I have been lucky enough to travel to a lot of beautiful European countries; most of them as part of a 1 month Interrail trip in the summer of 2014.
I want to share some of my favourite cities that I discovered along the way.
I want to share some of my favourite cities that I discovered along the way.
Bled; Slovenia. By far one of the most beautiful countries and areas I've been through. Slovenia's landscapes are wonderfully unspoilt; over a third of the country is vast forests. Travelling through on train you can just sit and stare out of the window in awe of how green everything is. I have never seen rivers so clear & bright and the colours were beautiful.
Bled lies in the North-West of the country not too far from the Austria-borders. It really is a naturally stunning place and I urge people to visit; its the kind of place I'd love to live and travel back to.
Lake Bled is the main 'attraction' of Bled and there are numerous view points around the lake which give spectacular panoramas of the surrounding landscapes. If you're into water-sports and hikes this is the place for you! A great activity is walking up to Bled Castle and from there you can get stunning views of the lake!
Venice; Italy. The beautiful sinking city. How long will Venice still be habitable with the rising sea levels? God knows. But I am happy I got the opportunity to visit this lovely city on the sea before it was too late. Venice is just beautiful and such a unique place. You can quite easily get lost here as all the streets and alleyways look identical. There are loads of shops and cafes and restaurants filling the canals and I kid you not, I had the best lasagne in my life in Venice - no other lasagne will ever come close. I will return and I will find that lasagna again!!
A visit to St Marks is a must and if you fancy forking out 80 euros, treat yourself to a gondola ride!
Barcelona; Spain. I really liked Barcelona, it has a lot to offer and is home to a lot of stunning architecture from the Sagrida Familia to Park Guell. If you're a football fan definitely take a visit over to Camp Nou, home to Barcelona FC - if not, go anyway, its very big. I recommend a bus tour for Barcelona, purely because how much there is to see and how spread out a lot of it is, so if you're visiting for only a few days like I did; a bus tour is a great way to great through all the main sights! The food is delicious, the drinks are cheap, the weather is warm & the sights are plenty!
I recommend a visit up to Mt Tibidabo where you get stunning panoramic views of the whole of Barcelona - and its an amusement park so even better.
Geneva; Switzerland. In summer wear sunscreen! We were only in Geneva for 24 hours but it was a great stop. In June it was boiling and when you lugging a massive rucksack from the train station to find your hostel in the middle of the afternoon its not ideal. Geneva is built up around Lake Geneva which is just stunning. It features Jet D'eau which is a massive fountain which operates at different times throughout the day; a very popular tourist attraction. I recommend hiring some sort of boat / paddle boat to go on the lake. Geneva is situated close to the Alps with fantastic views of Mont Blanc. There are so many lovely shops and restaurants lined along the front over-looking the lake. Its known as being a very expensive town but if you're careful with your money its not too bad.
Paris; France. I love Paris. There is so much to see and do & the smell of fresh bread fills the air which is even better (I am constantly being told off in Asda when my mum catches me inhaling loaves of bread). The city is so heavy with culture and history it is quite overwhelming and then mad dash between the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre-Dame and Sacre-Coeur and everything else can be quite exhausting because of how big Paris is! But it is totally worth that tick off you list of things to see! I have visited Paris twice; once on a school trip in year 9 (hilarious trip! "come see Britney") and then again in 2014 with my sister during our Interrail trip. The second time I managed it up to the top of the Eiffel Tower AND without crying. The views are insane! One of my favourite moments though has to be when the tower lights up and sparkles - it really is beautiful to see!
Prague; Czech Republic Prague is a really cool city. Another great zoo (which FYI you should not try to walk to from the main city centre because you can't ok!) and plenty of famous landmarks & buildings to look for. One of my favourite things to do in Prague was renting a pedalo on the river and riding along under the bridges and around Strelecky Island and looking out over towards Prague castle. One thing I noticed about Prague is that it is a very photogenic city; you can take beautiful pictures wherever you are! I have a thing for fun buildings so Prague was right up my street - the Dancing House is a must see! As well as the Church of our Lady before Tyn in the Old Town Square. Here you will find the Astronomical clock on the Old Town Hall - it is the 3rd oldest astronomical clock in the world & the oldest one still working!
London; UK. I really like London. Living in North Wales you don't tend to venture there too much so my previous experiences near London had literally been to the airport. But I decided to visit for 3 days with my sister in December a couple of years ago and we literally packed in every single site-seeing activity possible! Great shopping destination and an abundance of famous landmarks that are a must to see. We stayed in Covent Garden and travelled using the tube everyday which is so efficient and for the amount of times we used it was well worth getting a full day pass each day! If you're wanting to splash the cash a trip to Harrods is a must with a spot of lunch at the chocolate cafe! We literally spent £60 on lunch which was all chocolate based. Oops.
The view from the London Eye was fantastic & well worth the money & waiting in line.
Berlin; Germany. "Good girls go to heaven. Bad girls go to Berlin" LOL. Home to the best zoo i've ever been to! Pandas & hippos galore. If you like zoos, or actually, even if you don't like zoos, go to this one! It is a fantastic zoo!
I would have liked to spend more time in Berlin and really get a better taste for the food (& drink ;) now that I can tolerate beer). I loved the graffiti along the Berlin wall - I thought it was so cool! We walked for what seemed like days to find it and then walked the whole length just taking in all the art and different messages within the pictures. And its not a trip to Berlin without a visit to the Brandenburg Gate - unfortunately it was covered in scaffolding (story of my life - Capitol building, Trevi Fountain, Sagrada Familia - even though thats always covered ha) but was still good to visit. I would recommend a stop at Checkpoint Charlie & the Jewish Memorial site.
Where's your favourite European travel destination?
♡ G
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I couldn´t agree more with every single destination you wrote! They all are a must and they all are so different!
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Thanks :) There are so many more I could have mentioned but I felt these were my stand-out favourites!
DeleteI <3 barcelona - its so vibrant! U've made me want to go to Bled, it looks pretty =)
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