Things to Do in Europe

With everything from high-speed water slides to hair-raising amusement rides, there’s every opportunity to get your adrenaline pumping at Siam Park, and as long as you’re happy to get wet, Europe’s biggest water park is sure to be a hit.  Opening its doors in 2007, the Thai-themed park was designed by Christoph Kiessling and features a Thai floating market and Thai restaurants. Even just strolling through the park is an experience, with exotic architecture, streams filled with tropical fish and a huge white-sand beach, dotted with plenty of family-safe swimming areas and relaxing Jacuzzi baths.

Thrillseekers will likely make a beeline for the legendary Tower of Power – a vertical transparent slide that plummets riders through a pool of sharks and stingrays, or The Dragon, a gravity-defying Proslide Tornado, but less-confident swimmers might prefer to tackle the Jungle Snake slides or take a rafting trip along the Mekong Rapids. Additional highlights include the Wave Palace, where you can learn to surf on waves rising up to 3 meters high, the Lost City children’s play area and the six-lane racing slides.

The Siauliai Hill of Crosses is a center of national pilgrimage just north of the small industrial city of Siauliai.

Many thousands of crosses cover a small hill. Ranging from tiny crucifixes to enormous metal or wooden crosses, they represent the Lithuanian peoples spiritual devotion and also act memorials to the thousands who have died during the country’s many uprisings and oppressions.

The tradition of placing crosses in this spot dates back to the founding of the city of Siauliai in 1236. Despite being levelled three times by the Soviets in the 1960s and 70s, local people and pilgrims replaced the hill and once again covered it with crosses, flouting the attempts by the Soviet army and the KGB to barricade the site.

If you can't make it to Madrid's Prado, then consider Seville's Museum of Fine Arts your second-best option. Hailed as having one of the most impressive art collections outside of the capital, the museum is well worth the stop, and for more than just the artwork.

The Museo de Bellas Artes (as it is called in Spanish) dates back to the 1830s, and is situated in what used to be a 16th-century convent. Within its walls, explore works – largely religious in subject matter – dating from the Gothic period to the 20th century, and by greats like Murillo, Zurburán and even El Greco. Beyond just paintings, you'll also find other items on display, ranging from sculptures to ceramics and furniture.

But don't just come for the art: The building alone is worth scoping out. During your visit, you’ll pass through an entry hall adorned in Seville’s hallmark colorful tiles, then wander through tranquil patios and a garden-filled cloister, and finally discover museum nirvana below the elaborate ceiling of an art-filled former chapel. Even better: Given the museum's off-the-tourist-track location just north of the main sightseeing area, expect your visit to be relatively crowd-free.

Paris’ most famous independent bookstore, dating back to 1919, Shakespeare and Company Bookstore is renowned as the one-time haunt of literary icons like Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford.

The legendary Shakespeare and Company store was opened by American ingénue Sylvia Beach, who fashioned the shop into a creative haven where penniless writers congregated to share ideas, borrow books and even crash down on the shop floors. Sylvia even made history by publishing James Joyce's 1922 Ulysses when every other publisher refused.  Situated in the art district of Paris' Left Bank, the original bookstore was located on Rue Dupuytren, before moving to larger premises on Rue de l’Odeon in 1922, then finally shutting its doors in 1941 during WWII German occupation.

The legacy of the bookstore now lives on in George Whitman's Shakespeare and Company bookstore on Rue de La Bucherie, which opened up in 1951 under the name of Le Mistral but soon changed its name in tribute to the historic bookstore. In the heart of Paris, just a short stroll from Notre Dame, the bookstore soon regained its popularity, hosting an incredible roster of famous literary figures over the years -- beatnik poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso; writer and painter Henry Miller and celebrated French author Anaïs Nin, have all passed through.

Now run by George’s daughter Sylvia (named after the original proprietor), the iconic bookstore is a literary paradise for book lovers, with two floors crammed with classic volumes, second hand novels and modern titles, and the small library space hosting weekly readings, workshops and regular gatherings of fledgling writers.