UNITED KINGDOM SUMMER PEARLS: London's architectural gems along the banks of the Thames
MUSIC: Europe's best pop and rock gatherings
BAGPIPES: The plaintive sounds of Scotland
SUBMARIUM: Journey to the bottom of the sea FESTIVALS: Fun in the sun in West Belfast
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FRANCE and SWITZERLAND VULCANIA: Blow your top at France's volcano park
ART: Berthe Morisot, the unknown Impressionist
FESTIVALS: Aix-en-Provence has it all
ART: The Barbizon School painters come to life
ART: Take a stroll through medieval gardens of delight
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SPAIN, PORTUGAL, ITALY and GREECE SALAMANCA: The city splashes out on culture
MUSIC: God's rock stars: the singing Greek monks
FOOD: Italy's unusual culinary delights
FILM: Great outdoor viewing in Rome
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GERMANY and BENELUX HORTICULTURE: The world blossoms at Floriade
BRUGGE: Belgium's second city shines
ART: Berlin's homage to multiculturalism ART: The best of the world's artists on show at Documenta 11
DANCE: Czech twin ballerinos steal the show in Hamburg MORE ..
CENTRAL and EASTERN EUROPE ART: Yugoslavia's modern art museum is back
ART: A retrospective of Samizdat art and writing from the Communist bloc
GRAZ: Austria's little-known city of culture
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THE NORDIC REGION DESIGN: Denmark celebrates Arne Jacobsen
MUSEUM: Get a blast from the past at Stalin World
STOCKHOLM: Welcome to the Venice of the North
MUSIC: Pianist Leif Ove Andsnes on tour MORE ..
PLUS LISTINGS: Other things to see and do in each region
Minnesinger, Huge Pride and Handbags
AMSTERDAM: To accessorize is a modern verb but an age-old
tenet of fashion, as can be seen at the "Finishing Touches"
exhibition at the Rijksmuseum. Ruffs came and went in the 17th
century, fans in the 18th. But some accessories are eternal:
handbags galore and not a logo in sight. May 25-Nov. 24• tel:
+31 (0)20 6747047•www.rijksmuseum.nl
PRENZLAU: Germany's Minnesong — medieval
courtly lovesongs — have gone the way of the rest of that
period except for troubadour Nikolai de Treskow. Also known
as Der Flirt, de Treskow will go a-wooing (July 6) in
the cloisters of the old monastery in Prenzlau, Brandenburg
as part of its Fairytale Romance summer program. June 14-Aug. 9• tel: +49 39 84
865 140•www.kulturfeste.de
COLOGNE: Gay pride fests pepper the cultural life of
cities all over Europe, but there's none bigger than Cologne's
extravagant Europride: a million visitors, 120 events, the first-ever
international gay-lesbian song contest and a huge Sunday parade
to end on. June 15-July 7 •tel: +49 (0)221
474 7899 •www.csd-cologne.de
AMSTERDAM: The Roots Festival is a timely celebration
of multikulti Amsterdam. The National Dance Company of Ghana
brings two new product-ions, Mexican Indian troupe Ometeotl
brings ancient bungee-jumping and the newly re-formed Senegalese
veterans, Orchestra Baobab, brings joy to Oosterpark. June 21-30 •tel: +31 (0)20 531
8122 •www.amsterdamroots.nl
BRUSSELS: Usually a parking lot, every Friday and Saturday
through July and August the esplanade beside the Cinquante-naire
park makes like it's in L.A. with drive-in movies-a 370-sq-m
screen, popcorn, pizza, radio broadcast for sound and, of course,
long, balmy nights. July-August •tel: 0900 20700
(in Belgium) •www.dedi.be
SPA: Parlez-vous Français? If not, the lyrics
and the website of Spa's 9th Francofolies might remain a mystery.
As might the appeal of le rock français, an art form
that mostly defies export beyond the French-speaking world.
Ecoutez-bien and discover why acts like Noir Desir and Lara
Fabian are huge and why former tennis star Yannick Noah can
sell a million in France and top the bill here. July 17-21 •tel: +32 (0)87 79
53 53 • www.francofolies.be
BERLIN: A surprise hit when it began in 2000, young.euro.classic
is an ear-opener for those who despair of contemporary classical
music — or musical youth in general. Its definition of
Europe is as broad — 16 concerts so far scheduled in Berlin's
Konzerthaus by youth orchestras from as far afield as Estonia
and Ukraine — as its definition of classic: Messiaen and
Berio as well as commissions for the festival. Aug. 2-18 •tel: +49 30 884 713
93 •www.young-euro-classic.de
And a last tango in ... WUPPERTAL:
A thousand dancers fill the massive and opulent ballroom of
Wuppertal's City Hall for Europe's largest tango event —
the Ball Tango Argentino. Sept. 21 •Tel: +49 (0)202 30
58 57 •www.tango-tango.de
