Meteora, Greece / Konstantinos Koukopoulos

But forget the cityscapes of Bruges and Paris, as beautiful as they are, because the originality just isn’t there. These are the tours that everyone does, and they don’t require that much effort either.  Instead, to truly discover those inspiring landscapes that had your jaw dropping at the credits, check out these fascinating European locations that can form the backdrop to your next European holiday.

Meteora, Greece

Perched precariously on top of the rocky Meteroa mountains in Thessaly, Greece, are a collection of monasteries which are incredibly difficult to reach. The original 9th Century monks had formed an order by climbing these formidable rock towers and occupying the hollows and tunnels which ran across their surfaces, and it wasn’t for another three thousand years or so before solid structures began to appear.

Named Meteroa, meaning ‘In the Heavens Above’, only a handful of the original 24 are still inhabited by monks, and although visitors are welcome, you really do need to put in the effort to get to them. Stone steps and walkways lead intrepid visitors up the edge of uncertain cliffs to get to the buildings atop them.  Fans of the James Bond movies will recognise one of the monasteries, Holy Trinity (which is the least accessible of them all), from the movie For Your Eyes. Whether you manage the climb all the way to the top or not the view from this area is inspiring.

Marktschellenberg, Germany

Located just south of Salzburg is an open meadow that should be instantly recognisable to fans of the Von Trapp family.  It is of course the meadow through which Julie Andrews ran and sang with such wanton abandon in The Sound of Music nearly 50 years ago.  The meadow has reportedly changed little in that time, although producers do admit to having added one or two background trees to their shots during production for the effect.  This iconic location is easy to get to and, along with other locations from the film in the neighbouring towns, forms a tour that has quickly become one of the most popular walking holidays in Europe.

Mamores, Scotland, UK / Graham Lewis

Mamores, Scotland

The Mamores isn’t actually a place, but rather a mountain range in the Scottish Highlands.  Lying close to the town of Fort William, the Mamores incorporates ten of Scotland’s highest mountains that form a continuous and circuitous route from one to the next.  This is the type of walking that requires specialist gear, so don’t think about hopping up the nearest hill in your trainers when you’re on a day trip to the area.

The height of these mountains makes the weather unpredictable and confusing so experience is essential.  If you do fit into this category and you find yourself standing at the top of Stob Ban or Am Bodach, you’ll be following in the footsteps of Mel Gibson’s epic trek as William Wallace in Braveheart.  And while you might not be lucky enough to meet a wild man in a kilt on your holiday, the spectacular view of the surrounding mountaintops should more than make up for it.

Byline: Fiona Galloway is a travel writer who has written about walking holidays in Europe.

View Three European film locations for your next holiday in a larger map

The post Three European film locations for your next holiday appeared first on Europe Explored.

Lamprecht’s Cave by naturgewalten.at

The cave itself is the center of clouded and deep mystery that dates back to the days of the Crusades. According to local legend, the cave was named after a member of the Knights Templar, Knight Lamprecht, who is said to have brought back treasure from the Crusades. Fearing that someone will try to take his treasure, he hid it in the caves.

As the days led on, the Knight grew old and weary and as a result bequeathed his entire treasure to his two daughters equally. However, one of the girls took one part of the treasure for herself and stole the other part that belonged to her sister and hid it deeper in the cave. For centuries, countless people have made their way into the Lamprecht’s Cave in an attempt to find the long-lost treasure that is said to be hidden somewhere deep inside.

Treasure hunters from all over the region would come to the Lamprecht’s Cave in hopes of finding the treasure. As a result, in 1701, the local government decided to prevent access to the cave and built a wall at the cave’s entrance. However, due to the fact that the cave is responsible for drainage of vast amounts of floodwater, the wall eventually fell down.

The cave itself is now easily accessed on foot. For the most part, even though the depth of the Lamprecht’s Cave is more than 1632 meters, the 50 kilometres of caverns that consists of the Lamprecht’s Cave network are easily accessed. However, due to floodwaters it can also be a very dangerous place. Over the years advanced alarm system has been installed within the cave in order to warn any people of potential flooding.

It was back in 1991 and 1998 when 14 tourists along with four cavers were trapped within the cave for a brief period of time as a result of heavy rains. However, although the people are trapped they are not in any real danger as once the floodwaters recede they are able to exit the cave; usually within a day or so.

Due to the fact that the cave is so accessible by foot, it has grown to become one of the most popular caves in all of Europe. One does not have to be a cave expert to traverse the meandering passageways that have been carved out over the millennia by raging floodwaters.

For more information visit naturgewalten.at

The post Lamprecht’s Cave – one of the largest systems of caves in Europe | Austria appeared first on Europe Explored.

Perhaps the biggest reason why the Liechtenstein Gorge has become so popular, is that it is one of the deepest and easily accessible ravines within the entire mountain region. While there are countless gorges that are just as deep, if not deeper, many of them are not as easily accessed.

Liechtenstein Gorge, Austria by Heather (Gruber) Williams

It was back during the last Ice Age that towering glaciers more than 3000 meters above sea level sat above the location of the Liechtenstein Gorge. As the Ice Age came to an end and the glaciers began to recede and melt, the torrential water began to cut a narrow slit into the sides of the Alpine mountains as the water made its way to lower altitudes.

In many places, the Gorge is so narrow, and the walls are so tall that light is almost nonexistent within the Liechtenstein Gorge. Due to the dangers of crossing the Gorge, countless bridges have been built over the centuries to make access to the Liechtenstein Gorge much easier. Many of which can be accredited to the Prince of Liechtenstein who ruled over the region back in 1875.

A view from Liechtenstein Gorge, Austria by Heather (Gruber) Williams

For hundreds of years the Liechtenstein Gorge has been attracting people from all over Europe and the world. Today, it is estimated that more than 10 million people from around the world have visited the awe-inspiring natural beauty of the Liechtenstein Gorge.

And while there are countless gorges and regain second be found throughout the Alpine region, not one of them has been visited as much over the centuries. Millions of people have made their way to Austria in order to walk the length of the Liechtenstein Gorge and stare in awe at its breathtaking beauty.

You can visit the gorge from early May to end of October, openning hours vary on the season and the basic admission is €4,50. For more information visit liechtensteinklamm.at.

The post Liechtenstein Gorge – one of the most beautiful gorges in Alpine region | Austria appeared first on Europe Explored.