Expat travel tips and advice from Dispatches Europe

28/11/2025

Snow will be in short supply in Portugal this Christmas, so forget the mittens. But if you want a memorable Christmas experience, it doesn't get much better than Lisbon, Sintra and Óbidos. Expat Nina Danilova has the details.

Don't expect snow in Portugal. But all the other elements for a memorable Christmas are here at celebrations in Lisbon and other cities.

26/11/2025

The Brussels Christmas Market is huge, both a celebration of the season, and a major financial boost for the city, attracting visitors from surrounding countries. Expat Polya Pencheva has the details.

What can you expect from Brussels at Christmas? Beyond a majestic Christmas tree and light shows, the festivals bring a big economic boost.

23/11/2025

A visit is not a high-octane, sight-filled adventure. It’s a chance to connect with a world that is so unchanged it is almost otherworldly. The houses are built from clay, people eat what they grow and water runs down from the mountains. It is a study in how humans can live with nature and in tranquillity.

For the explorer and author, the desert outpost, irrigated by water from the Atlas mountains, is the perfect place to decompress

23/11/2025

With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming, we updated our post about hosting as an expat in Europe. For the record, this is an unvarnished account. Apologies to all those we offend.

If you live in an inviting corner of Europe, expect your friends and family to invite themselves for a visit, expats. Here's how to deal.

23/11/2025

Some countries in Europe are being linked by direct sleeper trains for the first time ever. So whether you’re heading to Basel, Berlin or Birmingham, there’s never been a better time to travel by sleeper.

Paris to Berlin, Brussels to Barcelona? Europe’s night train revival is chugging full steam ahead

22/11/2025

If you're making holiday plans, we have about a million suggestions across Europe in our newsletter. That and news about travel insurance, a scandal in tech and - you guessed it – Christmas Markets.

21/11/2025

The big German Christmas markets get all the publicity. But the markets in the Netherlands offer a lot of quirky surprises. Here are five fun destinations close to most of the expat centers in Europe.

The big German Christmas markets get all the publicity. But the Christmas Markets in the Netherlands are full of surprises.

20/11/2025

Expats, if you love the holiday season, Sweden is the place for total immersion, Christmas in Sweden is marked by feasting, light, and a deep sense of community, turning neighborhoods into warm constellations against the dim winter afternoons in the far north. Jess Beytin has the details.

Distinctive Swedish foods and drink, and of course togetherness, are the essentials ingredients for celebrating Christmas in Sweden.

19/11/2025

You want great art exhibitions? We got 'em ... 17 across Europe into 2026 including Van Gogh, Turner and the latest, a show in a former tire factory in Milan featuring the Queen of the Manhattan photo scene, Nan Goldin.

From long-awaited retrospectives to cutting-edge installations, here are some of the top art exhibitions to see in Europe in 2025.

19/11/2025

After years of sweating through summer festivities in Australia, one family swapped sunscreen for snow – and found festive bliss in an unexpected European capital.

17/11/2025

The EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) ... don't leave home without it!

EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) is available to anyone living in the EU and can be a life changer to carry when travelling.

16/11/2025

Heusden in the south of the Netherlands near Eindhoven, is an old fortress town with an authentic village Christmas Market, much more gezellig than those huge German and French markets. Check it out on 12 and 13 December.

Heusden's Candlelight Market will fill the ancient town's centre with festive Christmas stalls, music, food and happy faces.