Best of Europe 1 Preview

Welcome to Europe There simply is no way to tour Europe and not be awestruck by its scenic 3524 beauty, epic history and dazzling arts scene. It also off ers delicious culinary c 1 diversity and the best nightlife in the dge, world. tava Europe’s wealth of attractions is its biggest single ague draw: Florence’s Renaissance art, Venice’s graceful EUROPE canals, Paris’ Napoleonic splendour, and the multi- wn. s TOP SIGHTS, AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES layered historical and cultural canvas of London. und; Less obvious but no less impressive attractions include the ongoing project of Gaudí’s La Sagrada Família, in Barcelona, and Iceland’s quaint capital Reykjavík with its wonderful cafe and bar scene. There’s a huge diversity of natural scenery: rugged Scottish Highlands with glens and lochs; the flower fields and hilltop villages of Provence; and the Adriatic coastline speckled with thousands of islands. Mountain lovers should head to the Alps: they march across central Europe taking in France, Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy. London, Berlin and Paris all offer top-class entertainment, especially theatre, live music and clubbing. Those hankering for something cosier can add Dublin’s pubs or Vienna’s cafes to their itiner- ary. Continue to party on the continent’s streets at a multiplicity of festivals and celebrations. A European tour is also a chance to indulge in a cu- linary adventure to beat all others. Go to the source and sample haggis in Scotland and pizza in Rome. But who’d have thought that Amsterdam would be a place to enjoy Indonesian rijsttafel (rice table)? That’s Europe for you: constantly surprising.

Simon Richmond, Alexis Averbuck, Mark Baker, Oliver Berry, Abigail Blasi, Cristian Bonetto, Kerry Christiani, Fionn Davenport, Sally Davies, Peter Dragicevich, Steve Fallon, Emilie Filou, Duncan Garwood, Bridget Gleeson, Paula Hardy, Damian Harper, Anna Kaminski, Catherine Le Europe’s wealth of attractions Nevez, Virginia Maxwell, Craig McLachlan, Josephine is its biggest single draw Quintero, Kevin Raub, Andrea Schulte-Peevers, Regis St Louis, Nicola Williams, Neil Wilson Charles Bridge (p535) and the Vltava River, Prague ROMAN BORODAEV / SHUTTERSTOCK ©

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^# Luleå Plan Your Trip Europe’s Top 21 ...... 6 Dublin, Ireland 114 Shopping ...... 166 Prov Need to Know ...... 26 Eating ...... 167 ^# Petrozavodsk Trinity College ...... 116 Pont Trondheim^# ^#Vaasa Hotspots for...... 28 Drinking & Nightlife ....170 Guinness Hillt RUSSIA Local Life...... 30 Entertainment ...... 172 ^#Sundsvall Storehouse...... 118 Avig ^#Tampere Month by Month .....32 Where to Stay ...... 175 Sights ...... 120 Mou Get Inspired ...... 35 NORWAY ^# St Petersburg Tours ...... 125 #_ ^# Ste- HELSINKI Ya r o s l av l ^# Itineraries ...... 36 Reykjavík, Iceland 176 ^# Shopping ...... 125 Shetland Bergen Nizhny #_TALLINN Family Travel ...... 46 SCOTTISH OSLO #_ Novgorod Eating ...... 128 National Museum ..... 178 Orkney #_STOCKHOLM Barc HIGHLANDS ESTONIA Vo ^# Drinking & Nightlife ....129 ^#Pskov lga Blue Lagoon ...... 180 (p96) Tver #_ La S Gotland MOSCOW Entertainment ...... 131 Golden Circle ...... 182 #\ Inverness ^# SWEDEN Great Britain Fam Kristiansand LATVIA Where to Stay ...... 133 Sights ...... 184 SCOTLAND RĜGA #_ La R & Ireland 49 Activities ...... 189 Glasgow Baltic Don Edinburgh ^#Smolensk Mon NORTHERN ^# ^# North COPENHAGEN Öland Sea Shopping ...... 190 IRELAND Sea LITHUANIA London, Trea Belfast (p136) Scandinavia Eating ...... 191 ^# #_^# Malmö Kaliningrad #_ Great Britain 50 the ^# VILNIUS #_ & Northern Drinking & Nightlife ....195 NORTH ^# Douglas DENMARK Bornholm MINSK Sigh Galway #\ ^# Westminster Abbey ....52 ATLANTIC #_ Europe 135 Entertainment ...... 197 To u r DUBLIN #]Manchester Gdansk BELARUS OCEAN IRELAND Hamburg British Museum ...... 58 Where to Stay ...... 199 (p114) ^# GERMANY Sho #\ NETHERLANDS Buckingham Copenhagen, ]# V WARSAW Brest Cork WALES Birmingham i ^# ^# Eatin BERLIN stu #_ Kharkiv Palace ...... 62 Denmark 136 ENGLAND #_ AMSTERDAM #_ la Drin Cardiff ^# (p486) #_ KYIV Tower of London ...... 66 #_ (p154) POLAND ^# Donetsk France, Spain Zhytomyr ^# Tivoli Gardens ...... 138 Ente LONDON BELGIUM Dresden ^# A Northern English #_ ^# Kraków Dnipropetrovsk Designmuseum & Portugal 201 Whe ^# BRUSSELS ^# UKRAINE Point of View ...... 72 (p50) Channel Lille SWISS PRAGUE ^# Lviv Danmark ...... 140 Sights ...... 74 LUXEMBOURG ALPS #_ (p524) Dniester Paris, France 202 ^# ^# Rouen #_ Sights ...... 142 Bas ^# SLOVAKIA VIENNA MOLDOVA Tours ...... 85 Caen #_ (p586) CZECH Tisza Tours ...... 146 Eiffel Tower ...... 204 Reims REPUBLIC (p564) CHIōINôU Shopping ...... 86 Spa Rennes ^# ^# #_ PARIS Munich #_#_ IaŎi ^# Shopping ...... 147 The Louvre ...... 210 ^# ^# BRATISLAVA Odessa Eating ...... 87 Mus Nantes ^# Dijon #_BUDAPEST Eating ...... 148 Notre Dame ...... 216 Lo (p202) Zürich BUDAPEST Drinking & Nightlife .....90 ire ^# BERN ^# AUSTRIA #] Bilb #_ HUNGARY Sevastapol Drinking & Nightlife ....150 Day Trip: Château #_ VADUZ (p546) ROMANIA Entertainment ...... 92 BASQUE Bay of SWITZERLAND SLOVENIA Pint Biscay Entertainment ...... 152 de Versailles ...... 222 Limoges^# Geneva ^# LJUBLJANA#_ Where to Stay ...... 95 Bilba COUNTRY ^# #_ SERBIA ^# Seine-Side Lyon ZAGREB #_ ConstanŒa Black (p308) Bordeaux ^# FRANCE Milan ^# ^# CROATIA Sea San ne #_ BUCHAREST Amsterdam, Meander ...... 226 VENICE BOSNIA & hô BELGRADE Scottish Highlands, HERCEGOVNIA Sights ...... 228 (p400)R ITALY BULGARIA the Netherlands 154 SAN MARINO #_ SARAJEVO Great Britain 96 Vigo #] Bilbao ^# #_ SOFIA Shopping ...... 236 Lisb Montpellier ^# #_ MONACO ^# KOSOVO #_ Van Gogh ^# MONTENEGRO #_ Eating ...... 239 PYRENEES Marseille DUBROVNIK PRISTINA Ģstanbul On the Mos Porto ^# #_ #\ #_ ^# ANKARA Museum ...... 156 ANDORRA LA VELLA #_ MACEDONIA Whisky Trail ...... 98 Drinking & Nightlife ....245 FLORENCE (p470) PODGORICA #_ Anne Frank Huis ...... 158 Jeró PORTUGAL SKOPJE ^# Bursa Entertainment ...... 248 BARCELONA (p418)Ajaccio ^# #_ #_ Loch Ness ...... 100 Lisb ^# TIRANA ^# Sights ...... 160 #_ ^# Thessaloniki Inverness ...... 104 Where to Stay ...... 251 MADRID (p268) ROME Bari ALBANIA TURKEY Activities ...... 165 Sigh LISBON #_ TUSCANY ^# Fort William ...... 110 (p352) Naples Aegean Tours ...... 166 Activ (p330) (p444) GREECE Sea SPAIN ^#Valencia Corfu ^# Ģzmir To u r Sardinia #]Cordoba PROVENCE ^# Cagliari Catanzaro^# #_ Seville^# (Italy) Ionian (p252) ATHENS Mediterranean Palermo ^# Sea NICOSIA #_ Gibraltar Sea Sicily CYPRUS ^# Sea of Crete Karpathos Crete MOROCCO ALGERIA TUNISIA Malta #_ VALLETTA

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166 Provence, France 252 Shopping ...... 343 Florence, Italy 418 167 Eating ...... 344 Pont du Gard ...... 254 Duomo ...... 420 170 Drinking & Nightlife ...346 Hilltop Villages ...... 256 Galleria .172 Entertainment ...... 347 Avignon ...... 260 dell’Accademia ...... 424 175 Where to Stay ...... 349 Moustiers Galleria Ste-Marie ...... 266 degli Uffizi ...... 426 176 Heart of the City ...... 430 Italy & Croatia 351 . 178 Barcelona, Spain 268 Sights ...... 432 .180 Rome, Italy 352 Shopping ...... 438 La Sagrada .182 Eating ...... 440 Família ...... 270 Colosseum ...... 354 184 Drinking & Nightlife ...442 La Rambla ...... 278 Pantheon ...... 358 189 Montjuïc ...... 284 St Peter’s 190 Tuscany, Italy 444 Treasures in Basilica ...... 362 .191 the Barri Gòtic ...... 286 Vatican Museums ....366 Towers of San 195 Sights ...... 288 Roman Forum ...... 372 Gimignano ...... 446 197 Tours ...... 297 Centro Storico Leaning Tower 199 Shopping ...... 297 Piazzas ...... 378 of Pisa ...... 448 Eating ...... 298 Sights ...... 380 Tuscan Road Trip .....450 Drinking & Nightlife ....301 Shopping ...... 390 Siena ...... 452 Entertainment ...... 304 Eating ...... 391 Arezzo ...... 455 201 Where to Stay ...... 307 Drinking & Nightlife ...394 Montepulciano ...... 458 Entertainment ...... 395 Montalcino ...... 460 202 Basque Country, Where to Stay ...... 399 204 Spain 308 Ruins of Pompeii, .210 Venice, Italy 400 Italy 462 .216 Museo Guggenheim Bilbao ...... 310 Grand Canal ...... 402 222 Pintxo Bars ...... 312 Basilica di Dubrovnik, Croatia 470 Bilbao ...... 316 San Marco ...... 404 City Walls & Forts .....472 226 San Sebastián ...... 323 Palazzo Ducale ...... 406 Game of Thrones 228 Venice Gourmet Crawl ...... 408 Locations ...... 474 236 Lisbon, Portugal 330 Sights ...... 410 Sights ...... 476 239 Mosteiro dos Activities ...... 411 Activities ...... 479 245 Jerónimos...... 332 Shopping ...... 414 Tours ...... 480 248 Lisbon’s Trams ...... 334 Eating ...... 414 Shopping ...... 480 251 Sights ...... 336 Drinking & Nightlife ....416 Eating ...... 480 Activities ...... 341 Entertainment ...... 416 Drinking & Nightlife ...482 Tours ...... 342

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Contents

Germany & Prague, Vienna, Austria 564 Czech Republic 524 Eastern Europe 485 Schloss Schönbrunn ...... 566 Berlin, Germany 486 Prague Castle ...... 526 Prague Kunsthistorisches The Berlin Wall ...... 488 River Stroll ...... 530 Museum Vienna ...... 568 The Reichstag ...... 492 Sights ...... 532 Sights ...... 570 Berlin Nightlife ...... 494 Tours ...... 539 Activities ...... 578 Historical Shopping ...... 539 Shopping ...... 578 Highlights ...... 496 Eating ...... 540 Eating ...... 580 Sights ...... 498 Drinking & Nightlife ....542 Drinking & Nightlife ....583 Tours ...... 508 Entertainment ...... 543 Entertainment ...... 584 Shopping ...... 509 Eating ...... 509 Budapest, Swiss Alps, Drinking & Nightlife ....513 Hungary 546 Switzerland 586 Entertainment ...... 516 Where to Stay ...... 519 Royal Palace ...... 548 Matterhorn ...... 588 Thermal Baths Glacier Express ...... 590 & Spas ...... 550 Zermatt ...... 592 Schloss Neuschwanstein, Sights ...... 552 Germany 520 Shopping ...... 558 Eating ...... 559 Drinking & Nightlife ....561 Entertainment ...... 562

CANADASTOCK /SHUTTERSTOCK © In Focus Survival Guide 26 Europe Today...... 600 Directory A–Z ...... 620 History ...... 602 Transport ...... 630 s Arts & Language ...... 635 Architecture ...... 609 Index ...... 638 olden Food & Drink ...... 614 Symbols & Map Key ...... 646 e Ins- fi lter

Left: Cycling past the Reichstag (p492), Berlin; Top right: Houses in Lisbon (p330); Bottom right: A Tuscan village (p444)

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London, Britain Truly one of the world’s greatest cities London is mercurial and endlessly fascinating; you could spend a lifetime getting to know it, then realise it’s gone and changed again. Stretching back from the mighty River Thames, its lush parks and historic districts are crammed with extraordinary sights: royal pal- aces, towering cathedrals and remarkable museums and galleries. Add the pick of the world’s theatres, restaurants, sports venues and shops, and you’ll be very reluctant to leave. Right: Great Court, British Museum (p58) 1

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Berlin, Germany Catch the ever-changing zeitgeist More than 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, it’s hard to be- lieve that this most cosmopolitan of cities once marked the frontier of the Cold War. But reminders of Berlin’s divided past still remain: whether you’re passing the Brandenburg Gate, gazing at graffiti at the East Side Gallery or soaking up the history at Checkpoint Charlie, it’s an essential part of understanding what makes Ger- many’s capital tick. Drei Mädchen und ein Knabe (Three Girls and a Boy) by artist Wilfried Fitzenreiter near the Berliner Dom (p503) 5

002-top-21-bo-eur1.indd2-top-21-bo-eur1.indd 1111 221/07/20171/07/2017 12:32:3612:32:36 PMPM 26 Plan Your Trip Need to Know C Currency When to Go? Euro (€), Pound (£), desert, dry climate Swiss franc (Sfr), warm to hot summers, mild winters Danish krone (Dkr), warm to hot summers, cold winters Hungarian Forint (Ft),

# mild summers, cold winters cold climate Icelandic króna (kr), Reykjavík Czech crown (Koruna GO Jun-Aug & Dec česká; Kč), Croatian Kuna (KN) Language English, French, Ger- London GO May-Sep man, Italian, Spanish #

# Prague Visas # GO Apr-Jun & Paris Sep-Oct EU citizens don’t need GO Apr-May & Sep-Oct visas for other EU countries. Australians,

# Barcelona # Rome Canadians, New Zea- GO May-Jun GO Apr-Jun & landers and Americans & Sep Sep-Oct don’t need visas for visits of less than 90 days. Money High Season (Jun–Aug) ATMs are common;  Everybody comes to Europe and all of Europe hits credit and debit cards the road. are widely accepted.  Hotel prices and temperatures are their highest. Mobile Phones Europe uses the GSM Shoulder (Apr–May & Sep–Oct) 900 network. If you’re  Crowds and prices drop, except in Italy where it’s coming from outside still busy. Europe it’s worth buy- ing a prepaid local SIM.  Temperatures are comfortable but it can be hot in southern Europe. Time Britain, Ireland and  Overall these are the best months to travel in Europe. Portugal (GMT), Low Season (Nov–Mar) Central Europe (GMT plus one hour), Greece,  Outside ski resorts, hotels drop their prices or close Turkey and Eastern down. Europe (GMT plus two  The weather can be cold and days short, especially in hours). northern Europe.

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