Geneva is world-famous for its collection of international organizations and institutions, the nearby ski slopes and the sleek lifestyle of expats and diplomats. But what about for the younger, student population? When I at the outset moved there to do my Master’s degree, I was faced through this dilemma. With some research, I have scouted some great hangouts for the expats and young Genevois looking for some enjoyable, fun and youth-oriented hangouts in the capital of Switzerland.

Café Art’s

Café Art’s is a real bejewel of the Paquis district of Geneva. A trendy and popular café, it serves traditional food and drinks at reasonable prices.

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The Houseboat Museum. Photo by means of harry_nl.

By Amy Goemans in Amsterdam—

With its vast number of museums, it is no wonder that Amsterdam is the cultural hub of the Netherlands. It is, of course, the quaint, lesser-known attractions that add color to this image.

The smaller museums in Amsterdam are interesting in their own right, and they also come with a smaller price tag than the more hyped favorites such as the Rijksmuseum.

Houseboat Museum Prinsengracht opposite no. 296 (March-Oct) Tue-Sun 11 AM – 5 PM (Nov – Feb) Fri-Sun 11 AM – 5 PM

You can hardly visit a city famous for its canals and not visit one of the houseboats!

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Travelodge UK have 200,000 £19 rooms available during stays from 12 March to 31 May 2010. You’ll need to book 21 days in advance and pay the non refundable £19 room price when you book.

Edinburgh West End Travelodge

Travelodge promotions are one of my top Europe travel tips as they offer such fantastic import for money. This one of the best UK travel deals for budget accommodation. So get on the Travelodge site now to book your £19 room before they’re sold out.

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If you can’t send yourself or a loved one to Prague, you can send someone else in your stead because a fraction of the cost. A company called Toy Traveling will take your favorite plush toy on a excursion of Prague, keep you updated on his adventures from one side daily email communication, and send him home with photos of his journey. Because your toy may have extraordinary preferences, you can opt for vegetarian-only meals for him and specify whether he drinks alcohol. This information will be useful to the tour operators, who, with your permission, will take your toy and a group of fellow toy travelers on a picnic. Sounds silly? One of the owners of Toy Travelling, Tomio Okamura, co-owner of the company,says he’s serious about showing your teddy bear or other stuffed toy a great time in Prague.

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Are you seeing billionaires?

Moscow has more billionaires living in its streets than any other city on earth. A certain owner of Chelsea FC is one of the most famous of the gang of wealthy men and women (mostly men). Many have made their money from a certain fossil fuel, amongst other things. There are around 70 billionaires in Moscow, which beats New York by a few to come top.

Are you seeing double?

All of that vodka for breakfast, lunch and dinner ability make you think you’re seeing things when you arrive in Moscow. But don’t be fooled. You’re not seeing double. There are a few buildings in the city that look exactly the same.

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The Eurostar train at St Pancras Station. Photo by garybembridge.

By Nicky Gardner and Susanne Kries—

Some arrivals are just too good to miss. Dropping down out of the skies to go on shore at some of Europe’s trickier airports be possible to be challenging for even the most experienced pilots. And, even from the passenger cabin, the steep lapse down into the airstrips at Innsbruck (Austria) or Lugano (Switzerland) can be very impressive. Funchal airport in Madeira is also fun, with passengers often alarmed that their plane is landing on the Atlantic waves—the runway extends over the ocean, supported by concrete pillars.

Whether you’re traveling by boat, train, or rail, the eager expectance at arriving to a new destination in Europe often makes us miss the best bit of the entire journey—the moment of arrival.

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Ryanair, everyone’s favourite European airline (tongue-in-cheek) has decided that they will go ahead with plans to charge £1 to appliance the toilets in flight. Civil Aviation Authorities here in the UK have ruled the change in policy isn’t against the law. Ryanair have already been criticised for additional fees and charges such as the £5 per person per flight payment admin fee (unless you pay through Mastercard prepaid debit card) and the £5 per person by flight online check in fee (not charged upon the body some promotional fares). But really, isn’t charging for use of toilets all going a little too far?

For me, I really prefer to pay my fare and know that my costs are covered – but this whole business of charging for every little service or convenience has gone too far.

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