Things to Do in Europe

Hamburg is a particularly leafy city, with plenty of parklands lining the canals and waterways. One of the most popular and best loved parks is the Planten un Blomen Park in the heart of the city.

The park preserves Hamburg’s old botanic garden, along with the largest Japanese garden in Europe, a Japanese teahouse, tropical plant house and skating rink.

Children are specially well catered for at the Planten un Blomen Park, with playgrounds, theater, pony rides, miniature golf and water games. There’s a program of entertainment in summer, with clowns, magicians and acrobats.

Visitors of all ages will love the choreographed music and light shows that bring the park alive on warm summer nights.

Located at the end of one of Madrid's busiest streets, Plaza de España forms the western base of Gran Vía. Its borders are also delineated by two of the city's most famous and tallest skyscrapers: Torre de Madrid - Madrid Tower - and Edifico España - Spain Building.

Occupying the center of the plaza is a monument to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the famous Spanish playwright, poet and novelist. Surrounding the base of the monument are statues of characters from the writer's most famous work, Don Quixote de la Mancha. The protagonist and his sidekick, Sancho Panza, are accompanied by figures of Don Quixote's love, represented on one side by the peasant woman Aldonza Lorenzo and on the other as the imaginary Dulcinea de Toboso.

Day and night, the Plaza de España is a popular meeting spot for locals and tourists often find themselves here to rest on the benches and snap a few photos.

A monumental square made up of Baroque architecture, the late 18th century Place Garibaldi lies at the eastern end of the Old Town of Nice. Recent renovation has revitalized the beauty of the buildings.

Place Garibaldi has shops, bars and cafes including Grand Café de Turin, famous for its seafood and a great place to dine al fresco and people watch. On the weekends the square fills with stall holders selling antiques and bric-a-bracs.

Many of the main streets of Nice cross the square: Avenue de la République, Boulevard Jean Jaurès, Rue Catherine Ségurane and the rue Cassini which leads to the old port. Tram No. 1 runs through Place Garibaldi and around the edge of the Old Town (Vieux Nice) and most of the square has now been pedestrianized.

The square has a majestic fountain in its center with a statue of Italian hero Giuseppe Garibaldi who was responsible for unifying Italy in the late 19th century. He had hoped that Nice would become part of Italy.

The grand Plaza Ayuntamiento is one of Valencia’s three main squares.

The stunning plaza has a fountain and patch of grass at its heart, and is flanked by some of Valencia’s most important buildings.

The bell tower of the neoclassical town hall chimes on the hour, and inside the opulent decor features marble and richly carved wood.

The post office is more like a theater than an administrative building, with a leaded-glass dome. The plaza is a popular meeting spot for local Valencians, and is the focus for fireworks displays during the annual Fallas Festival.

One of the most striking of Paris’ public squares, Place Vendome's historic architecture meets luxury shopping in a large octagonal space located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris. The majestic ensemble of early 18th-century buildings designed by architect Jules-Hardouin Mansart encircles the plaza. At its heart, the 43-meter Vendome Column towers overhead, topped with a regal statue of Napoleon perched on a white marble pedestal. The landmark statue was erected by Napolean himself, replacing the previous monument to King Louis XIV that had once dominated the square.

The plaza’s houses boast their own historic importance: Polish music composer Frédéric François Chopin died at No. 12 where a museum in his honor now resides; Italian Countess de Castiglione-Virginia Oldoini once inhabited one of the exquisite mansions nearby; and the world famous Ritz hotel, the brainchild of Cesar Ritz, opened its luxurious abodes at No.15 during the early years of the 20th century.

Today a cluster of luxurious hotels, including the Bristol and Park Hyatt, have joined the Ritz, lending the square an air of grandeur and the surrounding buildings dazzle with exclusive jewelry showrooms. Famed for its designer boutiques, car-free avenues and opulent window displays, the plaza’s atmospheric surrounds make it the perfect venue for a Parisian shopping spree.

Plaka is the oldest residential district of Athens. Its historic narrow lanes and stepped alleys wind up the lower slope of the Acropolis. Once the heart of working class Athens, then the centre of music and nightclubbing, nowadays it's full of cafes and restaurants, also shops which tend to be aimed at tourists with prices to match. But it's definitely the nicest part of Athens to wander around between visits to the nearby archaeological sites and museums. 

Head up the steps to the small area of Anafiotica. This is like a little Greek island village transplanted to Athens. It was built by the migrant workers who came to build the Presidential Palace in the 19th century when it was King Otto's palace.

Surrounding Krakow's Old Town, Planty Park stretches about 2.5 miles (4 km) and covers 52 acres. It was established in the early 19th century to take the place of the Old Town walls after they were destroyed. The park is really a chain of gardens designed in different styles, connected by walkways and lawns and topped off with a variety of fountains and sculptures.

The biggest draw of Granada’s UNESCO-listed Albaycin quarter is the hilltop Mirador de San Nicolás, a small raised plaza that lies in front of the San Nicolás Church. This is the city’s most renowned lookout point, from where the magnificent panoramic views span the city center, the distant Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Rio Darro canyon and, most famously, the grand Alhambra palace.

The small public square is a lively place to be at all times of the day, with a handful of craftsmen setting up shop along the paving stones and a roster of street musicians and flamenco dancers on hand to entertain visitors. The most atmospheric time to arrive is at dusk, when crowds of locals and tourists turn out to watch the sunset over the palace grounds, before adjourning to the restaurants and teashops of nearby Elvira Street.