1 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions Tourism Catalogue | Alpine Region. The Natural Beauty Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions Tourism Catalogue Routes4U Project 3 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions Tourism Catalogue Forewords ............................................................................................................................ 4 I. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe .......................................... 7 A. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in a nutshell ....... 7 B. Cultural Route Certification ........................................................................ 7 C. The Routes4U Joint Programme ................................................................ 8 D. The Training Academy ..................................................................................... 8 E. The E-learning module .................................................................................... 8 F. The Online Trip Planner ................................................................................. 8 II. EU macro-regional strategies ........................................................................... 9 The EU macro-regional strategies in a nutshell ..................................... 9 A. Branding Strategy of the macro-regions .............................................10 Β. Brand slogans for the macro-regions ....................................................11 ΙΙΙ. The Tourism Catalogue .......................................................................................11 The Tourism Catalogue in a nutshell ..........................................................11 1. Adriatic - Ionian Region .........................................................................12 2. Danube Region ........................................................................................... 34 3. Baltic Sea Region ...................................................................................... 60 4. Alpine Region .............................................................................................. 82 Routes Certifications ................................................................................................106 The tourism catalogue is developed in the framework of Routes4U. 4 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions 5 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions Tourism Catalogue Tourism Catalogue Forewords Launched in 1987 by the Council of Europe as a tool for promoting the Dear reader, transnational dimension of European heritage, the Cultural Routes of I am happy to invite you to explore this tourism catalogue which will the Council of Europe are unique in their commitment to the creation of guide you along the cultural routes in the four Macro Regions. I hope a common European identity. More relevant than ever in a multicultur- very much that the Routes4U project between the European Commis- al Europe facing many economic, geo-political and diversity challeng- sion and the Council of Europe will contribute to the economic recovery es, they reflect the fundamental values of the Council of Europe: human of the tourism sector. The European Commission has always support- rights, cultural democracy, cultural diversity and mutual exchanges ed growth and job creation in the tourism sector by bringing together across borders. economic clusters, cultural actors and innovative projects to make the cultural offer in the In this framework, I am pleased to present this tourism catalogue of local tourism prod- four macro regions more attractive. ucts and services of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe. The branding shown You will discover successful macro-regional projects on cultural heritage, like the “CCApls within relate to cultural heritage and tourism in the 4 EU macro-regions, crossing the Ion- project” relevant for the EUSALP, the Iron Age Danube (Danube Transnational Programme) ic-Adriatic, Alpine, Danube and Baltic regions. The strategies you will find bring togeth- relevant for the EUSDR, “Industrial Heritage” project (Estonia-Latvia) relevant for the EU- er the brands of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe and, in turn, aim to underly SBSR or “Cultural and Creative Regional Ecosystems (CCRE-S3)”, relevant for the EUSAIR their uniquness as cultural tourism destinations. in cooperation with the regions of Aragon and Tuscany regions. Those projects are support- The project is implemented through Routes4U, the 2017-2020 Joint Programme between ed by Interreg programmes and aim at preserving and promoting the natural beauty of the Council of Europe, Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes (EPA), and the Euro- parts of our common history. pean Commission, Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy. More recently, the European Commission has proposed a massive recovery plan to sup- Cultural Routes are successful transnational models for regional development inviting the port the tourism sector by ensuring liquidity for tourism businesses, in particular SMEs, traveller to experience the authentic culture of a series of thematically linked destinations, by creating travelers packages and guidelines for the regions, as well as specific measures providing an excellent opportunity to foster local traditions, arts and crafts and sources of for rebooting the tourism and cultural sectors. The European Union also continues to pro- revenue for the local population. The certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are vide liquidity to businesses affected by the pandemic through the Coronavirus Response unique legally established destination networks that invite travellers to take the time to Instrument Initiative in co-operation with Member States. One of the priorities is to save discover European heritage off the beaten track, often in remote rural areas that may prof- jobs in the tourism sector. The European Commission also supports partnerships between it the most from the development of sustainable cultural tourism. employment services, social partners and companies to facilitate reskilling, especially for seasonal workers. Stefano Dominioni In order to boost the tourism recovery, the Commission is connecting citizens to local tour- Executive Secretary, Enlarged Partial Agreement ism offer by promoting local attractions and tourism and Europe as a safe tourist destina- on Cultural Routes, Council of Europe tion. By doing so, the Commission will work with Member States to promote a patronage Director, European Institute on Cultural Routes, voucher system under which customers can support their favorite hotels or restaurants. The Commission will also promote pan-European communication campaigns featuring Eu- Luxembourg rope as a number one tourist destination. To complement short-term measures, the Commission will continue to work with Member States to promote sustainable tourism in line with the European Green Deal and encour- age a digital transformation of tourism services to offer more choice, better allocation of resources and new ways of managing travel and tourist flows. All of those measures are designed to continue to support Europe’s cultural heritage and to keep the European continent attractive for tourists. I am convinced that this tourism catalogue will give you a flavor for travel possibilities in the four Macro Regions. Lena Andersson Pench European Commission Director Directorate General for Regional & Urban Policy 6 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions 7 | Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the EU Macro Regions Tourism Catalogue Tourism Catalogue The Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes I. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe of the Council of Europe (EPA) established in 2010 seeks to reinforce the potential of Cultural Routes for cultural coopera- A. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in a nutshell tion with a particular focus on themes of symbolic importance for European unity, history, culture and values and the discov- Launched by the Council of Europe in 1987, the Cultural Routes demonstrate, by means of a jour- ery of less well-known destinations. Also, it helps to strength- ney through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries and cultures of Europe en the democratic dimension of cultural exchange and tourism contributes to a shared and living cultural heritage. through the involvement of grassroots networks and associa- The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are transnational grass-roots networks. They act as tions, local and regional authorities, universities and profession- channels for intercultural dialogue and promote a better knowledge and understanding of Europe- al organisations. It contributes to the preservation of a diverse an shared heritage. heritage through theme-based and alternative tourist itineraries As of 2020, 38 “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” certified networks provide a wealth of and cultural projects. leisure and educational activities for all citizens across Europe and beyond. They cover a range of The EPA counts today 34 member States and awards the certifi- different themes, such as architecture, cultural landscape, gastronomy or major figures of Europe- cation “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe”. For more infor- an art, music and literature. mation: www.coe.int/routes The European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR) was B. Cultural