E U R O P E [Most Developed Continent]

E U R O P E
(Most Developed Continent)​

Europe encompasses an area of 10,400,000 km² (4,000,000 square miles), stretching from Asia to the Atlantic, and from Africa to the Arctic. Europe's longest river is the Volga, which meanders 3,530 km (2,193 miles) through Russia, and flows into the Caspian Sea. Europe's highest point is Russia's Mt. Elbrus, which rises to 5,642 m (18,510 feet) above sea level. Western Europe's highest point is Mont Blanc in the French-Italian Alps, which rises to 4,810 m (15,771 feet) above sea level. Other important high mountain ranges include the Pyrenees between France and Spain and the Carpathians that run through Central Europe to the Balkans. Cyprus is also considered part of Europe.
Europe's climate ranges from subtropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to subarctic near the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in the northern latitudes. There is much here for the traveller to enjoy, with a bewildering array of diversity and languages and culture, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular scenery, let alone some of the leading cities of the world.


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The earliest concrete signs of written European culture can be found in Hellenic Greece. The mythical Homer (800 B.C.?), Hesiod (753 B.C.) and Kallinos (728 B.C.) are three of the oldest poets in Europe. The Romans believed that their city was founded in 753 B.C. Modern archaeologists and historian believe that the area of modern day Rome has been inhabited since at least 1000 to 800 B.C.
From 300 A.D. Christianity in Europe started to spread. Around 500 A.D. the Roman Empire collapsed, with France at that time coming under the rule of the Merovingians. In 714 the Carolian empire was founded and lasted until 911. The period after this date is often called the high-middle ages and lasted until around 1300, followed by the late middle ages which ended around 1500, giving birth to a period of European history normally refered to as The Renaissance or the re-birth. The people of this period actively rediscovered classical Greco-Roman culture.
Between 1492 - 1972 many European nations (like Great Britain, Spain, Russia, France and The Netherlands) ruled or had ruled over most of the known world, with the exception of East Asia (Mainland China, Japan and Tibet) and parts of Antartica. This was called colonialism and was stopped after WWII in favour of a more humane, liberal and cost-effective method called globalism.
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Rules for entering Europe depend on where you are going. EU/EFTA citizens can travel freely throughout the continent (except Russia, Belarus and the Caucasus), so the following assumes you are not one.
If you are entering a Schengen country and you plan to visit only other Schengen countries, you need only one Schengen visa. Citizens of some non-EU member countries don't need visas if they are traveling for tourist purposes and their stay lasts no longer than 90 days within a 180 day period inside the Schengen area. Under these conditions, citizens of the following countries can enter without a visa: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, El Salvador, Guatemala, Vatican City, Honduras, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, San Marino, Singapore, South Korea, USA, Uruguay, Venezuela.
It is important to note that the 90 days visa-free stay applies for the whole Schengen area, i.e. it is not 90 days per country as some assume. Citizens of the above countries who wish to travel around Europe for longer than 90 days must apply for a residency permit. This can be done in any Schengen country, but Germany or Italy are recommended, because many other countries require applicants to apply from their home countries.
Non-Schengen countries, on the other hand, maintain their own immigration policies. Consult the country article in question for details. If you wish to visit a non-Schengen country and return to the Schengen area, you will need a multiple-entry visa. It should be noted that Bulgaria, Romania, Ireland, and the United Kingdom are EU members, but they are not part of the Schengen Area. To add confusion Switzerland is not an EU member but since 2009 part of the Schengen area. Similarly, Iceland and Norway are members of the Schengen area, but they are not members of the EU.
The implications of this are simple: countries in the EU maintain similar customs controls. Therefore, one does not need to pass through customs when travelling to a non-Schengen EU country, but they may need to pass through immigration controls. The converse is true for non-EU Schengen countries: you must pass through customs, but not immigration.
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The largest air travel hubs in Europe are, in order, London (LON: LCY, LHR, LGW, STN, LTN), Frankfurt (FRA, HHN), Paris (CDG), and Madrid (MAD) which in turn have connections to practically everywhere in Europe. However, nearly every European city has direct long-distance flights at least to some destinations elsewhere, and other smaller airports can make sense for specific connections: for example, Vienna (VIE) has a very good network of flights to the Middle East and Eastern Europe, while Helsinki (HEL) is the geographically closest place to transfer if coming in from East Asia. Western Europe is the largest air hub in the world.
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The Trans-Siberian Railway from Beijing and Vladivostok to Moscow is a classic rail journey. Also after the finalized construction of a railway link between Kazakhstan and China, the New Silk Route is becoming increasingly popular with adventurers, trying to beat down a new path, this new Almaty - Urumqi service runs twice per week, and Almaty is easily reached from Moscow by train. Other options include several connections to the middle east, offered by the Turkish Railways (TCDD) [1]. There are weekly services from Istanbul via Ankara to Tehran in Iran, and Damascus in Syria, as well as a sketchy service to Baghdad.
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It is still possible, but expensive, to do the classic transatlantic voyage between the United Kingdom and the United States. The easiest option is by the historic, and only remaining Ocean Liner operator, Cunard Line[2], but expect to pay 1000-2000 USD for the 6 day voyage between Southampton and New York done around 10 times per year in each direction. If your pockets are not deep enough for this price range, your only other options of crossing the Atlantic are pretty much limited to Freighter travel. There are several lines crossing the Mediterranean, the main ports of call in North Africa is Tangier in Morocco and Tunis in Tunisia (See Ferries in the Mediterranean for more details), but there is also a little known option of going via Cyprus where you can use Louis Cruises crossings to Port Said in Egypt and Haifa in Isreal as a regular ferry service. Keep in mind though, that you can only do this on routes out of Cyprus, and it requires special arrangements - Varianos Travel in Nicosia seem to be the only tour agency offering this option.​