The passport — the burgundy, the gold lion and unicorn on the cover (the British, the 10-year, the dog-eared at the corners, the stamps that tell the story: the blue Greek entry-stamp, the green French, the red Spanish, and the 2 blank pages that remain for the next great European destination) — is the essential tool for the European traveller. The 5 great destinations below are not the top-5-of-all-time (Paris, Rome, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam — you know those), but the 5 destinations that reward the visitor who wants something different. Here they are.
Five Great European Travel Destinations
- 1–3. Ljubljana, Ghent, and Bologna: Ljubljana, Slovenia: the dragon on the bridge (the Zmajski Most — the 4 bronze dragons, 1901, and the symbol of the city), the Ljubljanica river with the willow trees dipping into the green water, the car-free centre (the Jože Plečnik — the national architect who designed the Triple Bridge, the colonnades of the Central Market, and the most beautiful small-capital in Europe), the Metelkova (the former military barracks turned autonomous art commune — the street art, the sculpture, the graffiti, and the most extraordinary night-out in Central Europe — the free, and the essential: Friday night, the Gala Hala for the live music). Ljubljana day: the morning coffee in the Old Town (€2), the climb to the castle (€10 or the free walk up through the forest — 20 minutes), the lunch at the Open Kitchen (Friday only, March–October — the best food market in Slovenia: €5 for the štruklji, the rolled dumpling), the afternoon walk along the river to the Tivoli Park, the evening at Metelkova. Total daily spend: ~€40. Ghent, Belgium: — see #1498 for the full guide — the Gravensteen, the Van Eyck, and the De Dulle Griet pub with the 250 beers. The essential Ghent twist: stay overnight. The Bruges day-trippers depart at 5pm and Ghent becomes the locals’ city — the Graslei lit by the streetlamps, the reflection in the Leie, and the best evening in Flanders. Bologna, Italy: the red, the fat, the learned (la rossa, la grassa, la dotta), the 38 kilometres of porticoes (the UNESCO, the covered walkways — the essential Bologna experience: walk from the Due Torri to the Santuario di San Luca under the 3.8 km of the longest portico in the world — 666 arches, uphill, the view from the sanctuary: the city, the Po plain, the Apennines), the food (the mortadella, the tortellini in brodo, the tagliatelle al ragù — not “spaghetti bolognese” — the essential lunch: Trattoria da Me, €12 for the tagliatelle, and the best-value meal in northern Italy), and the essential Bologna fact: Bologna has the oldest university in the Western world (1088) and you can feel it — the students fill the piazzas, the bars, and the air. More Europe →
- 4–5. Tallinn and the Douro Valley: Tallinn, Estonia: the most beautiful medieval city in the Baltic — the Old Town (the UNESCO, the 13th-century, the cobbled, the Raekoja plats — the Town Hall Square: the 15th-century pharmacy, the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Europe), the Toompea hill (the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral — the onion domes, the Russian Orthodox, the most striking building in Tallinn — the Kohtuotsa viewing platform: the red roofs, the spires, the Baltic Sea, and the free best view in the Baltics), the Telliskivi Creative City (the former railway factory turned hipster quarter — the street art, the Fotografiska Tallinn, the F-Hoone restaurant: the €8 for the main, the industrial-chic, and the best lunch in Tallinn). Essential: Tallinn is 2 hours by ferry from Helsinki — the €30 each way — and the essential Baltic day: the morning in Helsinki, the afternoon ferry, the sunset from the Kohtuotsa. The Douro Valley, Portugal: — see #1393 for wine — but the Douro is more than wine: the Pinhão railway station (the 24 azulejo panels depicting the harvest — the most beautiful station in Portugal after São Bento), the Quinta do Crasto infinity pool, and the essential non-wine Douro experience: the drive the N222 from Pinhão to Peso da Régua — the 27 km, the 93 bends, ranked the world’s best driving road by the Avis survey, and the view at every turn: the river, the terraced vineyards, and the most beautiful valley in Europe.
The Top 10 European Ski Resorts
Europe remains a key continent for ski enthusiasts, with a proliferation of resorts. It’s fair to say that new resorts are being opened at regular intervals, although the quality of those destinations can vary somewhat. I enjoy a variety of winter sports and have been fortunate enough to visit a number of leading resorts. Here […]
