Europe Traveler

The Santa Claus Village is located on the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland, in the vicinity of the city of Rovaniemi, just 2 km from the international airport of Rovaniemi. Visiting Santa’s Village can be an unforgettable experience for the whole family. See the Santa Claus Post Office, Santa Claus’s Office, Christmas Exhibition, and other attractions. Even more notably, you’ll get a chance to chat with Santa himself! Or how would you like to go to a snowmobile safari in the Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park?

Santa Claus Village is located near the city of Rovaniemi

There are restaurants and shops that sell Santa Claus and Lapland related items, and all of this takes place in the captivating Arctic environment. See also the Santa Claus Park that is connected to the village. It has been ranked by Topworld International as the 2nd best travel adventure in Finland.

For more information, see Santa Claus Village

No one wants to buy car insurance. It’s a fact of life if you drive a vehicle on public roadways. When you buy insurance, you are getting something that you might use. You know you have to have insurance, but you don’t really know what you are getting when you buy it. Most people just buy auto insurance without really understanding what they are getting in return for their money. When you buy insurance, you should know how to spend less but get more insurance.

If you live in Los Angeles, you are aware that if you operate a vehicle or a truck, you are required to purchase Los Angeles Auto Insurance by the state of California. However, purchasing a Los Angeles Car Insurance can often be an overwhelming and tedious experience. There are so many companies out there promising great rates, but we rarely have the time to either call, or visit the website of each and every company to get a good rate. This is why it is good to have  a website to help people like you find the cheapest, most affordable car insurance quotes in Los Angeles.

See: Car Insurance Los Angeles or call their toll-free number 1-800-475-6840 for more information and a free insurance quote from a licensed insurance agent.

When you are visiting London and want to view many of its attractions in an exciting and somewhat less usual way than just walking or driving through the streets, a Thames river cruise might be a good choice. The Thames river flows through the heart of London, so a cruise on Thames allows you to see many of London’s most famous attractions. The mode of transportation adds to the  comfortableness of the experiences and provides a view from a little different perspective than the regular street views. The city cruise boats are modern and spacious with open upper decks that allow you to see the city in the open air, and there are also panoramic windows in the lower saloons of the boat.

Cruising the Thames river is a great way to see many of London's attractions.

The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Cutty Sark, London’s commercial hub, Canary Wharf, the retired battle-cruiser – HMS Belfast; St Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe theater, the Tate Modern, Westminster Abbey, and Big Ben are the highlights of the cruise.

See Thames River Cruises for more information.

Portugal’s Lisbon Oceanarium (or Oceanário) was built for the 1998 World Expo with the lead of the architect Peter Chermayeff. It is the largest aquarium in Europe and the second largest in the whole world. Lisbon Oceanarium features aquariums with ecosystems similar to those of Antarctica and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.  With 16000 animals (fish, birds, mammals, cnidaria, etc.) belonging to 450 species, the aquarium offers much to see for people who are interested in maritime animals. The main exhibit of Lisbom Oceanarium is in a tank of 5000 cubic meters. This 7 meters deep tank has around 100 species of animals.

Lisbon Oceanarium is the largest aquarium in Europe and second largest in the whole world.

In addition to the exhibitions, the oceanarium offers lectures and guided tours that help the visitors to learn more about the subjects related to marine life and the oceanarium. The Oceanário also participates in and supports ocean conservation.

More Information
Lisbon Oceanarium

Big Ben is located at the north end of the Westminster Palace in London. Actually, the nickname Big Ben refers to the large bell of the clock tower, but probably a large majority of people would associate the name with the whole tower. The Big Ben clock tower is huge – its height of nearly 100 meters makes it the third highest clock tower in the world. The clock faces of the tower are more than 7 meters each in their diameter, and the interior volume of the tower is over 4600 cubic meters. There are 393 steps that one has to climb if one wants to go to the top of the tower by the stairs. The construction of the tower was finished in 1856, after 13 years of work.

Though the name "Big Ben" is quite commonly associated with the tower, it is actually the nickname of the large bell in the tower.

See (and hear!) the following video that features the chimes of Big Ben

The reason for naming the bell “Big Ben” is not completely clear, but the most likely theory is that the bell was named after Sir Benjamin Hall who was the First Commissioner for Works. His name is found inscribed on the bell. An alternative explanation is that the name is based on the heavyweight boxer Ben Caunt.

Save on Sightseeing in London with the London Pass

In Rome’s upmarket area, the Spanish Steps (Scalinata di Spanga or Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti) form Europe’s longest and widest staircase. This 138-step staircase is a popular meeting place, and it is not hard to understand why – the place is very beautiful. The Spanish Steps connect the Spanish Square (Piazza di Spagna) with the French church (Trinità dei Monti) at the top of the hill. The area has many interesting stores, restaurants and bars.

The Spanish Steps are a popular meeting place in Rome

There is a metro station very close to the Spanish Steps and a bus station is also reasonably close with about five minutes’ walking distance. One thing that a tourist should keep in mind is that though this place may look like a good setting for picnic, eating on the Spanish Steps is prohibited. This prohibition is for the purpose of keeping the steps clean.

The Hungarian National Gallery is located in the former Royal Palace of Buda in the capital city of Budapest. The development of the fine arts in Hungary is on display in the large collections of the National Gallery. The gallery has distinct sections for medieval and renaissance stone art, wooden gothic statues, late gothic altars, renaissance and baroque art, 19th and 20th century painting, statuemaking and numismatics, and contemporary art.

The National Gallery is located in a section of the Buda Castle

Mihály Munkácsy and László Paál are two significant artists whose work is exhibited in the contemporary art section. The work of such sculptors as Károly Alexy, Maurice Ascalon, Miklós Borsos, Gyula Donáth, János Fadrusz, Béni Ferenczy, István Ferenczy and Miklós Izsó can be seen on the section for 19th and 20th century.

The Hungarian National Gallery has been an independent institution from 1957. It moved to the Buda Royal Palace in 1975.

Recommended Resources
Hungarian National Gallery in Budapest (Lonely Planet)
Hungarian National Gallery Official Website

When it comes to guided city tours for tourists, there are some good considerations on the “pro” side for using an actual living human being as a guide, but others may want the greater freedom and independence that comes from exploring the city with one’s own initiative, perhaps looking into a guidebook every now and then. But who wants to carry a guide book everywhere? Not everyone enjoys reading to the extent of wanting to do it in a compulsory manner while being on vacation. And besides, it isn’t easy (or very safe) to actually read a guidebook while on the move in the city – not to mention the obvious but rather distracting detail that you are not looking at the actual sights, but the pages of the book when you are gathering the information from a guidebook.

Well, the solution to all of this may be mp3 city guides. With a portable mp3 player, one is free to tap into the  knowledge of travel writing experts that know what the traveler is likely to be interested in, and one can effortlessly listen to all of this information while actually being on the move and looking at the actual sights when passing them by (or deciding to stop and take a closer look).

Currently, there are city guides available on some cities of Austria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and United Kingdom.

This seems like a very good idea, so it’s probably worth checking out: MP3 City Guides

Bantry House is located on the southern side of Bantry bay in the County Cork, southwest Ireland. It is the ancestral home of the Earls of Bantry. Originally called Blackrock, the Councillor Richard White bought the house in 1750 (about 50 years after it was constructed). The current owners of the house are Egerton and Brigitte Shelswell-White. The house has significant antique collections and an interesting garden, both of which are available for guests to see.

Bantry House is located in Bantry, Cork county

The structure of the gardens of the Bantry House originated during the days of the second Earl of Bantry and were influenced by his travels abroad. The gardens have seven terraces and the house is located on the third one. The gardens are cared and maintained constantly and the lands have undergone significant (still ongoing) restoration during the recent years.

The Bantry House is located about 80 km from the city of Cork and the Cork Airport can be reached with about a 1,5 hours drive from the place. Bed & Breakfast type guest accommodation is available at the Bantry House.

St Pancras international railway station is located at the heart of central London and is one of the best-known train stations in the world. The Victorian architecture and specially commissioned pieces of public art (such as the sculptures called Meeting Place and Sir John Betjeman, as well as the famous St Pancras clock) make the St. Pancras station a beautiful place to see.

Architecture is one reason why the St. Pancras station is worth seeing.

Obviously,  St Pancras train station  also plays a major role in the transportation system. East Midlands trains, Eurostar, and First Capital Connect are the three main services from this station which has more underground connections than any other station in London. Britain’s first high speed train service called Southeastern has 200 trains every weekday and operates between St Pancras and 21 stations.

St Pancras international train station has more underground connections than any other station in London.

Standing on the Euston Road in St Pancras, the station is situated between other noteworthy places, namely, the British Librrary, King’s Cross station, and the Regent’s Canal.

See also: London City Guide