Archaeologist and former member of the Europe a la Carte blogging team,  Thomas Dowson, has launched the Archaeology Travel website to make it easier to find out about all things archaeological in Europe. Each country has its iconic archaeological sites: England for example has Stonehenge, France has Lascaux, and Italy has Pompeii. There are also [...]

Vienna is surely one of the best European destinations. To truly enjoy the city, a visitor shouldn’t rush, but should instead slow down and enjoy age-old Viennese traditions. Few of these traditions are as enjoyable as taking time to relax, warm up,  people watch, and read in the venerable institution of the Viennese café. Outside [...]

Known as one of the world’s most glamorous and opulent palaces, Dolmabahce on the European side of the Bosporus in Istanbul, attracts thousands of visitors each year. You should experience the overwhelming architecture and decorations of this Istanbul attraction for yourself. Photo from wikipedia, author: SBarnes Dolmabahce is Turkey’s largest palace, built by Sultan Adbülmecid [...]

Rome is my favourite European city. I love walking around and seeing all the layers of its long history. Although most visitors concentrate on Rome’s Ancient, Renaissance and Baroque splendours, medieval Rome is also fascinating to explore. One of my favourite corners of Rome starts at the tiny, cobblestoned street of Via San Paolo della [...]

Where in the world can you travel from one continent to another for less than a simple London bus fare? Exactly, only in Istanbul. For a very enjoyable day trip take the ferry from either Eminönü or Karakoy and embark on a 40 minute ‘cruise’ to Kadiköy. Arriving at the ferry terminal you feel the [...]

Last week I highlighted one of the two European Culture Capitals, Turku, who is throwing a blow-out bash next year.  Most years there are at least two culture capitals, and this year’s other  capital of culture is the charming little town of Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, just 50 miles south of Helsinki [...]

Those of you visiting the Eternal City during the Christmas season will be certain to notice the Christmas trees that now grace the city. Christmas trees are a relatively recent import – a northern European tradition. To get a real flavour of Italian Christmas traditions, visitors in should visit the many Roman churches that host [...]

About two hours north of Stockholm a goat stands in the town of Gävle.  It’s a large goat, a Christmas goat, a straw goat.  This goat is a tourist attraction, it is known, simply, as Gävlebocken.  The Gävle Goat. A Swedish Christmas tradition accounts for a Christmas goat that also delivered presents.  As a small [...]

As we celebrate the Christmas holiday, there are a number of unique celebrations and traditions around the world that originated in Europe.  Throughout Europe, countries like France, Germany, Norway, England, and others have their own unique ways of celebrating Christmas. As we look ahead to Christmas, here are some well-known and unusual Christmas traditions throughout [...]

The Centre for Contemporary Art (CAC) in Malaga opened in 2003 as a showcase for international modern art.  It’s a free Malaga attraction. Sculpture at entrance to CAC Malaga The CAC website says it’s a free wifi zone but there was no wifi available during my visit in late September 2010. As I can’t speak [...]