Outdoor sights in Europe
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Stolby Nature Reserve
Arguably Krasnoyarsk's greatest attractions are the spiky volcanic rock pillars called stolby. These litter the woods in the 17,000-hectare Stolby Nature Reserve south of the Yenisey River. To reach the main concentration of pillars, start by walking 7km down a track near Turbaza Yenisey. Alternatively, there is much easier access via a long chair lift from beside Kafe Bobrovyylog (ul Sibirskaya).
This usually runs year-round on request, but was closed throughout 2005 during a massive ski-slope redevelopment. From the top of the chair lift, walk for two minutes to a great viewpoint or around 40 minutes to reach the impressive Takmak Stolby. Infected ticks are dangerous be…
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Meadows
This mile-long stretch of lush grass crisscrossed with tree-lined walks was once a shallow lake known as the Borough Loch. Drained in the 1740s and converted into parkland, it’s a great place for a picnic or a quiet walk – in springtime its walks lie ankle-deep in drifts of pink cherry blossom, and there are great views of Arthur’s Seat.
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Parco Sempione
Everything you’d expect from Milan is here: a historic castle (Castello Sforzesco), chic bars, a museum honouring design (Triennale di Milano), lovely Liberty-style buildings (Civico Acquario) and an architectural conversation piece (Torre Branca). Plus there’s grass, winding paths, relaxed people, and peace and quiet, too.
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Mirador San Nicolás
Callejón de San Cecilio leads to the Mirador San Nicolás, a lookout with unbeatable views of the Alhambra and Sierra Nevada. Come back here later for sunset (you can't miss the trail then!). At any time of day take care: skilful, well-organised wallet-lifters and bag-snatchers operate here.
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Jardim da Estrela
Anyone seeking green respite should head for Jardim da Estrela. This garden is perfect for a stroll, with paths weaving past pine, monkey puzzle and palm trees, rose and cacti beds and the centrepiece – a giant banyan tree. Kids love the duck ponds and animal-themed playground.
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Izmaylovsky Park & Royal Estate
Izmaylovo is best known for its extensive arts and crafts market, held every weekend beside the royal estate. After shopping, Izmaylovsky Park and the crumbling royal estate are nice for a picnic or more serious outdoor activity. A former royal hunting reserve 10km east of the Kremlin, Izmaylovsky Park is the nearest large tract of undeveloped land to central Moscow. Its 15 sq km contain a recreation park at the western end and a much larger expanse of woodland (Izmaylovsky Lesopark) east of Glavnaya alleya, the road that cuts north–south across the park. Trails wind around this park, making it a good place to escape the city for hiking or biking. From Partizanskaya metro…
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Parc du Cinquantenaire
Parc du Cinquantenaire was built during Léopold II's reign. It's best known for its cluster of museums - art, history, military and motor vehicles - that house an incredible 350,000 artefacts from all continents. We love the fine jewellery and cult of the dead funerary gifts from the Merovingian civilization. There is also the massive Arcade du Cinquantenaire, a triumphal arch built in 1880 to celebrate 50 years of Belgian independence. In summer, this area is put to good use with a popular drive-in cinema.
The Royal Art and History Museums in the southern wing of the Cinquantenaire buildings are chock-a-block with antiquities from all over the world.
Autoworld, in the n…
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Museumplein
Museumplein was laid out to host the World Exhibition in 1883, but gained its lasting title only when the Rijksmuseum was opened two years later. One of many facelifts raised a triangle of turf at the southern end, dubbed the ‘ass’s ear’ for its shape; it’s now a popular spot for sun worshippers. There’s a large supermarket, Albert Heijn, concealed below. For as long as anyone can remember, the square has been used for concerts, special events and political demonstrations. At other times it’s a relaxing place to hang out, play hacky-sack, skateboard (ramp provided), toss a frisbee or enjoy a picnic. In winter the long concrete pond is transformed into a festive skating ri…
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Openluchtmuseum voor Beeldhouwkunst Middelheim
Some 4km south of the city centre is a large, landscaped park known as the Openluchtmuseum voor Beeldhouwkunst Middelheim. It contains more than 300 works by sculptors, including notable nationals (Rik Wouters) and influential internationals (Auguste Rodin and Henry Moore).
Don't deny yourself the opportunity to ask a randomly selected passerby how to get to the (take a deep breath now) Openluchtmuseum voor Beeldhouwkunst Middelheim (Middelheim Open-Air Statuary Museum), a large park 4km (2.5mi) south of the centre that is scenically littered with over 300 sculptures, including carvings by Rik Wouters and Auguste Rodin.
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Greenwich Park
This is one of London’s largest and loveliest parks, with a grand avenue, wide-open spaces, a rose garden, picturesque walks and impressive views across the River Thames to Docklands from the top of the hill near the statue of General Wolfe opposite the Royal Observatory. Covering a full 73 hectares, it is the oldest enclosed royal park and is partly the work of Le Nôtre, who landscaped the palace gardens of Versailles for Louis XIV. It contains several historic sights, a teahouse near the Royal Observatory, a cafe behind the National Maritime Museum and a deer park in the southeast corner.
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Sveti Jovan Bigorski Monastery
This fully working monastery is one of the most popular with visitors to Macedonia. It was first established in 1020 on the spot where the icon of Sveti Jovan Bigorski (St John the Forerunner, aka St John the Baptist) miraculously appeared, and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries.
The main church has an incredible carved altar-screen (iconostasis) with over 200 human figures and 500 animals. The monastery has a magnificent forest location looking up to the heights of Mt Korab.
The monastery has self-catering dormitories where you can stay overnight.
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Bucegi
The easiest way up into the Bucegi from Sinaia is up two cable-car rides, one from the centre to the Cota 1400 station, then another up to Cota 2000 station. In the centre, the 30-person cable-car station leaves half-hourly with two station points marked by elevation. Lines are more likely in winter than summer. Buses just below the station also go up to Cota 1400 when full; there are also taxis.
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Teleférico
One of the world’s most horizontal cable cars (never more than 40m above the ground) putters out from the slopes of La Rosaleda, a delightful stand of green perched on the ridge looking out over western Madrid. The teleférico (cable car) travels for 2.5km across into the depths of Casa de Campo, Madrid’s enormous green open space to the west of the city centre.
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Williamson Park
Lancaster's highest point is the 22-hectare spread of Williamson Park , from which there are great views of the town, Morecambe Bay and the Cumbrian fells to the north. In the middle of the park is the Ashton Memorial, a 67m Baroque folly built by Lord Ashton (the son of the park's founder, James Williamson) for his wife.
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Hollandsche Manege
Built in 1882, the Hollandsche Manege is an indoor riding school inspired by the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna. Upstairs is a cafe where you can sip a beer or coffee while watching the instructor put the horses through their paces. Opening times vary, so ring ahead.
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Villa Giulia
Villa Giulia in La Kalsa is a welcome relief from the claustrophobic streets, although the formal planting scheme of the park is severely challenged by the rampant fecundity of the island.
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Monaco Formula One Grand Prix
The scent of singed tyres fills the air at May's Monaco Formula One Grand Prix . If there's one trophy a Formula One driver would like to have on the mantelpiece, it would have to be from the most glamorous race of the season, the Monaco Grand Prix. This race has everything.
Its spectators are the most sensational: the merely wealthy survey the spectacle from Hôtel Hermitage, the really rich watch from their luxury yachts moored in the harbour, while the Grimaldis see the start and finish from the royal box at the port.
Then there's the setting: the cars scream around the very centre of the city, racing uphill from the start/finish line to place du Casino, then downhill a…
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Sognefjellet Road
Snaking through the park (and providing access to many of the trailheads) is the stunningly scenic Sognefjellet Road, billed as 'the road over the roof of Norway'. It connects Lustrafjorden with Lom and was constructed in 1939 by unemployed youths to a height of 1434m, making it the highest mountain road in northern Europe and providing those with a vehicle a taste of some of Norway's finest mountain panoramas. So fine is the road that it has been chosen as one of 18 'National Tourist Routes'.
Access from the southwest is via the multiple hairpin bends climbing up beyond the tree line to Turtagrø, with a wonderful vista of the Skagastølstindane mountains on your right. If…
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Friedrichshagen & Grosser Müggelsee
Berlin ‘muggles’ love their Müggelsee, especially on hot summer days when scores of city slickers escape the urban cauldron by heading to the edge of town. At 4km long and 2.5km wide, it’s a large and lovely lake with plenty of sandy beaches and boats puttering along on placid waters. The easiest access is by taking the S-Bahn to Friedrichshagen, a village-like suburb first settled in 1753 by Bohemian cotton spinners who padded their income by growing mulberry trees to fatten up small armies of silkworms. From the station, head south on the main drag, Bölschestrasse, past a few of the original 18th-century cottages and some scraggly mulberry trees. On Sunday a fle…
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St James’s Park
This is one of the smallest but most gorgeous of London’s parks. It has brilliant views of the London Eye, Westminster, St James’s Palace, Carlton Terrace and Horse Guards Parade, and the view of Buckingham Palace from the footbridge spanning St James’s Park Lake is the best you’ll find (get those cameras out). The central lake is full of different types of ducks, geese, swans and general fowl, and its southern side’s rocks serve as a rest stop for pelicans (fed at 3pm daily). Some of the technicolour flowerbeds were modelled on John Nash’s original ‘floriferous’ beds of mixed shrubs, flowers and trees, and old-aged squirrel-feeders congregate under the trees daily, with …
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Kurowo & Uhowo
The main starting points for exploring the park are the tiny hamlet of Kurowo and the village of Uhowo. Kurowo sits on the left (western) bank of the Narew, connected to the outer world only by a rough road, which rarely sees a passing car. Its central point is a late-19th-century country mansion that houses the Narew National Park Headquarters and a small exhibition on the park's natural history.
There's no restaurant so bring your own food or time your visit to coincide with the Podlasie Honey Feast (last weekend of August) on the last weekend of August. It's the biggest party on the national park's calendar, with beekeepers and local folk artists gathering to promote t…
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Gülhane Parki
Gülhane Parkı was once the palace park of Topkapı. Now, crowds of locals come here at weekends to enjoy its shade, street food and the occasional live concert. The trees here are lovely and the views over the water impressive, but many of the fountains and other features added in recent times are blots on the landscape - the horrible concrete water feature near the main gate being the major offender.
At the far (north) end of the park, up the hill, there is a series of terraces with a tea garden, the Set Üstü Çay Bahçesi offering superb views of the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara.
To the right of the south exit is a bulbous little kiosk built into the park wall. Known…
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Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago Toscan
According to local legend, when Venus rose from the waves, seven precious stones fell from her tiara, creating seven islands off the Tuscan coast. They range from the 530 sq km of Elba, the largest, to tiny Montecristo, at just over 1000 hectares. All except Montecristo, nowadays a closed marine biological reserve, rely mainly on income from tourism. This national park was established in 1996 to protect the delicate ecosystems of the islands.
But it's not only the land that's protected - the 60,000 hectares of sea that washes around the islands make up Europe's largest marine protected area. Here, typical Mediterranean fish abound and rare species, such as the wonderfully…
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Parc Nacional d'Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici
Two million years of glacial action has created two east-west valleys lined by jagged peaks of granite and slate, forming a home for pine and fir forests, open bush and grassland. Bedecked with wildflowers in spring and with some 200 small estanys (lakes), streams and waterfalls, this is a wilderness of rare splendour.
The two main valleys are those of the Riu Escrita in the east and the Riu de Sant Nicolau in the west. The Escrita flows out of the park's largest lake, Estany de Sant Maurici. The Sant Nicolau's main source is Estany Llong, 4km (2.5mi) west of Estany de Sant Maurici across the 2423m (7949ft) Portarró d'Espot pass. Three kilometres (1.8mi) downstream from …
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Yorkshire Dales National Park
Sitting snugly between the brooding North York Moors to the east and the dramatic Lake District to the west are the Yorkshire Dales (from the Viking word dalr, meaning 'valleys'), a marvellous area of high hills and moors, cut through by rugged stone walls and spotted with extravagant houses and the faded, spectral grandeur of monastic ruins.
Thankfully, nature's feast has been protected as a national park since the 1950s, assuring its status as a walker's and cyclist's wonderland. But the fabulous scenery attracts plenty of four-wheeled visitors, making the roads very crowded - especially during the summer. If you can't avoid busy summer weekends, try to come by bus or t…
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