Europe: a photographer’s paradise

Venice Italy

Renowned for its beauty, architecture, works of art and the Grand Canal

Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages, a cultural center during the Renaissance, and a staging area for the Knights Crusaders to liberate the Holy Land. It was also an important center of commerce that made Venice rich.

Venice today, the capital of the Veneto region of Italy, offers unforgettable experiences through its picturesque canals.

It is located on a group of 118 small islands that are linked by canals and bridges and a stunning backdrop of Baroque buildings and famous landmarks including Piazza San Marco, St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Campanile (bell tower), of the Basilica of San Marcos). ), the Doge’s Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Gallerie dell’Accademia (pre-19th century art museum gallery) are just a few of its many attractions.

There are no cars or roads. Just canals and boats.

You can experience the wonders of this culture-rich city through the waters of the Grand Canal in a gondola and float across the world-famous Rialto Bridge.

Venice and its lagoon were added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1987.

Colmar-France

“Little Venice of Alsace”

Historic old world charm

Founded in the 9th century, Colmar reflects eight centuries of Germanic and French influence in all its variety and vitality.

Colmar, on the Alsace wine route in north-eastern France, close to Germany and Switzerland, between the Vosges and the Rhine, Strasbourg and Mulhouse, is surrounded by natural forests, lakes and vineyard-covered foothills of the Vosges Mountains south and the Upper Rhine valley.

The historic city of Colmar is another of Europe’s most beautiful places with its historic old town, its famous ‘Little Venice’ lined with canalside neighborhoods bedecked with colorful flowers, cobbled streets and pathways.

You can wander through the half-timbered medieval and early Renaissance buildings, including the Unterlinden Museum with the Isenheim Altarpiece.

The 13th-century Gothic church Eglise Saint-Martin stands on the central Cathedral Square.

Here in Colmar, you’ll also find estates and wineries dotted with local vineyards specializing in Riesling and Gewürztraminer wines.

Annecy-France

Venice of the French Alps

History and culture in alpine environments

Annecy’s old-world charm with its idyllic alpine setting is found in the Haute-Savoie region of south-eastern France and on routes leading to Italy and Switzerland.

Its beautiful postcard settings include other nearby traditional villages, forests, snow-capped mountains and Lake d’Annecy,

Its medieval Vieille Ville (Old Town) with its winding canals lined with shops and cafes, the Perrière Bridge (Pont Perrière) and its cobbled streets lined with pastel Piedmontese houses covered in geraniums are a photographer’s dream.

Other attractions include Rue Sainte-Claire with its porticoed houses and fortified Sainte-Claire gate and you can visit the turreted 14th-century Château d’Annecy, once the home of the Counts of Geneva.

Giethoorn-Holland

“Dutch-Venice”

water wonderland

Away from the hustle and bustle of busy city life, you can explore the beautiful and peaceful water village of Giethoorn by boat, bike or on foot.

Panoramic views, tranquility and beauty, Giethoorn, “the Venice of Holland”, is located in the center of the Overijssel canal and lake system.

Surrounded by the vast De Wieden nature reserve, this troubled Durch village was founded by fugitives from the Mediterranean around 1230 AD.

There are no roads or cars, just beautiful canals lined with colorful flowers, traditional 18th century thatched cottages, farmhouses and more than 150 wooden arched bridges.

Imagine walking, biking or gently cruising along these serene canals in postcard settings enjoying their beautiful and peaceful atmosphere.

And you can enjoy a meal or coffee at a canalside cafe or restaurant and watch the world go by.

Keukenhof-Holland

europe garden

Keukenhof is a world famous attraction that is open for eight weeks each spring.

Visiting the peaceful settings of Keukenhof will be a unique and unforgettable experience.

Keukenhof is one of the largest flower gardens in the world and is open every year from mid-March to mid-May.

However, the best time to view the tulips is mid-April, depending on the weather.

This scenic Dutch garden is located about 20 miles southwest of Amsterdam, in the small town of Lisse, in an area called the “Dune and Bulb Region.”

Approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted annually, including 800 varieties of tulips, and it covers an area of ​​32 hectares (79 acres).

Here you can enjoy impressive flower shows and panoramic gardens, unique works of art.

You can visit the Tulpomania exhibition in the Juliana Pavilion and you will also find beautiful and iconic Dutch windmills.

Attractions designed for children to enjoy include treasure hunts, a petting farm with lambs, kids, pigs and other animals, and there is the tall hedge maze and children’s playground.

When you get hungry, you can visit the restaurant for pancakes and poffertjes (mini-pancakes).

Northern lights-Sweden

Nature Daylight Show – Aurora Borealis

Abisko offers the clearest nights in Sweden, providing the best opportunity to see the brilliant display of colored lights in the night sky.

The Aurora Sky Station, located on Mount Njullá, 900 meters above sea level, in the extreme northwest of the Abisko National Park in Swedish Lapland, is considered one of the best places in the world to observe the impressive northern lights or the northern lights .

This natural phenomenon is a stunning colorful light show in the fall and winter night sky that occurs under ideal conditions.

Swedish Lapland’s proximity to magnetic north provides ideal conditions in Arctic skies when charged particles discharged from the sun reach Earth’s atmosphere and collide with gaseous particles which in turn produce these different colors.

The auroras that occur in the southern hemisphere are called ‘Aurora Australis’ or ‘Southern Lights’.

A visit to the Aurora Sky Station begins with a 20-minute chairlift ride up the mountain.

Santorini, Greece

Magic island that awakens your imagination

Santorini, with its classic Greek architectural beauty, marvelous ocean views, and breathtaking sunsets, offers a unique vacation experience.

Classically Thera and officially Thira, Santorini is an island in the southern Aegean about 200 km (120 mi) southeast of the Greek mainland.

It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago that bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera.

A giant rectangular lagoon measuring approximately 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi), it is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high cliffs on three sides.

See traditional whitewashed buildings, blue-domed churches, lively nightlife, luxury hotels and boutique guesthouses in panoramic settings.

You can visit the Minoan historical site of Akrotiri, the traditional hilltop village of Oia, cross the bay to the capital of Santorini, Fira, swim in the famous black volcanic beaches of Perissa, Kamari and Red or go hiking on its adventure trails.

Santorini has also become a favorite destination for foreign couples who want to get married or enjoy their honeymoon in wonderful postcard settings.

Rhodes Island-Greece

Famous for the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders

History, Culture and Beauty

Beautiful beaches, historical sites, traditional towns and a city divided in two: the Old City built by the Crusaders and the modern New City just outside.

rhodes town

Rhodes Town sits along the Mandraki Harbor, which is the first of three ports packed with cruise ships, yachts, and fishing boats.

This is where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood before being toppled by an earthquake in 225 BC.

The New Market (Nea Agora), with its Moorish domes lining Mandraki Harbour, is packed with lively cafes, food stalls, gift shops and souvlaki bars.

Along Mandraki Harbor are Neo-Colonial and Italianate style buildings and at the entrance to the harbor now stand two bronze stags where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood.

You can see the Palace of the Grand Master of the Crusader Knights of Saint John and a Turkish minaret, you have panoramic views of the medieval fortress of Saint Nicholas and three Byzantine windmills.

Around the island, you’ll find beautiful beaches, historical sites dating back to the classical era of the ancient Greeks, and picturesque traditional villages.

medieval old town

Rhodes Old Town is one of the largest and best preserved medieval settlements in Europe inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List which recognizes its exceptional value as a cultural site.

The old town is a legacy of the Crusader Knights of San Juan who built it to defend the island from invaders.

You can enter the old town through eleven gates and walk through its maze of cobbled streets, alleyways and arcades.

Life goes on in the old town with many houses, shops and businesses, as well as restaurants, cafes, bars, gift shops, pensions and museums.

Symi-Greece

Panoramic views of the port and the city’s amphitheater

Stunning views, a beautiful harbor and a wonderful island atmosphere make Symi a unique travel experience for its visitors.

Symi is a Greek island in the Dodecanese group of islands located about 41 kilometers (25 mi) northwest of Rhodes (and 425 km (264 mi) from Athens).

It includes the port city of Symi, its adjacent upper town Ano Symi, as well as several smaller towns, beaches, and areas of importance in history and mythology.

It is a popular tourist destination known for its beaches, its annual music festival and for its stunning views of one of the most beautiful harbors in the world, surrounded by colorful neoclassical houses built on the slopes of the hills.

Panoramic views of the city, harbor and surrounding sea, the islets and the Datça and Bozburun peninsulas of Turkey’s Mugla province in the distance can be seen from its mountain slopes.

Panormitis Monastery

On the southwest coast, the 18th-century Archangel Michael Panormitis Monastery, which overlooks a bay and is still inhabited by monks, is a major Greek Orthodox pilgrimage site with a Byzantine museum.