Denmark's capital is a dream, and it’s worth every krone you’ll spend to visit. However, it's also notoriously pricey. So I’d like to share several tips on how you can cut your costs to get the most out of "wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen."
Not all attractions in here cost an arm and a leg - and some won’t even cost you anything at all! These include picturesque Nyhavn, the court of Amalienborg Palace (museum not included), the Little Mermaid statue, the Star Fort
Istanbul is a city of many fascinating and fun things to see and do. With its captivating ancient culture, delicious cuisine, and distinct neighborhoods, you can never experience a dull day in Istanbul. Here are the top things to do in Istanbul.
Hagia Sophia
Perhaps the most famous mosque in Istanbul (and the world, for that matter), it was built in 537 BCE during the Byzantine Empire as a Greek Orthodox church (and the world's largest building). When Turkey became Islamicized
Ireland's fourth largest city (pop. 80,000), located roughly midway along the country's Atlantic coast - and a nearly straight shot of a bit over two hours west of Dublin - boasts a history stretching back nearly a thousand years. But today it's best known for its lively, often boho social, cultural, and music scene (turbo-charged by its youthful university population, a good 20 percent of all Galwegians, as locals are known), as well as its many festivals and events - some 1
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by Inka Piegsa-Quischotte
Dank chill, drizzle, and streetlamps shrouded in fog are bad weather? A bad time for touring? Depends! In fact, they were just perfect for a nocturnal outing I had in Barcelona last winter that was hair raising – in a good way. And what better day than Halloween to tell you about it?
Like most ancient cities, Catalonia’s capital is chock-full full of history, legends – and ghosts. And if that kind of thing gets your ecoplasm going, th
In 1919, in the immediate wake of the devastation wrought by World War I, an architect named Walter Gropius, one of the pioneering maestros of modern architecture, founded an art school that combined fine arts with crafts and eventually architecture, with a minimalist approach to design that combined all of it with contemporary technology under the maxim "form follows function". Starting in eastern Germany - first in Dessau, then in Weimar, and finally a third school
Plov-what, now? Chances are you've never heard of this city of just over 345,000 (greater metro area 675,000) in south-central Bulgaria, two hours from capital Sofia. But in the 29 years since this country's from a particularly hardline, isolationist Communist country, Europe's oldest continuously inhabited city has reinvented itself for the 21st century, the allures of its picturesque old town and ancient Roman amphitheater these days balanced by vibrant nightlife, cultural ferme
Among the various cities I've traveled to in Europe, Rome is my favorite. The sites, history, construction and ancient buildings mark it as interesting reasons for millions of tourists to flock in each season. Being the key city in Italy, Rome is rich for its traditional and cultural ethics. Standing on the banks of Tiber River, its most outstanding aspect for me is its museums and galleries - this city of seven hills speaks out tradition and art. Thousands of Christians gather to attend ch
This city of just over 54,000 is the largest of Croatia's historic Istria region, on the northern Adriatic coast in the country's northwestern corner. I recently visited Pula for three days, taking in its top sights and feeling its beauty. If you're interested in rich culture/history as well as leisure pursuits, the best time to visit is from April to October (and to build a better, customized experience, try the TripHobo trip planner). Its long, rich history dates back more than 2,000 years,
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It's still winter, of course, and we've been reading about (and a lucky some of us even participating in) the frosty fun for which Europe's most extensive mountain range system is famous. But summer is coming, too, and it's not too early to consider your getaway options. The Alps provide a great way to enjoy your holiday with family and friends, and you will find it a fantastic experience and opportunity for bonding.
There's a lot to choose from, because, they stretch approximatel
by Maria José Cortes Lamas
Before the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, Bulgaria for Westerners was tucked even farther than most behind the old Iron Curtain. Today the differences are truly astonishing to see: a country vibrant with energy – though obviously not without its problems. And its capital Sofia – with a population of 1.2 million, yet fairly accessible (and bargain priced!) for the visitor – is the place where this energy is especially showcased (though it’s often bypassed by
Yet another European city tracing its roots back to a settlement of the Roman Empire, the Flanders (Dutch Belgium) city of Antwerpen (Anvers in French) started coming into its own in the late 15th century, and by the 16th had come to be Europe’s richest urb.
Today after rebuilding following devastation in World War II, it’s still a commercial powerhouse – Belgium’s biggest port (and Europe’s third largest), astride the River Scheldt, Antwerp is an economic force to be reckoned with es
Now that tourism to Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast is about to start heating up again for the summer, it’s a good time to cast a glance even beyond top dog Dubrovnik to other magical spots along these shores – and at the top of the list is a city with perhaps one of the world’s most unusual historic quarters: Split. It’s fair to say the mix of history, dining, beaches and more here is a mix unlike any on the planet.
Founded in the 6th century BC against a backdrop of high, rocky hills as the
In various parts of the world — and nowhere more than in northern Europe — summertime’s fondly considered a bright and cheery idyll, tailor-made for vacations and good vibrations in general. It’d been a long time since I’d been to Scandinavia in summer, and on my recent visit to Finland, I had the pleasure of rediscovering why the warmest season in this part of the world is so appealing — oh, what the heck, I’ll say it: even enchanting.
The seasons can feel almost manic-depressive up here in V
Gjirokastra (also spelled Gjirokastër) is a town in southern Albania which in 2005 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a highly historic city and placed on slopes of the Drino River valley, with beautiful scenery and bordered by high mountains.
Known as the "City of a Thousand Stairs" Gjirokastra is characterized by cobblestone streets and Ottoman-era houses with stone roofs and wooden balconies. Gjirokastra's historic castle is located on top of a hill. The city has a troubled p
darkrigel
by Cristóbal Ramírez
For some, Brussels on the surface doesn’t appear to offer all that much to admire – not just politically, but as a place to visit, with a bit of a reputation for being grey, boring, bureaucratic, even soulless. Like most stereotypes, blown way out of proportion. What really defines the capital of Belgium and all of Europe, site of the continent’s parliament and various of its institutions, is its status as a crossroads. After the work days are over, people from al
Amsterdam is justly celebrated for, among other things, its canals. But if any Netherlands canal city (and there are quite a few) can lay claim to being even more picture-postcard-perfect, it’s Delft, about an hour’s drive away.
The city’s canal heritage, dating back to its rural-village origins in the early 12th century, is embedded in its very name (derived from delven, Dutch for “digging”), and visitors to its historic center are invariably charmed by the mix of waterways, bridges across
In the Republic of Montenegro you will find Durmitor National Park, a vast natural protected area of 39,000 hectares which was declared Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1980. Shaped by the action of glaciers and with rivers and underground waters cutting through it, its beauty goes beyond what can be captured in a photo. Dense forests of conifers with important endemic flora and lakes of crystal waters stretch out along Tara River, which possesses one of the most profound gorges in Europ
We travel writers, as you can imagine, regularly get questions from people going on holiday. But when someone referred to me by a dear friend asked what she should not miss when she goes to Italy's capital for all of one weekend, I wanted to ask her – “ma sei pazza??” (Are you nuts?) You could spend every waking hour for weeks barely scratching the surface of this breathtaking city with a history stretching back nearly 3,000 years, so trying to truly capture la Città Eterna in a mere 48 hours
Croatia’s Dalmatian coast is chock-full of historic, architecturally charming towns and cities, but few would question that the queen of them all is the walled old quarter of Dubrovnik, thought to have been founded in the 7th century but according to some theories dating back even much earlier, to ancient Hellenic times. In any case, this eight-square-mile cluster of stone buildings and red-tile roofs has as a result become one of Europe’s more popular cities and tourist destinations – n
Old Parish Church Cemetery in Whitby, England
My obsession to travel to every site related to either the fictional Count Dracula or his real historical counterpart, Prince Vlad Dracula the Impaler, grew out of a visit to Whitby, England, where part of the novel Dracula takes place. I stood on the cemetery hill (top) where, in Bram Stoker's Dracula Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray spent hour after hour sitting on their "favourite seat" (a bench placed over a suicide's grave near the edge of the c
