1936 On the Continent

therefore only too obvious. However, since the Editor insists on my writing this chapter, I bow to the inevitable and will try to work out a reasonable budget.
    Railway Fares.
It is, unfortunately, impossible for me to fix this item. I have already said that in Italy you only travel at full rates if you are determined to be placed under tutelage. The cost of rail travel depends on the length of the journey. The following tariff is for your information:
First.
Second.
Third.
lire
lire
lire
100 kilometres
52.50
35.50
21.50
200 kilometres
104.00
70.00
41.50
500 kilometres
219
148.00
87.00
1000 kilometres
347
233.00
137.00
    These are the basic prices, without reductions. With regard to distances, I would point out, also by way of information, that, for instance, the distance from the Italian frontier at Ventimiglia to Rome is 652 kilometres. From this and with the aid of any time-table you can calculate the cost of your rail fares yourself, though it is far simpler to go to any travel agency, where you will be informed of all the prices and all the available concessions in a few minutes.
    Accommodation.
Hotel prices in Italy have been very considerably reduced. Even in the best luxury hotel a room and board will not cost you more than 70-80 lire per day. But this, of course, represents the maximum. Generally speaking, the all-in prices of the better class hotels range between 35 and 60 lire per day, while at boarding-houses you can live at between 25 and 45 lire per day. If you are staying in the same town for a long time, you will do well to put up at a boarding-house. Prices are reduced in proportion to the length of your stay. The longer you stay the lower will the tariff be.
    Food.
At first-class restaurants the price of lunch or dinner without wine ranges between 15 and 30 lire. However, in the small
trattorias
mentioned in previous chapters you can feed quite well on from 7 to 15 lire per meal. If you wish to economise you are advised to have your breakfast at a coffee bar, where you will be served with coffee and pastries from 1.20 lire.
    Amusements.
The theatres are not expensive. Good seats can be obtained at from 20 to 30 lire, except at the big Italian opera houses, particularly at Milan and Rome, where a stall costs at least 65 or 70 lire. The highest prices at first-class cinemas are in the vicinity of 10 lire, but the larger Italian towns have many excellent cinemas where the best seat can be obtained at 5 lire.
    At dance halls you will have to calculate from 10 to 25 lire for refreshments. Where an entertainment is given prices are naturally higher.
    Communications.
Owing to the uncertainty in connection with the supply of petrol, taxis are at present very expensive. Omnibus fares in the heart of the town amount to about 50-60 centesimi, while in the outskirts fares range between 30 and 40 centesimi. The price of tickets from the heart of the town to the outskirts is in the vicinity of 1 lira. Tramway fares are generally 30-40 centesimi.
    Experience shows that it is best to provide approximately as much for pocket money per day as the price of board and lodging.
    The total cost of a fortnight’s stay in Italy, provided you travel about 1,500 kilometres, may be estimated as follows:
Lire
Rail fares (50 per cent. reduction)
150
Board-residence
462
Porters, fares, tips, etc.
100
Sundries
300

Total
1,012
    This amount includes board-residence of a good middleclass standard, but the daily sundries have been taken at a low figure.

SWITZERLAND
by
W. A. TANSLEY
    TABLE OF CONTENTS

SWITZERLAND
    So much has been written about Switzerland in the past, so many superlatives used to describe it, that one may well be pardoned for doubting whether the reality will not fall short of these glowing descriptions. Yet the fact that people of absolutely opposite points of view unite in praising Switzerland should cause one to hesitate before rejecting the truth of their statements and ask what is the charm of this country which exerts such an attraction on such diverse types. The answer would seem to be “its diversity.” There are the majestic Alps with their crowns of eternal snow and green valleys nestling between the mountains; there is the Swiss Riviera where the vegetation is semi-tropical and oranges and lemons bear fruit in the open; there is the glorious Lake of Lucerne, which no painter dare reproduce in its natural colouring lest he be scoffed at; there are the big industrial towns, such as Zürich, Geneva and