Must See European Travel Destinations

croatia / dalmatia / destinations / france / netherlands
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Every European country has its wonderful places that attract the interest and are visited by thousands of tourists each year. This is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult to choose among the many excellent European travel destinations. Read on to discover a few places that really deserve to be visited.

top european travel destinationsThe Netherlands comes first on our list. While visiting its capital, Amsterdam, do not forget that the Van Gogh Museum will be waiting for you, to irreversible charm you with its unique paintings. Few people know this, but Van Gogh has managed to finish no less than 200 paintings and 300 drawings.

Besides Van Gogh’s wonderful artist projects, the museum also exhibits some of the letters that were written by the famous painter. In addition to this, the museum has opened a new wing recently, where the visitors can enjoy the modern Japanese art. The museum is open every day of the week and the price of a ticket is 10 Euros.

The old city of Amsterdam is made of canal rings, which can be explored using a smaller boat. If this idea does not attract you, there is always the possibility to visit the city by bike.

Sacre Coeur Montmartre is indeed one of the most photographed parts of Paris, France. Montmartre is the highest point in Paris; a basilica was built on top of it, to honor the Sacred Heart. The project of building the church started in 1875 and it was finished only in 1923; its initial purpose was to honor the 50,000 French soldiers that died in the Franco-Prussian war.

You will be allowed to walk in the wonderful gardens around the basilica and you will marvel at the perfect white of the walls. While being there, you should take several pictures of the city, as this is one of the best places in Paris to do that. The view stretches as far as 50 kilometers / 31 miles away, so the pictures will be great.

You can either walk to Montmartre, or use a funicular that can take you rapidly to the top. Make sure to visit the church early in the morning or late in the afternoon; this way you will have the chance to avoid the huge crowds of tourists.

Another unique area in Europe is the Central Dalmatia, a coastal region that is separated from Italy by the Adriatic Sea. While there, visit Hvar Town, a place where tourists can find numerous shops, bistros and cafes. The island city is built around the TRG Svetog Stjepana, a square that has been built in the fifteen century.

You should also take some photos of the astonishing Arsenal and of the Cathedral of St Stjepan. The city is the perfect place where building and their architecture will help you travel back in time hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Nevertheless, during night Havr Town changes completely, being filled lots of people, locals and tourists, that are looking for a night time vivid experience.

Split is the capital of Souhtern Croatia; there you will be able to visit the palace of Diocletian, an ancient castle that is surrounded by other old, historically important buildings. You will be charmed by the fascinating blending of old, well preserved houses and modern bistros, cafes, bars and restaurants.

The castle was built in the honor of the Roman emperor, at the very beginning of the fourth century. Starting with 1979, UNESCO has included the castle on the World Cultural Heritage List, so it benefited from the gathered funds that helped specialists preserve it properly.

More than this, even though in 2007 the municipality decided to surround the castle with parking lots, shops and a shopping centre, the locals protested and no new buildings were added in the area.

Top Reasons Why Bath Is the Perfect Vacation Destination

destinations / england
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One of the English resorts that was and still is visited a lot is Bath, the well known spa that amazes tourists with its hot springs and the elegant hotels. Bath is situated in the valley of Avon, somewhere in between Cotswolds and the Mendip Hills.

Bath boasts with more than 500 unique buildings that are protected by the law, being considered of huge historical importance. If you visit Bath and take the time to wander along the roads, you will be amazed to see the big number of old houses that carry a plaque with the name of a personality that once owned that particular house, lived in it or simply spent a few days of relaxations there.

holidays in bath Bath was included on the list of World Heritage places in 1987, and that has made the city become even more popular. And there’s a good reason for including Bath in that list, as it is one of the few European areas that offer tourists the possibility of having a thermal bath.

The archaeologists have done their thorough studies in the area, stating the fact that the springs are at least one hundred thousand years old, while the doctors have mentioned their medical positive effects on the overall health several times. Legend says that prince Bladud, sick with leprosy, took a bath in one of the springs and got healed. He returned at the royal court completely cured, and then he became king.

The Romans were the first to use the healing properties of the hot springs, but after they left England, the baths that they had built were almost ruined. Fortunately, beginning with 1738 Bath was rebuilt from ground up and a lot of elegant, stylish buildings appeared one after the other. Few people know this, but the hot water in the area contains no less than 43 different minerals.

The visitors that come to Bath also choose to spend some time in the Abbey, a place where history abounds, and where pilgrims and Christians have found peace of their souls along the centuries. The Abbey has a nice architecture and offers Christian religious services every Sunday, getting close to half a million visitors each year.

Bath is also well known due to its exclusivist, elegant hotels that have been booked by some of the richest people in Europe. The majority of them are four and five stars hotels, which offer the tourists high quality accommodation services. Almost every hotel has its own spa, wonderful trimmed gardens and restaurants.

Bath needs to be admired on foot, while taking the time to walk on its narrow streets or spending a couple of hours sipping an English coffee in one of the cafes spread all over the city. Wonderful hotels can also be found outside the city, in the countryside. These hotels are located on large properties, offering the tourists the pleasure of an authentic country atmosphere.

You should plan your trip to Bath during summer, as this is the perfect season that will allow you long trips in the open, without having to fear rain or strong winds. The official season starts at the beginning of April and ends in the very first days of November. May of the tourists choose to come during fall or spring, when the costs related to accommodation are also substantially smaller.

We simply love Bath and we recommend anyone to read Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey book before visiting the city.

Visiting the Praid Salt Mine in Romania

destinations / romania
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Praid is one of the largest villages in the county of Harghita from Romania, a place that has begun to be known in the entire Europe for its salt mine, which is visited all year long not only by the Romanian tourists, but also by many people from various other countries. The salt mine history starts in the Roman period; it was then that the first excavations were done. Later on, the Bulgarians came to Praid, in an attempt to get salt from the mine.

Praid is a unique place hidden among mountain tops, offering a marvelous landscape to every visitor. It has been inhabited since 1564; the mines were first mentioned in 1493, and its history is directly linked to salt. People in this village have been working in the mines and have grown buffalos for centuries, using the buffalos’ skins to transport and preserve the salt.

travel to praid salt mine People come to Praid in order to benefit from the possibility of spending a few hours a day in the mine, where the salty air does miracles to the health. Others come and enjoy the open air swimming pool, which has salty water. In addition to this, for people suffering from rheumatism, the salty water is heated in huge cauldrons. In fact, the combination between salt and iodum is said to be the best natural treatment for many diseases, having numerous positive effects on the human organism: relaxation, skin sterilization, wound healing, etc.

But what can someone do in a salt mine, several hours a day? First of all, you can visit the main attraction, the salt museum, where you can admire a great variety of salt crystals, different tools that people used across centuries in order to extract salt, as well as many popular art objects. And with every year the number of visitors is bigger. Then, there is a special playground which was built especially for the kids that need to breathe salty air. Parents can sit on a bench nearby and the kids will play uninterrupted for hours, while the salt will do its job in their bodies.

The Praid salt mine boasts with its exquisite wine gallery which is unique in the world, where 100 meters underground, 275 varieties of wines are being kept. The bottles that can be found here come from 25 wine producers, located in six countries. If you want, you can even attend a short course on wine culture, while tasting some of the most famous wine varieties of the world.

Praid offers a wide range of accommodation possibilities, ranging from simple peasant houses to elegant, modern resorts. Romania is a country that’s well known for its rural tourism, meaning that regular peasants have opened their houses for the tourists. Tourists come and enjoy living a simple, rural life, eating natural products (fresh milk, cheese, butter, fresh bread, meat dishes and fish) and enjoying life far away from the routine and chaos of all the big cities.

During summer, up to three thousand visitors come to the mine each and every day, and the majority of them spend at least a few hours there. If you are interested in getting a salt-based treatment, you should know that you will need to stay in there for up to 4 hours a day in order to get the best results out of it. This is just a place in Romania where people come and blend treatment with relaxation, in a unique natural landscape that has been staying unchanged for centuries.

Irina Chirilov, the author of this article, is a blogger for Dollar Thrifty Car Rentals Bucharest Romania, a car rental agency that represents Dollar Thrifty in Eastern Europe.