Europe is currently imagined in many ways. Thus we have ideas that imagine Europe both as an integrated space ('Euroland', 'European Union', 'Single Europe') and as a divided space ('Europe of the regions', 'Fortress Europe'). At the same time, new ways of thinking about Europe ('East and Central Europe', 'core' states) vie with older designations ('Western Europe', 'Eastern Europe', 'peripheral' states). These ways of imagining European space are related in complex ways to the Europe 'on the ground'. This complicated conceptual landscape means that any attempt to teach 'about Europe' is fraught with difficulties. This paper focuses on the question of how 'Europe' is conceptualised in school curricula, both in the past and present. It will consider representations of Europe in school texts and try to identify the 'imagined geographies' that underpin them in order to provide some insights into the changing landscapes of Europe. The paper will argue that an analysis of such texts can provide a means whereby teachers and students can begin to engage with the question of how geographical knowledges are constructed and the 'politics of place'. The paper concludes with a discussion of the educational implications of these 'alternative imaginings' of European space.