Tallinn, Estonia

For pretty much the same price as any back-roads inn, country ramblers of England and Scotland can get an upgrade. The Landmark Trust was initiated in 1965 to rescue, refurbish, and rent out some of Britain's most dramatic ruins. Its growing stable of renewed properties--more than 200 now--means you can enact almost any time-warped fantasy. Think windmills, lighthouses, stone castles--in any part of the country, with modern electric and heating systems. You don't get breakfast, but you do get an equipped kitchen, modern bathroom, and linens. Presenting the best of the bunch, priced per property (not per person) in low season, working south to north, from the toe of Cornwall to Scotland: The Egyptian House In the tweedy Cornish village of Penzance, this 19th-century town house can't keep a stiff upper lip. Breaking loose with a circus facade, it looks more Coney Island than Cairo. Inside, though, the three compact rental spaces are eminently cozy and offer a view of the harbor where the town's fabled pirates pillaged between arias. From $52/night; its least expensive apartment sleeps three. Anderton House Built in 1972 (with original furniture to prove it), this unusual property in the village of Goodleigh is for people suffering from quaintness overload. The streamlined, glass-sheathed house--designed, in a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright, to embrace the view of North Devon's rolling green hills--is as much an architectural landmark as any manor. From $96/night; sleeps five. Gothic Temple The kind of flamboyant folly that makes other follies look humorless, this ostentatious edifice about 20 miles north of Oxford is part Camelot and part Anne Rice crypt. Witness the high-vaulted ceiling of the 18th-century lodge, painted with heraldry; the two circular, Rapunzel-ready bedrooms; the stained-glass bathroom. The surrounding "Capability" Brown--designed Stowe Gardens are usually closed to the public, but they're open to Trust guests. They're also sprinkled with enough neoclassical statuary and temples to resemble a high-class miniature-golf course. From $158/night; sleeps four. East Banqueting House One of the few remnants of the 17th-century Old Campden House, which was torched centuries ago by Royalists, the property still conveys a whiff of the Restoration lush life. In the long, airy parlor lined with arched windows, aristocrats dined on sweetmeats; its view of gamboling lambs and the local church spire hasn't changed in 300 years. Neither has the village of Chipping Campden, which may be the definitive Cotswolds hamlet. The two bedrooms and kitchen are comfortable, and if you want to cram the place with friends, there's an additional bedroom and a very chilly bathroom in the neighboring gatehouse. From $150/night; sleeps six. Lock Cottage Twenty miles northeast of Stratford-upon-Avon, the cottage is a handsome, slope-roofed, whitewashed abode--the kind a kid would draw--between locks 31 and 32 of the Worcester & Birmingham canal. That means you can watch holiday barges float by your bedroom window. Or, if you have the urge, you can rent your own boat. From $81/night; sleeps four. Tixall Gatehouse This ghostly Elizabethan structure once imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, for a fortnight (granted, there isn't an Elizabethan structure in Britain that didn't). A roofless wreck when the Trust bought it in 1968 for £300, the Gatehouse, about 15 miles north of Birmingham, now has a ground-floor gallery embellished by voluptuous sculpted angels, and two bedrooms have been tucked into the turrets. You can even picnic on the roof, which overlooks a lake. From $177/night; sleeps six. St. Winifred's Well Here's the romantic sort of property that separates the Trust from your everyday rent-a-villa outfit. Who else would track down the pilgrimage site of a decapitated 7th-century Welsh saint and rent out the one-room Tudor chapel that was built at her shrine? In medieval times, rowdy pilgrims took over the deep well in front, which was widely believed to have healing powers, and turned it into a sort of holy water park-cum-swingles hot tub. It was sealed long ago, leaving behind a cozy, beamed retreat surrounded by dense Shropshire woods. From $76/night; sleeps two. Swarkestone Pavilion Another romantic retreat for two, this majestic pavilion, marked by two perfect towers, was constructed in the 1600s to provide the owners of the long-gone Swarkestone mansion, 20 miles northwest of Leicester, with a grandstand view of something--conjecture ranges from jousting to bear-baiting. An enclosed garden contributes to the dreamscape. However, guests can only visit the loo by crossing an outdoor widow's walk, so in the middle of the night, that grandstand view may be of them. From $63/night; sleeps two. The Pineapple The Trust handbook calls it, with British understatement, "an eccentric work," which is like calling Carrot Top excitable. You can't miss the epic-size tower, erected in 1761 in the shape of a pineapple, when the fruit was considered impossibly exotic. It's like living inside Carmen Miranda's headdress--in central Scotland--but the two subdued bedrooms overlook a tranquil walled garden designed with far more restraint. From $87/night; sleeps four.

Scrappy no-frills carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue are no longer limited to our side of the Pond. The past five years have seen the creation of dozens of insanely cheap airlines connecting hundreds of European destinations--primarily big cities, tourism hot spots, and Mediterranean beaches--with fares of roughly $40 to $70 each way, taxes and fees included. Gone are the days when getting across Europe took 20 hours on a train or cost $900 in flights. Seats on no-frills carriers, like the train tickets they're replacing, are priced one way and can be used to hopscotch easily around the Continent. As a rule, the later you book a flight, the more it costs, but advance-purchase prices can be so low that the taxes often cost more than the fare. Ryanair, one of the most aggressive European upstart airlines, frequently puts seats on sale for 1p (that's less than 2¢), although typical taxes bring the final bill to a still affordable $25. In exchange, passengers pay for food and drinks and make do without in-flight entertainment--not much of a burden on trips that last, at most, a few hours. Tight luggage rules are another trade-off: Travelers are allowed one checked bag between 33 and 44 pounds and one carry-on of 11 to 15 pounds. If the weight limits are exceeded, fees are punishing (around $3.40 per pound). This is a young, constantly changing industry. New outfits start up--and die out--every month. Unfortunately, there is no European equivalent of Travelocity or Orbitz to reliably canvass the industry. Two search engines offer schedules, but not the ability to book, on a limited number of carriers: cheapflights.co.uk (departures from the United Kingdom and Ireland only; results mix no-frills, consolidators, and major carriers) and applefares.com (just 14 airlines, when around 50 are in business). OpenJet.com, a fledgling booking site, currently sells tickets on only seven carriers and tacks on egregious service fees of about $21. Frustrated by the lack of resources, I eventually created a site, nofrillsair.com, to organize all of the carriers by country, list the destinations they serve, and link to each airline's website. The center of Europe's no-frills universe is indisputably London, but new hubs have popped up in the English Midlands, Scotland, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and eastern Europe. The cut-rate airlines also tend to fly out of secondary airports: in London, from Luton or Stansted and not Heathrow; or from Frankfurt-Hahn instead of Frankfurt International. That means it may take an extra 15 to 30 minutes to transfer from a city to the right airport--but what's a half hour when you're saving hundreds of dollars? To give you an idea of the sheer breadth of available flights, we've mapped the routes for three no-frills airlines from three transatlantic hubs. We'd have loved to show more, but there's simply too much, and it's changing way too fast. What About Eurail? Riding the rails does have a place in the age of no-frills--low-cost airlines don't fly everywhere, after all. Although the 17-country, unlimited-ride Eurailpass has priced itself into irrelevance ($946 for one month), rail passes can still be a great bargain--if you think small. For exploring the nooks and crannies of a region, it's cheaper and easier to hop a train. The rail-pass industry has responded to this new reality by ratcheting up the number of regional and two-country passes. France-Italy and France-Spain are available in both second class ($259) and first class ($299). France-Switzerland ($299), Switzerland-Austria ($300), and Spain-Portugal ($249) come in first class only. All are good for four days of travel (three days for Spain-Portugal) within a two-month period; additional rail days run $27 to $36. The SelectPass lets you choose three, four, or five neighboring countries for five to 10 travel days--up to 15 if you pick five nations--within two months ($356 to $794). Most passes offer discounted versions for folks under 26 or over 60, and "Saver" passes score any two adults traveling together 15 percent off each. 877/257-2887, raileurope.com.

Walking & Biking From the vineyards of Tuscany to the wildflowers of Provence, self-guided hiking and biking trips cost as little as $408 per person per week. The experts take care of all the details--crafting an itinerary along the most scenic roads, booking cozy B&Bs, providing maps, and often enlisting a sag wagon to truck your gear from one inn to the next. Itineraries range from slow-going jaunts to Tour de France-size epics, but most are designed for tourists in average physical condition. Figure on hiking at least four to eight miles (three to four hours) each day. Bikers cover 20 to 40 miles a day, but that still leaves plenty of time to explore. Go-today.com sells weeklong hiking and biking trips across Europe ($539 to $2,559 per person, go-today.com). Bike Tours Direct acts as a clearinghouse for local European bike-tour outfits with itineraries including the Danube ($408), Tuscany ($583), and the Loire Valley ($589, 877/462-2423, biketoursdirect.com). Distant Journeys sets up self-guided treks in France, Italy, and Switzerland, including a hut-to-hut hike across Mont Blanc ($860, 888/845-5781, distantjourneys.com). Barging Savor the scenery of Europe's countryside at a leisurely 5 to 7 mph by cruising a canal. Most associate barging with France, but Europe is threaded with thousands of miles of canals and rivers, and solo cruising is becoming popular in Ireland, the U.K., Italy, Holland, and Germany. The best part: Even a six-person, self-drive barge costs only $335 to $425 per person per week. Ignore those barge trips that are really mini-cruises on oversize riverboats. Who needs a stateroom when you can be the captain? If you can handle a car, you can drive a barge. Along with the keys, you get a crash course in barging, including mooring and how to go through locks. Worried you'll miss all the best bits by going it alone? Consider a bed-and-breakfast tour that includes some meals and a degree of support while still leaving the driving to you. The pace will be set by how often you stop--arrange for rental bikes onboard to explore nearby villages and vineyards--and how many locks you have to go through. The barging season runs from late March through October. You rent by the week, and rates should include fuel, linens, an equipped galley, and navigational gear. Le Boat (800/992-0291, leboat.com) and Connoisseur (888/355-9491, connoisseurafloat.com) make planning practically effortless. The Barge Broker (800/275-9794, bargebroker.com) rents self-drive boats and arranges bed-and-breakfast barge trips in France. SailingYou needn't be an Onassis to sail the Greek islands or the coast of Turkey. Whether aboard a sailboat or motor yacht, you have three main options for tackling the high seas. Self-skippered bareboat yachts come with everything and the kitchen sink--snorkeling gear, CD player, and other amenities--for $300 to $500 per person per week, assuming you split the costs between six to eight people. The price varies with the season, as well as with the size, type, and age of the craft. Slightly worn yachts over five years old tend to be better bargains, but may suffer from dubious plumbing (pump toilets break easily). Wondering whether you have the experience to go bareboat? Frankly, if you have to ask the question, you should charter a skippered boat. Captains charge around $130 per day. A cook runs another $110 to $130 per day. Fully crewed boats including meals cost $700 to $800 per person per week (drinks are usually extra). IfIf you're already an old salt but feel skittish about sailing solo in foreign waters, consider joining a flotilla led by an experienced skipper. However, flotillas add about 15 percent to the bareboat price, and you exchange a lot of freedom for that safety net--sailing dates and routes are all prearranged. Both Odyssey Sailing (odysseysailing.gr) and Fyly Yachting (fyly.gr) offer bareboats, crewed yachts, and flotilla tours in Greece. Ocean Blue Yachts arranges bareboat and skippered charters in Greece, Turkey, Italy, and Croatia (oceanblueyachts.com). The agency Contact Turkey deals in bareboats and crewed yachts in Turkey (contactturkey.com). Blue Voyage (800/818-8753, bluevoyage.com) books skippered charters in Turkey and Greece. The name-your-own-price website sailonline.com links travelers directly with boat owners (mostly bareboat; some crewed) for a $39 fee, but it claims you can nab prices 35 percent to 50 percent below the going rates. VIP passes to Europe's greatest cities Never again fork over a fistful of euros at every sight, wait an hour in line at top museums, or search in vain for a newsstand selling the bus tickets you need. Museum cards and city passes do away with such travel aggravations, making them some of the best buys in Europe. Available from participating attractions and tourist offices, these little beauties grant you admission to most city sights--and often the right to bypass the entry line--for $5 to $49 per day. Many also throw in free public transportation plus discounts on tours, shopping, dining, and nightlife. Cards in Scandinavia tend to be the most comprehensive, but those of other major cities--London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Barcelona--are no savings slouches, either. --RB Continental Camping Car camping costs just $20 to $40 per couple, even in Paris and Venice. Carol Mickelsen poured 25 years of Eurotenting into Camping Europe (Affordable Travel Press). These are her 10 favorite campgrounds. Most are open only during the warmer months. Austria: Donaupark Camping Klosterneuburg, its cheery cafe/store a colorful caboose, sits in the woodlands of a Vienna suburb. 011-43/2243-25877, tiscover.at/donaupark-camp.klosterneuburg. Denmark: On the island of Mon, 80 miles south of Copenhagen, white cliffs rise above the sea to a lime-green forest. Stake a tent between shoreside dunes at Ulvshale Camping and then wander the near-deserted beach. 011-45/55-815-325, ulvscamp.dk. France: A bus connects Camping du Bois de Boulogne, along the Seine, with the Paris Metro. In lousy weather, splurge on a riverside mobile home with kitchen and bath. Year-round, 011-33/1-45-24-30-00, abccamping.com/boulogne.htm. Greece: Explore Delphi's temples in the crowd-free early morning or late afternoon. During the hot midday, retreat to the Camping Apollon pool for views over the Gulf of Corinth. Year-round, 011-30/226-508-2762, apolloncamping.gr. Italy: Savor sunrises at Camping Miramare's private beach on Punta Sabbioni, a peninsula protecting Venice from the Adriatic. Venice is just a ferry ride away. 011-39/041-966-150, camping-miramare.it. Netherlands: Gaasper Camping is in a lakeside park 20 minutes by metro from Amsterdam's center. Awake to the smell of baking bread from the camp store. 011-31/20-696-7326, gaaspercamping.nl. Norway: At Melkevoll Bretun Camping, near Jostedal Glacier, there are guided hikes and a sauna. Cabins are available year-round. 011-47/57-873-864, melkevoll.no. Poland: Camping Smok is just minutes from Krakow's market square. Year-round, 011-48/12-429-8300, smok.krakow.pl. Spain: Outdoor enthusiasts gather in the cafe at Camping Asolaze, in Isaba, to plan Pyrenees hikes. 011-34/948-893-034, larra-asolaze.com. Turkey: Near Goreme, Dilek Camping is tucked into the boulder fields of Cappadocia, where the hills are dotted with frescoed churches. Swim in the pool, and walk through Dovecote Valley at sunset. 011-90/384-271-2396.

A fine place to start is around Brussels' famed Grand-Place, where every third shop seems to be selling chocolate. Don't drive yourself nuts trying to pinpoint the perfect vendor. The Belgian government keeps strict control over chocolate production, so bad batches are rare. If you're worried, look for the AMBAO label with the white cocoa bean, which guarantees the freshest, tastiest ingredients--and no vegetable fats or genetically modified additives. High, low, and little Their garish yellow signs may set off your tourist-trap detector, but Leonidas chocolate shops--as ubiquitous in Belgium as Starbucks is in the States--offer decent value. A one-kilo box (2.2 pounds) of assorted chocolates is $36.50, or order by the piece for about $1 per. High in snob factor and price is Mary Chocolatier, on rue Royale in Brussels. Mary's manons--smooth sugar paste around a ball of cream and walnuts, flavored with vanilla, coffee, or chocolate--cost $53 for a one-kilo box. Smaller, family-owned stores often make for fun and friendly shopping. Every month, Antwerp's Burie Chocolatier displays a new chocolate and marzipan sculpture in its window. A 12-piece box of the "chocolate diamonds" (gem shaped and made of milk, dark, and white chocolate) runs $8.50. Step up to the glass Prices are set, either by the piece, gram, or box, so don't bother haggling. Premade boxes are popular, but if you're picky or curious, order by the piece. English is widely spoken, especially in Brussels, so feel free to ask questions and be specific in any requests. If you want to taste before you buy, you should bear in mind that the mom-and-pop shops are more likely than the big chain stores to dole out samples. Melt in your mouth--not in your luggage Pack chocolates you intend to bring home in your carry-on so that they don't melt or get crushed. Expensive chocolates often include fresh cream and can't be stored for more than two weeks. (The cheaper the chocolates, the longer the shelf life.) Keep them fresh longer by placing them in a closed box in your refrigerator. For optimal taste, take them out of the fridge 20 minutes before eating--if you can wait. Belgian chocolates Burie Chocolatier Stefaniestraat 8, Antwerp, Belgium, 011-32/3-237-1242, chobel.be Leonidas Chocolates Locations all over the country, 011-32/2-522-1957, leonidas-chocolate.com Mary Chocolatier 73 rue Royale, 1000, Brussels, 011-32/2-217-4500, marychoc.com