Travelers' Intercom

While my wife, Paula, and I didn’t find Lugano, Switzerland, to be the most exciting or interesting of destinations, the city is the southern terminus of two of Swiss Rail’s most scenic train routes: the William Tell Express and the Bernina Express. That is its primary attraction for many travelers, but its mountainside location on picturesque Lake Lugano (shared with Italy) provides another good reason to visit.

The city certainly doesn’t fit the stereotypical image of an Alpine village populated with German-speaking folk eating lots of raclette and rösti. Italian-speaking Swiss...

My wife, Barbara, and I enjoyed a trip to Russia, Estonia and Finland, Sept. 3-28, 2007, and have some advice for travelers to Russia.

Barbara, on the recommendation of several travel books (including “Fodor’s Moscow & St. Petersburg,” seventh edition, published in 2006), bought American Express Travelers Cheques. In Russia, however, we found that there was very limited opportunity to cash these checks. We tried many banks in Moscow and St. Petersburg to no avail.

We found the American Express office in St. Petersburg only to be told that they don’t cash their own...

I read the item “Venice’s 2-tier pricing” (Jan. ’08, pg. 24), regarding different prices for locals and tourists at restaurants and hotels and for water transport in Venice, Italy. Yes, there are scams in Venice as well as unintentional and unneeded services and their subsequent charges, but, more often, there are just high prices.

All bars and restaurants are required to give you a printed receipt, and if you have a grievance you may be required to take it with you so that the Guardia di Finanza can see it. It indicates that the establishment has collected the tax. This practice is...