Difference between revisions of "Mediterranean Europe"

Revision as of 23:07, 13 June 2008

Mediterranean Europe is the name of the region which encompasses those countries in the South of Europe that are close to the Mediterranean Sea. They have a common climate, so they are similar in many ways: culture, food, etc.

Historic cities with a clearly Mediterranean culture included many outside the region we describe — Sudak in Ukraine, Acre in Israel, Alexandria in Egypt, and Carthage in Tunisia.

Countries

Other territories

• Gibraltar in the strait between Spain and Africa

Cities

While the best parts of Southern Europe are probably the coast, and the cities can be loud, hot, and noisy, these cities are great to must sees for your vacation:

• Athens, Greece - Smoggy and crowed concrete city of famous Greek ruins, especially the Acropolis hill
• Barcelona, Spain - Another historic city with another huge, but newer and unfinished, cathedral
• Dubrovnik, Croatia - Coastal town full of orange rooftops and back streets
• Istanbul, Turkey - City on two continents, has two massive mosques and one massive bazaar
• Lisbon, Portugal - although not geographically on the Mediterranean sea, this city has a Mediterranean culture
• Marseilles, France - one of the Med's great ports
• Naples, Italy - center of Southern Italy
• Rome Italy - Eternal city of Roman ruins and papal headquarters
• Venice, Italy - World famous city of canals
• Nice, France

Itineraries

Understand

All countries in Mediterranean Europe share a warm to hot, mostly coastal climate. This very sunny part of Europe doesn't have as much vegetation has the rest of Europe. The culture here is quite informal compared to life in Northern Europe.

Get in

By plane

Major airports can be found in the following cities:

• Lisbon
• Madrid
• Barcelona
• Marseilles
• Venice
• Milan
• Pisa (for Florence)
• Rome
• Nice
• Naples
• Athens
• Istanbul
• Skopje

By car

By train

By bus

Get around

By car

By train

By bus

See

Do

• Seville's old center, see the massive cathedral
• Relax in Madrid's Plaza Mayor, and see the Prado art museum
• Stroll the Ramblas in Barcelona
• If you're extremely brave, participate in Pamplona's Running of the Bulls
• See the windmills of La Mancha, imagine your Don Quixote fighting them
• Take a romantic, but expensive gondola ride in Venice, ride the Traghetto as a cheap, non-romantic alternative
• Get lost in the back streets of Venice
• Visit the balcony of Juliet in Verona, even though there's no proof at all its related to Romeo and Juliet, skip the pricey museum inside the house
• Take a ferry across either Lake Como, Maggiore, or Garda
• Hige between towns in the Cinque Terre, and relax in a cafe overlooking the sea in Vernazza
• Cross the Ponte Vecchio, Go to the top of the Duomo dome, relax in Boboli Gardens, and tour the Uffizi and Accademia art galleries, all in Florence
• Visit an Italian hill town, like San Gimignano, Siena, Civita di Bagnoregio, or Orvieto
• See the Forum in Rome
• Stroll central Rome, including the Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Spanish steps, and memorable coin throwing experience at the Trevi Fountain
• See facist architectire at the EUR outside Rome
• See St. Peter's basilica, including the crypt and top of the dome, in Rome
• Tour the Vatican Museums, including the famous Vatican staircase, Sistine Chapel, and Raphael Rooms, in Rome
• Go to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, and see the bizarre, lunar-like landscape
• See the destroyed Roman towns of Herculaneum or Pompeii, both ruined by Vesuvius
• Go to Capri, ride the funicular, and see the Blue Grotto
• Visit Lake Bled in Slovenia
• Visit historic Dubrovnik
• Explore the Acropolis hill in Athens
• Cruise to various Greek Islands, like Crete and Santorini
• Browse through the mammoth Grand Bazaar in Istanbul

Buy

Sleep

Eat

Drink