Europe attractions

Dating back to the days of Victorian London, the Savoy Theatre first opened its doors in 1881 and has hosted shows, operas, and plays ever since. Having found early fame for its witty Gilbert and Sullivan productions, often dubbed the “Savoy Operas,” the venue is today managed by the Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG). It is known for staging hit musicals, such as Legally Blonde, Pretty Woman, and Mean Girls.

Thessaloniki’s contemporary Museum of Byzantine Culture is home to a treasure trove of Byzantine art and artifacts dating from between the fifth and 13th centuries, when the city was under Byzantine rule. Explore its halls stuffed with thousands of mosaic fragments, icons, inscribed stone tablets, and tomb paintings.

The Kulturforum in Berlin’s Tiergarten district is home to some of Berlin’s top cultural institutions—including museums, libraries, concert halls, and a church. Music enthusiasts flock here to visit the world-renowned Philharmonie concert hall, while the Picture Gallery (Gemaldegalerie) boasts medieval European art masterpieces and the New National Gallery (Neue Nationalgalerie) showcases modern European art.

Dusseldorf’s historic harbor was given an impressive facelift during the 1990s, transforming the bleak silos and shipping warehouses into a lively cultural hub known as the Media Harbor (MedienHafen). Named for the many media and telecoms headquarters that sprung around the waterfront, it’s now one of the city’s most stylish districts.

Villa Barbaro (often known as Villa di Maser), masterpiece of 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio, is one of the most striking of Veneto’s UNESCO-listed Palladian villas. This group of elegant patrician residences are scattered in the hills between Vicenza and Treviso, and make for a fascinating day trip from Venice.

Near the entrance of this 11th-century church in central Sorrento lie two whale rib bones—a curious tribute to San Antonino, the town’s patron saint, said to have saved a child swallowed whole by a whale. Step inside to find opulent Baroque interiors, a crypt holding the saint’s remains, and paintings depicting the many miracles attributed to the saint.

San Jeronimo Monastery (Monasterio de San Jerónimo), the first monastery built after the Christian conquest of Granada, was also the first church in the world consecrated to the Immaculate Conception of Mary. The monastery is known for housing one of the most exquisite Spanish Baroque sacristies on earth, as well as its courtyard, which is filled with orange trees.

Located on the Serchio River some 15 miles (24 kilometers) north of Lucca, the Devil's Bridge (Ponte del Diavolo or Ponte della Maddalena) is one of the region’s most striking landmarks. The stone, pedestrian-only bridge dates to the 11th century and was used by religious pilgrims. It’s recognizable for its irregularly shaped arches.

One of central Lisbon’s most beautiful parks, Estrela Garden (Jardim Da Estrela) is an oasis from the bustling neighborhoods of Bairro Alto and Chiado. Go for a stroll here to see tropical trees, sculptures, a small lake surrounded by an old English cemetery, and a wrought-iron gazebo. Some visitors combine a walk or picnic in the park with exploring the 18th-century Estrela Basilica (Basilica de Estrela).

Tucked in the folds of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Geirangerfjord—one of the world’s longest and deepest fjords—the small coastal town of Geiranger is the gateway to western Norway’s rugged coastline, and a popular stop for cruise ships. Disney fans may also recognize the town’s dramatic backdrop: Its jagged sea cliffs, pine-covered valleys, and iridescent waters served as inspiration for Frozen.

Backed by ochre cliffs, the seemingly endless shoreline of Praia dos Salgados exemplifies the picture-perfect beauty of The Algarve’s coastline. Steps away from the sand, you’ll find a golf course and reserve that cater to nature lovers and families alike. Meanwhile, the calm waters of the Atlantic Ocean provide a safe place for kids to swim.

Architecture lovers, history buffs, foodies, and shoppers alike will enjoy perusing the aisles of Printemps, the luxury department store beloved by Parisians since 1865. Spread out across 27 floors and three buildings on Paris’ Boulevard Haussmann, this is the flagship store of the luxury French chain of the same name and offers everything from home goods to beauty products, food to high-end fashion.

Forum Park is a sprawling waterfront space that draws big crowds for cultural events, from music to trade fairs, but there’s plenty to see year-round. Here, you’ll find the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona (Museu Blau), as well as the Forum Marina, which is popular with boaters. While there’s no beach, sunny days bring locals and visitors alike to swim from floating docks at the Forum bathing area.

The Lyceum Theatre is one of London’s most well-known performance venues, with roots going back to the 18th century. Bram Stoker famously worked here and found inspiration for the character of Count Dracula, and it has hosted major productions over the years, including Jesus Christ Superstar, and Oklahoma! It’s best known today as the long-running home of The Lion King, which has been playing to packed audiences since the 1990s.

Genoa is a fitting location for the Galata Maritime Museum (Galata Museo del Mare), as the city has been a major maritime power for centuries. The Museum of the Sea’s four floors feature numerous exhibits on sailing ships and sea explorations—including an entire room dedicated to the famous Genoese explorer Christopher Columbus and his Transatlantic voyage.

Cesky Sternberk Castle sits on a cliff over the small village of Sternberk, in the countryside of Bohemia. It was built in the 1240s, redesigned in the Gothic style in the 15th century, and renovated in the baroque style in the 17th. It’s still owned by descendants of its original owners, who still live there.

The historical highlight of the palm-fringed city of Elche, just a short hop from Alicante, the Basilica of Saint Mary is best known for hosting the annual Mystery of Elche play, a theatrical interpretation of the death of the Virgin Mary and her assumption to heaven. Climb the bell tower for panoramic views of the city and the coastline.

With circular turrets, towering spires, and an imposing Gothic-style facade, the Castle of Butrón looks like something out of a fairytale. Built in the 11th century, the castle was fought over by warring local noble families for hundreds of years. Though the structure fell into disrepair, new owners renovated it in the late 1800s.

A flamboyantly Art Nouveau building originally constructed for Croatia’s art offerings in Budapest’s Millennial Exhibition in 1896, the Art Pavilion (‘Umjetnicki Paviljon’ in Croatian) was taken down piece by piece and transported back to Croatia. There it was rebuilt on the verdant ‘Green Horseshoe’ designed by Milan Lenuci in the late 19th century and encompassing a string of parks, squares and monumental buildings in Zagreb’s Lower Town. Overlooking the manicured formal gardens and fountains of King Tomislav Square (Trg kralja Tomislava), the Art Pavilion mimics the nearby Croatian National Theatre in style, and its glass-topped dome is now a symbol of Croatian culture and one of the best-loved landmarks of the city. Painted in bright daffodil-yellow and adorned with stucco work and busts of Croatian artists and Renaissance Old Masters, the pavilion has a stately interior that was renovated in 2010 with ornate gilding, marble walls and floors and stained glass, with light flooding in from the central glass dome. Today it hosts a regular program of temporary art exhibitions, which can cover any medium from out-there Croatian video installations through to large-scale international exhibitions such as the works of Andy Warhol or the sculptures and lithographs of Alberto Giacometti.

An annex of Pristina’s Kosovo Museum, the Pristina Ethnographic Museum takes visitors through what life in Kosovo was like over the last five centuries. But it’s not just the exhibits inside the museum that reflect Kosovo’s cultural heritage, as it is housed inside four preserved buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Magdeburg Barracks (Magdeburská Kasárna) were originally constructed as part of a Habsburg military fortress, but the baroque-style building was later annexed by the Terezín concentration camp during WWII. Today, the barracks are a place of reconciliation and hope, and house an educational center run by the Holocaust Education Trust.

Graz Art Museum—aka Kunsthaus Graz, the Friendly Alien, or the Spacelab—sparks as much interest for its striking exterior as its collections inside. Designed by British architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier for the city’s 2003 European Capital of Culture title, the site features changing art exhibitions, often themed around political and social issues.

One of the star attractions on Mt. Vitosha, the massif just outside Sofia, Boyana Waterfall tumbles 82 feet (25 meters) down a stark rock face amid shady forest. It’s a tranquil, unspoiled spot that makes an excellent focus for a walk in the national park. One popular route goes by way of Boyana Church, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Studded with palm trees and presided over by the 82-foot-tall (25-meter-tall) Izmir Clock Tower, Konak Square (Konak Meydanı) is the navigational and social heart of the city. A popular meeting place, it’s home to important civic buildings and is located near Izmir’s historic ferry terminal and Kermeralti Grand Bazaar.

Berlin is full of reminders of the horrors of World War II. One of the more subtle memorials was inaugurated in 1998 at Platform 17 (Gleis 17) in Berlin’s Grunewald S-Bahn station. During World War II, Grunewald station was a major site for the deportation of Jews, mostly to ghettos and concentration camps, by the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

Tracing its origins to the fourth century, the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo is among the oldest churches in Rome and a highlight of the Caelian Hill, especially fascinating for Christian history buffs. The church is built above Case Romane del Celio, said to be the home and burial site of the converted Roman soldiers John and Paul, beheaded on the emperor’s orders.

Sitting on the southern flanks of Mount Medvednica and towering over the suburbs of Zagreb, Medvedgrad Castle is one of Croatia’s most important medieval fortresses. Originally built in the 13th century, the castle was later abandoned to decay before being restored in the 1980s. Today, the castle and surrounding Medevinca Nature Park combine natural beauty and history.

Founded by William the Conqueror, this former Benedictine monastery is one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Normandy, inspiring many churches on the other side of the Channel to adopt its style. Also known as Abbey of Saint-Étienne, the Abbaye aux Hommes (Men’s Abbey) is now the city hall (Hôtel de Ville).

La Lanterna, Genoa’s towering stone lighthouse, has been guiding ships into port since medieval times. It stands proudly at 250 feet (76 meters) in height, making it the second-tallest masonry lighthouse in the world. After admiring the stellar views, visit the adjacent Lantern Museum, which covers the history of Genoa and its Old Port.

In the heart of Bratislava’s Old Town lies Stara Radnica, the city’s Old Town Hall. Rather than having just one building, the Old Town Hall is a complex composed of a tower and several historic buildings, the oldest of which dates back to the 15th century. Since 1868, the complex has been home to the Bratislava City Museum.