Ah, to be young again, with all the privileges of youth - good looks and free time to roam around Europe on a Eurail Pass that costs significantly less than an adult pass. Eurail Passes are one of the great bargains for travelling in Europe.

A new 'Great Railway Journey of the World', to rival trains like Switzerland's Glacier Express, is in prospect for Wales following the announcement of plans to complete the scenic Welsh Highland Railway.

As the high-speed Eurostar train linking London with Paris and Brussels through the Channel Tunnel celebrated its 10th anniversary with an unusual “walk on the water”, evidence of its commercial success was unveiled: the highest market share recorded in its 10-year history, as well a substantial increase in passenger numbers and significant improvement in punctuality. [...]

Once a year, Amsterdam's historic city center is transformed into Holland's most beautiful concert hall. At some 20 unique indoor and outdoor locations, national and international top musicians and new talent perform over 70 concerts. On pontoons in the canals, in secluded courtyards and historic period rooms of monumental canal houses, even in local residents' living rooms and roof gardens.

The BritRail Party Pass has recently been extended to provide a 50% discount for small groups of up to nine passengers traveling together, according to an announcement by Rail Europe.

The new four-day version of VisitBritain\'s popular Great British Heritage Pass, introduced in 2003, will remain at the same price for 2004. Now in its 30th year, the pass offers great savings for visitors exploring Britain\'s acclaimed historic sites by allowing them unlimited entry into nearly 600 castles, stately homes and gardens in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Great British Heritage Pass holders need visit only a few of them to recoup the initial cost.

The strong recovery of European travel products, particularly rail, purchased by North Americans is one the important trends evident in first quarter 2004 sales figures announced today by Rail Europe, North America's largest distributor of European rail travel products and official representative of more than 30 railroads. The company also reports even higher sales for the months of April and May.

America's #1 travel publisher and America's #1 source of European rail tickets have joined forces to produce the definitive guide to riding the Continent's rails: Frommer's Europe by Rail, First Edition (Wiley, Inc; ISBN: 0-7645-4110-2; US$23.99/CAN$34.99; 880 pages).