Before you leave, it's worth contacting the tourist offices of the countries you're intending to visit, since most produce copious quantities of free leaflets, maps and brochures, some of which can be quite useful, both in planning your trip and when you're travelling. This is especially true for parts of central and eastern Europe, where up-to-date maps in particular are often scarcer in the country than in their tourist offices abroad. Also note that Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia do not have official tourist offices, so it may help to contact their embassies for more information. For the rest of Europe go easy, though: much of the information these places pump out can be picked up just as easily on your travels, and it can weigh a ton. Note that in Britain, far from encouraging potential visitors to call for information, national tourist boards of certain countries see this as an opportunity to fleece the punter even before arrival with 0891 numbers and drawn-out taped messages.
AUSTRIA: USA PO Box 1142, New York, NY 10108 - 1142 (212/944 6880); Canada 2 Bloor St East, Suite 3330, Toronto, ON M4W 1A8 (416/967 3381); UK 30 St George St, London W1R 0AL (0171/629 0461); Ireland Merrion Hall, Strand Rd, Sandymount, PO Box 2506, Dublin 4 (01/283 0488); Australia 36 Carrington St, 1st floor, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9299 3621, website http://austria-info.at/).
BELGIUM: USA 780 third Ave, Suite 1501, New York, NY 10017 - 7076 (212/758 8130); UK 29 Princes St, London W1R 7RG (0891/887799 - premium rates charged for calls).
BULGARIA: USA c/o Balkan USA, 411 E 42nd St, New York, NY 10017 (212/822 5900).
CZECH REPUBLIC USA 1109 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10028 (212/288 0830); UK 49 Southwark St, London SE1 1RU (0171/378 6009).
DENMARK: USA PO Box 4649, Grand Central Stn, New York, NY 10163 - 4649 (212/949 2333); UK 55 Sloane St, London SW1X 9SY (0171/259 5959, website http://www.dt.dk)
FINLAND: USA PO Box 4649, Grand Central Stn, New York, NY 10163 - 4649 (212/949 2333); Canada 1200 Bay St, Suite 604, Toronto, ON M5R 2A5 (416/964 9159); UK 3rd floor, 30 - 35 Pall Mall, London SW1Y 5LP (0171/839 4048); Australia c/o Response PR, Level 4, 81 York St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9290 1950); New Zealand c/o Euro Linx Tours Ltd, 3rd floor, 20 Fort St, Aukland (09/379 9716).
FRANCE: USA 444 Madison Ave, 16th floor, New York, NY 10022 (900/990 0400); Canada 1981 Av McGill College, Suite 490, Montreal, PQ H3A 2W9 (514/288 4264); UK 178 Piccadilly, London W1V 0AL (0891/244123 - premium rates charged for calls); Ireland 35 Lower Abbey St, Dublin 1 (01/703 4046); Australia 12 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9231 5244).
GERMANY: USA 122 E 42nd St, 52nd floor, New York, NY 10168 - 0072 (212/661 7200); Canada 175 Bloor St E, North Tower, Suite 604, Toronto, ON M4W 3R8 (416/968 1570); UK Nightingale House, 65 Curzon St, London W1Y 8NE (0171/495 0081); Australia c/o 143 Macquarie St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9267 8148).
GREECE: USA Olympic Tower, 645 Fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 (212/421 5777); Canada 1300 Bay St, Toronto, ON M5R 3K8 (416/968 2220); UK 4 Conduit St, London W1R ODJ (0171/499 9758); Australia 51 Pitt St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9241 1663).HUNGARY: USA 150 E 58th St, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10155 (212 355 0240); UK c/o Hungarian Embassy, 46 Eaton Pl, London SW1 8AL (0171/823 1032, website http://www.hungary.com).
IRELAND: USA 345 Park Ave, New York, NY 10154 (800/223 6470); Canada 160 Bloor St E, Suite 1150, Toronto, ON M4W 1B9 (416/929 2777); UK 150 New Bond St, London W1Y 0AQ (0171/518 0800); Australia 5th Level, 36 Carrington St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/299 6177).
ITALY: USA 630 5th Ave, Suite 1565, New York, NY 10111 (212/245 4822); Canada 1 Pl Ville Marie, Suite 1914, Montreal, PQ H3B 2C3 (514/866 7667); UK 1 Princes St, London W1R 8AY (0171/408 1254); Ireland 47 Merrion Sq, Dublin 2 (01/766397).
LUXEMBOURG: USA 17 Beekman Pl, New York, NY 10022 (212/935 8888); UK 122 Regent St, London W1R 5FE (0171/434 2800).
MOROCCO: USA 20 E 46th St, New York, NY 10017 (212/557 2520); Canada Place Montreal Trust, 1800 McGill College, Suite 2450, Montreal, Quebec H3A 3J6 (514/842 8111); UK: 205 Regent St, London W1R 7DE (0171/437 0073); Australia 11 West St North, Sydney, NSW 2060 (02/9922 4999).
NETHERLANDS: USA 225 N Michigan Ave, Suite 1854, Chicago IL 60601 (888/GO HOLLAND); Canada 25 Adelaide St E, Suite 710, Toronto, ON M5C1Y2 (888/GO HOLLAND); UK 25 - 28 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LD (0891/200277 - premium rates charged for calls, website http://www.nbt.nl/holland).
NORWAY: USA 655 third Ave, New York, NY 10017 (212/949 2333); UK Charles House, 5 - 11 Lower Regent St, London SW1Y 4LR (0171/839 6255, website http://tourist.no).
POLAND: USA 275 Madison Ave, Suite 1711, New York, NY 10016 (212/338 9412); UK 310 - 312 Regent St, 1st floor, London W1R 5AJ (0171/580 8811).
PORTUGAL: USA 590 fifth Ave, New York, NY 10036 - 4704 (212/354 4403); Canada 60 Bloor St W, Suite 1005, Toronto, ON M4W 3B8 (416/921 4925); UK 2nd floor, 22 - 25a Sackville St, London W1X 1DE (0171/494 1441); Ireland 54 Dawson St, Dublin 2 (01/670 9133).
ROMANIA: USA 342 Madison Ave, Suite 210, New York, NY 10173 (212/697 6971); UK 83A Marylebone High St, London W1M 3DE (0171/224 3692).
SLOVAKIA: USA 406 E 67th St, New York, NY 10021 (212/737 3971)
SLOVENIA: USA 345 E 12th St, New York, NY 10003 (212/358 9024)
SPAIN: USA 666 fifth Ave, New York, NY 10022 (212/265 8822); Canada 2 Bloor St W, Suite 3402, Toronto, ON M4W 3E2 (416/961 3131); UK 57 - 58 St James's St, London SW1A 1LD (0891/669920 - premium rates charged for calls); Australia 203 Castlereagh St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9264 7966).
SWEDEN: USA 655 Third Ave, 18th floor, New York, NY 10017 - 5617 (212/885 9700); UK 11 Montagu Pl, London W1H 2AL (0171/724 5658).
SWITZERLAND: USA 608 fifth Ave, New York, NY 10020 (212/757 5944); Canada 926 East Mall, Etoeicoke, ON M9B 6K1 (416/695 2090); UK Swiss Centre, New Coventry St, London W1V 8EE (0171/734 1921).
TURKEY: USA 821 UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017 (212/687 2194); Canada 360 Albert St, Suite 801, Ottawa, ON K1R 7X7 (613/230 8654); UK 170 - 173 Piccadilly, London W1V 9DD (0171/629 7771); Australia Suite 101, 280 George St, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9223 3055).
UK: USA 551 fifth Ave, Suite 701, New York, NY 10176 (800/462 2748 or 212/986 2200); Canada 111 Avenue Rd, Suite 450, Toronto, ON M5R 3J8 (416/925 6326); Ireland 123 Lower Bagot St, Dublin 2 (01/661 4188); Australia 210 Clarence St, fourth floor, Sydney, NSW 2000 (02/9267 4555); New Zealand Suite 305, 3rd floor, Dilworth Building, cnr Customs St/Queen St, Auckland (0649/303 1446)
If no office in your home country is listed here, apply to the embassy.