Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast. Europe is washed upon to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and to the southeast by the Black Sea and the waterways connecting it to the Mediterranean.

Europe encompasses an area of 10,400,000 km² (4,000,000 square miles), stretching from Asia to the Atlantic, and from Africa to the Arctic. Europe's longest river is the Volga, which meanders 3,530 km (2,193 miles) through Russia, and flows into the Caspian Sea. Europe's highest point is Russia's Mt. Elbrus, which rises to 5,642 m (18,510 feet) above sea level. Western Europe's highest point is Mont Blanc in the French-Italian Alps, which rises to 4,810 m (15,771 feet) above sea level.

Europe's climate ranges from subtropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to sub arctic near the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in the northern latitudes. There is much here for the traveler to enjoy, with a bewildering array of diversity and culture, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular scenery.

Historically, religion in Europe has been a major influence on European art, culture, philosophy and law. The majority religion in Europe is Christianity and then Islam concentrated mainly in the south west (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, Kosovo and Turkey). The culture of Europe can be described as a series of overlapping cultures. Whether it is a question of West and East; Christianity and Islam; cultural mixes exist across the continent.