Chocolate spas are popping up all over the place, but before laying out the dollars for this type of sweet deal, be sure you’re getting the real thing and not just a chocolate “scented” treatment!

If you find yourself in Perugia, Italy, between October 16-25 you can indulge in all that is chocolate at Eurochocolate 2009, International Chocolate Exhibition.

The event features a week of chocolate antics, music and competitions taking place throughout the city of Perugia, home town of the famed bitter-sweet chocolate and hazelnut blend, Bacio Perugina.

Perugia is on the route between Florence and Rome. So, once you’ve gotten your fill of art (which is in abundance in Florence!), you can give in to your sweet tooth and come see the masters at work as “Makers of sweet things”.

For those who may be visiting from Paris, take the Artesia Night train to Rome (approximately 15 hours), then catch the train the next morning from Rome to Perugia (approximately 3 hours). By taking an overnight train, you can avoid having to pay for a night at a hotel and get to experience the thrill of sleeping on the train (having sweet dreams of course as your mind wanders to your Eurochocolate adventures)!

And, if you book by December 31, 2009, you can take advantage of a truly sweet deal! Get 20% off the price of your Eurail Italy Pass. So you can see even more of Italy than you might have expected to. Don’t delay, get your pass today and begin living La Dolce Vita!

In mid-October back in 1810, Crown Prince Ludwig I (later King Ludwig I) married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to attend the Royals’ reception, held in the fields in front of the city gates. The fields were named Theresienwiese, which translates into “Therese’s fields” in honor of the Princess. A horse race was run to celebrate the nuptials and it marked the end of the reception.

Soon the wedding of the Prince and Princess would become tradition in Germany, celebrated each year. In 1819, the horse races were replaced with beer carts and a carnival-like atmosphere and from that time, has pretty much morphed into the Oktoberfest of today, a festival full of family-fun!

Originally, the celebration lasted a day in October, now it is a 16-day festival drawing millions of people to the fields beginning in September and running through the first Sunday of October. This change was due to the Bavarian climate, with cold winds blowing down from the Alps, often times carrying snow. In 2009, Oktoberfest begins on September 19th and ends on October 4th.

So, if you’re traveling in Europe and want to experience Oktoberfest for yourself, hop on a train and get to Munich! Night train services are available from Paris, Amsterdam and Rome, just to name a few. If you’re in Germany already, use a German Rail Pass to get to Munich.

Be sure to pack your lederhosen or dirndl, and get ready for some unforgettable excitement!

Do you enjoy classical ballet? Ever dreamed of going to Moscow? Now you can do both! The annual Summer Ballet Festival is going on right now through September 25th in Moscow. You can experience some of the most noteworthy masterpieces such as, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker and more.

While in Moscow, you can also take advantage of all the sights around you. Stroll through the Red Square, visit St. Basil’s Cathedral, and of course, it’s a must to pay a visit to the Kremlin.

To get to Moscow is an experience in itself.  Rail Europe now offers train tickets from Paris to Moscow. In Paris, board the train in the evening and arrive the next day in Berlin. You will have an entire day to spend exploring Berlin before hopping on-board the overnight service to Moscow.

It sounds like alot of time on the train, but for the most part, you’ll be resting on the train at night, arriving awake and refreshed in the morning to begin your exploration of Moscow. In all, from Paris to Moscow will take 2 nights on various trains. It is an amazing opportunity that awaits you, and think of all the stamps you can add to your passport! Get more information about the Summer Ballet Festival in Moscow.

Be aware, many visitors to Russia require a special travel visa.  Be sure you have your travel visa before you depart your country of residence. The special visa is NOT available at the border to Russia. For more information on obtaining a travel visa to enter Russia, please click here.

The Avignon Festival was started in 1947 by Jean Vilar. Since its start until current day, the festival has gained much prestige and awareness. Spectators wait all year for this event to occur!

You will see quite a variety of performances including singers, dancers, musicians, actors/actresses and many different art developers.  With so much spirit and life going on around you, you will not regret going to this festival! And, it takes place right at the Pope’s Palace, one of the most sought out structures in Avignon.

No need to worry about language barriers either, some of the acts are performed in English, however, once you embrace everything around you, you’ll come to realize, art has it’s own, universal language.

And the truly great part, you can take a TGV train from Paris, travel direct to Avignon, and arrive in under 3 hours! The perfect day, traveling in style aboard the TGV, embracing nature right outside your train window along the way, then embracing the arts and being blown away by the amount of talent being performed all around you. Enjoy!

Enjoy open-air theatrics in Prague as the works of William Shakespeare are performed. The Summer Shakespeare Festival is the oldest and biggest open-air theater festival in Europe. The festival opens on June 25th and runs through September 3rd.

If you are in Nice and want to check out this time-honored festival, you can do so by train. Take the TGV from Nice to Paris, then hop aboard the Thalys from Paris to Cologne, and finally, take a City Night Line train from Cologne to Prague. The last segment is an overnight train, so after your day of travel, you will arrive in Prague the next morning, refreshed and ready for Shakespeare. With the comfort and ease European rail travel provides, it leaves you believing that there really is Much Ado About Nothing!