Germany's tourism industry has weathered the financial crisis relatively unscathed. One key reason is the country's reputation of good value for your money. Photo: Oktoberfest in Munich.

Three Austrian hotels have been named in a Top 10 ranking of winter sport hotels in Europe. A German hotel, the InterContinental in Berchtesgaden (photo), took top honors.

Britons are flooding to Vienna because of Sacha Baron Cohen’s hit comedy "Brüno." The Austrian capital has seen 120 per cent more bookings from Britain since the film opened.

Dresden, once one of the world's most beautiful cities, has had its share of bad luck. The place was virtually flattened during two consecutive air raids in the final days of World War II,  killing between 60,000 and 200,000, depending on whom you ask.

The Klimahaus, or Climate House, in Bremerhaven opened on Thursday, with city planners hoping it will become an environmental tourist draw for the northern city.

British magazine The Economist has rated Vienna as the second most-liveable city in the world after Vancouver, Canada. Vienna was tied with Geneva for second place last year.

Some Swiss embassies and consulates abroad are having technical issues processing visas for Europe's Schengen zone, potentially hindering holiday travel plans, swissinfo reported.

Fans of The Sound of the Music won't be able to stay at the Trapp family villa in Austria now that Salzburg has blocked a plan to turn it into a hotel. Mozart's home town has effectively blocked the proposed deal. The developers plan to appeal.

Visitors to Switzerland notched 37 million overnight stays in the past year, but the roots of mass tourism go back 200 years to the birth of an English teetotaller.