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For ancestor hunters, the British Travel and Holidays Association will recommend professional genealogists or will complete the title search in advance and arrange a visit to ancestral homes. More than 60 French châteaux have been converted to accommodate tourists in the formidable ducal splendor of the 1 3th and 15th centuries at prices ranging from $16-$40 per day for a double, including meals. For the ultimate in converted castles: the Sportsman's Club at Mittersill, Austria. Once-only guests are accepted at $40 to $50 per night for the privilege of trout fishing and hunting.
Behind the Iron Curtain. Visas to Russia and the satellite countries take from one to six weeks to obtain. Despite Khrushchev's unwelcoming noises, a record number of Americans (20,000) are expected to sign up for some 40 trips to 60 cities offered by Intourist, the official Soviet travel agency. The experience is dour but instructive. Prices: $10 to $30 per day. All satellite countries are offering special currency-exchange rates to tourists.
Warsaw is drab and still rubble-strewn, but memorable. The ancient capital of Cracow retains its medieval splendor. So does Prague, with its beautiful setting; on the Moldau, hotels are good (single: $11.75 per day with meals). Bureaucracy controls: the hotel costs must be paid before the tourist can use his visa. A four-day tour of Bohemian spas and castles costs $38.20 with meals.
Budapest has removed all the visible evidence of the 1956 revolution. The Gellert Hotel (just refurbished), the Duna and the Grand, the city's best, cost $20.50 per day for two, including meals. The evening includes gypsy violins, and a capitalist 15% service charge is added to the bill to help remind the tourist that Europe is Europe.