EUROPE

Europe

Between cobblestones and church bells, learn how Europeans greet, how they pace their meals and how they cherish their heritage.

Photo: Giles Laurent · CC BY-SA 4.0

City guides

Start with a city

Every city guide has a timeline, stories of local figures, must-see sights, festivals and local etiquette.

Paris

4 places

From an island in the Seine to the 'City of Light': Notre-Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower

Roma

Rome

4 places

The 'Eternal City': the Colosseum, the Pantheon and the Vatican, a state within a city

Barcelona

2 places

Gaudí's city: Roman walls, the Gothic Quarter and Catalan Modernisme

London

4 places

A port city founded by the Romans: the Tower, Westminster and the Thames

Wien

Vienna

4 places

Imperial capital of the Habsburgs and city of music: palaces, a cathedral and old cafés

München

Munich

3 places

A royal capital grown from a 'place of monks': Marienplatz, Nymphenburg Palace and Oktoberfest

Venezia

Venice

3 places

A maritime republic built on a lagoon: St Mark's, the Doge's Palace and Carnival

Lisboa

Lisbon

3 places

Starting point of the Age of Discovery: Belém Tower, the Jerónimos Monastery and the Alfama

Αθήνα Athens

Athens

2 places

Birthplace of democracy: the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the Acropolis Museum

Amsterdam

3 places

From a dam on the Amstel to a Golden Age city of canals

Tromsø

1 places

'Gateway to the Arctic': a city of explorers in the auroral zone

Classic landmarkBavaria, Germany

Neuschwanstein Castle

The dream castle of the 'Fairy-Tale King' Ludwig II, inspiration for the Disney castle

Classic landmarkBerlin, Germany

Brandenburg Gate

From division to unity: the 'triumphal arch' of modern German history

Classic landmarkMunich, Germany (Neuhausen-Nymphenburg)

Nymphenburg Palace

The Wittelsbachs' summer palace: its façade is wider than Versailles', and it was the birthplace of Ludwig II, the 'Fairy-Tale King'.

Classic landmarkMunich (old town centre), Germany

Marienplatz and the New Town Hall

Munich's central square since 1158: the Glockenspiel in the New Town Hall tower re-enacts a 16th-century wedding and the coopers' dance.

Christmas marketNuremberg (Hauptmarkt), Germany

Nuremberg Christmas Market

November 27 – December 24, 2026

One of Germany's most famous Christmas markets: wooden huts on the old-town square, finger-length grilled sausages and the scent of gingerbread.

The Hacker beer tent on the Theresienwiese

Folk festivalMunich (Theresienwiese), Germany

Munich Oktoberfest

September 18 – October 3, 2027

The world's largest folk festival: giant beer tents on the Theresienwiese, Bavarian brass bands and a cry of 'O'zapft is!'