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 named Neptune's shaving brush seaweed - unique to the archipelago - cling on to life. And the monk-seal, driven from the other islands by human presence, still gambols in the deep underwater ravines off Montecristo.

The islands, an essential rest stop for birds migrating between Europe and Africa, are a treat for birdwatchers year-round. The shy red partridge survives on Elba and Pianosa and the archipelago supports over a third of the world's population of the equally uncommon Corsican seagull, adopted as the national park's symbol.