With the holiday season well underway, many people around Europe are making travel arrangements to spend the approaching winter holidays in one of Europe's many wonderful getaway destinations. Loft
Europe is the world's second-smallest continent, measuring only 2% larger than Canada, yet the third-most populous, accounting for 11% of the global population. Its 47 countries cover Alpine mountains, historic cities, and coasts on both the Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas, making it a holiday paradise.
As a result, here are my 'Top 05' most iconic holiday places in Europe for you to discover.
5. The Alps of Switzerland
There's a lot more to Switzerland than chocolate, cuckoo clocks, and ultra-precise timepieces. Aristocratic Victorian hikers in the crystal-clear Alpine air made the country famous as a summer holiday destination, a sun-drenched mountain playground for them. Back in 1864, when Johannes Badrutt, the owner of the Kulm Hotel in St Moritz, bet his regular summer guests that if they returned in the winter to enjoy sparkling sunny days, he would cover all of their holiday fees, he gave the impetus for the country's current year-round attraction.
The majority of Europe's 4,000-meter summits are found in the Alpine highlands, which cover 65 percent of landlocked Switzerland. Summer visitors continue to arrive, but they are now joined by winter visitors who like the local ski communities as much as the mega-resorts of Verbier, St Moritz, and Zermatt.
4. The city of Rome
All roads lead to Roma, the Italian city where history, food, and art come together to create a mouthwatering experience. For Italians, the Eternal City is the epicenter of fashion, religion, and politics, with architectural marvels ranging from the remains of the 1st Century BC Forum to Zaha Hadid's Maxxi Museum of 21st Century Arts.
Take an early morning stroll through the Campo de'Fiori flower market as it opens, cross the Vatican to wonder at The Sistine Chapel, or elbow your way through the crowds to throw a penny in the Trevi Fountain. According to Travelers Choice Destinations, Rome is now the world's second most popular tourist destination, yet it is also a livable city with superb food and a pleasant, albeit chaotic, local life.
Ibiza is number three.
The paparazzi photographed everyone from US actor Will Smith to tennis ace Rafael Nadal resting on the Balearic island this summer, making Ibiza Europe's famous hotspot once again. Hippies who first came to the island in the 1970s are still hiding out in the tranquil north or at Las Dalias market, but they've been joined by trendy families and a party culture eager to sample the White Isle's famed nightlife.
Ibiza is Europe's most successful comeback queen, understated yet refined, boho but cosmopolitan. Lio, a half restaurant, part cabaret club in Ibiza Town, is a hot new place where dining becomes a theatrical performance. Make a day excursion to the charming little island of Formentera, where you should hire a bike or scooter for a tour before finishing with a feet-in-the-sand paella on the beach at Kioska Pirata.
2. In Tuscany, the most popular and visited Italian area, Renaissance highlights come at you faster than an Italian on a Vespa. According to UNESCO, Italy houses 60% of the world's most important art, half of which is housed in Florence, Tuscany's cultural hub since the Renaissance. However, if you enter a modest church in a quiet town off the beaten path, you might find a wonderful dusty fresco in a dark nook.
Rural strade bianche, or white roads, dotted with blood red poppies give way to cities brimming with culture. The center of Florence, the Duomo in Pisa with its iconic Leaning Tower, and the Val d'Orcia, which contains Siena, are all UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Tuscany's scenery are varied, including beaches, olive fields, hilltop villages, and even a ski resort at Abetone. There's world-class yet authentic local food and wine, as well as a way of life that's as unchanged as the countryside views. Bellissimo.
1. The southern part of France
France is the world's most popular tourist destination, with 83 million tourists each year, and the sun-dappled South of France is high on most bucket lists. The lifestyle is captivating, from lunch at Le Club 55 on Plage de Pampelonne, St Tropez's oldest and still most iconic beach club, to a languid stroll along the lovely wide boulevard of the Cours Mirabeau in the Provençal town of Aix-en-Provence.
Plane trees, sunflowers, and vines coexist with Roman ruins, Belle Époque elegance, and Modernism in this location. Artists and authors began moving here in the 1920s, scandalizing society with their hedonistic behavior and setting the tone for the area's hedonistic perfection. The South of France combines beauty and sunlight with culture and history, and I am confident that most of us would live there if we could.