Het Loo Palace Gardens

This beautiful seventeenth century palace was built for William and Mary of Orange, joint monarchs of England through the turn of the eighteenth century, and it is now a state museum whose ‘lost gardens’ were restored for its tri-centennial celebration in 1984. The baroque ‘Great Garden’, directly behind the palace, is beautifully laid out with formal geometric beds, raised walks and elegant fountains according to the original symmetrical design created by Claude Desgotz.

Het Loo Palace and Gardens, Apeldoorn, Netherlands by Je at uwo

As a nephew of André Le Nôtre, the creator of the Baroque formula, Desgotz was uniquely placed to design such a garden and the result is often labeled the ‘Versailles of Holland’, although with more enthusiasm than accuracy as this garden is far more conservative than the extraordinarily elaborate design at Versailles. On the other hand, the fountains here, especially in the upper and lower gardens, originally designed to be the public gardens, are said to supercede those at that famous palace in both number and beauty. William and Mary each had their own private garden, one each side of the palace, and the overall planting is designed to be viewed as a seasonal display of the individual plant species rather than just flowers en masse.

Keukenhof Gardens

The Keukenhof Gardens, known as ‘The Garden of Europe’, are the world’s largest flower gardens; over 32 hectares of spring flowers dazzle the eye, as some seven million tulips, hyacinths and daffodils all compete to create a brightly hued carpet of flowers as far as one can see in all directions! Justly famous for their springtime displays, Keukenhof also has more than 30 different flower shows throughout the year to showcase the various floral delights available, and their seven amazing individual gardens house over 100 works of art.

Keukenhof Gardens, Lisse, Netherlands by Tiago Fioreze

Originally a section of the fifteenth century estate of Slot Teylingen, Keukenhof contained the herb gardens of the castle of Jacoba van Beieren, hence the name. On her death, the estate passed to rich merchants Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt, who asked landscape architects JD & LP Zocher to provide a garden design in the English Landscape style, and this became the basis of the present gardens. Now owned by a Foundation, the first flower show was organised in 1949 and was so popular it became an annual event, then one of several a year and Keukenhof hasn’t looked back since, quickly becoming renowned for its wonderful displays, events and activities, all centred around every gorgeous flower known to the gardeners of the world.

Discover more in Holland

The Netherlands are famous for their tulip farms, but if you take this tour you’ll discover that tulips are far from the only flowers the Dutch have on show in the spring. Admire the beautiful surroundings, relax and ‘take time to smell the flowers’ – and don’t forget your camera!

Travel 55 have years of experience working with tour operators such as Shearings Tours that over great Coach Tour Holidays visiting destinations across Europe and the UK.

The post Take A Floral Break In Holland appeared first on Europe Explored.

Photo by admin

If you are yourself driving around Europe it is important to make sure that you, and your vehicle, are properly insured. This is usually a pretty easy thing to do as holiday insurances are now far more prevalent and easy to obtain and many vehicle insurers will offer Europe wide cover for no extra cost. That said you should still check with your providers that you are covered in the countries that you are planning to visit.

On top of this it may be worth checking that you are covered in any countries that you might be visiting by mistake on your round trips in Europe. With the open border policy that is in effect throughout much of Europe it is very easy to suddenly find yourself in a country that you weren’t expecting to be in. Many of the motorways you are going to go on during your round trips in Europe (in Danish rundrejser i Europa) will cross over borders with little warning and it is easy to find yourself in Belgium when you thought you were in France or Holland.

Just because you have insurance and you didn’t have to show a passport it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to pay road tax for some of the countries in Europe. Whilst many countries do not require visitors to purchase a road tax certificate, some do. Austria and Hungary are classic examples of this fact and if you are caught without the correct tax certificate you could find yourself on the receiving end of a hefty fine.

There are some fantastic bus tours that can be taken throughout Europe and the Christmas Markets in Germany or a Wine tour of France can be an extremely enjoyable experience. It is important to realize that travel times can, however, be quite lengthy and it is better to wear sufficiently comfortable clothing to make the journey enjoyable. If you are travelling by bus to see the Opera in Vienna then leave the posh dress in your luggage until you arrive, you will have a far more pleasant journey.

River cruises along the many amazing waterways of Europe are a great way to see the continent at a relaxing pace and rivers such as the Danube offer some wonderful cultural experiences. However, just because you are on a river it doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t suffer any effects of motion sickness. It is extremely unlikely that you will experience any turbulence that could compare with ocean travel, but just the gentle motion of the boat can upset some people. So make sure that you have some sort of sea sickness medication just in case. It would be a terrible thing if your holiday were to be ruined because of an easily avoidable illness.

The post Round Trips in Europe – Things to Consider appeared first on Europe Explored.

Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland is located in the canton of Echternach, which covers 7% of the whole area of Luxembourg. This part of Luxembourg is very popular, especially for campers sliding down from nearby Belgium, Germany, France and Holland. The area is also very popular among European bikers who come to “ventilate” here and take proper outdoor atmosphere.

Suer River forms here a natural border between Luxembourg and Germany. Widely popular activity is renting a canoe and rafting. Along the river you can easily find a number of well-equipped campsites. However, in the summer months, some of them can be quite busy. So it is better to make a reservation in advance.

You can walk through the sandstone forest labyrinth or visit the oldest Luxembourg’s city Echternach. Visitors can come out to the highest peak of this undoubtedly interesting canton, situated near the town of Beaufort and reaching an altitude of 414m.

View The Mullerthal – Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland in a larger map

The post The Mullerthal – Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland appeared first on Europe Explored.