Southern Europe Archives - Europe Up Close

South Sardinia – Cagliari and Beyond

Published/Revised May 15, 2018 By Claudia Flisi This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Celebrating South Sardinia - Cagliari and Beyond Beaches and boulders and blue-green waters are among the attractions in South Sardinia, but these features alone don’t explain why the southern part of the island is experiencing the fastest growth in tourism these days. Sun worshippers and nature lovers thrill to these attributes, but there is more than superficial beauty to be found in ... Read Full Article

Sailboat Charter vs. Mediterranean Cruise: Which one is right for you?

Published/Revised April 22, 2018 By Maria Haase This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Sailboat Charter vs. Mediterranean Cruise: Which one is right for you? Are you thinking about exploring Europe on a Mediterranean cruise? Cruising is a great way to get a taste of Europe, but if you want a more intimate trip, a Sailboat charter might be a better option for you. I recently went on a Sailboat charter trip from Sardinia to Corsica with Intersailclub and it was a wonderful ... Read Full Article

Museimpresa – Italy’s Industrial Museums from Ferrari to Campari and Beyond

Published/Revised March 1, 2018 By Claudia Flisi This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Museimpresa - Italian Industry Museums Italian museums offer much more than portraits of beatific Madonnas and maleficent Medicis hung along dusty corridors with dim lighting. Italy’s industrial history has created the backdrop for a special category of museum, the Museimpresa, that appeals to visitors interested in food, health, design, society, fashion, transportation, even children’s ... Read Full Article

Paxos Island: What You Need to Know When You Visit Paxos Greece

Published/Revised March 1, 2018 By W. Ruth Kozak This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Paxos Island: Tips to Plan Your Visit to Paxos Greece I had always wanted to visit Paxos, also known as Paxi, a tiny hideaway island a few nautical miles off the south of Corfu Known as the romantic hideaway of the god Poseidon, it’s the smallest of the Ionian islands. As I was planning a trip to Corfu, I decided that this was a good opportunity to spend a few days exploring Paxos Island ... Read Full Article

Slovenia Hiking – Slovenia for Nature Lovers

Published/Revised February 17, 2018 By Maria Haase This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Slovenia HikingSlovenia is a hiker's paradise. In this small country, you will find over 10,000 km (6,200 miles) of hiking trails. From short strolls in the countryside to multi-day backpacking outings through alpine mountains, hiking in Slovenia is fun for hikers of every skill level.On my recent trip to Slovenia, I went on a beautiful hike in the Kočevje region. This area ... Read Full Article

Tuscan Food – Savoring Livorno’s Seaside Specialties

Published/Revised February 9, 2018 By Claudia Flisi This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Tuscan Food - Livorno Part III The Best Dishes and Restaurants in Livorno As a port city, Livorno’s dishes are heavily influenced by the sea, with techniques that are working class rather than refined. They reflect the city’s cosmopolitan yet populist history -- a mélange of Tuscan food as well as Italian and international offerings, with a strong influence from Sephardic Jews who immigrated ... Read Full Article

Port Livorno – A Charming Seaside City

Published/Revised February 8, 2018 By Claudia Flisi This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Port Livorno - Part II Unexpected treasures in an undervalued port Ask an Italian about Livorno and the reply may include the words “port city” or “industrial area” – evoking dirty streets, smoke-billowing factories, ugly grey buildings. Read part I of our Livorno mini-series here, and part II here. Go to Port Livorno and you will find an elegant town of 160,000 with wide clean streets ... Read Full Article

Livorno – A Classy Italian City with a Clumsy English Name

Livorno Italy, Part I: Classy Italian city with a clumsy English nameLivorno is a lovely Italian city with an ugly English name – Leghorn (an English-language garbling of the city’s Italian moniker). Who wants to stop and see “Leghorn”? Almost none of the 3.5 million tourists who pass through Livorno every year while boarding ferry boats and cruise ships bound for somewhere else. Their ... Read Full Article

Things to Do in Algarve: 3 Day Itinerary from Faro to Lagos

Published/Revised January 11, 2018 By Inka Piegsa-Quischotte This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Things to Do in Algarve, Portugal: 3 Day Itinerary from Faro to Lagos If you are heading for Portugal’s Algarve, you are in for a treat. From the westernmost point of Cabo de Sao Vicente to Cacela Velha in the east at the border with Spain, you find a cornucopia of sites. Beaches, mountains, thermal springs, cork and ceramics, castles and museums, you won’t know what to do and where to go ... Read Full Article

Hunting for Croatian Truffles

Published/Revised December 13, 2017 By Guest Contributor This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

On the Hunt in Croatia’s Truffle Region There’s no mistaking when Mel picks up the scent. In a flash, the year-old black terrier scurries over to a small oak tree and begins furiously pawing at its base, her tail wagging excitedly. “Dobre, dobre!” Mel’s owner Višnja yells in Croatian. “Good, good.” Here’s where it gets tricky. Crouching low to the ground, Višnja begins to slowly unearth what Mel ... Read Full Article