World Travellers

In any survey you’ll ever read that asks something along the lines of ‘where is the best honeymoon destination?’, France will almost always be in the top five, and it isn’t hard to see why. France has garnered a reputation for romance, and is a popular destination for people celebrating honeymoons, anniversaries, engagements, Valentine’s Day or anyone simply in the mood for love.

So if you’re looking for somewhere romantic to sweep the object of your affection of their feet, here are the five reasons why you should choose to visit France with that special someone.

In France you can:

Spend quality time together:
Romance isn’t all about buying gifts and planning fancy evenings - often the most romantic thing you can do is simply be together. France has over 5500km of beautiful coastline (for example Calais’ ‘Côte d’Opale’, Normandy’s ‘Côte Fleurie’ or Brittany’s ‘Côte de Granit Rose’), that offer the most beautiful walks in any season. If you’d prefer to stay inland, France also boasts some amazing gardens that manage to turn the very landscape into breath-taking works of art (see the Château de Chenonceau by the River Cher, the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, or Claude Monet’s House and Garden in Giverny), so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

There are more than 60 thousand mineral springs and 1150 thermal springs in Hungary. It would be foolish not to use these riches, that is why Hungarians have built 55 hydropathic establishments and 67 thermal hotels here. They also develop medical and health tourism.

The country’s capital, Budapest, is the leader in this sphere. This is one of the most beautiful European cities and the first spa capital in the world (there are about 130 thermal springs found here). Budapest can offer around 70 bathhouses and public thermal baths: old Turkish and modern, moderate and luxurious, democratic and aristocratic ones. First therms were built here by the Greeks, and bath industry reached its prosperity at Turkish times. There are several Turkish baths in Budapest, including Kiraly, Rudas and Szechenyi – the last one is the largest bath in Europe, with 12 various pools. As for Budapest citizens, they like visiting Lukacs bath, with water arriving from Rozsa Hill springs. Many hotels also have their thermal pools, Gellert hotel among them. In 1930s the hotel was very popular for its mosaic floors and glass ceiling.

Brussels is capital of Belgium as well as its largest metropolitan area, with a population of over 1.8 million as of 2008. Brussels is known as the home of many political organizations, specifically being the political headquarters of NATO as well as the European Union.

The revolution that gave Belgium independence occurred in Brussels in 1830. The city was largely redeveloped towards the end of the 19th century, and although few earlier buildings remain, there is still a strong sense of history in Brussels. The one area that still features historical buildings including some wonderful Gothic architecture is the Grand Place, the cobbled market square at the heart of the city. The majestic City Hall building along with an array of the guild houses is wonderfully lit up at night.

The Royal Palace of Brussels and the Laeken Castle, with its large greenhouses are also worth seeing, as is the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudala and the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. The stock exchange building, with its Classical front is also a marvelous piece of architecture.

Oozing volcanoes, thousands of earthquakes, and countless exploding geysers you can set your watch by – it doesn’t sound like a coveted vacation destination. However, Iceland is quickly becoming the newest hot spot for travelers. Just a hop from the U.S.’s East Coast or Western Europe, this little island country is easier to visit than one would think.

Iceland’s attraction is its untamed countryside. Considering that most of this rugged island is uninhabitable, this leaves much open space and fresh air to the brave adventurer for exploring. The landscape is forever changing as the shifting continental plates refuse to give this country a moment of rest. Stand in awed before raging waterfalls and frozen glaciers, hike deep volcanic craters and rocky lava fields, even enjoy ice fishing, whale watching, puffin and other sea bird watching, kayaking and jet-boating. Iceland can be easily discovered with the help of local tour companies – the only question the tourist must answer is if they prefer to go by bus, snowmobile, or gentle Icelandic horse.

If you have not heard about a toll road, you may have heard about it in its other names like the toll way, toll highway, pike or the turnpike. So, what is this? Generally, it is a road built privately where the driver will have to pay a fee or a toll so that he can use the path.

The structures that are involved for the fees are the toll bridges, tunnels and many others. The roads that are not toll highways make use of other sources of profits. Most of the time, they utilize funds from general tax or even fuel tax. The facility wherein the fees are collected is actually known as the toll booth, toll station, toll gate or a toll plaza. Usually, this type of building is situated on the sides of the bridge or at the exits.

Speaking of Norway, people can naturally bring the world famous novel to mind. There are many mountains in Norway. All kinds of villages are seated among the mountains. Between the villages are just the forests which are far away or nearby as if they are waiting for something. The forests of birches and firs which are both thin and thick are neither secretive like the virgin forest in image nor profound like the description by the authors.

In Norway, you can see the forest everywhere. The Norwegian like the forest very much. It is ruled by law that people must plant a young tree in the time limit after felling a tree no matter it is public-owned or privately owned. The Norwegian go to the forest is like our going to the square in weekends. People go to the forest to have a walk, go fishing deep in the forest and pick the mushrooms and wild fruit or only to do mountain climbing. I hear that there is usually a small log cabin deep in the forest. Beside the doorway is a mail box. People can live here for nights only after putting the money into the box. People would tidy the room and put some wild flowers in the drawing room for welcoming the next guest when they leave.

Austria simply can’t be beat when it comes to beauty. You’ve seen the country in the Sound of Music, but the cities of Vienna, Salzburg and the alpine town of Halstatt are just as nice.

Vienna

Vienna is a city with a ridiculous amount of history. The home of the waltz, Habsburg Palaces and an unrivaled musical past. Walk for an evening through the cobblestone streets in the center city and you can almost hear a famous composer at work. In fact, many of the walking areas are lined with small orchestral ensembles playing their way through the evening. Elbowing in on their act, of course, are those unique artist who dress in a period piece and then stand in one position for what seems time eternal. Buddhist monks would be envious if they believed in envy.

The only downside to Vienna is the expense. It is very expensive. If you are going to spend some time in the city, be ready to pay for the privilege.

Salzburg