Europe is the second smallest continent with approximately 50 countries. A continent bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to its south, the Arctic Ocean to its north, the Atlantic Ocean to its west and separated from Asia by the Ural River in the east European climate varies from subtropical to polar.
We recommend you travel Europe as it is known to be the home of magnificent architecture, fascinating museums, amazing beaches and Mediterranean islands.
If you would like to plan a trip to Europe, please read up on the best places to visit:
ROME, ITALY
Rome is the largest and the capital city of Italy. Rome has amazing palaces, remarkable fountains, millennium old churches, beautiful monuments and impressive ruins. Rome has an extremely rich historic heritage. You can go for a cruise on cruise ships of which most dock in Civitavecchia. Every year, usually in mid-May, government owned landmarks, museums and archaeological sites are accessible to everyone for free for an entire week.
Pass tickets can otherwise be purchased at the Rome Tourist Board Office. When going to churches in Rome, make sure you dress appropriately to avoid being denied access. There are incredible roof gardens and some sculptures, paintings and religious icons on walls of several buildings. There are also other palatial buildings with sculptures, gardens, fountains and courtyards. The Parco della Musica hosts classical, popular and jazz music continuously both national and international. The most popular artists perform in the fields in summer.
There are cooking classes for pasta, pizza and other local food such as amatriciana and carbonara taught by highly professional chefs. For those who want to learn Italian languages, Centro Linguistico Dante Alighieri offers Italian Language courses for all levels with lessons commencing every Monday. Via del Corso and via Condotti are Rome’s shopping streets with the most shopping malls in Rome. Via Cola di Riezo consists of the best designer shops while via del Corso consists of shops with more affordable clothing.
For dinning, there are several great restaurants. The best restaurants are in the Monteverde vecchio district. San Lorenzo in the district to go to for a night of fun as that’s where most pubs and clubs are located.
BARCELONA, SPAIN
Barcelona is the capital of the Catalonia Region. There are amazing buildings to see most of which were designed by Antoni Gaudi, a Spanish Catalan architect. Sagrada Familia Cathedral is one unique building by Gaudi which will leave you impressed. It is advisable to pre book tickets for major attractions to avoid long queues and to make use of the open top tour buses as it will enable you to see more.
For those with a love for Spanish guitar music, Santa Maria del Pi Church and the Palau de la Musica are a must go to. There are gorgeous beaches. Barceloneta and Marbella are among the most popular beaches. Some parts of the beach are pebble while other parts are fine sand. You can swim, surf, sun tan or just relax. There are also several restaurants to enjoy Spanish seafood cuisine.
Some of the local food choices are tapas, paella and pinchos. There is a wide variety of cuisines at the tons of restaurants which all serve delicious food, mostly three course. There are amazing bakeries at several corners with the most delicious pasties. Looking for the best liqueurs? Vom Fass has a variety of excellent selections to choose from. Barcelona has a fantastic choice of shops to suit people of all ages ranging from designer boutiques, global, local, brand name and souvenir shops. There are often sales and bargaining is often practiced.
VADUZ, LIECHTENSTEIN
Vaduz is the capital of Liechtenstein but not its largest city. The prince’s castle and his museums are in Vaduz. Vaduz is different from most European cities in terms of architecture. It mainly consists of modern buildings and not old buildings. The Liechtensteinisches Landersmuseum portrays to its visitors the wide history of Liechtenstein. Viewing of the prince’s wine collection can be done by vineyard.
Visiting the river gives visitors the opportunity to view the mountain which surround the city. Visitors can also view the bridge which is a crossing border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland. It accommodates pedestrians and bicycle riders only. Shops in Vaduz mostly sell tourist trinkets in Liechtenstein and Swiss colours. The Tourist Information Office has official Liechtenstein Tourist Information Office stamps available for sale. There are several cafés and restaurants. The Old Castle Inn located in the centre of Vaduz offers the most veritable food and has a pleasurable atmosphere.
BITOLA, REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA
Bitola is the second largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. The Old Bazaar is the most amazing bazaar in Macedonia. It contains Ottoman monuments and water fountains. The 30 meter Clock Tower is said to be the pride of the Bitola people. It was first built in 1664 and was later modified to its current appearance. A music festival consisting of more than 100 events is held every year from mid-June until end of August. Another music festival, a 10 days international classical music festival known as the Interfest is held every year.
Popular musicians and famous soloists from all over Europe gather at the festival which takes place from 2 October through 12 October every year. For all your shopping, Wide Alley in Sirok Sokak and Marsal Tito are the streets to visit at that’s where most of the shops are located. Bitola has quite a number of great restaurants. Belvedere is an elegant and magnificent restaurant which caters to both elders and younger people seeking for a quite atmosphere.
Positive Night Club is one of the most common clubs which opens in the summer and is mostly fully packed. Top hits, R’n’B and Hip Hop are the music genres played often at this club.
NOVI SAD, SERBIA
Novi Sad is the second largest city and is the provincial capital of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. The city is famous for its several magnificent baroque churches. Foreign art collection the largest museum with a wide collection of foreign art in Serbia. The Mountaineering club Naftaš and the Železnicar Association of mountaineers and skiers organise hikes on the Fruska Mountain and in the Novi Sad vicinity.
There are amazing beaches on the Danube River which are accessible to everyone throughout the year. Novi Sad has several shops with different quality goods such as coats for the winter season, jewellery, handmade leather goods and sportswear. Local fresh produce and a few imported groceries are sold at the Futoška pijaca and the Riblja pijaca outdoor markets. Green House and Ananda Veggie caters to vegetarians with several choices of delicious vegetarian food to choose from. Žal za mladost is a veritable Serbian restaurant which is the best place to dine for a taste of traditional and modern Serbian cuisines.
Trema is one of the largest bars in Novi Sad and people of all ages and cultural backgrounds go there for a night of fun. If travelling with children, Route66 Novi Sad will be the ideal place to dine, perhaps have a drink or two and enjoy live concerts or video performances while the children enjoy the animation programme.
PORTO, PORTUGAL
Porto is the capital of the Northern region and is the second largest city in Portugal. Torre dos Clerigos is a 240 steps landmark with a breath taking view from its top. Casa da Música is a building which was strictly designed and built in dedication to music for both public performances and artistic education and design. For football lovers, FC Porto Museum is a must visit. You can view more than 120 years of football history of one of the most victorious
European football teams. Porto is the port wine capital. You can take a port wine tour or visit any of the wine caves .These tours include wine tasting at the cellars. There are workshops oriented by craftspeople for those into art and want to take up an artistic challenge of painting, fusing, weaving and sketching. Santa Catarina Street if highly recommended for all your shopping as it consists of a large number of a variety of shops.
Muuda is a must go for Portuguese products such as clothing, jewellery, books and several other objects. Wine and sushi workshops are also offered at Muunda. The finest restaurants in Porto are located close to the beach and the seaport. A must try is a traditional sandwich known as “Francesinha” which has been rated as one of the 10 best sandwiches in the world.
BIRMINGHAM, UNITED KINGDOM
Birmingham is the second largest city in Britain. Birmingham has parks and gardens all over the city. Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses has enormous botanical gardens with a large range of plants and workshops throughout the year. The Birmingham Nature Centre has six acre centres with a large number of animals and birds such as deer, owls, otters and two rare red pandas. The Cannon Hill Park has beautiful flowerbeds, a tennis court, bowling halls and tea rooms.
The Lickey Hills Country Park has a golf course. The National Sea Life Centre contains a variety of aquatic animals. The public can feed the animals after demonstrations are carried out. Sutton Park is a large park that’s inclusive of wetland, heathland, woodland and lakes. Different exciting proceedings are offered at this park such as golf courses, cycling and bird watching. The
Electric Cinema is the oldest cinema in United Kingdom. The cinema is quite unique with couches to sit on and has waiters and waitresses to serve you. There are also leisure centres with swimming pools, sports courts and gyms. Edgbaston Priority has over 20 tennis courts, about 10 squash courts, 2 large swimming pools and a gym all accessible to the public. The Queens Arm is a well-known pub where people can watch live sport and participate in quizzes on Thursday nights.
PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
Prague is the capital and largest city of Czech Republic. Prague is famous for its bridges, gold-tipped towers and its swan-filled Vltava River. Prague Castle appears to be the largest ancient castle in the world. It was recorded as the largest in the Guinness World Records book. The Staronová Synagoga is known to be the oldest active synagogue in Europe and said to be the resting site of the famous Prague Golem. The famed Holy Infant of Prague which is a statue of Christ can be viewed in Lesser Town at Our Lady Victorious church.
The Troja Chateau has an enormous garden portraying several sculptures. Prague has escape rooms with a variety of activities. The most commonly used are the Puzzle Room Prague and the Getaway Prague. Escape rooms are more ideal for groups. The escape games require players to escape a room within a specific time period by finding keys, codes, linking a variety of objects, solving riddles and puzzles as a team. For those who enjoy riding bikes, Prague has bike paths and bikes can be rented at bike tour companies. Praha Bike is the largest bike rental in Czech Republic.
Prague Flights provides sightseeing by plane, helicopter, hot-air balloons and tandem skydiving. Lakshmi Tantric Massage Temple provides exceptional for the body such as facials and body massages. OC Letňany is the biggest shopping mall in Prague and has the biggest brand name shops and has a cinema as well.
OULU, FINLAND
Oulu is the capital of the Oulu province and the Northern Ostrobothnia region. Oulu is the home of the first science centre in the world known as the Tiedekeskus Tietomaa. The Elokuvateatteri Plaza has a movie theatre which displays the best movies in Finland. Most of the movies are originally in English and are translated into Finnish. Another great movie theatre in Oulu is the Start Movie Theatre which screens 3D digital movies. Rotuaari is an entertainment site mostly in the summer season and on weekends throughout the year.
The Oulun Uimahalli is the largest state owned swimming pool in Finland. Close to this pool are weight training gyms, gymnastic halls, wrestling and boxing areas. Some indoor activities are games such as billiards, pool, air hockey, arcade games and bowling. For fresh food, Oulu Market offers a wide variety of fresh produce ranging from fruits and vegetable to meat. Verkkokauppa is said to be the site to visit for electronics, mobile phones, cameras and computers. Children are sure to enjoy the playground in Vadelmatarha which also consist of shops with clothing and other items for children.
There are a number of restaurants in Oulu which serve fast food and international cuisines (such as Turkish, Greek, Russian, Spanish Indian and Chinese. For those with a love for cocktails, Kuluma is the place for you. A variety of excellent cocktails with an amazing display are served.
GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN
Gothenburg is the second largest city in Sweden. Maritiman is the largest buoyant museum of ships with 19 ships and boats of different sizes. The Kviberg Military Museum contains guns and other apparatus of the Anti-Aircraft Artillery. Aeroseum is an aircraft museum located in a former underground military air force base. Slottsskogen is a large garden park favoured for relaxation and picnics.
There’s also a children’s zoo with different breeds of goats, pigs and goats, a collection of animals exhibited, seals in a pond, a penguin pond and on a hill are moose and deer all in the Slottsskogen garden park. Children have the opportunity to ride on a pony.
You can go canoeing at the Delsjön Lake during the summer season. There are sailing yachts that people can book for a day in the sea. Gothenburg has world class sea food restaurants of which its main restaurants are located in Linnégatan Street. Guldhedens Vattentorn is an exquisite café located at the top of an old water tower and has an amazing view of Gothenburg.