.

1. Free entry to museums and cathedrals – There are over 180 museums and monuments in Paris many of which offer free entrance at specific times. Almost all churches and cathedrals offer free admission daily (except for la Sainte Chapelle), but you may need to pay an extra fee to visit the crypts or climb the towers (e.g. Notre Dame Cathedral). Many major museums, including the big favorites such as the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, Musée Rodin and Musée Picasso, offer free admission the first Sunday of every month. The same museums, plus many more, offer free admission daily to citizens of any nation of the European Union who are under 26 years old and to children and youths under 18 years old, regardless of nationality.
2. The Paris Museum Pass – Museum lovers who plan to visit lots of museums should buy the Paris Museum Pass. The pass allows unlimited entry to over 60 museums and monuments, including the Louvre Museum, Château de Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay, the Rodin Museum, the Picasso Museum, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Sainte Chapelle. You can visit any number of participating museums, without waiting in line, during the pass’ period of validity (2, 4, or 6 days). Anybody who wants to see as many museums as possible during a short visit, also needs to manage their time. So one of the most attractive features of the Paris Museum Pass is the ability to visit museums without waiting in line to buy tickets.
3. Free concerts Paris has a great deal to offer music lovers. If you’re fortunate enough to have a flexible schedule, you should be sure to consider visiting Paris during the Summer when you can experience the Fête de la Musique (June 21) or the Free Summer Jazz concerts held every weekend in the Parc de Vincennes. If you’re time is not so flexible, you can still take advantage of the free concerts that are frequently offered at the Maison de Radio France. Dates and times vary, but a schedule and free tickets can be collected in the office at, 116, avenue du Président Wilson, 75016 Paris.
4. Shop for designer clothes at department store sales and designer outlets – Paris is the capital of fashion and the home of myriad designers and labels. The high priced boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg St Honoré and luxury labels such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton may only be accessible to the few, but savvy shoppers can pick up close outs or seconds of designer outfits for huge discounts at designer outlet stores. Inside the Paris city limits, the Mouton à 5 Pattes on the Boulevard Saint Germain is a favorite, as well as the many ready-to-wear shops found in the 14th arrondissement, on the rue d’Alésia. If close outs aren’t your thing, big department stores like Bon Marché, Galleries Lafayettes and Printemps have twice yearly sales in January and July, typically discounting designer duds by up to 70%.
5. Visit the Flea Market – The world famous Paris Flea Markets are a shopper’s delight and a good way to spend an afternoon, whether or not you’re planning to buy something. The largest of the Flea Markets is located at Porte de Clignancourt to the North of Paris. A huge selection of art, antiques, clothing and many other items are on sale. Entry is free and the atmosphere is reminiscent of the Great Bazaars of Middle Eastern cities like Cairo and Istanbul.
6. Visit the Paris Opéra – Paris boasts two great opera houses: the Opéra Bastille and the Opéra Garnier. The Opéra Bastille is the newer of the two. It opened in 1989 and claims that every seat offers a clear view of the stage. The neo-Baroque Opéra Garnier is a renowned architectural masterpiece and the home of the Paris Opéra Ballet. It opened in 1875 and seats over 2000 people. Tickets for performances at either opera can go for over 100EUR for the best seats, but the cheapest seats (which may not always offer a great view) often cost less than 10EUR.
7. Visit a Paris Cabaret – Cabarets like the Moulin Rouge, Crazy Horse and Lido are Paris institutions. While tickets featuring dinner and a bottle of champagne can cost up to 200EUR or more per person, most cabarets offer tickets that allow you to see the show for much cheaper by going to the second performance (without dinner) purchasing a ticket to the afternoon matinee, a ticket without drinks, or a seat at the bar. These cheaper tickets cost about 80EUR.
8. Eat a good meal outside of the Paris City Center – Most areas that tourists are likely to visit (the Champs-Elysées, Saint Germain, Marais) can be much more expensive than less central, but still very nice neighborhoods. Paris offers many neighborhoods with concentrations of ethnic restaurants that are good, yet affordable. Authentic Indian restaurants can be found on the Rue Brady in the 10th arrondissement, as well as the area north of Gare du Nord. The area in the 13th arrondissement just south of Place d’Italie is Paris’ Chinatown and many affordable Chinese restaurants can be found here, as well as along the rue des Gravilliers in the 3rd arrondissement.
9. Get a cheap Paris Airport transfer – Getting from the airport to the Paris city center can be expensive! Taxis typically cost 40EUR – 60EUR, depending on your destination, time of day and traffic. But a ticket on the Metro only costs 8EUR50. If you have too much baggage for the Metro, consider the shared airport shuttle which can cost as little as 17EUR per person.
10. Rent a Paris Vacation rental apartment – Hotels in Paris aren’t cheap, so if you’re planning to stay for an extended period or if you’re more than two people in your group, a short-term European vacation package apartment rental is a good option that will also allow you to cook your own meals and get a better ideal of what it’s like to live like the locals do.

All things considered, with just a little bit of advance planning, some of the most desirable attractions that Paris has to offer can be available to you absolutely free to Make that European vacation package an enjoyable one.

Deciding on which season to see Europe is a crucial part of planning your travel itinerary. Some travelers may not have a choice (because of school or limited work leaves), but if you do have a choice as to when to see Europe, choose the season wisely and note that great deals on European Vacation Packages can be found. There are a few things to take into account, such as the timing of special events, crowds and comparative costs between peak and low tourist seasons. If you have already decided on which cities or countries you will visit, it is important that you look up the forecasted weather for those places and pack accordingly.

Adverse weather in Europe is rare. It’s rainfall you have to be wary about, so pack a raincoat or jacket, especially if you’re traveling between July and August.

1. Winter – The winter months can be very cold throughout the continent and takes place from December to March. The Scandinavian countries have winter from September to May and it can be very, very cold with nights that are extremely long. Eastern Europe also has difficult winters. The temperatures in Sofia, Prague and Warsaw usually drops below freezing. Winter is not exactly the best time to visit Europe unless you’re into winter sports. In southern Europe however, the climate is milder but it’s also the wettest time of the year.

2. Spring – This is usually considered to be the best time to visit most parts of Europe. Spring is from March to June and a big part of the continent thaws out and days get longer. It’s a beautiful time to see tulips in the Netherlands and the gardens of different castles in bloom. In southern Europe, spring is still not beach weather, but it is already comfortable enough to go sightseeing.

3. Summer – Summers in Europe can be unpredictable. Sometimes they are beautifully warm and sunny and at times it can be stifling hot. It also rains occasionally. As a general rule, summer in Europe is from July to late August and this is the finest weather of the year. In the northern parts of Europe, the days can get exceptionally long. Even in the southern parts, there is still sunlight at 10 pm. All along the Mediterranean, summers are hot and dry and the beach gets really crowded. Most cities in Europe can get quite humid and uncomfortable in the summer.

4. Autumn/Fall – Temperatures begin to cool down from mid-September and winter starts creeping in by November. This is similar to spring climate-wise and it can also be a great time to travel. In the northern parts of Europe, the scenery turns into brown and gold as trees start to shed their leaves. In southern Europe, the days become milder but are still quite warm. Balmy nights are not uncommon in September and October.

It definitely pays to do a little research on when the major festivals are taking place in the countries you will visit. Many European Vacation Packages are available during these festivals. You may have to tweak your plans a little to join the party ,so you can join in the local culture and this usually turns out to be a major highlight in your trip! If you’re not interested in any festivals however, try to avoid traveling through the particular city or town. Just remember that major festivals attract huge numbers of tourists and costs may also rise, so adjust your budget accordingly and reserve your accommodations in advance.

What do you look for in a European vacation package? The romance of a Paris vacation, the buzz of some time in London, England or the relaxation and quiet peace of an alpine valley? The truth is that, with a European vacation package, you can have all of this and more.

Europe is a very diverse continent and the range of possible European vacations package reflects this. In each European country you can choose from the buzz of a city visit or the relaxation of the countryside. Transport links are good and it’s easy to hop from country to country by plane, by train or by road. This article sets out to help you plan a European vacation package that suits you.

European vacation – travel tips for cheap European tours

If you want to travel Europe on a low budget then the two key issues are time and flexibility. There are now many cheap European airlines who offer budget airfares for travel between European countries. Almost without exception they offer an excellent service, and their prices are remarkably low. But you do need to be flexible – both in your choice of destination and in your travel schedule timings.

European budget airlines often fly between the less popular airports and may only operate one flight a day. This means that if you miss a flight or if your flight is cancelled then you could face a long wait in a rather out of the way town or provincial airport.

The Irish airline, Ryanair, can be used as an example. Their flight billed as Glasgow to Paris departs from a town called Prestwick – about forty miles from Glasgow and arrives at Beauvais, a French town about sixty miles from Paris. Coach services are provided and the service is good but you will need to add at least an hour to your journey at either end. Getting stranded late at night in Beauvais or Prestwick is not likely to be fun. You can find a list of cheap European airlines and some of their routes on the websites listed below.

If you would rather travel to Europe on a planned European Vacation Package then you will have other issues to contend with. Planned European vacation packages can sometimes be rather sterile and predictable. Some of them may almost have the effect of insulating you against anything European! The notion of being herded along on like cattle among a mass of bemused fellow travellers is not likely to appeal to many of us.

Try to find a package that will allow you the benefits of having your travel and accommodation organised but still leave time for you to branch off on your own if you want to.

Travel Europe and enjoy it. There is no right or wrong approach – simply work out what suits you and your lifestyle best. You will find plenty of choice in every European country. If you’ve never taken a European vacation then please do consider it – the possibilities are almost limitless.

Most of us think it would be great to suddenly decide to take a vacation and just be able to take off. However, in the past, it seemed difficult to do so due to high prices when booking at the last minute. Fortunately, there are now ways people can get a great deal on vacations booked on short notice. Below are some easy tips to booking a cheap vacation at the last minute:

1. The internet is a great resource when looking to book a cheap vacation at the last minute. For instance, there are online discount travel sites that offer great deals on vacation packages such as European tours, Caribbean vacations, Hawaiian vacations, and much more. These discount travel sites offer great deals on vacation packages on short notice. Users can check availability and prices on a wide range of vacation packages. They are a perfect choice for people who want to get away quickly without having to spend a lot of money. You can often save 30% or more when you book through these travel sites instead of making the same bookings on your own.

The reason it is cheaper is that the travel sites are able to secure contracts with hotels and other vacation attractions at cheaper prices. As well, by booking a tour such as a European Vacation Package tour, everything is included so you not only save money, but you will save time making all of the arrangements and schedules. Researching cheap vacations online will definitely save you a lot of money on your vacation.

2. Another way you can save money booking at the last minute is to book your vacation during the low season. You can often save 10% or more traveling during the low season than during the high season for the same vacation package. There are great European vacation packages at such places as Athens, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris, London, Rome, and more. As well, you will find great discounts traveling to Hawaii or Mexico in the summer and winter is the cheapest time to take a European tour.

3. You can save money at the last minute if you book a vacation at a destination not long after a hurricane. It may sound odd, but the tourism industry is looking to boost the economy so they will offer special deals to get people to vacation. You will have a cheap vacation and help the local economy.

4. Traveling with a group of friends is a great way to save money and have some fun. You can split the costs of the European vacation package (for example). When deciding where to travel, you can use online travel discount sites to narrow your search for the cheaper travel destinations. As well, look for special promotions and last minute travel specials. You can always sign up for travel deal alerts by email so you will keep up-to-date on new specials. Some of these specials are only offered for one or two day before the special ends. Also check for special coupon codes.

5. You can save money by picking the cheapest time to fly. Traveling during midweek is the usually the cheapest time to fly. As well, traveling during the shoulder season is a cheap time to fly. For instance, it is cheaper to travel towards the end of March rather than the first week of April.

When you do your travel research, there is no reason why you cannot get a great european vacation package deal at the last minute at an affordable price.

A European vacation package is something that will always appeal to the masses. But if there’s one common theme throughout the world right now, it’s that money is tight and people are being careful on how they spend their hard earned cash. A dream European vacation package can still be had if you follow some simple guidelines when planning and taking that vacation you’ve always wanted.

The first rule of thumb is to plan in advance and try to avoid traveling during peak season (summer months). International airline tickets are priced based on a basic principle of supply and demand; the more seats available on the plane at the time of purchase, the cheaper the fare tends to be. It absolutely pays to book your tickets to Europe in advance, so the quicker you can get organized for your trip the more money you can save. The best time to travel is October through early to late March as summer months are the busiest months in Europe for traveling.

Booking hotels in advance is also a smart idea, especially if you plan to travel during peak season, which usually is during the summer months. Hotels don’t have to be booked for every night of your trip, as there are other options for sleeping. If your European vacation package itinerary involves multiple cities and countries, taking a night train and booking a “Comfort Class” or “Premier Class” ticket gives the option of sleeping in a bed on the train while you travel to your next city. This option alleviates the cost of a night in a hotel as rooms can contain up to 3 beds, and “Premier Class” cabins sometimes contain showers, depending on the particular city in Europe.

If your itinerary doesn’t involve traveling great distances, renting a car in Europe gives you the freedom to go when you want as well as where you want. And just like booking airfare, booking a car rental in advance will save you money as well.

When planning your actual itinerary, the more specific and detailed you make it the better off you’ll be when it comes time to pay. Sticking to this itinerary will also save money as you will avoid the spontaneous expenses that you didn’t plan for. Booking a city tour can be a money saver, as they usually include a meal and last a few hours to a full day, keeping you entertained and from spending money all day all while showing you the historic side of the European city you are visiting.

Be aware of the current exchange rates throughout the different countries in Europe, and keep track of your money throughout your trip. You’ll have a better idea of where you stand in terms of your budget when you stay on top of your budget and stick to the itinerary.

Talking to the locals of the city you are visiting is also a very smart idea. Besides the culture lessons you are prone to take in, you can also pick their brains for money saving tips. Find out where the good local restaurants and cafes are, more “hole in the wall” places that aren’t aimed at serving the tourists. If staying in a hotel, cooking a few meals in the kitchen or kitchenette can save a lot of money as well.

Try to take advantage of any free entertainment that is on offer. Pick up a local newspaper or publication that will list free shows and other entertainment options, or just ask the locals. Hotels often have free entertainment on weekend nights, which is a cheap option to spend a night.

So don’t let the current economic situation dissuade you from taking that European vacation package.

is this real? i have to register my received certificate at www.turkey.awardworld.co.uk
i hope its genuine. it cost about £27 to phone & find out what i won I thought i would give it a go as i had won 4 prizes. i never thought i would hear any more. i won 2 holidays, a watch & £10. thiscertificate arrived a couple of months later, 5* accommodation for 3 nights in each location plus overnight on a 2 day tour plus another day trip, travel to & from turkish airports & hotels & free activities at hotels. this was followed by a claim form to claim my watch at no cost to me.
help …i must claim the holiday package with date options by tomorrow

Tags: accommodation, airports, amp, claim form, day trip, holiday package, holidays, hotels, prizes, trip travel, turkey

When you consider it, life the European Union is much better than the life in the United States in almost every way. The E.U has a larger economy, more wealth, more citizens, better education and better quality of life.

Population Size:
The European Union (EU) has about 500 million citizens (492 million according to some figures). The United States only has 310 million citizens.

Economy:
The European Union has the worlds largest economy. Europe also has the most Fortune 500 companies. The Euro (currency) is stronger than the US dollar.
The United States is the country with the largest debt in the world.
The external debt of the U.S.A is more than ,399,859,000,000.00 (94% of GDP in 2009)

Wealth
The European Union has a GDP (millions of USD) of ,447,259, whereas the United States only has ,256,275 (in 2009) . In terms of overall gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, the United States only ranks 6th in the world, behind several European countries who are on top of the list. The E.U has the highest GDP (purchasing power parity) in the world.

Several European countries (such as Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland and Denmark) has a higher GDP (per capita) than the United States (in other words, people are wealthier than in the U.S.)

In several European countries people work fewer hours than anyone else in the world, yet European countries are also among the most productive in the world. US workers are claimed to be the world’s most productive, but they put in more hours than Europeans to score higher, according to a study by the United Nations.

World View & Culture
The average citizen in the United States has a very limited view and understanding of the world.
Only one in five Americans has a passport. The number of Americans who have a passport, according to the State Department, is 68 million, or around 22% of the population. That means roughly only 1 out of 4.5 Americans can even visit Canada, let alone travel to anywhere else in the world. So, only about 22% of Americans own a passport and only 10% of those actually leave the country.

Multilingual:
The majority of European citizens speak more than one language.
Most Europeans can speak at least two languages, and a significant amount can even speak three or more languages. English is the language most widely spoken in the EU, even though only 16% speak English as their mother tongue. Nearly 50% of all EU citizens can speak an additional language. 89% of pupils in the EU learn English. Yet there are 45 indigenous languages are in everyday use in the E.U and of these 11 are official languages of the E.U.

Only about 9 percent of Americans can speak another language (in most cases, only ONE other language). [Note: Even the president of the United States, Barak Obama, can only speak one language - English. Perhaps he is one of very few "world leaders" who can speak only one language?]

Education
The education system of several E.U countries is significantly better than the U.S.
Finland is widely known to have the best education system in the world.
The education system of the United States is placed near the bottom of the list, according to the United Nations. The United States is 18th on a list of 24 countries.

Lifestyle:
Europeans walk and bike more. Europeans use more public transit, and drive economical cars.
Europeans eat well. They eat more healthy than Americans.

Medical care in most E.U countries is much more advanced than the U.S. Most other major industrialized nations provide universal health coverage, and most of them have comprehensive benefit packages with no cost-sharing by the patients. The United States, to its shame, has some 45 million people without health insurance and many more millions who have poor coverage.

Vacation:
The United States is the only developed country with no required minimum vacation days.
The seems the average American dutifully work him/herself into an early grave.
Typically, the American workers are granted only 10 working days with 8 national holidays per year.
Countries in the European Union has a required minimum number of vacation days, that range between 20 days and as much as 42 days. For example, elderly employees in Austria received as much as 42 days leave per annum. The average Swedish workers took 44 days off work in 2004.

Social:
Of 194 countries ranked and rated to reveal the best places to live, which consider nine categories: Cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate; rate several countries in the E.U (such as France, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Germany, ) as the best place to live.
The United States is rated as the 7th best place to live, just above other European countries like Belgium and Italy. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s quality-of-life index (2005) rated the United State

Tags: amp, better education, citizen, citizens, european countries, european union, europeans, external debt, fortune 500 companies, gdp, gdp per capita, gdp purchasing power parity, gross domestic product, norway iceland, passport, population size, purchasing power parity, purchasing power parity ppp, quality of life, state department

When you consider it, life the European Union is much better than the life in the United States in almost every way. The E.U has a larger economy, more wealth, more citizens, better education and better quality of life.

Population Size:
The European Union (EU) has about 500 million citizens (492 million according to some figures). The United States only has 310 million citizens.

Economy:
The European Union has the worlds largest economy.
Europe also has the most Fortune 500 companies.
The Euro (currency) is stronger than the US dollar.

The United States is the country with the largest debt in the world.
The external debt of the U.S.A is more than ,399,859,000,000.00 (94% of GDP in 2009)

Wealth
The European Union has a GDP (millions of USD) of ,447,259, whereas the United States only has ,256,275 (in 2009) .
In terms of overall gross domestic product (GDP) at purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita, the United States only ranks 6th in the world, behind several European countries who are on top of the list. The E.U has the highest GDP (purchasing power parity) in the world.

Several European countries (such as Luxembourg, Norway, Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland and Denmark) has a higher GDP (per capita) than the United States (in other words, people are wealthier than in the U.S.)

In several European countries people work fewer hours than anyone else in the world, yet European countries are also among the most productive in the world. US workers are claimed to be the world’s most productive, but they put in more hours than Europeans to score higher, according to a study by the United Nations.

World View & Culture
The average citizen in the United States has a very limited view and understanding of the world.
Only one in five Americans has a passport. The number of Americans who have a passport, according to the State Department, is 68 million, or around 22% of the population. That means roughly only 1 out of 4.5 Americans can even visit Canada, let alone travel to anywhere else in the world. So, only about 22% of Americans own a passport and only 10% of those actually leave the country.

Multilingual:
The majority of European citizens speak more than one language.
Most Europeans can speak at least two languages, and a significant amount can even speak three or more languages. English is the language most widely spoken in the EU, even though only 16% speak English as their mother tongue. Nearly 50% of all EU citizens can speak an additional language. 89% of pupils in the EU learn English.
Yet there are 45 indigenous languages are in everyday use in the E.U and of these 11 are official languages of the E.U.

Yest, only about 9 percent of Americans can speak another language (in most cases, only ONE other language).
[Note: Even the president of the United States, Barak Obama, can only speak one language - English. Perhaps he is one of very few "world leaders" who can speak only one language?]

Education
The education system of several E.U countries is significantly better than the U.S.
Finland is widely known to have the best education system in the world.
The education system of the United States is placed near the bottom of the list, according to the United Nations. The United States is 18th on a list of 24 countries.

Lifestyle:
Europeans walk and bike more. Europeans use more public transit, and drive economical cars.
Europeans eat well. They eat more healthy than Americans.

Medical care in most E.U countries is much more advanced than the U.S. Most other major industrialized nations provide universal health coverage, and most of them have comprehensive benefit packages with no cost-sharing by the patients. The United States, to its shame, has some 45 million people without health insurance and many more millions who have poor coverage.

Vacation:
The United States is the only developed country with no required minimum vacation days.
The seems the average American dutifully work him/herself into an early grave.
Typically, the American workers are granted only 10 working days with 8 national holidays per year.
Countries in the European Union has a required minimum number of vacation days, that range between 20 days and as much as 42 days. For example, elderly employees in Austria received as much as 42 days leave per annum.
Another example: according to the European Occupational Health and Safety, on average Swedish workers took 44 days off work in 2004.

Military power:
The USA dominates the world in military power- since it spends more on its military budget than anything else.
However, the European Union alone, has more military personnel than the USA (not even counting other east European countries, not part of the E.U).
The USA has a total of about 1,445,000 active military personnel, with 850,000 reserve personnel.
The European Union has 1,536,274 enlisted personnel, with 4,156,680 total reserves.

Tags: amp, better education, citizen, citizens, european countries, european union, europeans, external debt, fortune 500 companies, gdp, gdp per capita, gdp purchasing power parity, gross domestic product, norway iceland, passport, population size, purchasing power parity, purchasing power parity ppp, quality of life, state department

By SARAH LYALL
Published: August 23, 2008
MALIA, Greece — Even in a sea of tourists, it is easy to spot the Britons here on the northeast coast of Crete, and not just from the telltale pallor of their sun-deprived northern skin.

Phil Harris/Mirrorpix
An injured British tourist lay by a curb on a recent weekend after a fight in Malia, Greece.

The New York Times

British tourists have caused havoc at the Malia resort.

They are the ones, the locals say, who are carousing, brawling and getting violently sick. They are the ones crowding into health clinics seeking morning-after pills and help for sexually transmitted diseases. They are the ones who seem to have one vacation plan: drinking themselves into oblivion.

“They scream, they sing, they fall down, they take their clothes off, they cross-dress, they vomit,” Malia’s mayor, Konstantinos Lagoudakis, said in an interview. “It is only the British people — not the Germans or the French.”

Malia is the latest and currently most notorious in a long list of European resorts full of young British tourists on packaged tours offering cheap alcohol and a license to behave badly. In Magaluf and Ibiza, Spain; in Ayia Napa, Cyprus; and in the Greek resorts of Faliraki, Kavos and Laganas as well as Malia, the story is the same: They come, they drink, they wreak havoc.

“The government of Britain has to do something,” Mr. Lagoudakis said. “These people are giving a bad name to their country.”

They are also hurting themselves in the process. A recent report published by the British Foreign Office, “British Behavior Abroad,” noted that in a 12-month period in 2006 and 2007, 602 Britons were hospitalized and 28 raped in Greece, and that 1,591 died in Spain and 2,032 were arrested there.

The report did not distinguish between medical cases and arrests associated with drunkenness and those that had nothing to do with it. But it did say that “many arrests are due to behavior caused by excessive drinking.”

So it would seem. Reports of scandalous incidents rumble on regularly here and elsewhere, helping to cement Britain’s reputation as the largest exporter of inebriated hooligans in Europe.

Earlier this summer, flying home to Manchester from the Greek island of Kos, a pair of drunken women yelling “I need some fresh air” attacked the flight attendants with a vodka bottle and tried to wrestle the airplane’s emergency door open at 30,000 feet. The plane diverted hastily to Frankfurt, and the women were arrested.

In Laganas, on the Greek island of Zakinthos, where a teenager from Sheffield died after a drinking binge this summer, more than a dozen British women were charged in July with prostitution after taking part, the authorities said, in an alfresco oral sex contest.

More alarmingly, a 20-year-old British tourist partied with her sister and a friend into the early hours in Malia also in July, then returned to her hotel room and — although she had denied being pregnant — gave birth. Her companions say they returned later to find the baby dead; she has been charged with infanticide.

And in Dubai, also this summer, a British man and woman who met during a drinking bout were arrested and charged with having sex on a beach, after repeatedly shouting abuse at a police officer who ordered them to stop.

All of which leads to a natural question: Why?

“I think that in their country, they are like prisoners and they want to feel free,” said Niki Pirovolaki, who works in a bakery on Malia’s main street and often encounters addled Britons heading back to their hotels — “if they can remember where they are staying,” she said.

David Familton, a Briton who works in a club here, said that it was a question of emotional comfort. “It’s because of British culture — no one can relax, so they become inebriated to be the people they want to be,” he said.

Worried about the increase in crimes and accidents afflicting drunken tourists, the British consulate in Athens has begun several campaigns, using posters, beach balls and coasters with snappy slogans, to encourage young visitors to drink responsibly.

“When things do go wrong, they go wrong in quite a big way,” said Alison Beckett, the director of consular services. “What we’re trying to do here is reduce some of these avoidable accidents where they have so much to drink that they fall off balconies and are either killed or need huge operations.”

What do you reckon?

Tags: ayia napa cyprus, british foreign office, british tourist, british tourists, carousing, cheap alcohol, european resorts, government of britain, greek resorts, ibiza spain, kavos, magaluf, malia, medical cases, morning after pills, new york times, packaged tours, pallor, phil harris, vacation plan

Fiscal crises threaten Europe’s generous benefits

By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN (AP) – 4 hours ago

LONDON — Six weeks of vacation a year. Retirement at 60. Thousands of euros for having a baby. A good university education for less than the cost of a laptop.

The system known as the European welfare state was built after World War II as the keystone of a shared prosperity meant to prevent future conflict. Generous lifelong benefits have since become a defining feature of modern Europe.

Now the welfare state — cherished by many Europeans as an alternative to what they see as dog-eat-dog American capitalism — is coming under its most serious threat in decades: Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

Deep budget cuts are under way across Europe. Although the first round is focused mostly on government payrolls — the least politically explosive target — welfare benefits are looking increasingly vulnerable.

"The current welfare state is unaffordable," said Uri Dadush, director of the Carnegie Endowment’s International Economics Program. "The crisis has made the day of reckoning closer by several years in virtually all the industrial countries."

Germany will decide next month just how to cut at least 3 billion euros (.75 billion) from the budget. The government is suggesting for the first time that it could make fresh cuts to unemployment benefits that include giving Germans under 50 about 60 percent of their last salary before taxes for up to a year. That benefit itself emerged after cuts to an even more generous package about five years ago.

"We have to adjust our social security systems in a way that they motivate people to accept regular work and do not give counterproductive incentives," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told news weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung on Saturday.

The uncertainty over the future of the welfare state is undermining the continent’s self-image at a time when other key elements of post-war European identity are fraying.

Large-scale immigration from outside Europe is challenging the continent’s assumptions about its dedication to tolerance and liberty as countries move to control individual clothing — the Islamic veil — in the name of freedom and equality.

Deeply wary of military conflict, many nations now find themselves nonetheless mired in Afghanistan on behalf of what was supposed to be a North Atlantic alliance, shying away from wholesale pullout while doing their utmost to keep troops from actual combat.

Demographers and economists began warning decades ago that social welfare was doomed by the aging of Europe’s baby boomers. Some governments had been trimming and reforming, but now almost all are scrambling to close deficits in order to prevent a wider collapse of confidence in the euro.

"We need to change, to adapt … for the sake of the protection of our social model," European Union Commissioner Joaquin Almunia of Spain told reporters in Stockholm Thursday.

The move is risky: experts warn the cuts could undermine the growth needed to pull budgets back on a sustainable path.

On Monday, Britain unveils 6 billion pounds (.6 billion) in cuts — mostly to government payrolls and expenses. The government has promised to raise the age at which citizens receive a state pension — up from 60 to 65 for women, and from 65 to 66 for men. It also plans to toughen the welfare regime, requiring the unemployed to try to find jobs in order to collect benefits.

Britain says it will limit child tax credits and scrap a 250-pound (0) payment to the families of every newborn. Ministers are reviewing the long-term affordability of the country’s generous public sector pensions.

Funding for Britain’s nationalized health care service will be protected under the new government, however, and should rise each year to 2015.

France’s conservative government is focusing on raising the retirement age. Many workers can now retire at 60 with 50 percent of their average salary. Extra funds are available for retired civil servants, those with three or more children, military veterans and others.

A parliamentary debate is planned for September. Unions in France are organizing a national day of protest marches and strikes on Thursday to demand protection of wages and the retirement age.

In Spain, billions in cuts to state salaries go into effect next month, and the Socialist government has frozen increases in pensions meant to compensate for inflation for at least two years.

"They’ve hit us really hard," said Federico Carbonero, 92, a retired soldier. He said he was unlikely to live long enough to see the worst of the pension freeze, but had no doubts he would have to start relying on savings to maintain his lifestyle.

Spain is cutting assistance payments for disabled people by 300 million euros (5 million) and did away with a three-year-old bon

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