Europe by Radio

Before you visit Europe, get a sense of what to expect (or hone your foreign-language skills) by listening to European radio stations on the Internet.

Thanks to RealAudio, you can monitor broadcasts from distant radio stations on any Windows PC or Macintosh that has a soundcard, speakers, and the free RealPlayer from RealNetworks. (If you want to get fancy, you can pay US $29.95 for the enhanced RealPlayer Plus, but the free or "Basic" version is just fine for most users.)

In this article, I've provided links to a generous sampling of radio stations in countries from Iceland to Russia, and from Finland to Cyprus. These are arranged by country; see the index table below. (As time goes by, I'll add more links to the list.)

Tips and cautions:

• You'll need to install the RealPlayer before you can listen to Internet radio broadcasts. If you already have RealPlayer installed, you may need to download a newer version.

• When you click on a RealAudio link, it can take anywhere from a few seconds to half a minute or more until you hear the broadcast. Be patient--you'll get an error message if the connection won't work.

• Sometimes, Internet congestion or an overloaded server make it impossible to receive a broadcast. If this happens, try again later.

• Sound tends to be AM quality or, in some cases, worse (especially if you have a slow connection to the Internet).

• Some European Web sites can take several minutes to load, even with a high-speed network connection. Radio stations seem to be among the worst offenders. If you get tired of waiting for a page to download, try another station.

• Most important of all, radio stations change formats (and URLs) often--sometimes, within hours of my most recent update. Servers also crash from time to time, so don't be surprised if links and RealAudio don't always work.

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