Europe: The Tourist's New Theme-Park And How To Avoid It

The crowds at Disneyland Paris - Is Europe going the same way?

But has this relatively recent upsurge in Euro-travel transformed this fascinating continent in to a labyrinth of popular rides and attractions, a theme-park with style and elegance, but a theme-park nonetheless?

In my travels through central Europe this summer, pursuing the beaten path of countless other tourists, it occurred to me that while we as travellers were surely boosting the economies of these countries, perhaps we were also destroying something of their charm.

So why has Euro-tourism become so popular in recent years, not only for travellers with a taste for luxury and pockets bulging with banknotes, but also for those on a student-sized budget?

Getting to Europe is the first challenge, but with companies like Easyjet and Ryanair offering cheap flights it is surmountable. My flight to Berlin, not including tax and a £5 luggage fee, was actually free! So was the flight home from Frankfurt, the only snag being that Ryanair fly from Frankfurt-Hahn airport, a two hour bus journey away from the city, longer than the flight to London.

Travel on the continent is not only cost-competitive, but also fast and effective. The trains in Europe (sadly the British trains are not included here) are punctual and usually at the cutting edge of modern comforts. My interrail ticket cost 239 euros (£190) and allowed 10 days of travel by train over three weeks, which was more than I found necessary in an itinerary of six glorious cities and one day-trip.

What’s more, travelling between countries that belong to the EU has become easier with the Schengen Agreement, signed by most EU members and which abolished border controls between these countries.

Many of the areas which I travelled to belonged to the former communist bloc: East Berlin, Prague, Budapest and Bratislava. These areas have only recently become accessible, or indeed attractive, to tourists from the western world, but are now investing heavily in tourism.

According to Czech travel agents, in the first six months of this year, some six million tourists arrived in Prague, a 4.2% increase on last year’s figure.

London, Paris and Berlin are still the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. 13.6 million visited the Notre Dame alone in 2006, and so formidable are the throngs, that timed tickets to this famed gothic cathedral have to be bought in advance.

However, most other European countries have thrown themselves on to the tourist bandwagon with equal zeal.

In Bratislava, capital of Slovakia, the cobbled streets in the compact city centre are a haven of cosy cafes, boutiques and chocolate shops. Not many tourists venture across the New Bridge, where the remnants of the communist regime still stand, in lines of colourless and uniform housing blocks.

If the mark of tourism was obvious in Bratislava, in Prague it smacked you in the face. According to Czech travel agents, in the first six months of this year, some six million tourists arrived in Prague, a 4.2% increase on last year’s figure.

Only one brightly lit doorway in the Stephensplatz cathedral is welcoming, the one with a sign saying, ‘Gift Shop’.

Prague seems to be the prime example of a Disneyland for tourists: its major attractions are a stone’s throw from one to another, so that sightseers can join the rugby scrum jostling over the Charles Bridge, visit the Prague Castle (not omitting to admire the view sprinkled with pale pinks and yellows like sugar-plums), and return to the Old Town Square crowded with restaurants, by lunchtime.

The ironically situated Museum of Communism, Prague.

One of Prague’s attractions is the Museum of Communism, ironically wedged between a large MacDonald’s and a Casino, as the information leaflet proudly points out.

Therefore, understandably, the tourist industry plays up to this hype for sightseeing.

In Vienna, exploring the Stephensplatz cathedral is something of a joke. In order to see anything of interest, like the catacombs or towers, the tourist must join a queue in front of one of the various ticket-selling stands, while the central area is barred off. Only one brightly lit doorway in the Stephensplatz cathedral is welcoming, the one with a sign saying, ‘Gift Shop’.

Needless to say, my only experience of the cathedral itself was dimly perceived through a shuffling crowd; some were on mobile phones, others were consulting Lonely Planets, and most were taking a few hasty snaps before being pushed on by others eager to take the same photo. I was glad to get out again – it was hardly a place of spiritual peace.

Wine Festival, Budapest.

Not that my travels round Europe were depressingly lacking in local culture. There are plenty of ways to avoid the tourist throngs if you wish to. By staying in hostels not quite in the city centre, for example; this may sound like a hassle but you are far more likely to witness local life (simply by entering the grocery shops and strolling the streets) and sample affordable local food in this way.

What irritates, however, is the arrogance of some of the tourists I met towards their host countries.

In Berlin, for example, I stayed in Kreuzberg, an area just west of the wall and with a slightly run-down, ‘student feel’ to it. It was a relief to escape the touristier centre to the lively and interesting bars of Kreuzberg in the evenings.

Attending local events and festivals can also bear witness to local colour, if never completely tourist free. In Budapest I attended a wine festival on Castle Hill where I chatted to some wine-loving Hungarians, while in Munich I experienced Oktoberfest with its swarms of lederhosen and dirndl clad Germans, singing and toasting litre tumblers of beer.

Unfortunately, in order to get to the lively beer-drinking tents you have to traverse a theme-park complete with roller-coasters, hotdog stands and crying kids. In fact, many locals choose to leave Munich during Oktoberfest festival in order to escape the mobs, and I was warned by several people in the provincial city of Augsburg (a 40 minute train journey from Munich) that ‘Munich is not Munich during Oktoberfest’. For these people the increasing number of tourists is a burden rather than a blessing.

Beer tent at Oktoberfest, Munich.

But, over all, it seems that Euro-tourism has its peaks as well as its downsides. I, for one, feel fortunate that I live in an age where travel is easy and relatively affordable for students.

What irritates, however, is the arrogance of some of the tourists I met towards their host countries. Some of them claimed that they had ‘done’ a complex and fascinating city, like Berlin, in just a day or two, when what they meant by this was a skimming of the surfaces of the major sites and finishing up in an ‘Irish pub’, on an organised pub crawl, in the evening.

One of the more humorous anecdotes came from a guy who told me that he’d been to Prague; ‘Yeah, I went to Prague but I didn’t leave the hostel, except for a kebab’. At least he was honest, and did not claim that he’d been there, done that.

Not that there is anything wrong with a hostel-run pub crawl or the odd kebab. But surely Europe, with its eclectic mix of religions, cultures, and awe-inspiring cities, deserves more respect than the phrase, ‘I’m going to do Europe’ implies?

Europe is not a theme park where you can tick off the rides as you go. In fact, this not-so-small continent is a place that will surprise you, that is if you dare put down the guidebook and leave the theme-park, in search of other, less visited attractions.

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