Travel
Touring in Europe
IT is easier to plan a visit to Europe than it is to choose a summer cruise. But it is no easier to choose a destination or the means of travel.
Air, rail or car, which is it to be ? Imperial Airways cover Europe with a net, many of whose threads are the routes of other lines whose departures and arrivals coincide with those of the air liners from Croydon. Air travel is comparatively cheap, and the thought that its delights are only for the rich .man is one that should immediately be dismissed. The intending holiday-maker would do well to find out something about the tours which this company offers before finally deciding on another method of travel.
Cars ? Your own or a motor coach ? It is equally simple. Auto-cheques of 33 Regent Street have perfected a scheme which enables the motorist to take his car abroad and to fix the entire cost of his holiday before he leaves. It is a system that I recommend most strongly. And it is cheap. If you have no car and want to travel by motor coach—and there is no better way of seeing the countryside— both European Motorways and Pullman Motorways have several very well-chosen European tours at a cost considerably less than one would expect. The total includes everything, even the supply of a trunk.
Pourquoi quitter *61 pays ? says' the Frenchman. And there is no answer. France contains every kind of scenery, climate and pleasure. The east coast and the route down to the Pyrenees are less familiar than the rest of the country, but as well worth visiting. La Baule on the east coast is one of the newer resorts, and has all the facilities offered by older and more ta-mous watering-places. But I cannot do better than advise a trip by the Paris-Orleans railway or by the Chemin de Fer du Midi and by the numerous 'bus services which it and the neighbouring railways rim for the convenience of travellers who like to use only a rapide.
As a summer country it is hard to find a rival to Jugo- Slavia, whose unrivalled Adriatic coastline includes, in particular, Ragusa—now called Dubrovnik. This country is full of first-rate hotels and the cost of living is cheaper than in almost any other European country. The charge for a visa has been reduced Jo ls. Excellent steamers run up and down the coast, and the country inland—from high mountains to wide plains—is rich with history and filled with beauty. There is little or no language difficulty. If you want a holiday that is unusual and leisurely, try Jugo-Slavia.
• Switzerland in summer is one of the loveliest places on earth ; and to the energetic as well as the lazy it offers a diversity of pleasure scarcely rivalled.
Austria is another land of contrasts. The lakes provide excellent bathing : its cities offer beauty both of architecture and of setting, and it has Salzburg within its borders to attract the lover of music. Austria is a monument to a civilization- that died with the War, and a fortnight or a month with its people is an enchantment not to be forgotten. If Vienna is a sad city today, it 'still remains:Europe's most beautiful capital and, in its own sentimental 'way, its
gayest. • _
Beyond the eastern borders of Poland ;lies the ,most interesting country of all—Russia, whose touring arrange- ments are the most fully_ developed of all. A visit to Intourist at Bush- House_ in London will provide you ,with as much information as you require, but only' a visit can unfold the story of that' vast experiment. Those who would combine - the acquisition of knowledge with pleasure should visit the country. I can assure • them -that they 'will be comfortable, well provided for, and free to go where they like.
But -don't forget that Great Britain too offers beauties that no other country can produce. The railviay companies will readily provide all necessary' information.
P. J.
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