I spent a week traveling through Switzerland in a camper van. It was a great way to explore Europe for cheap — but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.

Any ideas for a snow-free Alps vacation? 

Train travel is undoubtedly the most romantic way to explore Europe. You can sit back and soak up the continent’s most beautiful sights as they zip past, from the towering snow-cloaked mountains of Germany and the glittering fjords of Norway to the sparkling coasts of Italy and vine-carpeted fields of France. Plus, there are few greater feelings than getting from country to country in the knowledge that you are traveling more sustainably and minimizing carbon footprints. But sadly, the evolution of budget airlines has meant that aviation has become a more affordable (and at times faster) alternative for travelers. Below, we look at the ultimate travel hacks for finding cheap train tickets across Europe this summer so you can embrace slow travel – with expert advice from some of the world’s top train travel experts.

Baur au Lacis one of Zurich’s most prestigious and recognizable hotels, attracting guests from around the world to its waterside location since 1844. In its 179-year history, Baur au Lac has very much been a family business, owned and managed by the Baur-Kracht family, and this year marks a new chapter in the hotel’s leadership. Marguita Kracht joins her father at the helm of the property, as a seventh generation owner of the heralded hotel ushering in new ideas about sustainability and technology.

After taking annual vacations to Europe for over a decade, I followed my dream and moved abroad right after my 32nd birthday. I initially did a six-month stay in Bordeaux, France, before heading to Barcelona, Spain, in early 2020.

Leave the massive crowds of tourists behind in France or Italy, and make your next trip to one of the least-visited European countries.

Ever wish you could buy a rail pass for the skies? This summer, Norwegian regional airline Wideroe is once again offering a seasonal fly-all-you-want Norway air pass covering all of its routes. The airline flies a relatively dense route system throughout Norway, plus flights to/from Aberdeen, Goteborg, and Kobenhavn.

An all-business-class airline called La Compagnie just announced the launch of five nonstop U.S.-France flights per week, from Newark to Nice, starting in May 2019. Introductory fares start at $1200 round-trip, but that price is limited to the first 1,000 customers to pounce. Even after, however, you can expect regular round-trip fares somewhere between $1500 and $1800 indefinitely, and the occasional sale fares.

Travel to Europe is going to get slightly more complicated in 2021. Starting that year, visitors from the U.S. will need to get an ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System) approval before entering countries in the Schengen zone. According to the delegation of the European Union to the U.S., the measure is not a Europe visa, but an authorization that “will enable us to get more comprehensive information from travelers coming from visa-exempt, third-country [nations] arriving at the Schengen external borders.”

With rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft taking over, you might be wondering where in the world it’s still possible to take a cheap taxi. Cabs aren’t dead, yet: These countries still heavily rely on them.

Calling Europe a “hot” destination this year has little to do with trends; when Paris hit 109 degrees in July, it marked the city’s hottest day on record—shattering the previous record by five degrees. And the worst may not be over: August could be even hotter, and heat waves in Europe, where fewer than five percent of homes have air conditioning, seem to be getting more common overall.

Summer camp is expensive, and even if you're willing to pay for it, your kid might not get a spot.

From 11,362 feet, summertime in Switzerland’s Jungfrau region looks like a half-colornized photograph. Peering down from the viewing platform at Jungfraujoch, the mountain saddle that connects the Jungfrau and Mönch peaks in the Bernese Oberlands, you can trace the jagged, piny line where the limestone-and-ice mountains melt into the fertile green valleys below.