Mini Travel Guides

The Greek island of Crete has seen Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman rule but some of the most spectacular traces of Venice have been left in the capital Heraklion.  The Venetians ‘conquered’ Crete in 1204, but for once not by way of bloody wars and violence; no, they simply bought it in a complicated deal which involved many power changes in the entire area. And they came to stay – for more than 400 years, until in 1669 they finally lost it to the Ottomans after the longest siege in history which lasted no less than 24 years! The last outpost, the tiny island of Spinalonga, resisted even longer, thanks to the tremendous fortifications which the Venetians built to defend their strategically important island.

Morozini Fountain, Heraklioin

I stayed in the lovely coastal town of Agia Pelagia, approx. 35 km west of Heraklion and decided to make a day trip to do some Heraklion sightseeing.  As I like to do, I took the local bus which runs four times a day and costs €3.50 to enjoy a journey for which the expression ‘scenic route’ could have been invented. Downhill it goes through hair pin bents to tight that the bus sometimes had to reverse to manage or to let an oncoming car pass, opening up views of the coastline far below, caves, mountains, castles, chapels, tiny islands floating in the sea, hidden sandy beaches, you name it it’s there.

I never cease to marvel at the skills of the bus drivers, who negotiate these dangerous roads with one hand on the wheel, the other clamping their mobile phone to their ear as if they were cruising along a comfortable 4 lane motor way. I did breathe a silent little sigh of relief when the bus joined the main road which leads into the center of Heraklion. The route at the central bus station which is very conveniently located within a short walking distance from Heraklion’s first, and major, Venetian attraction: the massive Fortress of Koulos which sits along the harbour.

Fortress of Koulos by bazylek

First stop was the lovely Marina Café,  which affords a view over the many yachts and the castle beyond. Known as Castella a mare in Venetian times and built in it’s present form between 1523 and 1540 you can walk around at your leisure and admire the thick walls, many carvings and the symbol of the Lion of San Marco everywhere.

Heraklion is at present undergoing a major ‘face lift’ which means that many historical sites and modern building are marred by scaffolding and other construction paraphernalia but even so you can see enough to get an idea of how massive and at the same time graceful the Venetian structures are.

Across the road from the fortress you find huge vaulted buildings which used to be the Venetian shipyards, but as they are being restored it is somewhat difficult to get really close.

Remains of Venetian shipyard in Heraklion by bazylek

Modern (and expensive) apartment buildings are springing up all along the seafront and a long promenade is in the final stages of completion.

Next to the ship yards used to be the red light district and, as a knowledgable local friend pointed out to me, two brothels remain in operation. They are not what you would expect, just two tiny white house, side by side, with no signs whatsoever but, as he told me with wink, a red light comes on at night.

Then I climbed broad stone steps and headed into the old town of Heraklion. Near St. Titus Square you find another fine example of Venetian architecture: the Loggia which housed the town hall and opposite the famous Morozini fountain with four Venetian lions spouting water. Remnants of a Venetian palace are nearby, but the ruins are closed to the public, It is however planned to restore them in the future.

Venetian Loggia near St. Titus Square

The whole area is a pedestrian zone which makes it easy to stroll around, stop at any of the many tiny shops and cafes or visit a covered market which offers fruit and food as well as the ever present Greek sponges.

Enjoying a drink in Heraklion's old town

There is of course the Archaeology museum to visit with its treasures from Knossos and Feistos and, returning to the bus station you can catch a tour bus to Knossos which is only 5 km away. A full day can easily be spent in Heraklion enjoying old and new side by side.

Entrance to Knossos

What are your recommendation for places to visit in the Cretan capital of Heraklion?

Exploring Heraklion’s Venetian Past

Browse through our Europe travel tips to find the best places to visit in Europe. Content published on Europe a la Carte.

Otranto, the picturesque Adriatic town in Italy’s Salento region, is so beautiful and peaceful, that it seems hard to believe this was once the site of the gruesome “Sack of Otranto”.  Luckily for today’s tourists, Ottoman invasions are no longer a threat to this tranquil coastline.

Lovely Otranto – my European travel tip this week – with its whitewashed buildings, winding streets and sparkling blue water, today plays host to tourists seeking sun, sea, excellent food and wine and beautiful art and architecture.

Photo courtesy www.viaggioadriatico.it

Charming streets and piazze are abundant in this tiny town in Puglia and, while the most beautiful beaches lie just to the south of town, visitors can also swim in the crystal-clear waters right off the picturesque town walls.

The 12^th century cathedral is the top Otranto attractions. The cathedral’s simple exterior of local stone changes colour with the changing light throughout the day.

Not to be missed is the spectacular 12th century floor mosaic which occupies nearly the entire nave. Visitors should take their time to examine the lovely, intricate designs, including an image of  “Rex Arturis”.

Image courtesy V&A online journal (http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/62268-popup.html)

The cathedral also houses a gruesome reminder of the famous “Sack of Otranto” of 1480, back when the town was an important outpost in the Byzantine Empire. Modern Italy’s coastline once lived in constant fear of Ottoman invasions. Most of Otranto’s population died in the famous siege of  July 1480. To the 800 townspeople who survived, the Ottomans offered the option of conversion in exchange for their lives. Down to the last man, woman and child, they refused and the martyrs’ bones are still prominently displayed in cases in the cathedral.

Photo courtesty steynian.files.wordpress.com

Otranto is a fantastic European destination and should certainly be on your itinerary on any trip to the Salento.

Other beautiful, nearby destinations are Gallipoli and, if you are headed farther north, the town of Trani and Vieste .

You can find the lowest rates at Otranto hotels using the price comparison search box below.

Otranto, Puglia – The sleepy seaside town with a bloody past

Browse through our Europe travel tips to find the best places to visit in Europe. Content published on Europe a la Carte.

The small city of Tivoli to the west of Rome, once an important stop on the “Grand Tour” of Europe,  is today a bedroom community of Rome, yet it still maintains its distinct character. It makes a wonderful Rome day trip, either by car or with frequent trains leaving from Rome’s Tiburtina train station.

My European travel tip this week is to visit Tivoli to see the Renaissance Villa d’Este and its spectacular Italian garden and water fountains.

The villa and its gardens were completed in 1549 by Cardinal Hippolyte d’Este, son of Lucrezia Borgia and grandson of the infamous and universally feared Pope Alessandro VI.

This villa and its frescoes are beautiful, but it is the villa’s lovely Italian garden and its numerous, whimsical water fountains that has made this such a popular destination for visitors over the past centuries.

The garden and water fountains were designed by Pirro Ligorio, who would later go on to construct the Monster Park of Bomarzo. In many of the sculptures, visitors can catch a hint of the strange creatures Ligorio would later create in the Monster Park.

The park is filled with fountains, waterfalls, pools and wonderfully refreshing caves. Visitors should leave adequate time to wander the extensive paths and discover the hidden corners and fountains.

Take a break from your wandering at outside seats at the Villa’s cafeteria. In the evenings, there is a picturesque restaurant, with views out over the valley below.

The Villa d’Este is open Tuesday-Sunday from 8:30 am to one hour before sunset. Admission is 10 euro for adults; children are free.

I also recommend the beach resort of  Sperlonga as a Rome day trip.

Rome day trips: The Villa d’Este in Tivoli

Browse through our Europe travel tips to find the best places to visit in Europe. Content published on Europe a la Carte.

For anyone with a even a passing interest in European archaeology, the Greek island of Crete is certainly one of the best places to visit in Europe. The island has some of the iconic archaeological sites that will satisfy any passion for prehistory; the most well known of these is the ancient Palace of Knossos. But for anyone who would like to experience an island that is not thronging with bus/ferry-loads of tourists all jostling for the perfect picture against a backdrop of now questionable archaeological reconstructions, rediscovering just a few of the many hundred Byzantine churches should be on your Crete sightseeing itinerary.

At the beginning of the last century there were said to be over 800 Byzantine churches. These are small churches scattered about the island, some are located in very quaint and picturesque villages, others now out in open fields. They date from about 1000 years ago to the sixteenth century, therefore during the Venetian rule of Crete. And many still have some of the most amazing fresco-style wall paintings. Most of the Byzantine churches still standing today, that contain the wall paintings such as those photographed below, date to the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

My Europe travel tip for anyone wishing to go off the beaten track on the island of Crete is to get yourself a good guidebook and head for the district of Rethymnon. The ancient Venetian port and fort of Rethymnon should not be missed either. But, head out from the city and explore the Cretan countryside. Most good guidebooks for Crete indicate the location of these churches, and once you have found one or two, you will then get a feel for what you are looking for and the others will come quickly. There are about 150 in the Rethymnon district alone. Some of the churches are out in the middle of fields (above), while others are in small villages. Here you will find some some great, local restaurants, where there is little or no English spoken, but some great authentic food.

Having visited Crete a number of times, and seeing all the major archaeological sites, during my last trip I spent a week staying at a self catering villa just north of Rethymnon and used that as a base to explore the area. I was quite surprised to find many of the churches left open and unattended. But these lovely Crete attractions do not see that many visitors, so perhaps it is not that surprising.

Some of the wall paintings are very fragile, well they are over 500 years old, so be mindful of the age of this artistic tradition and do not touch them as your fingers have acidic sweat that destroy the pigments.

I love old churches and cathedrals.  More than is normal considering I can probably count on two hands how many times I have attended an actual church service.  Suffice to say, I am not religious.  I think that might be exactly why the old churches appeal to me though, the idea of faith and religion being housed in magnificent medieval architectural wonders.  It’s enough to get the history nerd in me all riled up.

Duomo di Milano in Italy did just that.  For a variety of reasons.  The interior is spectacular in and of itself, claiming to be one of the largest cathedrals in the world.  The artwork hanging from the ceiling and the sculptures lining the walls are beautiful.  It is well worth a visit, especially considering it costs nothing to enter.

Despite the beauty of the interior, it was the exterior that caught my imagination.  More specifically, the roof.  Solely because I was able to climb to the top.  For five euros you can take the stairs or eight for the elevator to the top.  I took the stairs.  Once at the top, you can see much of Milan spread out before you.  It’s an impressive, if not necessarily beautiful sight.

What was beautiful were the numerous sculptures lining the roof top of the cathedral.  Hundreds of intricate sculptures of various saints stared back at me as I wandered around the roof.  The gleaming white façade gave it an almost surreal feel as the sun shone down on the various saints.

The European destination of Milan is usually associated with clubbing and high fashion.  And there is plenty of that to go around.  Shopping for Gucci can be done in most major cities, but when travel planning, the Duomo di Milano, and especially the roof, is an experience that can’t be duplicated.

Andy of the Europe a la Carte blogging team recommends these Milan attractions – the Last Supper painting, Michaelangelo’s unfinished Pieta Rondanini and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele shopping arcade for your Milan sightseeing.

The Loire Valley for me has to be one of the best places to visit in Europe; there really is something of everything France has to offer there. This is a river valley that covers some 800 square kilometres and is over 280 km in length. Besides being one of the great wine regions of France, from Sancerre and the wines of Nantes through to the vineyards of Touraine and Anjou, the Loire Valley is world renowned for its cultural and historical heritage. And in recognition of this heritage in 2000 the Loire Valley was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites, along with the likes of the Great Wall of China and the Abu Simbel Temple in Egypt.

It is, however, the flamboyant châteaux that are perhaps the most popular attractions in the Loire Valley. I have already written about my favourite, namely Château de Chenonceau, but there are many more. Visitors to the Loire are simply spoilt for choice.

Until now, when planning your trip to this wonderful European destination, you would have had to search for each of the castle’s websites individually. But now help is at hand, a new website has just launched that will greatly assist with Europe travel planning. Châteaux de la Loire is a long awaited website that allows you explore 19 of the major castles in the Loire Valley.

The homepage has an interactive map of the river, with the location of the 19 featured castles. The pages for each of the castles have all you need to know about the castle, from practical and access information, to the forthcoming events, and some background to the castle’s history. The website even includes some suggested routes to discover the castles of the Loire, including itineraries for seniors and families, in the country and in the towns along the Loire.

This website will prove to be an invaluable resource for anyone wishing to visit the Loire Valley, and its wonderful architectural heritage. Just looking at the website is making me want to pop down from Normandy immediately! Sadly, I will just have to wait until the end of June; more of which in a future post.

The wonderful photographs of the Château de Saumur I have used here were taken by my friend Stu Bradley, a photographer living and blogging in the Loire.

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that all Jane Austen fans will eventually find their way to Bath

Yes, embarrassingly enough, I am one of the “Janeites” :  a lover of all things Jane Austen who has read and re-read her six novels and watched countless adaptations of her works by the BBC, ITV and others.

Bath photo courtesy ITV – the town as the set of ‘Persuasion’

As all fans of Jane Austen  – and even those who dislike her, but were forced to read her during high school English classes –  know, Bath plays prominently in her works. Jane Austen lived in Bath for five years and two of her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were largely set there.

So, on a recent trip to London with my two young children, I decided to take a London day trip to Bath, two hours away by train from London’s Paddington Station. My husband was not along on this trip and my two sons are too young to protest, so the timing seemed perfect to make my own pilgrimage to Jane Austen’s former hometown. Bath, an elegant town originally settled by the Ancient Romans and containing stunning Georgian and Victorian architecture, is truly a wonderful European destination, even for non-Jane-obsessed travellers.

The Roman Baths (unearthed after Austen’s time in Bath) with the Bath Abbey in the background.

Neha has already written about the excellent Jane Austen Centre , but there is also a Jane Austen walking tour, led by knowledgeable guides who pepper the walking tour commentary with segments from Jane’s letters, scenes from her books and shooting locations of the films.

The Crescent

Fans of the books and films will enjoy the commentary and visiting the real sites of fictional scenes from the books, such as the Assembly Hall where the concert scene in Persuasion takes place, the very room in which the dastardly William Elliot comes between the novel’s protagonists.

The Assembly Hall where Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth attend a concert in ‘Persuasion’

In addition to points of interest from Jane Austen’s novels, the walking tour takes in many Bath attractions with their striking architecture, including the abbey, the Roman baths, the Pump Room, the Crescent and the Circus and is a wonderful way to get a feel for the city.

Even decidedly non-Jane Austen fans, such as the two I had in tow on my Bath pilgrimage, will appreciate the expanses of green and parks dotting this graceful city. Clearly, Bath sightseeing offers something for everyone, although, alas,  I can’t speak for ‘single women in want of rich husbands’. Readers, any lucky Bath encounters with modern-day Captain Wentworths or Mr. Darcys?

Rotterdam, Europe’s largest port, has a comparatively modern architecture and feel, having been rebuilt after bombing during the second World War. Housing the NAI (Netherlands Architecture Institute), the city boasts of some wonderful architecture, the most intriguing of which is the Kubus woningen (Dutch for Cube Houses). It’s my Euirope travel tips for a must see Rotterdam attraction..

Designed by the famous Dutch architect Piet Blom in 1984, these cube houses were meant to represent a forest, with each cube house serving as a tree. Impressive enough, these houses were built by tilting a normal cube  by 45 degrees. They lie on a hexagonal shaped pylon, 38 cube houses in all, interconnected together with 2 super cubes at each end.

Each cube house covers an area of about 100 square meters, with three floors, the top floor mostly used as a garden.

A cube house, converted into a museum, also known as Kijk Kubus (Dutch for Show Cube) is open to the visitors everyday from 11 a.m.to 5 p.m and with a small fees of €2,50, you can experience the insides of this amazing architecture.

An International Youth Hostel has been operating from 2009 in one of the cube houses. Moreover, if you would like to own such an unconventional piece – some of the cube houses are for sale too!

Admittedly, it’s an obsession when I travel: I always want to see a city from up high. I love to get the feel for a place, understand the layout and geography. When I understand the blueprint of a city from high above, I start to feel more like a local than a tourist glued to her map to reach every destination. Paris, one of my favourite European cities, has so many great places from which visitors can observe wonderful Paris views that I have made it my personal quest to see most of them.

But the place I first visited as a child and which draws me back time and again is Paris’ spectacular Notre Dame cathedral. I was recently back in Paris with my young children.  Since it was their first visit to Paris, I immediately made a beeline to one of the most popular Paris attractions, Notre Dame to share this special spot with them. We visited the cathedral and then exited to get in the line to climb up the towers. They groaned when they saw the size of the line (inwardly, so did I), but I told them the story of Quasimodo the hunch-backed bell-ringer of Notre Dame as we waited.

Finally we reached the front of the line and made our way up the circular stone staircase.  As we emerged out into the daylight, it made the wait more than worth it. The view over Paris is unrivalled from this vantage point  and it is wonderful to be able to observe this lovely city among the whimsical gargoyles who have silently stood guard for centuries.

I’ll certainly be coming back to stand watch with my gargoyle friends as long as my legs will continue to carry me up there – who could ever grow bored gazing down lovingly on belle Paris?

If you’re thinking of a  Paris city break,  check out the best hotels in Paris.

The small Mediterranean island of Malta is a great Europe destination. Malta  appeals to travellers seeking beautiful, sunny weather, gorgeous coastlines and beaches, crystal-clear sea and impressive historical sites.

Although much of Malta has been over-developed, there are many beautiful destinations on this island which immediately transport you back in time. One of my Europe travel tips is to visit the charming, exotic Maltese town of Mdina (according to Maltese friends, pronounced EM-dina), with its impressive fortifications.

Although originally settled by the Phoenicians, the town today bears the stamp of its later Arab settlers. While wandering the winding, narrow, labarynth-like alleyways, you could be forgiven for wondering if you are in northern Africa rather than Europe.

There are wonderful  baroque details on the buildings, much of it pointing clearly to the golden era of the Knights of Malta. The powerful Knights of Malta brought great wealth to their island state and this is clearly reflected in the ornate baroque churches and palaces that the Knights constructed during major renovation efforts of the town in the early 18^th century. Not to be missed is the stunning and elegant St. Paul’s Cathedral, completed in 1702.

In northern African towns, it is always a pleasure to observe the intricate door-knockers. Mdina also has some fine, whimsical examples.

Malta is extremely hot during the spring and summer months. It is best to visit Mdina in early morning or late afternoon hours. My suggestion would be to combine this lovely town with the nearby beach of Ghajn Tuffieha, just a few kilometers away.

Image courtesy Wallpaper-s.org

Enjoying a day wandering the magical, warren of streets in stunning Mdina, followed by lazing on the golden sands of  Ghajn Tuffieha and swimming in its refreshing, turquoise waters as you enjoy the view up to one of the Knights’ impressive watchtowers, you will be certain to have discovered one of the best places to visit in Europe.