Shopping in Europe can be fun, but not if you let it overwhelm your trip. I like to shop smart, spending my time — and money — efficiently. Based on three decades of travel, here are my top tips for shopping in Europe.

Shop in countries where your dollar goes further. Shop in Turkey, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Eastern Europe, where the dollar is relatively strong. For the price of a doily in Britain, you can get a lace tablecloth in Spain.

Shop at flea...

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 409th issue of your monthly overseas travel magazine. What travelers feel other world travelers would want to know about: that’s what we’ve been printing going on 35 years now. Plus news affecting travelers.

The US government compiled a list of 14 countries it considers state sponsors of terrorism or “other countries of interest” and, as of Jan. 4, anyone with a passport from one of those countries or anyone who is traveling from or has...

by Julie Skurdenis

Coudenberg was one of the most important palaces of its time, comparable to the great royal residences in other European countries. On a hill overlooking Brussels, the Dukes of Brabant built a small castle in the 11th century. By 1250 that castle had become their main ducal residence as Brussels emerged as the political center of Brabant in what is now Belgium.

As the power of the dukes grew, especially after Philip the Good inherited Burgundy, so did their...