Europe has fascinating history. There’s the stuff everyone knows, and then there are the nooks and crannies of history that blow your mind. There have been Empires, Kingdoms, border changes, occupations, and wars. Over the past 2,000 years, land possession and borders have changed significantly (see history of Europe movie here) It wasn’t until recent history (the last two hundred years or so) that country borders have stabilized for the most part.
History
Of course we’ve enjoyed the major tourist places in cities like the Roman Colosseum in Rome, The Louvre in Paris, and Luxembourg City. Not to mention enjoying popular destinations like the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland and Hiking the Pyrenees in Andorra.
Actual tours in Europe are fun. We’re real fans of “Skip the Line” tours that are offered online from places like Viator for their two strong advantages to pay more:
- You actually skip the line. At places like the Vatican and Eiffel Tower, you can wait an hour or more just to get a ticket. At Sagrada La Familia in Barcelona, you may not get a ticket at all.
- You get an informed tour guide. With Viator, they have alwa ys provided someone who knows the route in addition to the information of your tour.
But we also like to find the things that most people don’t know about. Unusual things of interest. Here’s where we’ve round quite a bit of history as well. We’ve seen Roman influence in places like the city wall York, UK, or Pont du Gard Aqueduct in southern France. We’ve seen the various influences in wineries in Spain and the City of Carcassone, France.
Admittedly, we’ve spent most of our time in Western Europe, mostly due to opportunity. Eastern Europe has as much or even more to offer in the way of history.
Culture
We like to go off the beaten trail, where the culture is deep. Non-commercialized wineries like Domain Jaume, restaurants and cafes in small towns and villages. Meeting the people themselves.
It’s there where you can get a feel for the real flavor of the culture. To go to a local market, eat at a local restaurant like Le Forum in Orange, France is an experience. Or seeing the Smallest House in Great Britain (hint – it’s in Wales).
Transportation
Getting around Europe is easier than most people think. The Eurorail is not only convenient, but it’s fairly cheap. We’ve found in Italy it was actually less money than driving, especially when you add insurance, gas, and tolls to the cost of the actual rental. Bigger cities like London, Paris, and Rome have subways that will get you to all the hot spots.
It’s good to pay attention to breaking news though, because sometimes there are strikes that may affect your travel. We got lucky in Italy when there was a strike in between our travel dates. When we went to London back in 2005, the Underground had been bombed a couple weeks before we left, so we did some research to see if or how it would affect our travel.
Taxis are much better in Europe than in the US, but they have Uber there as well. Plus if you are in the country, there’s an unofficial network between bed and breakfast locations. We discovered that in Florence when we did a Tuscan Wine Tasting and Dinner. They picked us up in Florence near the train station and on the way out we stopped at a small town and pickedd up a couple who were traveling from the bed and breakfast in town to the one we were have the dinner out in the country.
Stability
Some countries tend to be safer than others. Check with the State Deparment Travel Advisory website before you book your trip to see what if any warnings there are. Some State Department issues cause more consideration than others. For example, Barcelona, Spain and Paris, France have had pickpocketing warnings for over a decade. If you are aware of your surroundings (situational awareness), and keep your belongings protected it;s usually not a problem. Other warnings are more serious, where actual instability is either in process or a strong possibility.