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Travel in Europe: Countries, Cities & Things to Do

Countries in Europe

Best attractions in Europe

All attractions in Europe

Attraction

British Museum

History and archaeology museumBloomsbury

Britain's great museum of world history and culture in Bloomsbury, with free entry to a permanent collection spanning two million years of human civilisation.

Attraction

Colosseum

Roman amphitheatreCelio / Monti

The Flavian Amphitheatre, completed in AD 80 under Titus, is Rome's defining ancient monument and the centrepiece of the Parco archeologico del Colosseo.

Attraction

Hagia Sophia

Mosque and Byzantine monumentSultanahmet

Justinian's sixth-century domed basilica, now the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, with a separate visitor route through its upper galleries above the prayer hall.

Attraction

Musée du Louvre

Art museum1st arrondissement

The world-famous former royal palace on the Right Bank, home to the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and thousands of works spanning antiquity to the…

Attraction

Sagrada Família

Basilica and landmarkEixample

Antoni Gaudí's still-unfinished basilica in the Eixample, Barcelona's defining landmark, with a forest-like nave, two sculpted façades and climbable towers.

Attraction

Eiffel Tower

LandmarkChamp de Mars

Gustave Eiffel's wrought-iron tower on the Champ de Mars, with lifts and stairs to two viewing floors and a summit 276 metres above the city.

Best cafés in Europe

All cafés in Europe

Café

Café de Flore

Historic literary café$$$Saint-Germain-des-Prés

A Saint-Germain café dating from around 1887, famed as a haunt of Apollinaire, Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir and home of the Prix de Flore.

Café

Mandabatmaz

Turkish coffee$Beyoğlu

A tiny Turkish coffee spot in a passage off İstiklal Avenue, known for thick, strong coffee served to customers perched on stools in the alley.

Café

Monmouth Coffee Borough

Specialty coffee$Southwark

A specialty coffee shop and roaster's outlet at Borough Market, serving filter and espresso coffee and selling beans that can be sampled in store.

Café

Nømad Coffee Lab

Speciality coffee bar$$Sant Pere (Ciutat Vella)

The original coffee bar of Nømad, the Barcelona speciality roaster founded by Jordi Mestre, tucked into a quiet passage near the Palau de la Música.

Café

Sant’Eustachio Il Caffè

Historic coffee bar and roaster$Pantheon

Founded in 1938 near the Pantheon, Sant'Eustachio roasts its beans over wood and is famous for its sweet, creamy Gran Caffè.

Café

Bar Italia

Italian espresso bar$Soho

A family-run Italian espresso bar on Frith Street, opened in 1949 and open from early morning until the small hours.

Best hotels in Europe

All hotels in Europe

Hotel

Çırağan Palace Kempinski Istanbul

Luxury palace hotel$$$$Beşiktaş

A five-star Kempinski hotel built around a restored 19th-century Ottoman palace on the Bosphorus shore, with an infinity pool and 317 rooms.

Hotel

Hotel Arts Barcelona

Luxury seafront hotel$$$$Port Olímpic

A Ritz-Carlton tower hotel on the Port Olímpic seafront, with two outdoor pools, a fourth-floor spa and the two-Michelin-star Enoteca Paco Pérez.

Hotel

Hotel Hassler Roma

Luxury hotel$$$$Spanish Steps

Open since 1893 at the top of the Spanish Steps, the five-star Hassler has 82 individually designed rooms and the Michelin-starred Imàgo restaurant.

Hotel

Ritz Paris

Palace hotel$$$$Place Vendôme

César Ritz's legendary 1898 hotel on Place Vendôme, with the Ritz Club pool and spa, Bar Vendôme and the École Ritz Escoffier cookery school.

Hotel

The Savoy

Luxury hotel$$$$Covent Garden

A landmark luxury hotel on the Strand, open since 1889, with Thames views, the American Bar and the Gordon Ramsay Savoy Grill.

Hotel

Claridge’s

Luxury hotel$$$$Mayfair

A Mayfair grande dame dating back to 1812, famed for its Art Deco interiors, afternoon tea and long association with royalty and celebrity.

Best nightlife in Europe

All nightlife in Europe

Bar

360 Istanbul

Top-floor bar, restaurant and club$$$Beyoğlu

A long-running bar, restaurant and late-night club on the top floor of the historic Mısır Apartment on İstiklal Avenue, with panoramic city views.

Bar

Drink Kong

Cocktail bar$$$Monti

A celebrated cocktail bar in Monti that features on the World's 50 Best Bars list, open nightly with creative drinks and a smart casual dress code.

Bar

Harry’s New York Bar

Historic cocktail bar$$$Opéra

A historic American-style bar near the Opéra, open since 1911 and long said to be the birthplace of the Bloody Mary and the French 75.

Bar

Paradiso

Speakeasy cocktail bar$$$El Born

An El Born speakeasy reached through a fridge door at the back of a pastrami bar, named number one in The World's 50 Best Bars in…

Bar

Ronnie Scott’s

Jazz club$$$Soho

A celebrated Soho jazz club, founded in 1959 and now on Frith Street in Soho, with two shows a night and dining until late.

Bar

Boadas

Classic cocktail bar$$El Raval

A tiny Art Deco cocktail bar by La Rambla, opened in 1933 by Miguel Boadas and still devoted to expertly made classic cocktails.

Best restaurants in Europe

All restaurants in Europe

Restaurant

Bouillon Chartier Grands Boulevards

Traditional French bouillon$Grands Boulevards

A cavernous Belle Époque dining hall on the Grands Boulevards serving low-priced French classics non-stop, every day of the year.

Restaurant

Disfrutar

Creative tasting menu$$$$Eixample

Three-Michelin-star restaurant in the Eixample run by former elBulli chefs Oriol Castro, Eduard Xatruch and Mateu Casañas, serving long, playful tasting menus.

Restaurant

La Pergola

Mediterranean fine dining$$$$Monte Mario

Heinz Beck's rooftop restaurant at the Rome Cavalieri was the first in the city to earn three Michelin stars and remains its only three-star table.

Restaurant

St. JOHN Smithfield

Modern British, nose-to-tail$$$Smithfield

Fergus Henderson's influential Smithfield restaurant, founded in 1994 and known for nose-to-tail British cooking from a daily changing menu.

Restaurant

Turk Fatih Tutak

Modern Turkish tasting menu$$$$Bomonti

Chef Fatih Tutak's Bomonti tasting-menu restaurant, holding two Michelin stars and a Green Star, reworking Turkish culinary traditions with modern technique.

Restaurant

Dishoom Covent Garden

Bombay café$$Covent Garden

The original Dishoom, a Bombay-style café in Covent Garden serving breakfast, small plates, grills and curries from morning until late.

Best things to do in Europe

All things to do in Europe

Thing to do

Borough Market

Food marketSouthwark

London's celebrated food market beside London Bridge station, with traders selling produce, cheese, bread, street food and specialist groceries.

Thing to do

Grand Bazaar

Covered marketBeyazıt

One of the world's oldest covered markets, begun in the 1450s, with 61 vaulted streets of carpet, jewellery, ceramics and textile shops.

Thing to do

Mercat de la Boqueria

Food marketEl Raval

Barcelona's best-known food market, entered from La Rambla under a wrought-iron arch, packed with produce stalls, fishmongers and busy counter bars.

Thing to do

Palais Garnier Visit

Opera house tourOpéra

Self-guided or guided visits of Charles Garnier's opulent 1875 opera house, including the grand staircase, the Grand Foyer and Chagall's auditorium ceiling.

Thing to do

Trastevere

Historic neighbourhoodTrastevere

Rome's 13th rione, across the Tiber from the centre, is a web of cobbled lanes, ancient churches and trattorias that comes alive in the evening.

Thing to do

Bunkers del Carmel (Turó de la Rovira)

Viewpoint and heritage siteEl Carmel

A Civil War anti-aircraft battery on the Turó de la Rovira hilltop, now a free history site with one of the widest panoramas over Barcelona.

Best tours & activities in Europe

All tours & activities in Europe

Tour operator

Bateaux-Mouches

Seine river cruisePont de l'Alma

The classic Seine cruise company, sailing from Port de la Conférence by the Pont de l'Alma with guided sightseeing, brunch, lunch and dinner cruises.

Tour operator

Culinary Backstreets Istanbul

Food tourKaraköy

The neighbourhood food-tour company that began in Istanbul in 2009 as Istanbul Eats, known for its day-long Two Markets, Two Continents walk.

Tour operator

London Walks

Guided walking toursWest Hampstead

A long-running London walking tour company offering guided walks every day, from Jack the Ripper and Beatles routes to village London and pub walks.

Tour operator

Runner Bean Tours

Walking toursBarri Gòtic (meeting point)

A family-run Barcelona walking tour company founded in 2010, best known for its donation-based Gothic Quarter and Gaudí tours starting from Plaça Reial.

Tour operator

Walks of Italy

Guided walking toursPrati

A Rome-based tour company running small-group and private tours of the Vatican, the Colosseum and the city's underground sites.

Tour operator

Eating Europe Rome

Food tourTestaccio / Trastevere

Running food tours in Rome for more than 15 years, Eating Europe leads small groups through Testaccio, Trastevere, Monti and the Jewish Ghetto.