A visit to the large peninsula known as Peloponnese that lies in the south of Greece and forms a part of the southern area of the Gulf of Corinth is definitely worth considering the next time you wish to visit Greece. It as an area that covers approximately eight thousand plus square miles and has two land connections to Greece of which one is the Isthmus of Corinth and the other is the Rio-Antirio Bridge.

You will enjoy its many mountainous interiors as also the coast and the highest point on Peloponnese is known as Mount Taygetus. In addition, there are two island groups that lie off the coast of Peloponnese that are known as the Argo-Saronic Islands that lie to the east and the Ionian Islands that are on its western side. Peloponnese has known inhabitation since the prehistoric times and it owes its present name to Greek mythology and more especially to its hero named Pelops, who is believed to have conquered this entire part of Greece. So, Peloponnese literally means “Island of Pelops.”

A visit to Peloponnese would also mean visiting some its major cities that include Patras, Kalamata, Corinth, Tripoli, Argos, Pyrgos, Aigion as also Sparta and finally, Nafplio. In addition, there are many important archeological sites here in Peloponnese that date back to the Bronze Age. Whilst you are here, make sure that you check out Bassae, Corinth, Epidaurus, Messene, Mistra, Olympia as well as Pylos and Tegea to name but a few of the places of interest on Peloponnese.

Typical of these places of interest in Peloponnese is the ancient Olympia where you can find a grandiose temple foundations and many colonnades as well as altars that are among some of the interesting archaeological finds you will come to enjoy in this quiet, tranquil and luxuriant location.

You will find many mountainous terrains on Peloponnese that is also very rugged, though the climate makes up for it as it is typically Mediterranean by the coast, though within the interior, it is more continental. This is a mythical island where in every corner lurks some piece of Greek myth and you can revel in the scents from the sea, mountains, its grapes, olives as also citrus. Korinth is a commercial center as also a transport hub. You can also experience the magic of the Vouraikos gorge that is situated among grassy mountains and a railroad.

If you want to also visit the Ionian Islands and Italy, you would do well to go to Patras that is located on the west coast and is the window from Greece to these places. Another place worth visiting is Sparti that is the capital of Lakonia and near by to its west is the Byzantine castle-state known as Mystra where you will find some outstanding churches, monasteries and also palaces and mansions. These are but few of the amazing attractions you will get to enjoy when in Peloponnese.

Perth is the capital of Western Australia and it is an exciting city where one can find plenty to see and do. You will find many exciting shopping opportunities where the bustling markets provide diversity and along with the heritage architecture and the pretty parks there are also inviting beaches, fine wineries as also the opportunity to take river cruises that are very relaxing. The climate is temperate and thus makes for an even more enjoyable holiday that will have you coming back for more. You should take the time to leisurely stroll the streets of Perth and take in the wonderful sights. There are many cultural as well as historic buildings to see including the Perth Concert Hall, Perth Town Hall and also St. Mary’s Cathedral, Perth Mint and the Swan Bells Tower.

There are also many shopping malls where you can shop to your heart’s content with the two main shopping malls known as Murray and Hay Street malls and a notable feature of these malls is that no traffic is allowed here and you can enjoy the many specialty stores here as well. You might also want to head to the London Court that is another shopping arcade well worth paying a visit to.

The Western Australian Museum and the Art Gallery of Western Australia are located at the Cultural Centre and Northbridge in Perth and if you wish to enjoy the aboriginal art of Australia, then a visit to The Art Gallery of Western Australia is a must. Tourists are also seen heading to Kings Park that has some breathtaking views of Perth City as also Swan River. And, the Botanic garden here has a wonderful collection of the best and most unique of Western Australia’s flora. If you are a trekker, then you can enjoy the tree top walkway that has a glass as well as steel arched bridge.

Once you visit Perth and get to see the beautiful beaches and enjoy the fantastic weather and are enthused by the friendliness of its inhabitants you will be even more pleased to learn of the outstanding golfing opportunities that the city has to offer. Perth is certainly an ideal destination for the golfer, especially if you want to get something other than the rain and mist of Scotland. You should check out Joonadalup Resort Golf Course, Burswood Park Public Golf Course, and Vines Golf Course.

And, for the water enthusiast Perth is the ideal destination because it has some pristine beaches that stretch for miles on end and is really nothing short of an underwater paradise where there are many whale sharks that are the largest fish in the world, and where divers love the waters that also have many dolphins that swim all the way to the edge of the waters and are certainly very pleasing animals to feed and photograph.

You should also pay a visit to Perth Zoo that has more than sixteen hundred species and is just five minutes from the city along the Swan River that in turn enters the Swan Valley where you will find a number of wineries as also art galleries. And, every tourist will also make Rottnest Island an item on their itinerary, which is just across from Perth.

Gran Canaria is the central of the Canary Islands and has many excellent cliffs, sand dunes as also attractive scenery where a visitor can also enjoy taking camel rides, indulge in the water parks as well as enjoy the naturist beaches and more. There is a lot of variety on Gran Canaria Island which means that a visitor would find no occasion to complain or feel disappointed given the wonderful mountains and volcanic craters waiting to be explored. There are also verdant forests with different vegetations as well as sand dunes that are very like those found in the Sahara. All of this makes the Gran Canaria a mini continent in it.

There are also visitors to Gran Canaria that love its vibrant night life where there is much fun to have as well as diversity of opportunities. The nightlife generally begins very late in the night and the bars as well as restaurants are then open well into the wee hours of the morning allowing you to dance and drink away the hours in complete oblivion of time. There is plenty of wild entertainment to enjoy and there are also many fiestas, carnivals as also special events to keep you interested. Also, you will realize how much the Spanish people love to dress up; so, there is a lot to make the night livelier and more enjoyable.

The capital and largest city of the Gran Canaria is Las Palmas which has beaches to enjoy a quiet swim and also many busy shopping centers to indulge in buying various items of interest. Besides, there are also many museums, and plenty of opportunity to surf, relax in the sun and surfing on Las Canteras is especially recommended. In addition, you will be impressed by the fantastic architecture of Vegueta and there are also plenty of atmospheres in the city which you can absorb while taking a casual walk. You can enjoy the Carnivals during the months of February and March and this is a good time to visit here.

The beaches at Las Palmas are many and Las Canteras has the biggest of them and it is the most popular and is also considered as being among the finest of any beaches in Spain. There is also a sheltered three kilometer long cove that is ideal for swimming, sunbathing and also other water sports. There is also the Paseo de Las Canteras that has many shops, bars as also restaurants and the main shopping area of Las Palmas is known as Mesa y Lopez. The largest department store in Spain is the local thirteen storeys high El Corte Ingles which has everything a bargain hunter would wish for.

For the night life, you could visit Plaza de Espana, where you will enjoy partying into the late hours of the night and enjoy the sixties’ music in modern clubs or sample the more traditional Spanish bars as well as restaurants.

The world’s second largest country – Canada is an incredible tourist destination, with plentiful of culture and scenery. Located on the Northern America, Canada has the Arctic Ocean on the north, the North Atlantic Ocean on the east, and the North Pacific Ocean on the west.

Each of Canada’s regions is diverse, and has its own uniqueness. For instance, Toronto – the country’s largest city – boasts of the tallest building in the world, CN Tower, from where one can enjoy superb vistas of the Lake Ontario. Equally worth mentioning is the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, with a host of ski resorts, prominent being Banff and Jasper. Likewise, the much celebrated Canadian city, Vancouver is popular for its Stanley Park, covering an area of 1,000 acres, apart from a host of other attractions. Another prominent Canadian city is Banff, much famed for its Banff National Park, which in turn is declared as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Also, fascinating are attractions of Canadian cities such as Quebec – an eclectic blend of new and old world heritage; Nova Scotia – popular for its Bird Island; and Montreal – a thriving cosmopolitan destination famed for its French culture.

Discover the natural wonders of the country by taking tour to some of the nation’s picturesque forests, scintillating waterfalls, and world-famous national parks. Canada occupies one tenth of the world’s forest. From Boreal forest in North Canada to the Great Lakes Forests in Central Canada, these forests are really astounding. Most popular among the Canadian waterfalls is undoubtedly the Niagara Waterfalls, noted for its splendid beauty and majestic rumbles. Panther, Takakkaw, Kakabeka, Tyrrell, Partridge, Twin Falls, Kazan, and Marengo, are the other well-liked waterfalls in the country. When comes to national park, Canada contains a superb network of parks, of which significant ones are Cape Breton Highlands that is home to Cabot Trail; Elk Island – an oasis for endangered species; Fundy National Park, with the highest tides in the world; Kootenay – a UNESCO World Heritage Site; and Dinosaur Provincial Park. Canada is also home to some of the finest lakes such as Great Bear Lake, Great Slave Lake, and the Lake Athabasca. Another popular attraction is the Royal Botanical Gardens which is popular among tourists, both national and international.

Apart from these, Canada has a great number of museum and art galleries, each with rare collection of art items. Also, of interest are the festivals as well as the events of the country including Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Celtic Colors International Festivals, and Celebration of Light whose centerpiece is the fireworks competition. Above all, Canada renders fantastic options to enjoy a variety of fun activities such as golf, fishing, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, and skiing.

In a snap shot, Canada’s spectacular cities, wonderful spectrum of outdoor activities, fabulous festivities, and interesting man-made attractions, are all worth mentioning.

Further, Canada has more than 1,200 airports, 1, 00,000 km of highways, 45,000 km of railways, and 600 km of waterways, thereby making it easily accessible from any part of the world. Perhaps, for these reasons tourists flock to this magnificent destination year-round.

A visit to Brussels should see you enter into a very enjoyable city that is also the capital of Belgium and which has in its center a place known as the Petit Ring that is surrounded by fourteenth century walls and which is cut up into three distinct districts with the Lower Town in the western part of the city that caters to the middle and lower class families, while in the eastern part you will find the Upper Town that hosts the upper class Belgian families. In between these two districts is a boulevard where you will find many venues for shopping as also bars, restaurants and cafes.

The boulevard also goes through The Grand Place that is the heart of the city and which sees many local people as well as tourists thronging there. If you want to visit museums in Brussels, then you would have to go to a part of the city that lies beyond the Petit Ring’s eastern walls and where you will find Parc Leopold that houses three large museums. And, for those that would much rather experience the arty side of Brussels, they could visit St. Giles that lies to the south of Brussels’ center and which is a very trendy district of Brussels. And, the royal family of Belgium has their residence beyond the northern part of Brussels at a location named Laeken.

If you want to go shopping in Brussels, you could check out Galeries Saint Hubert-Sint Hubertusgalerijen that has the proud honor of being the first shopping mall in the world. There are many typical department stores, cafes, bookstores and also tiny diners and a cinema in this wonderful shopping destination. Another alternative would be to visit Marche aux Puces-Vlooienmarkt that is a flea market situated in Place du Jeu de Balle-Vossenplein where you can get every different variety of things at rock bottom prices.

For quenching your thirst you could check out Beer Mania that is a local bar that is supposed to have more than four hundred beer types. And, for crawling from pub to pub you could check out Anderlecht while the trendier as well as more upscale establishments are located in Grand Place and St. Giles.

There is plenty of history and modernity found in Brussels that are so impressive that many consider it as being a Mecca for sightseeing. You would do well to pay a visit to Palais Royal, the Cathedral, the Musees Royaux des Beaux Arts, the Musees Royaux d’Art et d’Histoire as well as the Atomium. In spite of these impressive places to see, Brussels is still best known for its beer and you would do well to visit the breweries, pubs and also the bars that dot the city and which will give visitors a true feeling of Brussels that its many landmarks may fail to do.

There are many holiday makers that are greatly attracted to Mainland, Greece as here you will find many wondrous beaches, coupled with the excellent Mediterranean climate and the many unspoiled villages that beckon increasing numbers of tourists here each year to enjoy the fantastic history and culture of Greece. There are many resorts that offer outstanding scenic beauty coupled with the enchanting beaches and topped off with the wonderful cuisine that are just too attractive to pass over and which offers tourists enough opportunity to unwind and relax in comfort.

Mainland Greece has a lot more greenery and it is also quite mountainous as compared with the islands though it is generally not as well developed. You can reach here by charter as also scheduled flights, especially from the United Kingdom and it is most convenient to fly to Athens, the capital that is very busy city located in the south of Greece where you will find the Parthenon on the Acropolis.

Macedonia is the largest region on mainland Greece and lies in the north with its capital city known as Thessaloniki which is also very vibrant and is a busy Byzantine city located near the coast. Close from Thessaloniki are the beaches of Chalkidiki and the peninsula in the Aegean where you can find the Blue Flag beaches that have outstanding and splendid scenic beauty.

For a truly authentic as well as relaxing holiday on mainland Greece you could visit its central parts where the Pelion peninsula lies. You can also be assured of the commodious and comfortable accommodations in these parts, from where you can make excursions to the sandy beaches or take to the mountains while you may also want to choose to visit the charming villages that dot the landscape, especially near to the mountains. What you will not fail to notice are the exotic beaches and spectacular scenic beauty of the mainland.

When on the mainland in Greece you will be confronted with three different types of climate including the Mediterranean climate that has mild and wet winters along with hot as well as dry summers, an alpine climate found mainly in the west of the mainland, and a temperate climate that you would experience in the Central as well as Eastern Macedonia.

When on the mainland, be prepared for a lot of mountainous terrain as there is as much as eighty percent of the land that is mountainous which also makes Greece among the most mountainous countries of Europe. The highest point in Greece is the Mount Olympus. It is also a famous place for bird watching and there are many tours organized around this activity.

Though most attention revolves around the islands of Greece, the mainland too has much to offer in the form of such rarely visited places such as Epiros that lies to the northwest and where you will be spellbound by the amazing natural beauty that has remained untouched throughout history and which will provide you with a blissful experience that you won’t want to ever miss.

United States, or the United States of America, is one of the world’s wonderful tourist destinations, located in Northern America. Bordered by the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, United States consists of 50 states and a Federal State, each of them with its own government and laws and rules.

United States boasts of such a great number of attractions that it takes years to explore all of them. Few to mention are the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco – the largest bridge in the world; the Grand Canyon – an amazing gorge located in the heart of the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona; the Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where you can find an impressive monumental structure sculpted in granite, and containing the heads of former US presidents like George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln; the Huntington Botanical Gardens – which comprises fourteen botanical gardens; and Ground Zero – the former spot of the World Trade Center in New York.

The north eastern part of the nation is home to some of the best waterfalls in the world, such as the highest waterfalls in the world – Niagara, which is on the Niagara River between the borders of New York and Canada. Niagara is not only a popular tourist destination but also a major source of hydroelectric power for New York and Ontario. Waterfalls including Arethusa, Moss Glen, Bash Bish, Moxie, Bingham, and Ripley, are also much famed among the tourists.

Forests in United States are simply amazing, and many of them are noted for its scenic beauty and towering trees, ranging from chestnut and oaks to spruce and pine trees. A visit to such rich as well as sheltered forests as Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont, White Mountains of New Hampshire, and Alleghany National Forest in Pennsylvania, is really a great experience.

The nation also has to its credit a continuum of world-class national parks, of which perhaps the most fascinating is Yellowstone National Park, which is the first in the world. Spread over three states: Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana, this expansive national park covers an area of about 3,472 square miles. Also, fabulous is Red Wood National Park in California, which is home to some of the rare evergreen trees on the earth.

Places of interest also cover a chain of museums and historic monuments. For instance, Anniston Museum of Natural History in Alabama, Aspen Art Museum in Colorado, Evansville Museum of Arts and Science in Indiana, and White Pine Museum in Nevada, are all a treasure trove of rare art and artifacts.

No visit to United States is complete without an excursion to attractions such as the Statue of Liberty, which stands on the Liberty Island in the Hudson River in New York and the White House – the official residence of the US president in Washington, DC. Likewise, also, take a tour to the fantastic beaches of the nation, which among many others, are Red Rock Beach, New London Beach, and Amelia Beach.

The nation is easily accessibly via almost all modes of transportation including air, road, rail, and water, with more than 14,000 airports, 6, 00,000 km of highways, 2, 00,000 km of railways, and 40,000 km of waterways.

Comprising one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, Scotland is a country that has as much as one third of the area of the Great Britain having a border with England that lies south of Scotland. On the east, there is the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean lies further north and west of Scotland, and lower down to its southwest are the North Channel and Irish Sea. There are thus many islands that also make up a part of Scotland, whose capital city is Edinburgh which is the second largest city in the country and it is also a financial center of great importance in Europe. The largest city in Scotland is Glasgow where there are supposed to be living as many as forty percent of all Scots that inhabit the country.

Once, it was an independent kingdom, until on May 1, 1707 the Acts of Union brought it into political union with its southern neighbor, the Kingdom of England which resulted in the creation of the Kingdom of Great Britain. However, the Scottish legal system continues to remain separate and distinct from those of Wales, Northern Island and of course, England.

Scotland forms the northern third of Great Britain and it has one land border and that is the one that separates it from England. The climate can best be described as being temperate as well as oceanic and it does change quite often. There is warmth from the Gulf Stream that comes from the Atlantic and even the winters are relatively mild as compared to other places including Oslo and Moscow that are situated on similar latitudes.

You will find much wildlife in Scotland that is more or less what is found in other parts of Europe though there are many of the bigger mammals including the Brown Bear, Wolf, Eurasian Lynx and also Beaver, Reindeer and Elk and Walrus found in this part of the world.

Scotland is also a well developed country that follows western type open as well as mixed economy that is much like what you would find in Europe and in many other parts of the world. Its economy centers on shipbuilding, coal mining and also steel, and with the North Sea oil has good economic prospects for the future as well. At Edinburgh is the financial center that is sixth as far as other European nations are concerned being surpassed only by Paris, London, Frankfurt, Zurich and Amsterdam!

There are believed to be as many as five million inhabitants, who make Scotland the one hundred and twelfth most populated country in the world, and the majority of its towns are located on what is known as the Central Belt. The religion is predominantly Protestant and the Church of Scotland follows a Presbyterian system that is independent of the state, and there are also many Roman Catholics, more so in the west of the country.

Scotland also has many traditions molded into its culture and there is a vibrant arts scene that sees heavy music (including its famous bag pipes) and literature, though sports are also a major activity in the country.

When in central Europe be sure to consider visiting Ukraine that lies in the south east of Central Europe and is a newly formed independent country that borders Russia, Byelorussia as well as Moldova and Slovakia, Romania, Hungary and finally Poland on land. Ukraine also has Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey as its neighbors on the sea. The country itself is largely flat and without many trees and is best described as being a “steppe”. However, there are mountains know as the Crimean Mountains as also the Carpathians in the west, though you can be sure they do not rise too high into the sky.

Tourists to Ukraine will find the climate appealing as it is mostly moderate and even winters do not see any extremes of weather though you would appreciate the regular falling of snow when rivers and lakes freeze up. Such a favorable climate has helped the Ukraine into having many agricultural areas where wheat, maize, corn as also buckwheat are often grown as too is red and green vegetables and many fruits, melons and the tasty berries. In fact, Ukraine is also a major producer of sugar, which is more than sufficient for home consumption with plenty remaining to be exported, which is why it is one of the main centers of sugar production in the world. There are also many natural resources found in the Ukraine.

The country owes its independence to the popularity of Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika especially around 1988-89 in which year the country saw the formation of the “People’s Movement of Ukraine”. Two years later, the country achieved its independence and much was expected of it in terms of economic wellbeing though it had to go through a severe economic slowdown that saw it reeling under the weight of five digit inflation during the 1990s. However, it turned the corner in 2000 and has since grown steadily in economic terms.

Ukraine is also the forty-fourth largest country in the world and is also Europe’s second largest and it currently also enjoys the status of being among the thirty largest economies of the world. Its population consists mostly of Ukrainians who constitute about 77.8 percent with another 17.3 percent being Russians with minute amounts of Belarussians, Moldovans, Crimean Tartars and Bulgarians and Hungarians along with Romanians, Poles, Jews, Armenians and Greeks and Tartars making up the remainder of its population.

As far as religion is concerned, the major religion in the country is Eastern Orthodox Christianity that is made up of three Church bodies and a lesser religion practiced in the country is Eastern Rite Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Most of its culture is an amalgamation of its eastern as well as western neighbor’s influences as seen in the architecture and music and dance of Ukraine. It is also a country with a pronounced food culture that goes back many thousands of years and the diet of the average Ukrainian would include pork, chicken, beef and fish and mushrooms. Also, included in the Ukrainian food are many potatoes, grains and also vegetables accompanied by various types of bread.

A visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is well worth it and this small and independent state that lies tucked between France, Belgium and Germany is only eighty-four kilometers long and fifty two miles wide and has a population of just fewer than half a million people. People that visit Luxembourg are enamored by its temperate climate that does not see any extremes of weather and the sea that is about two hundred miles distant ensures that the weather is moderate. You will also find the clean air a welcome departure from the pollution filled cities of Europe and you can thus enjoy good health when you visit Luxembourg.

The international airport named Findel Airport is situated just a few kilometers from Luxembourg and is an ideal arrival point for those desirous of coming to Luxembourg. Its national airline is known as Luxair that serves many destinations in Europe. You can also use the railways and buses for getting about in the country. Luxembourg, just like the rest of Europe has a good road network that connects the entire country and all of its roads are toll-free. There is also the River Moselle that, since 1964 has been canalized, which is the link from Luxembourg to the major waterways of Europe.

Luxembourg owes its economic prosperity to the time when iron ore was discovered in the country around 1850 which was later followed by a steel industry that drew many thousands of foreign workers to its ore mines and steel factories that in turn ensured the economic prosperity of Luxembourg. The biggest contributor, not surprisingly to the country’s exports is steel as can be evidenced from the fact that Luxembourg is home to ArcelorMittal which is the largest private employer in the duchy and also the world’s biggest steel company that has a turnover of nearly ninety billion dollars as of 2006.

No doubt, everyone must be acquainted with the fact that Luxembourg is also a major financial center in Europe having many banks as well as investment trusts. Another major contributor to the economic prosperity of the country is tourism. This country with fewer than half a million inhabitants has nearly a fifth of its population living in Luxembourg city and this city also has as many as thirty-two percent of foreigners out of its total population. Its national language is known as ‘Letzebuergesch’, which is symbolic of the national identity of most Luxembourgers.

Luxembourg is also a country where the German as well as French cultures meet and it is not unusual for the inhabitants to speak both French and German, though French is the official language used in administration and jurisdiction as also in education and parliament. English too is spoken in Luxembourg.

When in Luxembourg, be sure to visit the Chemin de la Corniche, touted as being the most beautiful balcony in Europe which is really a pedestrian promenade. The Wenzel Walk is also recommended as too is a visit to the National Museum of Military History, which is, amongst other things, some of the things to do and see in Luxembourg.