Lonely Planet Europe's Best Trips , livre ebook

CONTENTS

PLAN YOUR TRIP

Welcome to Europe
Europe Map
Europe Highlights
If You Like…

ON THE ROAD

ITALY
1 Grand Tour
2 The Graceful Italian Lakes
3 Tuscan Wine Tour
4 Amalfi Coast
5 World Heritage Wonders
6 Wonders of Ancient Sicily
7 Italian Riviera
France
8 Essential France
9 D-Day’s Beaches
10 Atlantic to Med
11 The Pyrenees
12 Riviera Crossing
13 Champagne Taster
14 Châteaux of the Loire
Great Britain
15 The Best of Britain
16 Britain’s Wild Side
17 The Historic South
18 Classic Lakes
19 Royal Highlands & Cairngorms
20 Great Glen
21 West Wales: Swansea to St Davids
Ireland
22 Iconic Ireland
23 The Long Way Round
24 Ring of Kerry
25 The North in a Nutshell
26 Musical Landscapes
Spain
27 Mediterranean Meander
28 Costa del Sol Beyond the Beaches
29 Northern Spain Pilgrimage
30 Historic Castilla y León
31 Roving La Rioja Wine Region
Portugal
32 Douro Valley Vineyard Trails
33 Alentejo & Algarve Beaches
Germany
34 Romantic Rhine
35 The Romantic Road 10 Days
36 German Fairy Tale Road 5 Days
Switzerland
37 The Swiss Alps
38 Geneva to Zürich
Austria
39 Grossglockner Road
40 Along the Danube


Switzerland Engelberg KAROLINARYSAVA/SHUTTERSTOCK ©
WELCOME TO EUROPE

Europe has an embarrassment of riches . To incomparable art and architecture, add a vivid past. To spectacular scenery and vibrant cities, add the finest food and wine. It’s a place that helps you do and be what you’ve always wanted. Hike mountain passes. Savour wine beside sun-ripened vines. Tour palazzi and pueblos . Linger over lunch-time people watching. Feel you belong.
    These riches are best by far discovered by car. And the countless stops we’ve crafted into 40 road trips are your key to unlocking those experiences. Grip the wheel in white-knuckle mountain routes. Cruise along coast roads. Drive historical timelines. Trace gourmet and vineyard trails.
    Trips packed with culture, cities, history, mountains, food, beaches, wine and art – they’re all waiting to be discovered and our routes will guide you every stop of the way.

Italy Duomo, Florence DIRIYE AMEY/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

EUROPE HIGHLIGHTS

Europe’s best sights and experiences, and the road trips that will take you there.
Italian Lakes
Italy’s northern lakes are simply sublime. The most picturesque and least visited is Lago di Como (Lake Como); a highlight of Trip 2: The Graceful Italian Lakes , a scenic jaunt around Lakes Maggiore, Orta and Como. Set in the shadow of the Rhaetian Alps, Lago di Como’s banks are speckled with Liberty-style villas and fabulous landscaped gardens that burst into blushing colour in April and May.
Trip click here

Italian Lakes Varenna, Lago di Como IRYNA1/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Scottish Highlands
Scotland’s wild places abound in breathtaking vistas: imposing mountains, emerald green glades, glinting lochs – the scenery here is truly awe-inspiring. Drive right into the views on Trip 19: Royal Highlands & Cairngorms , which delivers castles, peaks and wildlife galore – and the chance to explore the Royal family’s summer holiday haunts.
Trip click here

Scottish Highlands Urquhart Castle NITSAWAN KATERATTANAKUL/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Paris
What is there to say about the City of Light that hasn’t been said a thousand times before? Quite simply, this is one of the world’s essential cities: sexy, suave and sophisticated. There’s a lifetime of experiences here, from the treasures of the Louvre to the cafes of Montmartre – encounter them on Trip 8: Essential France , which steers you all the way from the chic capital to the glistening Med.
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The Amalfi Coast
The Amalfi Coast is Italy’s most dazzling seafront stretch. Its coastal road – detailed in Trip 4: The Amalfi Coast – curves sinuously, linking steeply stacked towns and rocky inlets. All around, cliffs sheer down into sparkling blue waters, lemons grow on hillside terraces, and towering fichi d’India (prickly pears) guard silent mountain paths.
Trip click here

BEST ROADS FOR DRIVING
SS163 The ‘Nastro Azzurro’ weaves along the precipitous Amalfi Coast. Trip click here
Col d’Aubisque A route through the craggy Pyrenees; more like flying than driving. Trip click here
A939 Scottish Highlands Motor beside ski slopes at rollercoaster Lecht Pass. Trip click here
The São Vicente Coast Road Cliff tops en route to Europe’s southwestern-most tip. Trip click here
Silvretta High Alpine Road Brave 34 white-knuckle switchbacks 2500m high in the Austrian Alps. Trip click here

Châteaux of the Loire
For sky’s-the-limit extravagance, don’t miss Trip 14: Châteaux of the Loire . Constructed by France’s aristocratic elite between the 15th and 17th centuries, these lavish mansions were designed to show off their owners’ wealth – something they manage to achieve in spectacular fashion. Chambord is the jewel in the crown, but on this trip you’ll see plenty of sparkling gems.
Trip click here

Châteaux of the Loire Château de Chambord GRIMPLET/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST SIPS
Castello di Verrazzano Sample Chianti Classico and olive oil at this ancient Italian castle. Trip click here
Épernay Explore bottle-packed cellars in the French town dubbed the capitale du champagne . Trip click here
Rioja Trek Tour a vineyard; sup in a bodega; make your own wine. Trip click here
Quinta do Crasto Spectacular, terraced vineyards on a ridge above the Río Douro. Trip click here
Engelszell Visit a 13th-century abbey to taste monk-made cheese and beer. Trip click here

Stonehenge
Mysterious and compelling, Stonehenge is Great Britain’s most iconic ancient site. People have been drawn to this myth-laden ring of bluestones for the last 5000 years, and we still don’t know quite why it was built. Come up with your own theories while gazing at massive megaliths on Trip 17: The Historic South , a voyage which crosses the country via a centuries-long timeline through a captivating past.
Trips click here click here

Stonehenge VICTOR MASCHEK/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Swiss Alps
You’d think after motoring through 537km of mind-blowing Alpine scenery on Trip 37: The Swiss Alps that you had seen it all. Wrong. After a succession of dramatic green peaks, Alpine lakes, glacial ravines and other hallucinatory natural landscapes, you pull into your final destination: Zermatt, a highly desirable Alpine resort built around the incomperable Matterhorn.
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Swiss Alps View of the Matterhorn from Zermatt RTARN/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Florence
From Brunelleschi’s red-capped Duomo to Michelangelo’s David and Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus , Florence boasts priceless masterpieces and a historic centre that looks much as it did in Renaissance times. Art aside, the city is perfect for al fresco dining and wine drinking. And it’s only part of Trip 5: World Heritage Wonders – an epic exploration of Italy’s finest historic cities: Venice, Siena, Pisa and Rome.
Trip click here click here click here

La Rioja Wine Country
La Rioja is the sort of place where you could spend weeks searching out the finest drops. Bodegas offering wine tastings and villages that shelter wine museums are the mainstays. Aside from scenery and fine quaffs, you’ll find plenty of surprises (such as a Frank Gehry–designed masterpiece in a tiny village) on Trip 31: Roving La Rioja Wine Region .
Trip click here

La Rioja Hotel Marqués de Riscal ALBERTO LOYO/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

Algarve Beaches
Beach-lovers have much to celebrate on a drive along Portugal’s southern coast. Sandy islands, cliffs and shore set the stage for memorable backroad explorations on Trip 33: Alentejo & Algarve Beaches . After a day spent surfing or frolicking in the sea, you can roll up to a beautifully sited restaurant for a seafood feast overlooking the crashing waves.
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Algarve beaches Alvor, near Portimão; STEFVAL/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

The Giant’s Causeway
The grand geological flourish of the Giant’s Causeway is Northern Ireland’s most popular attraction and one of the world’s most startling natural wonders. Here, you can clamber over some of the 40,000 unique hexagonal basalt columns that trail off into the sea. Discover the rich legends that surround them on Trip 23: The Long Way Round ; as you circumnavigate enchanting Ireland’s entire shore.
Trips click here click here

Romantic Rhine
The Rhine has long mesmerised artists, as is illustrated by the 19th-century paintings in Koblenz on Trip 34: Romantic Rhine . From Düsseldorf and Cologne, the majestic river snakes through churning whirlpools, medieval villages, vineyards and castle-capped cliffs. Your trail mirrors it, leading to forests and fortresses, and to evenings sipping rieslings under chestnut trees.
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Rhine Valley Ehrenfels Castle, near Rüdesheim DMITRY EAGLE ORLOV/SHUTTERSTOCK ©

BEST CITIES
London Theatre, history, art, food: Britain’s capital has them all. Trips click here click here
Rome Unique, exquisite, romantic; the one-time capital of the world remains unmissable. Trips click here click here
Dublin Georgian charm in a vibrant, contemporary city. Plus 1000-plus pubs. Trips click here click here
Barcelona Playful, historic and flush with unique art. The Spanish city of your dreams. Trip click here
IF YOU LIKE…
Architecture
Boasting an unparalleled architectural legacy, Europe is home to some of the world’s most celebrated masterpieces in building design. Romanesque cathedrals, baroque palaces, Georgian cities, half-timbered cottages, ancient monuments, cutting-edge creations – the wealth of buildings arrayed here will be a memorable part of your trip.
Châteaux of the Loire Resplendent châteaux line the banks of the Loire, each one more extravagant than the last.
The Historic South Three of England’s most spectacular cathedrals, plus London, and Bath’s Georgian city-scape.
Northern Spain Pilgrimage Showcasing a string of anc