What's new in Europe for 2012

Some change is in the air this year in Europe, where travelers will encounter revamped museums, streamlined ticketing at top attractions and celebrations aplenty in major cities.

Despite a few hassles, northern Europe remains one of the easiest places to travel, whether it's a spring fling to Germany, an alpine adventure in the Swiss Alps or a summertime swing through Scandinavia.

But there's a bit of havoc in Europe, too. Some marquee museums -- Venice's Accademia and Paris' Picasso Museum -- are under renovation. American travelers are almost certain to encounter growing difficulties using traditional U.S. credit cards at train stations, restaurants and other venues that have converted to the chip-and-pin card system that's popular throughout Europe.

Here's a country-by-country look at what's in store:

FRANCE

PARIS is launching an electric-car-share program called Autolib' (autolib.eu), which is designed to function much like the city's successful Velib' bike-share program. Eventually 3,000 electric cars will plug in at 1,000 stations -- and yes, Americans and Canadians can rent one as long as they have an International Driving Permit (available for $20 via AAA or National Auto Club).

Meanwhile, public transit in Paris is becoming more automated. Staffed ticket windows in Metro stations are gradually being phased out in favor of ticket machines, so don't expect live transactions at some smaller stations. Since most U.S. credit cards won't work in these machines (BritishAirways Visa from Chase is an exception), be sure to carry coins or small bills of 20 euros or less.

The news is mostly good for art lovers in Paris. At the Orsay Museum -- the mecca of Impressionism -- a $28 million, multiyear renovation wrapped up in October, when the top-floor Impressionist and post-Impressionist rooms reopened in a larger space. The Louvre's pre-Classical Greek section reopens late this year, and the museum's exciting new Islamic art wing debuts this summer. But Paris' Picasso Museum remains closed for renovation, probably until summer 2013.

NORMANDY REGION Beginning in May, there will be a new way to make a pilgrimage to one of the country's most popular sights -- the evocative island abbey of Mont St. Michel. Visitors will park in remote lots and ride free shuttles to a pedestrian walkway connected to the island. It's part of a multiyear project to replace the island's old causeway with a sleek, modern bridge, allowing water to freely circulate around the island once more.

At the nearby D-Day beaches in Normandy, the terrific Utah Beach Landing Museum is now open. Built in the sand dunes around the remains of a German bunker, with floors above and below sea level, the museum's finale is a large, glassed-in room overlooking Utah Beach. 

IRELAND

Several sights will commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Titanic's lone voyage. In the modest port town of Cobh, the ship's final anchorage (and the last chance to get off), the Queenstown Story exhibit will have beefed-up coverage of the Titanic. In Belfast, a $150-millon visitors' center opens this month on the site where the ship was built. The high-tech attraction holds the world's best collection of relics from the ship's short but opulent existence.

If you're a first-time visitor to Dublin, a free service called City of a Thousand Welcomes arranges short meetings with local volunteers over a cup of tea or a pint of beer to help you get oriented to the city. 

ITALY

What doesn't change about Italy is that it's always changing. Some long-closed doors are opening again this year. Historic sights, newly scrubbed and restored, are coming out from behind scaffolding. A few more monuments are still under wraps, but getting closer to completion.

ROME The Colosseum is being cleaned from top to bottom and given permanent lighting. For the first time, tours are being offered to previously restricted areas -- underground passageways and the third-floor parapet. This behind-the-scenes tour is available only by booking a 90-minute tour at least a day in advance with Pierrici, a private company (pierreci.it).

At Palatine Hill, you can now tour the House of Livia, the home of the wife of Emperor Augustus. Guided visits, which are included with admission, take 20 people in every half-hour to tour the site and its newly restored frescoes. As surviving Roman wall paintings are rare, it's worth the trouble.

A few doors are better left closed: Rome's Mamertine Prison is no longer worth a visit. Until recently, it was a charming and historic sight. Today, its artifacts have been removed and a commercial tour-bus company is charging 10 euros for a cheesy "multimedia" walk-through. Also, avoid getting sucked in by the clever advertising for the Time Elevator Roma or the hype surrounding the new, inconveniently located MAXXI modern-art museum.

At St. Peter's Basilica, you won't have to descend into the crypt to find the tomb of Pope John Paul II. After he was beatified on May 1, his remains were moved to the Chapel of San Sebastián on the main floor. 

VENICE Renovations continue at the Accademia -- showcasing the city's top collection of Venetian paintings -- some major canvasses are out of view, and some rooms are closed. There's still scaffolding around the base of the Campanile, the dramatic bell tower on St. Mark's Square, but a three-year restoration of the lovely little Bridge of Sighs -- popular with romantics who kiss as they glide under it on a gondola -- is now complete. 

FLORENCE The big news for visitors is the energetic young mayor's passion for traffic-free zones. Once brutal for pedestrians, the city's core is now a delight on foot. That means it's also more bike-friendly, and you'll find appealing city bike tours and rentals readily available.

Florence also now offers a new sightseeing pass called the Florence Card (50 euros). Though it's unlikely to save you much money, it spares you the hassle of making reservations for the top sights (Uffizi and Accademia galleries) and -- most importantly -- allows you to bypass the long lines. The card is valid for 72 hours, includes most sights and free use of city buses.

At the city's Duomo Museum, the restoration of the original panels of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise is wrapping up -- the famous panels should be back on display by June 24. And Florence's Galileo Science Museum, which was in a jumble of restoration for years, is now ready for prime time. 

CINQUE TERRE Sadly, the biggest change in Italy for 2012 is the result of a natural disaster. The magical towns of the Cinque Terre are still recovering from last fall's horrific flash flood. Of the five towns of the Cinque Terre, the two most popular towns for tourists -- Vernazza and Monterosso -- were hit hard. Monterosso plans to be ready for business this spring, but Vernazza's road to recovery will take longer. 

GERMANY

BERLIN remains one of Europe's most exciting and affordable capitals. The city has been busy updating and expanding several communist sights, including the Berlin Wall Memorial, the DDR Museum, with a quirky collection of communist-era artifacts, and the new but underwhelming Stasi Museum, featuring exhibits on East Germany's state security service.

Unfortunately, visitors to the Reichstag -- Germany's inspirational parliament building -- are now advised to make an online reservation to tour its impressive glass dome (bundestag.de). If it's not too crowded, you may be able to get in without a reservation, though it's unlikely. 

MUNICH The Lenbachhaus, featuring early modernist art, and the Halls of the Nibelungen at the Residenz remain closed for renovation and are projected to reopen in 2013. 

ELSEWHERE In Würzburg, the opulent chapel at the Residenz is undergoing restoration and should open to visitors in mid-2012, while St. Kilian's Cathedral is closed for renovation until the end of the year. The classy horse races near Baden-Baden have resumed, with three sessions happening in May, August and October.

Several new walking tours can help spice up your German adventure. In Rothenburg, the country's best-preserved medieval walled town, you can now do a walking-tour double feature. Start by strolling the town on the Executioner's Tour, a macabre hour with Georg Lehle costumed as a 14th century executioner, then follow it up with the excellent Night Watchman's Tour, accompanied by gritty tales of old-time Rothenburg.

If you're saddled with a long wait at Frankfurt's airport, the Frankfurt Layover Tour offers a unique way to kill time. Offered by Frankfurt on Foot, the tour lasts at least three hours but can be tailored to your interests and time, and includes pickup and drop-off at the airport. 

GREAT BRITAIN

From the summer Olympics to the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's sinking, several major events will make the British Isles a popular destination in 2012.

From July 27 to Aug. 12, London will host the Olympic Games. Leading up to the games, visitors can see the Olympic Stadium and other major landmarks from the View Tube, a covered shelter with a lookout tower and cafe. From here, visitors also can stroll along the Greenway, a 500-yard sidewalk atop a berm, providing other viewpoints. Blue Badge guides continue to lead Olympics-themed walking tours, though you won't see any more of the park itself than you would on your own.

Brits will be partying before the games even start. This year marks the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, commemorating 60 years of Elizabeth II's reign. Museums will host special exhibits, and various events and pageantry will take place the first week of June.

As always, restoration work continues to keep visitors to London on their toes. After a two-year renovation, Kensington Palace reopens this week with a new permanent exhibit, "Victoria Revealed," which showcases the life of Britain's longest-ruling monarch.

Barclays Cycle Hire, London's citywide bike-rental program, is now up and pedaling. The bikes are available for rent from stations scattered throughout the city.

ELSEWHERE In Greenwich, the 1869 clipper ship Cutty Sark is to reopen in spring after a five-year restoration. The new display allows visitors to walk above and below the suspended Gipsy Moth IV, the ship in which Sir Francis Chichester sailed solo around the world.

Visitors to the south of England will find a few changes along the tourist trail. Dover Castle has new exhibits that bring its secret World War II tunnels to life, including a look at the command center for the 1940 evacuation of Allied soldiers from Dunkirk and a 30-minute guided tour of a re-created World War II hospital ward.

Trendy Liverpool opened the new Museum of Liverpool, which details the town's history. Blackpool, a coastal resort for workaday Brits, is nearing the end of its own lengthy redevelopment. Its promenade has been spiffed up with new tram lines, landscaping and a wedding chapel, and Merlin Entertainments (the force behind Madame Tussauds) has refurbished the landmark Blackpool Tower. While the town is still really cheesy, it's a nicer cheesy. 

SPAIN

The Madrid Card sightseeing pass now allows you to skip the lines at sights -- which can save lots of time at the famous Prado art museum and the lavish Royal Palace. And in Barcelona, you can avoid the lines for the Picasso Museum by reserving an entrance time and buying your ticket online with no additional booking fee at museupicasso.bcn.cat/en.

Several museums in Toledo have reopened after years of renovation. The new Spanish Army Museum, installed within the Alcazar fortress, displays endless rooms of military collections of armor, uniforms and weapons. The Santa Cruz Museum displays a world- class collection of El Greco paintings, along with an eclectic mix of medieval and Renaissance art. The renamed El Greco Museum offers its small collection of paintings, including the "View and Plan of Toledo," El Greco's panoramic map of the city.

Granada's top sight, the magnificent Alhambra fortress, has opened an official bookstore in a handy city-center location that sells advance tickets (but not same-day tickets). With your ticket in hand, you can bypass the mob at the main entrance and enter the Alhambra through the Justice Gate.

In Seville, the once nondescript square called Plaza de la Encarnacion has been boldly redeveloped: A gigantic undulating canopy of five waffle-patterned, mushroom-shaped, 100-foot-tall structures now provides shade for the formerly sunbaked square. 

SCANDINAVIA

DENMARK Copenhagen's Meatpacking District, Kodbyen, is one of the city's up-and-coming destinations for restaurants and nightlife. The neighborhood is filled with trendy galleries and eateries that mingle with surviving offices and warehouses for the local meatpacking industry. 

NORWAY Damaged buildings in Oslo's Grunerlokka neighborhood now bear a poignant tribute to the events of July 22, 2011 -- when an anti-immigration lunatic killed eight people in the city with a car bomb before shooting and killing 69 more at a Labor Party summer camp. Permanent memorials eventually will be built at the sites of the tragedies. 

SWEDEN Stockholm is welcoming a new breed of tourist: fans of Stieg Larsson's punked-out computer hacker heroine, Lisbeth Salander, and jaded journalist hero, Mikael Blomkvist.

Set and shot in Stockholm, the Hollywood version of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is making the cityscape more recognizable. Just south of the Old Town, the Sodermalm neighborhood is the primary setting of the books. It's here that fans will find Kvarnen, an old-style pub in which Lisbeth hangs out with an all-girl punk band, and the Mellqvist cafe, where the love-struck Lisbeth sees Mikael kiss his mistress. Fans also canvisit the City of Stockholm Museum, which displays Larsson artifacts, features a reconstruction of Mikael's office at Millennium magazine and offers Millennium walking tours in English.  

SWITZERLAND

Changes also are afoot here. In the Swiss capital of Bern, the bears are back. Two years ago, Finn (a male from Finland) and Björk (a female from Denmark) moved into Bern's terraced Bear Park and got busy; soon afterward, they welcomed female cubs Ursina and Berna.

In Lausanne, home of the International Olympic Committee, the Olympic Museum will be closed for renovation until late 2013. But you can still enjoy the park and see the Olympic flame, and a temporary floating exhibit, moored just across the street from the park, will feature a taste of the museum's collection.