Snag Budget European Vacation Packages And Find Tips On Famous Piers And Festivities In Europe

Experience a Barcelona Fiesta on European Vacations

What better way to start your European vacations than with a bang in Barcelona!The Festes de la Merce arrives in town in September. Through the years, this intimate religious parade has evolved into a weeklong party celebrating Catalan culture. Visitors are treated to a variety of choices, including fireworks displays on the beach, air shows on the seafront, performances and exhibitions, and free concerts of local music and hip hop genres. Kids should be very busy too, with many activities targeted toward different age groups. Celebrate Barcelona and have a taste of local cooking. Cinc Sentits offers a menu of mixed Catalan classics. Bestsellers include lamb cutlets with porcini dust, the Catalan float coca bread with foie gras, suckling pig with apple compote, and slow-braised pork belly on gingerbread. If your heart can take it, why not order all four dishes!Just make sure you still have room for the maple quesada, apple sorbet or a cheese plate to be paired with their fine wines.

Spend Winter on Switzerland European Vacations

Switzerland is a wonderland for the winter leg of your European vacations. Atop the Matterhorn, the country's most popular landmark, you will be treated to spectacular views of mountain ranges and quaint villages covered with perfectly white snow. Many winter activities are available for the entire family: snowboarding, skating, snow shoe trekking, dog sledding, horse sleigh rides, tobogganing, and cross-country skiing. Are all those not challenging enough for you?Recently, there have been more and more opportunities for adrenaline rushes. Try out air boarding, which involves going on a high-tech inflatable body board and shifting your weight to steer. In snow kiting, you wear skis or a snowboard and are attached to a kite, letting the wind carry you off as if you are on your own personal ski lift!Not for the faint of heart!At the end of a grueling day, relax those tired and aching muscles in the heated pool of your hotel or resort.

See Lovely Edinburgh on European Vacations

Your European vacations cannot go wrong with a visit to Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland since the 15th century. Edinburgh is divided into two main areas: the medieval fortress of Old Town and the New Town with its neoclassical influence that has become a blueprint for European urban planning since the 18th century. Stretching across a ridge from the Castle to the Palace of Holyrood is the medieval Old Town. Admire the houses of nobles and merchants from the 16th and 17th century, the unique tenement buildings, and many important public structures such as the Canongate Tolbooth and St. Giles Cathedral. To the north of the Old Town are seven new towns built from 1767 to 1890 that comprise what is now known as the Georgian New Town. Taking advantage of its lush topography, neoclassical buildings in New Town are decorated with beautiful gardens. During the Age of Enlightenment, New Town was a major center of thought and learning and remains a cultural and political link to the European mainland. This unique blend of old and new has earned for Edinburgh the distinction of being named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Monaco Honeymoon European Vacations

What better way to start off your honeymoon European vacations than with a stay in a fairy-tale setting such as Monaco?Monaco is governed by the House of Grimaldi, the royal family that rules this quaint Southwestern European country that boasts of the Paris Opera House and the Monaco Grand Casino with its baroque-style verdigris cupolas, rococo turrets and golden chandeliers. The city-state overlooks the Mediterranean Sea, and is an ideal harbor for the worlds longest, most expensive yachts. A great architectural find, the Old Town has buildings that date back to the medieval times. The main streets are connected to narrow walkways and arched passageways. His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III fell in love with the late Grace Kelly in the Prince's Palace within the Rock quarter. For the heady fragrance of over 7,000 types of flowers, visit the Jardin Exotique where the exquisite Princess Grace Rose Garden continues to flourish.