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The major cultural event this year is a dazzling exhibition of art, science and culture, the theme of which is Portuguese discoveries and Renaissance Europe. The works displayed range from the 15th to the 17th century, and the show has taken years to assemble from around the world. It is divided among five historical monuments in Lisbon. The Algarve, a longtime tourist favorite on the Atlantic coast with some of Europe's best beaches, boasts three Vegas-style casinos.
EASTERN EUROPE. The most popular cities this year are Budapest and Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia's Adriatic resort. The Hungarian capital is easy to reach by hydrofoil on the Danube from Vienna and has a reputation for being more hospitable to Americans than other Communist-bloc cities. A room at the Budapest Hyatt or Hilton starts at $50; an elegant meal at Gundel, the city's romantic garden restaurant, costs around $30 a person. Westerners get a kick out of tours of the Puszta region, where they feel at home on the range watching Hungarian cowboys rounding up cattle. With $20 billion owed Western banks, Yugoslavia is desperate to woo foreign vacationers. The government is even spending $6 million to import Western newspapers for tourists' consumption during the summer. Westerners can get a 10% discount on all goods and services. When it comes to such amenities as air conditioning, ice cubes and even a cup of coffee, Yugoslavia still has a long way to go. One measure of the country's need for hard currency is an almost philanthropic scheme by which U.S. servicemen stationed in Europe are invited to vacation at any of six Yugoslav army resorts; they have first-class accommodations, swimming pools, saunas and good restaurants, all for $12 a day.
The first wave of 1983 travelers is already home, and they are mostly delighted by the hospitality, the bargains and the rare attractions they were offered. Ronald and Sandra Karp of Belmont, Mass., who spent their June vacation in Florence, Rome and Venice, were deeply impressed by "unbelievable" low-priced meals. After all the warnings they heard about purse snatchers, says Ronald, "we were paranoid by the time we got there. But the Italian people were warm and friendly, and nobody cheated us." Many returning tourists babble of the bargains to be had in European stores; on goods ranging from Armani coats to Zandra Rhodes fashions, prices are at least 50% lower than they are in the U.S. (Moreover, this year tourists may bring home $400 worth of purchases duty free.)
More than ever, the returning voyagers speak glowingly of life in Europe's countryside, of good meals and friendly people in pubs, auberges, wine gardens and pousadas. Take Chicagoans Alvin and Susan Schonfeld, who are, respectively, a physician and an IBM telecommunications specialist. "We book into a major city," says Susan, "then try to get out into the countryside and talk to the people." After ten trips abroad, the only complaints they have are about "some terrible red tape in China."