European Tourist Offices and Tourism Boards: Official Links and Chauffeur Booking for Visitors

Europe has more national tourism boards per square kilometer than any other region, and almost every capital also runs a city office with its own site, its own information desks and its own convention bureau. A visitor planning a trip can lose an hour working out which one is official. This page lists the main ones, grouped by country, and links to each organization's own website.

It also explains the one thing a tourist office cannot easily do on its own: put a named driver at the arrivals door for a guest it is hosting. LimousineWorldwideDirectory.com runs a 24/7 booking desk, and every ride is delivered by a vetted, licensed and commercially insured local chauffeur operator from our worldwide directory.

Which European tourist offices and tourism boards can book a chauffeur?

The sections run from west to east and north to south. Open each link in your own browser to confirm the current office hours, press contacts and trade pages.

Price & book your ride

Britain and Ireland

Heathrow lies about 24 km (15 miles) from central London, usually 45 to 60 minutes by road depending on the hour. See the London chauffeur service, Edinburgh and Dublin pages for city detail.

France and Monaco

Paris Charles de Gaulle is about 25 to 30 km (16 to 19 miles) from central Paris, normally 45 to 60 minutes. Nice airport to Monaco is about 22 km (14 miles), roughly 30 minutes. Details are on the Paris and Nice and Monaco pages.

Italy

In Rome and Florence, limited-traffic zones (ZTL) restrict where private vehicles may enter. A local operator plans drop-off points around them, which is a reason to book through someone who knows the streets. See Rome and Milan.

Spain and Portugal

Netherlands, Belgium and Germany

Switzerland and Austria

Nordic, Central and Southern Europe

City rules a tourist office should flag to visitors

Front desks in European cities are asked about vehicle access more than anywhere else, because the rules differ by city. London runs a congestion charge and an ultra-low emission zone. Paris and other French cities use low-emission zone rules. Rome and Florence restrict private vehicles in their historic centers through ZTL zones. Switzerland charges a vignette for motorways. None of this needs to concern a guest on a chauffeured transfer: choosing the drop-off point and handling the local requirement is the operator's job. It does mean that a hotel in a restricted center may see the car stop a short walk away, and the office can warn the guest in advance.

Planning a multi-country European press or buyer tour

1. List every leg with date, origin, destination and passenger names before contacting the desk.
2. Group legs by city so each local operator receives only its own pickups.
3. Choose vehicles for each leg. A buyer group usually fits an Executive Sprinter; two principals fit First Class sedans.
4. Mark which airports are international arrivals. These get 60 minutes of free waiting after landing; domestic arrivals get 30 minutes.
5. Decide where a name-board meet-and-greet is wanted. It is an add-on inside arrivals.
6. Ask for one invoice for the whole programme, sent to the organizing office.

What a gateway-city tourist office actually fields

Airport and station desks hear the same four requests. The first is how to reach a hotel late at night, when public transit is thin. The second is how to move a family with several suitcases. The third is how to arrange a car for an official guest. The fourth is a day trip to a landmark outside the city. A trade account gives the desk a way to answer the last three with a confirmed booking, and the first with an honest comparison of night rail, taxi and a pre-booked car. The private tours with a driver page covers the day-trip requests.

Where a site requires or recommends a licensed guide, as in the Vatican and many heritage sites, a chauffeur drives and can suggest stops but is not a guide, and the office should refer the guest to licensed guides for the interior.

How trade accounts help a European office

European cities share a problem: many different arrival points. A delegation might land at an airport, arrive at a main-line station or step off a cruise ship. A trade account lets one office book all three kinds of arrival under one confirmation. Our train station transfers, cruise transfers and airport pages show the arrival points we cover.

Chauffeurs are experienced professionals and vehicles are late-model, fully maintained and inspected. In Europe the standard classes are the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, S-Class and V-Class, with Sprinters for larger groups and stretch limousines or coaches on request, all "or similar" and confirmed at booking.

Choosing the right transfer for a European visitor

When a direct train drops a guest beside the hotel, the train wins. The chauffeur is for protocol, luggage and fixed schedules.

Setting up a trade account: a worked example for a European visitor centre

A trade account is an arrangement between an organization and our worldwide booking desk, not a referral scheme. The office stays independent; it simply gains a way to place a confirmed booking for a guest it is hosting and to receive one invoice afterwards. The sequence below shows how a typical office uses it.

1. Introduce the office. Contact the desk through the contact page with the organization's legal name, the department that will place bookings and the person who approves invoices.
2. Agree who may book. Many offices let a press officer, a convention-bureau coordinator and an airport information desk each place requests under the same account. Name them at the start.
3. Place the first booking in the online booker. Enter the pickup and drop-off addresses, the flight number if there is one, the vehicle class and the passenger names. The booker shows the fixed fare for those exact details before anything is confirmed.
4. Add the instructions that matter. A name-board in arrivals, a child seat, an alias for a private guest, a contact number for the host who will be waiting.
5. Receive one confirmation and, later, one invoice for the programme, instead of a stack of receipts from separate drivers.

Three scenarios offices commonly run

A city convention bureau hosting a medical congress knows the delegate list weeks ahead. It can book every arrival by flight number, so the desk tracks each flight and the local operator adjusts for delays. The bureau sees the arrivals on one confirmation, and delegates with a long-haul connection are met after the free waiting period that applies to international arrivals.

A regional board welcoming a travel-trade familiarization group usually moves between towns rather than staying in one city. Here the value is continuity: one booking reference and one desk to call at any hour, even though the vehicle and chauffeur change in each region. The group keeps its own guide for interiors, because a chauffeur is not a licensed guide.

A visitor centre at a rail terminus fields walk-in requests from travelers whose onward plans have collapsed after a missed connection. The staff member can place a booking from the desk and give the guest the confirmation, instead of sending them to the taxi rank without a price.

What to prepare before the first booking

• A list of the airports, stations and ports the office's guests normally use, so the desk can confirm local coverage in advance.
• The languages guests expect. Ask the desk what a local operator can offer; do not promise it to the guest before it is confirmed.
• Any protocol requirements, such as a vehicle that must wait at a separate door.
• A decision on who pays: the office on its monthly invoice, or the guest at checkout.

Offices working across several countries can also review the wider trade account details for travel agents and the hotel concierge booking page, which follow the same account logic.

Related pages

Start at the Europe directory, or go straight to Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, Amsterdam and Lisbon. Tourism bodies can read the tourist offices overview for the account details.

Reserve your chauffeur