World Walker

Struggling with all the Europe travel tips you’ve found to come up with the perfect itinerary? Then how about a tour of an old European trade route: The Amber Road.

The Amber Road was a prosperous trade route that runs along the eastern portion of Europe. There’s some disagreement on where the name comes from, as the trade route appears to have existed before the time when amber was found and heavily traded in this area of the world.

But why travel the Amber Road? Well, here’s some of the fantastic sights you’ll see along the way:

• St Petersburg: The route starts in the western edge of Russia in the beautiful city of St Petersburg. There’s plenty to see and do, such as the stunning views, Russian cathedrals, and some really long escalators.
• Riga: Head south through Estonia and soon you’ll reach the gorgeous medieval town of Riga, a tourist delight.
• Gdansk: From Riga you’ll past into Lithuania and then curve along the coast of Poland, where you’ll reach a quiet port town of Gdansk (where we hear there is a great tourist office). Spend a few days here and just relax.
• Brno: The only way to go is South, so you’ll cross Poland and then head into the Czech Republic, where you’ll cross paths with my favourite Czech town, Brno. Beer, food, and endless scenery. What’s not to like?
• Ljubljana: After leaving the Czech Republic and crossing through the mountains and several countries, you’ll find yourself at the big city with small city charm, Ljubljana. (Just practice your spelling and pronunciation before you go.)
• Venice: If you manage to tear yourself away from Slovenia, it will be only to head to your final destination, Venice. Be sure to go now as it’s sinking back into the lagoon. But after such a long journey, floating along the canals in a gondola with a glass of wine seems the perfect cure.

Now’s the time to plan a summer holiday – why  follow not travel the Amber Road and visit some great Europe destinations en route?

Photo by Jonathan Gill

If you’re visiting my home town of Bristol it’s worth being aware that there are some excellent free Bristol museums here that are ideal for families and lovers of history and culture. Here are three great free Bristol attractions that I personally recommend as top Europe travel tips and that are all situated close to each other in the university district of the city that’s also got plenty of nice shops, cafes and restaurants.

Bristol City Museum

Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery

This is in an imposing Edwardian building at the top of Park Street and it’s hard to miss. It’s got the typical mixture of Egyptian mummies, stuffed animals and paintings and the odd curiosity like the biplane hanging from the lobby ceiling or the painted Romany caravan. These in themselves would not make it anything special, but the museum regularly holds excellent touring exhibitions which are also free – the recent Banksy exhibition was one of their most successful but there are many others. I’d recommend that you check what’s coming up or just pop in to see whatever exhibition’s on, you’ve nothing to lose. This museum is also very family friendly, as the open lobby to the rear is given over to a play area for younger children and there are many hands on family activities. On a rainy Saturday or Sunday the place is swarming with families having fun and there’s also a pleasant cafe at the back with tables near the play area where you can keep an eye on your offspring.

The Georgian House in Bristol

The Georgian House

This Georgian townhouse was built in 1790 for a wealthy Bristol merchant, John Pinney who was a slave owner and made his fortune from sugar plantations in the Caribbean. The Georgian House has been restored and is now furnished and laid out as it might have looked when the Pinney family lived there. You can see both the imposing drawing rooms and bedrooms and the kitchen below stairs with it’s polished copper pots, as well as an unusual cold plunge pool in the basement. On the top floor is an interesting small exhibition, with information about the family’s Caribbean business interests and details of the triangular trade in slaves and other goods that brought so much wealth to Bristol. The museum is open Saturday-Wednesday (closed Thursday and Friday) and is free.

Drawing room at the Georgian House in Bristol

The Red Lodge

This old building only hints from the outside at what you’ll find within, as although the house was built in 1580, the exterior was updated and added to in Bristol’s Georgian heyday. The Red Lodge is furnished in Elizabethan, Stuart and Georgian styles and you enter through the impressively panelled Great Oak Room, with its original Elizabethan plasterwork ceiling and carved chimney piece. From the window, you can look down on the restored Elizabethan knot garden and look down on the city imagining the grassy hillside that once separated it from the bustling city centre.

Although the house is quite grand, it was built as a lodge for the much larger Great House, which once stood on the site of the present Colston Hall used for concerts, further down the hill. The house later had other uses such as a school for girls and some of the rooms have mementos from this era. Like the Georgian House, the Red Lodge is open Saturday-Wednesday (closed Thursday and Friday) and is free.

All photos by Heather on her travels on Flickr

Assisi, a quintissential medieval hilltown in the Italian region of Umbria, makes an ideal day trip from Rome or Florence. My Europe travel tip would be to use Assisi as a base for exploring the multitude  of nearby sights in Umbria and neighbouring Tuscany.

Like many hilltowns in Umbria, Assisi has a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere and picturesque streets perfect for leisurely wandering. There are charming piazze where you can stop and relax over an espresso or a gelato and numerous restaurants to tempt visitors during their stay.

Assisi is most famous as the birthplace of Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francesco), 1181-1226, and it is the town’s stunning Basilica di San Francesco , a UNESCO Heritage site which alone makes Assisi a must-see destination.

Photo courtesy Basilica di San Francesco website

Work on the Basilica di San Francesco began in 1228, just two years after the death of Saint Francis. Work on the Upper and Lower churches continued over the next century and work on the breathtaking frescoes was carried out by the best artists of the time, including Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, Simone Martini and Giotto. These masterpieces provide us with a spectacular display of artistic innovations in the 13^th and 14^th centuries. The fresco cycle of the life of Saint Francis by Giotto is a national treasure – one that was nearly lost forever.

In September 1997, two devastating earthquakes struck Assisi and caused tremendous damage to the Basilica and its frescoes. Restoration work was slow and painstaking, often piecing together tiny fragments of the shattered frescoes, but just two years after the tragedy, the Basilica had already opened its doors to the public. Once again, visitors can admire the splendours of 13^th and 14^th century Italian art.

Interior photos courtesy Basilica di San Francesco web site

Although the Basilica is the biggest draw for tourists to Assisi, the whole town merits exploration. The Basilica di Santa Chiara and the Duomo (San Rufino) are also of interest, as is the 14th century castle, the Rocca maggiore. The view over the town and valley is beautiful from this vantage point. A castle visit provides opportunities for scenic panoramas and exploration of the tunnels and passageways.

This wonderful town and its stunning art and architecture is a top European travel tip for any visitor to Italy. Enjoy your time in beautiful Assisi!

Most visitors to Galicia, one of my favoured Europe destinations, in the North/Western province of Spain, will probably fly into Santiago de Compostela. Whilst there is a lot to do and see in Santiago, the city is also an ideal starting point for trips and excursions to lesser known parts of Galicia which are full of history, charm and vast expanses of Galicia’s rich, green vegetation.

Always on the outlook for unusual sights and museums in particular, I was delighted when one morning, having my café con leche and tarta de Santiago in my favorite cafeteria, the owner told me a Europe travel tip about the house and gardens of Rosalia de Castro in Padron.

Rosalia de Castro

I had read some verses of Galicia’s most celebrated 19^th century poetess, feminist and fighter for the underprivileged who, despite achieving world wide acclaim in her later years of life, remained a modest person with a deep love for nature and her favorite flower, the camellia. Needless to say that, after I had polished off the last crumbs of the delicious tarta, I was on my way.

Padron is located approximately 45km south of Santiago and can be reached either by car, taking Highway 550 in the direction of Pontevedra or, as I did, by train. Once you get off at the tiny train station, the difference to the tourist and pilgrim crowds in Santiago is striking. Hardly a soul in sight, no traffic noise, just two train tracks which you have to cross the reach Rosalia”s house “Casa de Matanzas” surrounded by a beautifully tended park and garden full of camellias which, in June, were in full bloom. It’s also one of those Galicia attractions which not many tourists seem to know about and at the time there were only two other visitors who were from Madrid.

After getting an eye full of the green trees and sniffing the camellias, I entered the house and museum proper. Admission is free, but you can make a donation. A lady is perched behind a tiny reception desk and will tell you anything you want to know. It was Casa de Matanzas were Rosalia spent her last years with her husband and seven children until she died in 1885.

Blooming Camelia in Rosalia's Garden

The ground floor contains documents, photographs and awards she received, many of them posthumous. The real charm however lies in the rooms of the first floor. Her clothes are still hanging in her closet, her bedroom looks as if she would return any moment and her desk holds manuscripts. Used to modern kitchen appliances it is a treat and a marvel to see how Rosalia managed to feed her large family.

Bed of Rosalia de Castro

Kitchen of Rosalia de Castro

There is even more to see in Pardon. Crossing the narrow stone bridge over the Rio Sar, you come upon a tiny but beautiful botanical garden. Plaza Baltar is surrounded by the typical medieval stone houses which abound in many of Galicia’s towns, churches and statues. Padron is also the location of the Fundacion Camilo Jose Cela, another of Galicia’s literary geniuses which houses his vast library and memorabilia.

Plaza Baltar/Padron

Visiting Padron, you get an insight into Galicia’s history and literature and learn about two of Spain’s most important writers in one single place. And, of course, you get your fill of any conceivable kind of Galicia’s national flower.

You could win two flights departing from the UK to the destination of you choice, up to a value of £1500 in the zugu competition. zugu.co.uk is a new flight comparison website whose name originates from a word with a travel related meaning. To win, you’ll need to give the most creative answer to the question “What does Zugu mean?” However to assist you we’ve partnered with zugu to offer Europe a la Carte Blog readers an exclusive zugu competition clue which you’ll see in the graphic below.

You can enter the competition either on the form at www.facebook.com/Zugu or on Twitter (in writing or video) through @zugu_uk using the hashtag #zugu in the entry tweet. The competition is open to UK and Irish residents who hold a valid passport and are aged over 18. All entries must be in by 5th March. Full Terms & Conditions can be read here.

Good luck, I’m crossing my fingers that a Europe a la Carte reader will win the free flights with the help of the exclusive Europe a la Carte zugu competition clue.

More zugu competition clues

Exclusive clue on TravelBlather

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During my first trip to France in 1989 I spent a month researching various prehistoric painted caves in the south of France and the Dordogne. Although I was visiting some of the finest archaeological sites in some outstanding countryside, it was still ‘work’ and for a holiday after this memorable month I spent a week visiting Loire Valley castles. During that week, and any subsequent visits I have made to the area, one chateau has always stood out for me.

The Château de Chenonceau is widely considered to be one of the finest Loire Valley castles. This castle is not only remarkable for its history and its architecture, but also for the amazing quality of the collections of art and furniture housed in the castle. For parents looking for European travel tips for travelling with their children, Chenonceau makes an extra effort for their younger visitors.

Château de Chenonceau is recorded in history as the Château des Dames. This is because Chenonceau exists as we know it today because of women – and not just because of the so-called ‘woman’s touch’. Château de Chenonceau is set in formal gardens that add to the splendour of the castle, and today these gardens are kept to the exacting standards they were in the heydays of the castle’s royal life.

Chenonceau began as a bridge over spanning the river Cher, which lent itself to a fortified mill circa 1230. A fortified castle was then built for the Marques family. As a result of financial difficulties the site was sold to Thomas Bohier, a financial advisor to King François I. Bohier was married to Katherine Briçonnet. It was his money that paid for the castle we see today, but it was Katherine’s influence that determined its appearance. On Bohier’s death the castle passed into the hands of royalty. And it was Henry II who allowed Diane de Poitiers to live there. After the death of Henri II the castle became the residence of Catherine de Médicis. The castle was saved from the rigours of the French Revolution by Mrs Louise Dupin; the same woman who differentiated the spelling of the castle (chenonceau) from the local village (Chenonceaux).

But this castle, like many historical sites, is not locked in a medieval age. During the First World War the castle served as a military hospital – where some 2254 wounded soldiers were rehabilitated. During the Second World War the castle straddled the border between the zone of occupation and the free zone. But in 1944 a bomb fell near the castle and original stained glass windows were destroyed.

The custodians of this wonderful castle have also made it interesting for children. An outdoor play area equipped with games, free of charge and open from April through to October, is available for smaller children. A special audio tour on iPod is also available for the castle’s younger visitors. The restaurant also has a children’s menu. It really is one of the best French castles to visit with kids and a top Loire Valley attraction.

Chenonceau was France’s first private castle to enable visitors to download the audio tour onto their iPod or MP3 player in advance of their visit. Follow this link for the castle’s website.

The stunning photographs I have used here were taken by Stu Bradley, a photographer living and blogging in the Loire.

I visited Liverpool in February 2010 and asked for Europe travel tips about the best Liverpool attractions. So here are some ideas to help with your Europe travel planning so you can get the most out of you Liverpool visit.

Tate Liverpool at Albert Dock

Travel Tips

Zoe Dawes the Quirky Traveller says that the Slavery Tour is fascinating and the Walker Art Gallery has some great Pre Rafaelite art if that is your thing! I was born just up the road in Southport and wrote this article for GirlsGetAway which has some ideas for places to visit

Twitter Tips

@BudgetTraveller Hey Karen-visited Liverpool late last year and here’s some handy tips for you

@_emmajane _Tips on what to do and see at Liverpool Docks

@HoraceOflaherty The Cavern Magical Mystery Tour and Liverpool Museums & Art Galleries especially Lady Lever.

Your Tips

If you have any Europe travel tips on what to should see or do while Liverpool sightseeing, please leave a comment and I’ll add your tip to the post with a link to your site/blog.