Browsing: Europe

At Spain’s green northwest edge, the Miño River draws a natural line between Galicia and Portugal. Along this border, five small towns—Tui, A Guarda, O Rosal, Tomiño, and Oia—offer a compact route through medieval stone, Atlantic air, vineyard valleys, and Camino waymarks.

Some of my best memories of traveling by barge in France come from the simple act of stepping ashore. Alongside many of the French canals run towpaths, once used by horses—and sometimes people—who pulled cargo barges in the days before engines. Today, those same paths invite us to stretch our legs, pedal a bike or simply wander at our own pace, all while keeping company with the gentle rhythm of life on the canals.

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While travelers may dream of Florence’s galleries or Venice’s canals, those in search of something quieter—more intimate, more rooted—should set their sights northwest. Here, in the shadow of the Alps, the region of Piedmont unfolds like a secret worth sharing. Its name, meaning “foot of the mountains,” is more than geographical—it’s poetic. This is where the drama of jagged peaks meets the softness of vineyard hills, and where time seems to slow in step with …

Easily accessible from the capital of Brussels, Ghent has been Europe’s best-kept secret for many years. The second largest city in the Flanders region of Belgium, after Antwerp, it’s an enchanting and often overlooked destination. Situated on the confluence of the rivers Leie and Scheldt, Ghent is packed with fascinating architecture, scenic canals, chocolate shops, and bicycles. With a cosy vibe, it has a compact and walkable center, and all the main attractions are located …

Burgundy isn’t just a place – it’s a feeling, a flavour, and a memory in the making.

For travellers seeking a week where time slows to walking pace, European Waterways’ L’Impressionniste offers a six-night voyage through the heart of Burgundy’s wine country, gliding from Escommes to Fleurey-sur-Ouche along the tranquil Canal de Bourgogne. This intimate, all-inclusive river cruise pairs immersive cultural excursions with gourmet dining, creating a product travel professionals can confidently recommend to discerning …

From Bizet’s Carmen to Washington Irving’s Tales of the Alhambra, the lure of Spain’s Andalucía region has captivated travelers from around the world for centuries.  There is something captivating about the dry, arid region, where grandiose centuries-old cathedrals in Seville are surpassed in beauty only by the even older Islamic palaces.  Southern Spain, despite the seemingly relentless heat, has a romance to it, a mysterious exoticism that is difficult to experience anywhere else in …

Few passengers careening between tube stations know there is an underground city beneath London.

In the 19th century, digging deep-level underwater tunnels was hazardous. Numerous attempts to cross the Thames underground had failed, with many lives lost. Today, the East London Line uses Brunel’s Thames Tunnel, being the first successful under-Thames crossing.

When steam traction was exchanged for electricity, deeper tunnels could be dug using compressed air and a large circular drilling shield, which was …

Scenically situated on the banks of the Danube, the Hungarian capital of Budapest had been on my hit list for a while. Although its popularity has soared over the last few years, the city still receives only a fraction of the visitors that heavyweights such as London, Paris, and Rome do. Yet, Budapest has some particularly unique attractions. Where else could you indulge in delicious chimney cake in the morning, luxuriate in hot springs in …

A chill north wind blows across a landscape, stark but beautiful at the same time. But a peat fire is always nearby in some stone cottage with a thatched roof, where both the occupants and the ambiance are warm (and so, sometimes, is the beer; this is Britain, after all!). The sounds of the breeze are occasionally broken by the “baaah-ing” of a group of sheep.

The landscape rises and drops sharply in steep hills …

Famed for its creativity, great new food scene and buzzing nightlife, Shoreditch has become one of London’s trendiest districts. If you’re into architecture and the evolution of buildings you will love the profound way in which skyscrapers and new buildings bite into Shoreditch from London’s ‘square mile’.

A new wave of young professionals have moved in, sending property prices sky-rocketing in what was once a working-class neighbourhood between Old Street and Bethnal Green. The boom …

In a country famous for its pristine pebbled shores and crystal-clear waters, Susak stands as a geological anomaly. This small Croatian island, composed entirely of sand deposited by ancient winds onto limestone bedrock, offers something almost impossible to find elsewhere along the Adriatic coast: genuine sandy beaches that rival those of tropical destinations and very few crowds.

Susak sits in the Kvarner Bay, approximately 7.4 kilometers southwest of Mali Lošinj island, making it one of …

The psychedelic works of Antoni Gaudí draw thousands of visitors to Barcelona, Spain, each year. While the eccentric architect completed projects outside of the city as well, his most impressive buildings are clustered in the Catalan capital. In fact, there are so many Gaudí buildings in Barcelona that it can be hard to choose which ones to visit if you’ve got limited time. Here’s the scoop on his top creations, plus a few more to …

I don’t think I’ve ever visited a more whimsical destination than the enchanting Polish city of Wroclaw. From the colorful houses that are straight out of a Grimm’s fairy story to the hundreds of scattered gnomes that can be spotted throughout the downtown area, this is a city like no other. The third largest urban area in Poland, it’s often overlooked by visitors who head straight to Krakow and Warsaw. Big mistake.

I visited Wroclaw …