European Sightseeing Holidays

Beautiful Europe Holidays

european sightseeing holidays

There are various ways to complete sightseeing tours. Coach tours minimise time spent negotiating local public transport, and generally include accommodation and some meals. There are also self-drive tours available for many regions, where a car and accommodation are included in a package. Some cities and regions are fairly easily to get around on your own, although spend a bit of time planning in order to see as much when you’re there as you possibly can.

Sightseeing Holidays in Europe

England has lots to see and do. Beginning in London, there’s Westminster, Trafalgar Square, the London Eye and all the ‘must sees’. You could easily spend your entire holiday here, but it’s worth getting out of the city to see Stonehenge, the Globe Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, and the numerous castles and stately homes dotted around the countryside. Further north, the historic cities of York, Nottingham, Chester and Carlisle are a combination of historical sights and friendly pubs – try some of the real ale when you’re here. There are also numerous sights associated with contemporary and pop culture, many of which are located in the Northern post-industrial cities – you can visit Coronation Street, the Cavern Club where the Beatles were discovered, and see the massive Angel of the North sculpture.

Germany has many sights, and its historical original as a large number of small states mean that every region has something. There are two main cities you’re likely to want to visit. Berlin has the Reichstag, the Brandenburg Gate, the remains of the Berlin Wall, as numerous museums and the Charlottenburg Palace. Munich has the Frauenkirche Cathedral and the Hossbrauhaus, and is an excellent base to visit Neuschwanstein Castle and other sights in Bavaria. Elsewhere in Europe, Dresden is a beautiful city, full of Baroque architecture, and the Rhinelands have long been popular with tourists – visit here to see Cologne Cathedral and try some wine tasting.

Bijou Belgium is small, but the upside is that you can cover everything in a relatively short space of time. Brussels has the Mannekin-Pis statue, a royal palace and is the administrative centre of the EU, but other destinations are arguably more appealing. Beautiful Bruges has canals and cobblestones, and is a very pretty place to spend a day. Ghent is increasingly popular and has a number of notable churches, including Sint-Baafskathedraal, and a medieval castle. You can also visit WW1 battlefields – there’s a moving “In Flanders’ Fields” museum at Ypres.

Greece has plenty of cultural sights – as you’d expect, from the birthplace of Western art, literature and drama. The Acropolis and Parthenon are the best-known sights, but you can also see ancient Greek plays at the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, and the National Archeological Museums. The islands are also full of historical and cultural sights, too many for one lifetime! Crete is a fairly good base, as it has the Minoan palaces at Knossos and Phaistos – there are also villages in the interior mountains. Rhodes has its famous old town, a valley of butterflies, and Lindos has a beautiful and romantic chapel.


Travel Info
Pre-planned sightseeing tours operate across countries and regions in Europe, and generally employ specialist tour guides to give you information and answer your questions. Try to pick one that's not going to involve too much time travelling, however, as there's a lot to pack in. Although ready-organised tours are a great way of seeing a number of sights within a short space of time, you might want to spend some free time exploring the areas outside the immediate vicinity of the main tourist attractions, to give yourself some idea of how the locals live. Historical tours are available across Europe, and every city has historical sights of some description. There are also tours available that cover particular kinds of art and cuisine.

For souvenir shopping, try checking out the local supermarkets and markets as well as the traditional souvenir stands. You can generally find local wine, spirits, cheese, sausages and chocolate at lower prices than in shops aimed solely at tourists, and they make great presents.