places

Barcelona, cultural capital of Europe

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Barcelona
Barcelona is one of the largest cities in Spain and the capital of Catalonia. The city is the largest on the Mediterranean Sea and sits between the mouths of the Llobregat and Besos Rivers.

The city was founded as a Roman city and has a rich cultural heritage making it a rich cultural centre and an important tourist destination. The architectural works of Gaudi and Domenech i Montaner have been designated Unesco World Heritage Sites.

Among the city’s main sites are the Sagrada Familia church, Palau Guell, the Columbus Monument, and the Arc de Triomf. Barcelona has many small hills and boasts a Mediterranean climate with mild humid winters and warm dry summers.

The National Museum of Art of Catalonia has a well-known collection of Romanesque art while several other museums exist, which cover architecture. There are also 68 municipal parks. The Camp Nou football stadium, home of FC Barcelona, is the largest in Europe.

The Barcelona International Airport is one of the busiest in the world. The city also has an extensive road and rail network connecting it to parts of Europe. 

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Sardinia, very nice

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sardinia

Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the geologically oldest in Europe. It’s a close neighbour of Corsica to the north, Italy, and Sicily. Its capital city is Cagliari.

The island is mountainous with high rocky coasts and several bays, inlets, and rias. The island has a Mediterranean climate on its coasts, plains, and lowlands while a continental climate exists in the centre.

The island has come under influence from Romans, Byzantines, Italians, Austrians and theSpanish and some of their traditions are still practised in Sardinia today. Sardinian and Italian are the main languages spoken on the island. It is also site of several megalithic structures and aUnesco World Heritage Site.

The Sardinian diet relies heavily on meat, dairy products, grains, and vegetables. Sardinians also drink more beer per capita than anywhere else in Italy.

Sardinia has three international airports connecting it to the mainland of Italy and other parts of Europe. There are ferry companies which operate between Sardinia and cities in France and there is a rail network which connects towns across the island.

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Bydgoszcz, visit Poland

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bydgoszcz1

Nestled on the banks of the Vistula and Brda Rivers in Poland is the city of Bydgoszcz. The city, the eighth largest in Poland, has in recent years become one of the most important in the country.

The oldest building in Bydgoszcz is the Fara Church or Church of St. Martin and Nicholauswhile the Church of Poor Clares is a landmark. Water sports, Art Nouveau buildings, thewaterfront, music, and urban greenery are some of the things for which Bydgoszcz is noted.

The largest city park in Poland (830 hectares sits in the city. Culture is very important especially music and the city has housed an Academy of Music since 1974. The Opera Nova sits on the banks of the Brda River and it is possible to take tours along the river.

Many famous opera singers have performed in the theatre. The city is served by a local airport and railway which connects it to other parts of Poland including the capital Warsaw.

The city also boasts a tram line and this is an easy way to get around and see the sights. The old town is easy to walk around in with many gothic style buildings.

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Istanbul, East meets West

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istanbul
Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and the second largest in Europe. It was the capital of four separate empires throughout its history from its founding in the 6th century as Constantinople.

It was once the seat of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. The city lies on the Strait of Bosphorus between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea with one part of the city in Europe and another in Asia.

The city’s historic and economic centres sit on the European side. It is further divided by a natural harbour known as the Golden Horn.

The city was the centre of Christianity for centuries until the rise of the Ottoman Empire when Islam took over. Today the city is still home to what was once one of the largest cathedrals in the world, later a mosque and now a museum– the Hagia Sophia.

The symbol of Istanbul may be the Topkapi Palace which was built after the fall of Constantinople. The city’s Grand Bazaar is also the largest covered market in the world.

The city has a borderline Mediterranean and humid sub-tropical climate but also has microclimates due to its vast size. Kebab is the most-well known of the city’s cuisine but it is also famous for its seafood.

The city was once famous for being the eastern terminus of the Orient Express from Paris. The city is still served by two international airports – the Istanbul Ataturk and the Sabiha Gokcen.

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Madrid, flavour of Spain

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madrid
The capital of Spain, Madrid is the country’s largest city and is known as the greatest party location in Europe with fiestas and other events staged year- round.

Madrid is located on the Manzanares River and is the home of the monarch King Juan Carlos II.

Landmarks include the Royal Palace of Madrid and the Prado Museum, the famous Picasso painting Guernica sits in the Reina Sofia gallery, and the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas is Spain’s largest bull-fighting arena.

There are also a number of catholic churches while most of the city’s tourist attractions city in the old city and Ensanche.

The city’s nightlife is also a big drawing card with many tapas bars, cocktail bars, clubs, jazz lounges, and music venues and the all-important flamenco centres. Flamenco is the national dance of Spain.

The city enjoys a Mediterranean climate with cool to cold winters and warm to hot summers. Green areas are a highlight of the city which has the highest number of tree and green areas per inhabitant than any other city in Europe.

The city is served by the Madrid Barajas International Airport and there is also an international rail network and one of the largest metro networks in the world. 

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Washington DC

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washington_dc
While it is true that Washington D.C. is the capital of the United States, it is a nice place to visit for the average tourist in its own right.

The city is cool and with an easy road network is one of the nicest cities to walk around in with chic neighbourhoods, trendy restaurants, and an entire section dedicated to American history on the National Mall.

It is also walking or a metro rides distance from the nearby states of Maryland and Virginia which both donated land to help form the district, named in honour of President George Washington, in 1791.

The city is in a humid sub-tropical zone and has four seasons with hot summers and cold winters.

The city has a distinctly European feel which is not surprising since it was designed based on plans of the cities of Paris, Karlsruhe, Amsterdam, and Milan.

Six of the buildings listed in the top ten of the American Institute of Architects are in Washington D.C. These include the White House; the US Capitol; Thomas Jefferson Memorial; Lincoln Memorial, and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Historic buildings in the city have a varied style built in Queen Anne, Chateauesque, Romanesque, and Victorian styles.

Georgetown, the Smithsonian Institute with the National Air and Space Museum are also must sees. Across the Potomac River in Virginia is Arlington Memorial cemetery where former presidents including JFK are buried.

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Corfu, castle island

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corfu

In the Ionian Sea sits the Greek island of Corfu. The birthplace of the Duke of Edinburgh, the whole island of Corfu is made almost entirely of limestone formations.

The island was heavily fortified against the Ottoman Empire and its capital city, also named Corfu, is enclosed by castles. It has been declared a Kastropolis or castle city by the Greek government. Among the islands sites is the Achilleion palace. The palace is famous for itsItalianate architecture and was after the Homeric hero Achilles.

The palace is is filled with paintings and statues of Achilles and depicts the scenes of the Trojan War. The historic Palaiokastritsa monastery on the west coast has beautiful coastal views of small, picturesque bays.

The Nymphes waterfalls in the north and the deserted 14th century village of Perithia high in the mountains near the highest peak of Mount Pantokrator are also worth seeing.

The foods of Corfu are similar to those of mainland Greece such as olives, olive oil, cheeses,fresh fruits, vegetables and seafood.

Things to try include Bourou-Bourou Vegetable and Pasta Soup, Bourtheto a Scorpion Fish in a Spicy Sauce, Pastitsatha Rooster with Pasta and Sykomaïtha – Spiced Fig Cakes. The island is served by the Corfu International Airport, two miles south of Corfu Town.

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Corsica, Napoleon’s birthplace

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corsica

Somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea, west of Italy, southeast of France, and north of Sardinia is the French island of Corsica.

The island, an departement outre-mer or overseas region of France, is dominated by amountain chain which comprises two-thirds of the territory. Corsica is the most mountainous of the Mediterranean islands.It has three separate climatic zones – hot coastal zone, temperatemountains, and an alpine zone.

For the nature lover there is the Parc Naturel Regional de Corse which boasts several protected species while the Scandola Nature Reserve is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Ajaccio, the capital is in Corse du Sud while the second largest city Bastia is in Haute Corse. The Corsican culture is a unique blend of French and Italian.

The French general and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was born in Corsica and his home is currently a museum while the town of Calvi claims to be the birth place of the explorerChristopher Columbus.

Along with French, Corsica has its own language which is recognised as an official language by the French government.

Corsica has interesting cuisine which includes wild boar, seafood and river fish, ficatellu coppa, lonzu made from Corsican pork and cheeses such as brocciu, casgiu merzu, casgiuand veghju made from goat or sheep milk.

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Crete, cradle of European civilisation

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crete

The island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea is the largest of the Greek isles and the most populous.

The second largest island in the Mediterranean after Cyprus- Crete is teeming with history. It was once the centre of Minoan civilisation which is recorded as the earliest known European civilisation.

The culture is rich. Known for Mantinades poetry and music, and dances the most notable being the Pentozali. Crete is also rich with archaeological sites such as Knossos and Phaistos and there are also Minoan, Roman, and World War II ruins.

Crete is mountainous and has three different groups of mountains forming part of a range running from east to west. The island is plush with fertile plateaux, valleys, caves, and gorges. The climate is primarily temperate and there is snowfall in the mountains between November and May.

Heraklion is the largest city and capital, with more than a fifth of the island’s 600,000 people.

Crete has a road network larger than that of Britain and is well-served by ferries from the mainland city of Athens.

Crete is a veritable den of flora and fauna not seen anywhere else in Greece or other parts of Europe. There are no large or dangerous mammals or snakes on the island.

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Cyprus, Mediterranean paradise

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Cyprus
Very mild winters and warm dry summers make the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea a hotspot for tourists. The island gets almost twice the sunshine of cities in Northern Europe with as many as 12-13 hours of sun during the summertime.

Cyprus sits south of Turkey and east of Greece and is the third largest island in the Mediterranean. The island of Cyprus is divided into Greek and Turkish rule and is unique in that it is the only one which has a divided capital city – Nicosia. Nicosia is divided by a “green line” with part in Turkish Cyprus and part in Greek Cyprus. The city is surrounded by a Venetian wall.

International flights arrive at Larnaca International Airport in the south of the island. The island is mountainous in the north and south with plains in the centre while there are also plains on the island’s southern coast.

There are many archaeological sites scattered across Cyprus that date from the Stone Age through the Roman Empire and the island also boasts a beautiful coastline.

Cyprus is a great place to buy leather goods including shoes and handbags, jewellery, lacework from the village of Lefkara, and Cypriot wine. It boasts interesting cuisine and meze, a dish that can be made from meat or fish, is a must try.

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