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Visitors of Scillato can admire the typical Sicilian Baglio house from the 19th century. Its owner is old aristocratic Sicilian family since its inception. It is surrounded by extensive parks full of rare trees and centuries-old trees. This house is nowadays used as a hostel for tourists and there is even a swimming pool with cloak-room. The house stands on the edge of a protected natural park, the Parco delle Madonie and is situated near a large golf course.

Do not look for the sea in Scillato (in fact, not all of the places in Sicily offers swimming in the sea), but if you have a car, you can go to the beach town of Cefalu, which is located approximately 40 km away. Cefalu preserved its picturesque and medieval atmosphere. Above the town rises interesting reef La Rocca resembling a fortress, which was once overlooked by the temple of Diana. Cefalu’s dominant is the cathedral of 1131, which was originally a royal tomb, and the main temple of the kingdom of Sicily. The coast is lined with some beautiful sandy beaches.

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The village offers some fascinating 17th and 18th century churches, some of which contain ancient mural paintings and wood carvings. The churches in Arbanasi typically have strong, high walls, small windows and very strong oak doors studded with iron nails.

One of the earliest churches in Arbanasi is the ‘Nativity Church’ or the ‘Cathedral of Nativity’. Extensive studies have found that the church was built in three separate stages which presents some interesting structural characteristics. The main body of the church is divided into male and female sections and the whole building is decorated with murals. The Nativity Church is one of the oldest and best preserved churches not just in Arbanasi but across the whole of Bulgaria.

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Marsascala history dates back to the 17th century, when there was a small and insignificant fishing village. It had a strategic position, which in 1614 was used by Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John – Fra Alof de Wignacourt. He rebuilt the town into a defensive fortress St. Thomas Tower, which protected this part of the island against the Turkish invasion. The village suddenly became a closely guarded place. Now, the fort does not fulfill its function any more, but it’s just a restaurant.

The Coast of Marsascala Bay is lined with a long promenade, where you can find many cafes, restaurants and souvenir shops – it is a centre of all social life. In the vicinity of the city there are constantly growing new villas and weekend houses. Especially the residents of the capital – Valletta, which is quite far away, use to spend a peaceful end of the week here.

Coast is flat and rocky. You can find sandy beaches in the neighbouring St. Thomas Bay. It offers ideal conditions for swimming, relaxation and water sports. The landscape around the city is made up of fields of orchards and vineyards, which give the place a relaxed and tranquil atmosphere.

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Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Christine Jewell

The village is built around white rocky hills and has a terraced structure. This strategically advantageous location has been inhabited since prehistoric times. During the Roman occupation, Oppidum was built here and in the Middle Ages the local fort became a haven for people from far afield. The village has never been conquered, even during the bloody religious wars in the 16th century. The worst period for Gordes was the beginning of the 20th century, when many of its inhabitants moved to work out in industrial cities.

The village has been finally saved from decline thanks to the modern art. In 1938 Gordes has been discovered by André Lhote – a French sculptor and painter, who invited here well-known artists such as Marc Chagall, Victor Vasarely and other involved in contemporary art. All of them spent a lot of time here, however their quiet creative period was interrupted by war. In 1944 the village was invaded by German troops, who wanted to revenge for the attack of the French resistance, and thus they destroyed more than a half of the village with its monuments. One monk from the nearby Sénanque monastery tried to intervene against this destruction, but he was killed.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Giovanni

Anyway the village managed to retain its ancient charm. Gordes is in fact a labyrinth of cobbled streets that are lined with beautiful houses. Many of them are souvenir shops, but also cafes and wine bars, where the more affluent tourists can enjoy the right muscat wine. All houses in the village were built of the traditional Provencal materials – stone and terracotta plate used on the roofs.

At the highest point of the village there is a Renaissance castle, which was built on the site of the original medieval fortress. From the outside of the castle you can explore beautiful Renaissance windows. In the past, the only access to this point was through very steep, almost vertical stairs carved into the rock. The castle now houses a museum of contemporary French art. If you want to see the beautiful Renaissance fireplace in the main hall, you must purchase a ticket to the Musée Pol Mara. Pol Mara was an important Flemish artist.

Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Thierry

Not far away there is the Eglise Saint-Firmin Church from the 18th century. You can then proceed down the aisle Rue de l’Eglise, which will take you to the Rue du Belvédère – a lookout offering a spectacular view of the surroundings.

The beauty of this place attracted famous people, film directors, painters, musicians and of course the crowds of tourists. However in the main summer season it is better to avoid it. The roads are usually totally congested and it is almost impossible to get here. The best time for a visit is spring or autumn.

Near Gordes, you can visit Sénanque monastery, one of the three great Cistercian abbeys in Provence. It is well known for its Romanesque architecture and the cultivation of lavender.

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Historical monuments
Adare is a quaint village that inspires everyone. Its main street is surrounded by a neat stone buildings with beautiful thatched roofs. There are also some preserved remains of religious buildings such as Trinity Church and two abbeys. Above the bridge over the river you can see the remains of the Desmond castle from the 13th century.

Tourist services and entertainment
Adare has very good, though not too wide range of accommodation and in total there are 9 restaurants. The village is suitable also for golf players as there is an internationally known golf course Adare Golf. Those who would like to relax can visit the local park.

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The most important event in the village is Adare Village Festival. It takes place at the beginning of July. During the festival you can enjoy musical performances and taste of Irish specialties. It includes also a program for children, live music, theatre, food and craft markets, art and heritage exhibitions.

History
Adare is an ancient village, and experienced its biggest boom in the Middle Ages, when it was an important market place. It boasted three monasteries and already mentioned Desmond Castle.

Adare won the first place in national Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1976.

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Roussillon is considered one of the most beautiful villages of France. Thanks to the nearby ocher mines, which are a major tourist attraction, has the whole village a reddish colour. Also, the local soil has all the shades of red, ranging from beige to dark red. It used to be mined 17 different colors of ocher – purple, red, orange, yellow, and many others. The history of this site dates back to 230 million years ago, when all the area of Provence was under the sea. The sand at the bottom contained iron, which later oxidized, and such created the ocher.

Already the ancient Romans used it to produce glazes on pottery. In 18th century the local residents found out how to adjust the pigment to be resistant to water. With this discovery, a new industry of colors began. Such colors could be used not only for surface treatment of ceramic products, but also in painting houses. The production of colours decreased in 50′s of 20th century. Nowadays, the ocher is not mining any more and this pigment is produced artificially. The village, however, maintain the original color, and together with its surrounding it is a protected area.

In the village you can walk through the narrow and steep streets that are lined with houses with beautiful red-colored facades, houses the souvenir shops. The beautiful village of Roussillon is unfortunately flooded with crowds in the summer, so if you want to enjoy its unique atmosphere, it is good to visit in a spring or autumn.

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Santa Claus Village was formed with only few wooden-cottages in 1950. Today it is a complex, which consists of several cafes, shops and refreshment facilities. There is also Santa Claus office, or Santa Claus post office. There is a white line leading throughout the Santa Claus Village that indicates the Arctic Circle. In the local stores you can buy a really interesting souvenirs. They sell the handicrafts Lapps, knitted sweaters, gloves, hats, reindeer meat, a variety of products from Finnish berries and real Finnish knife that will last for a lifetime.

500 000 tourists visit Santa Claus Village each year. You can get there from Rovaniemi by bus #8 known as Santa’s Express. The village is open all the year. Opening hours are often changed, it is appropriate to look at the official village site. There is the popular Santa Park situated just 2 km from Santa Claus Village.

The basic admission is 28Eur in winter and 15Eur in summer.

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Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians was established on July 9, 1977 with the original area of 96 810 ha. Part of the area was included in the National Park of Poloniny in 1997 and the rest stayed as Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians with only 25 307 ha. Best preserved parts of the Eastern Carpathians are protected as national nature reserves.

The area is characterized by rich forests, which are a major component of eco-stabilizing the country and a suitable environment for flora and fauna bound on the forest environment. In the small protected areas are still preserved natural fir beech forests located on flysch slopes of Laborecká highlands.

Natural forest stands are also suitable environment for protected and endangered animals, which live here, like wolf, bear, otter, Ural owl, black stork, black woodpecker, lesser spotted eagle and other species.

Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians follows the border with Poland. It stretches from southeast to northwest, in the Low Beskydy.

There is Europe’s largest complex of beech forests and native forests in the Eastern Carpathians. You can enjoy there beautiful and wildlife forests, but various national cultural monuments as well. The greatest tourist attractions are wooden churches.

Protected Landscape Area of the Eastern Carpathians is suitable for activities like hiking, biking, fishing, horseback riding and skiing in winter.

THE MOST INTERESTING PLACES
Snina Stone (1005m above sea level) providing spectacular views of the surrounding of Snina.

Marine Eye – the largest volcanic lake in the Slovak Republic, is under Snina stone. It is one of the most beautiful natural lakes in the Slovak Republic.

Astronomical Observatory – located in Kolonica village – is equipped with the largest astronomical telescope in the Slovak Republic.

CULTURE
You can visit the main and essential festival of the region Snina, which is the presentation of local folklore (at the turn of August and September). The name of festival is “Podvihorlatský folklórní festival pod Sninským kamenem”.

Or visit Snina fair which held annually on the anniversary of the first written mention of the town Snina (in September).

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The windmills at Kinderdijk date from the 18th century (system was built around 1740) and it is the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands. These windmills were watermills – wind-powered mills used to pump water from low-lying land back into the Lek River. Steam-powered pumps took over in the late nineteenth century (and eventually electricity) but the windmills were still operational in emergencies up to the mid-twentieth century. It is planned to have all windmills at Kinderdijk again in operational order by 2010.

There is free entry to Kinderdijk and to the windmill area and is accessible at any time. The best time to visit is on Saturdays in July and August when all mills are working if sufficient wind is blowing.

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The most popular spot to watch sunset is by the Kastro Walls.

Oia is connected with Thiru by paved path that is about 10 km long. Just as in the main city, you will find typical small Greek houses built on rock here as well. Former residents of the town of Oia created here the fishing town, which gradually turned into a rich prosperous town. At that time the village was decorated with non-traditional buildings, which are still there.

The dominant of Oia is the church of Aghia Sazontos, which was built before the year 1680. Sun lovers should not miss the unique opportunity to see one of the most beautiful sunsets from all over Greece and maybe also from all over Europe.

In 1956, Oia was affected by the devastating earthquake, and after extensive renovation, this area is among the favorite places.

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