Europe is a smorgasbord of cultures, languages, cuisines, histories, art and architecture. However, look beyond the well-trodden museums and galleries and youll find that Europe holds many unexpected cards up its sleeve. Where else might you attend a wife-carrying competition, jump in and out of freezing water before being beaten by birch twigs, celebrate the summer solstice in a prehistoric stone circle, or choose between sweltering beaches, semi-desert, permafrost, glaciers, volcanoes, hot springs and the Arctic?

　　 From remote, icy fjords in Greenland to wild street parties in Amsterdam, The Europe Book draws together the charms and the surprises of this magnificent continent. Step through the pages and be dwarfed by the Alps, blow your savings on a roulette table in Monaco, find a piece of the Berlin Wall and contemplate the Iron Curtain, and discover why Icelanders are the happiest people in the world. Let Lonely Planet show you this continent through new eyes and inspire you to embark on your own European journey.