Tag Archives: ancient

Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, Romania

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Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa – Roman Town, Romania

Deep in the belly of the wonderful beast that is Transylvania, stumble over the ruins of the once-thriving Roman town of Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza. If you’ve not brushed up on your Romanian history, the area that we now call Transylvania – as well as other parts of Romania – were once populated by the Dacian people. Part of a Roman emperor’s legacy was to conquer – and so, after a few skirmishes, in 101 AD, Emperor Trajan marched into Dacia and overthrew the Dacian king, Decebalus. (The conquest is commemorated by the victors on the now-famous Trajan’s Column in Rome). Once the Romans had installed themselves in Dacia, they did what they loved almost as much as conquering: they started to build. Roman towns, forts and outposts sprang up all over what was once Dacia. Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza was the capital and the largest city of Roman Dacia. Named for the pre-Roman Dacian capital some 40-50 km away, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetuza was established quickly, becoming home to about 20,000 people, many of which were veterans of the war. Sarmizegetuza remained the political and religious epicentre of Roman Dacia for the next two centuries until its destruction by the Goths. Set in a beautiful location under the silhouette of the Retezat Mountains and hugged by lush green fields and meadows of vibrant wildflowers, it’s hard not to fall under the ruined city’s spell. Though largely razed, visitors can walk unimpeded through the ancient streets and houses, imagining what life was once like on Rome’s eastern frontiers. Stand in the centre of the oval ampitheatre, peek your head into the remains of the vaulted cellars, gaze upon the column bases, try your had at reading the Latin still carved on blocks of stone, wander the remnants of the forum, and reflect on life and death in the foundations of the old temple. There’s a museum there too, but even if you don’t get a chance to visit it, you’ll still get your dose of all things Roman simply by breathing the air, wandering the alleys and touching the stones carved 2,000 years ago.

Tip: If you’re arriving via the town of Hatag, keep an eye out for the extravagant Roma gypsy mansions. You haven’t seen anything like them!

More Romans

Carrokeel Cairn F, Sligo, Ireland

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Carrokeel Cairn F, Sligo, Ireland

Some two dozen cairns dot the highest points of the Bricklieve Mountains, combined to form the Carrowkeel-Keash Neolithic complex. Tucked in the shadows of the towering Keash Mountain (topped with Sligo’s highest cairn, despite most thinking it is Knocknarea Hill), Sligo’s Bricklieve Mountains are among Ireland’s most history-drenched locales. This is Cairn F as viewed from Cairn B – interestingly, two of the complex’s least visited but most impressive tombs. Cairn F is by far the largest tomb, and due to its size and prominent location, it was likely it was the focal point of the ancient site. Dating to the Neolithic period, these tombs are about 5,000 years old, making them older than Stonehenge, the Pyramids of Giza, the Colosseum and many other historical spots that we now think of as “old.” Today, the entry to Cairn F is closed. When it was brutally “excavated” in 1911 by the English “antiquarian” Prof. MacAlister, the enormous capstone was smashed because it was “too heavy to lift” (a horror that still makes archeologists and history buffs angry), though its true that even then, the cairn’s roof had collapsed and the cairn’s interior was filled with debris. Inside, as outside, Cairn F was the biggest of all Carrowkeel tombs with five burial chambers (others contain one or three). At the time, Ireland’s climate was much more temperate, supporting a flourishing Neolithic society on the island. The people who lived here left behind a number of impressive stone monuments all over the island as well as artefacts, burials, and hut foundations, but despite these tantalising clues, there still remains much mystery about Ireland’s ancient Neolithic people and their lives and culture.

Tip: To visit Cairn F, follow the signs to Carrowkeel from Castlebaldwin village. After parking , hike along the regular path that heads towards the Carrowkeel cairns (G-H-K). Once you walk up the first hill, and go around the first bend, look in the heather for a narrow footpath. Hike up this short but steep hill and you’ll find the impressive remains of Cairn E (more on that in another entry), and about 200 m beyond find Cairn F. The tombs can be spotted from Google maps – a good way to ensure you’re in the right place. Martin Bryne’s Carrowkeel site is a wealth of knowledge on the subject.

More Ancient Ireland & Beyond

Boa Island, Northern Ireland

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Boa Island Statues, Northern Ireland

Bizarre, eerie, and mysterious, the Boa Island statues stand in the overgrown and forgotten Caldragh graveyard at the end of a bumpy lane on the little-known Boa Island at the edge of Northern Ireland. Defying expectations, the strange sculpture is unlike anything else around. There are other Irish statues of course – Christian saints, carved heads, busts of important figures, the early Christian figures on nearby White Island – but none quite like Boa Island. On this 5-mile-long island in County Fermanagh, two unrelated, lichen-spotted anthropomorphic statues stand forlorn: the great Boa Island figure and the smaller Lustymore Island figure, moved here in 1939 from a nearby island. It is the larger figure which draws your attention. It is a “bilateral figure,” which is fancy way of say it has two faces and two sides (also sometimes called a Janus figure due to its duality though not related to the Roman god Janus). One side represents the male side (complete with man parts), and the other facade is the female side. The duality of humanity, the balance of nature. No one really knows from when they date – likely sometime between 400-800 AD – or even whom exactly they represent, though it’s widely accepted that they are pagan deities. It’s also worth pointing out that the name Boa Island has nothing to do with snakes (remember, good ol’ St Paddy banished the snakes of Ireland sometime in the early Middle Ages!), but rather is the Anglicised name for Badb, the Celtic goddess of war, often depicted as a crow or wolf. Still the subject of debate (should they be left there or removed to a museum? How best to protect them?), one thing is clear: the Boa Island statues are utterly, enticingly, arrestingly unique.

Top Tip: Located at the top of Upper Lough Erne, Boa Island is part of the road travelling from Bundoran to Omagh, and Caldagh Cemetery is just a short detour. You also might like to read Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s poem “January God” about Boa Island’s Janus figure.

Other Ancient Sites in Ireland & Northern Ireland

Creevykeel Tomb, Co Sligo, Ireland

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Creevykeel Tomb, Co Sligo, Ireland

Ireland is full to the brim with Neolithic Age ruins – the “new” (or most recent) Stone Age, during which a hardy people made Ireland their home. Neolithic Ireland was a bit different – the climate was milder, land was better, more trees covered the island, and it was better connected with the mainland. Many types of animals living in Ireland during this time are either extinct in general today, or simply extinct in Ireland (such as wolves, bears, wolverines, large types of deer and more). During the Neolithic Age, people around the world settled down to farm and raise livestock – and settlement led to building. Creevykeel is a Court Tomb – one of the four main types of Neolithic tombs, along with wedge tombs, passage (or chamber) tombs, and dolmans – as well as standing stones. It is widely considered to be one of Ireland’s best preserved court tombs, and dates back to about 3500 BC, experts think, though it was in use over many years. It was built over three phases – the court was built first when the entrance monoliths were placed, the second phase enclosed the court, and the during the third phase the cairn was extended. Court tombs, largely concentrated in NW Ireland, comprise an elongated, roofed gallery covered with the often-seen mound made of smaller stones we see across Ireland, though court tombs are also accompanied by the “court” that lends its name. Not only is Creevykeel a protected monument, but Ireland still holds on to its superstitions, relating anything unknown to the supernatural, particularly the shee, or the fairies, including many Neolithic monuments. This tomb is today located beside the main road from Sligo to Dublin and has been left mostly untouched. Out of respect? Disinterest? Fear of the fairies wrath? Who knows. Sligo is one of the most Neolithic monument-rich regions in all of Ireland – we have Carrowkeel, Knocknarea, Knocknashee (there’s that shee again!), Carrowmore, and many other individual tombs, including Creevykeel.

Pro tip: Creevykeel is easy to visit, and for most is just a quick stop on the road if they stop at all. It is marked by a small panel on the Sligo-Donegal road, about 20km north of Sligo. It makes a great stop for anyone headed up to Slieve League Cliffs, the city of Derry or Glenveagh National Park.

More Irish Neolithic Sites: 

Lavagh Abbey, Sligo, Ireland

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Lavagh interior

Lavagh Court Abbey, Sligo, Ireland

Irish history isn’t always sunshine and roses. Much of it is fairly dark, oppressed for years under British rule. Remember arrogant (sexist) Henry VIII who couldn’t produce an heir due to his own inbred nature but kept blaming his wives? He decided to start his own divorce-friendly religion, which gradually took over and then punished Catholicism. across all English territories. In the 1500s, the Dissolution of the Monasteries swept across the nation, forcing the abandonment of Catholic monasteries. The crumbling Lavagh Court Abbey in southwest Sligo was no exception. Built in 1454 as a Franciscan Friary, Lavagh sits at the base of Knocknashee Hill (‘hill of the fairies’), which for centuries was held sacred by the pagans (Christians are like Hollywood directors – to get a wider audience and easier job, they ‘borrow’ stories, concepts and sacred people and places from other religions they were hoping to wipe out, something they did successfully in Ireland). Once home to both brothers and sisters of the order, Lavagh is a simple rectangular church topped with a squat stone tower and joined with a chancel. Containing extensive burial sites, it has now been taken over with ivy, plants and flowers. As you wander the burials outside, keep an eye over the walls of the far side – you’ll see an earth-topped stone cashel (ringfort), at least half a century older than Lavagh itself. (What more? Check out well-preserved cashel like Cashelore or Clougher Fort). Follow the path through the half-forgotten wind-beaten graveyard through the small ivy-clad door into another world. Greeted with an earthy, natural smell, Lavagh’s sacred stone walls are wallpapered in crisscrossing ivy and blanketed in soft earth and rustling leaves. Lush and emerald, the massive greenery-wrapped arch feels like a scene out of Narnia. Wandering this ancient, abandoned site, drink in the eerie, moody atmosphere and feel the weight of Mother Nature, a far older god than the one Lavagh was originally built for. This place is surely enchanted with ancient fairytale magic – and chances are, you’ll have it all to yourself.

Pro trip: When visiting this corner of Sligo, you have to climb Knocknashee Hill. Most people climb it via the far side, parking at Gilligan’s World, and passing through the farm gates to climb the very steep slopes to the top. But there is a new path from the Lavagh side being constructed, though process has temporarily halted due to CV-19. At the top, find ancient cairns, forts, and village foundations. Interested in the changing site of Lavagh? Take a look at Sligo artist Wakeman, and his famous 19th century drawings of Sligo monuments. 

More Ancient Places in Ireland’s Northwest

*Please note that all photos posted since the start of the Pandemic travel restrictions are from the archives, or taken locally within a short distance of our home. 

Carrowkeel Cairn B, Sligo, Ireland

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Carrokeel cain B

Carrowkeel Cairn B, Sligo, Ireland

Carrowkeel is one of Ireland’s four great Neolithic-era complexes (the others being Newgrange and the Boyne Valley; Loughcrew, and Carrowmore, also in Co Sligo). It is also arguably the best. This little-known site is off the beaten path for most people, and even locals sometimes forget it’s there. Carrowkeel comprises of 14 tombs, with another 12 in the surrounding half-dozen kilometres. The tombs, or cairns as they are called, date back to the Neolithic era, and are about 5,000 years old. For reference’s sake…. that’s older than Machu Picchu, the Roman Colosseum, Stonehenge, and the Pyramids of Giza. Far older, in most cases. From the small car park, it’s a 5km roundtrip hike to Cairns G, H, and K, which are the most popular tombs (each tomb has a letter). The cairn you see high up on the hilltop to your right? That’s Cairn B – one of the least-visited and most amazing (and visible) tombs of all Carrowkeel. Like the others, it was opened when early 20th-century English archeologist Macallister “excavated” it. This was the height or barbaric English archeology, and his team was… less than gentle with this ancient, sacred place. More than one tomb suffered dynamite and tunnelling, most had cremated remains removed for “testing” (never to return to Ireland), and even other artefacts such as pottery removed and taken from Ireland. Cairn B is a simple passage tomb, with a short 1-2 metre long narrow passage (ungracefully on your hands and knees) to get inside the main chamber. In use for hundreds of years, these cairns would’ve housed the cremated remains of the local Neolithic people’s ancestors, visited regularly for mysterious rituals that we still don’t understand today. It is an amazing place.

Pro tip: Aligned with the Summer Solstice, come here to watch the sun set on the longest day of the year. Cairn B is little visited – most watch the light enter Cairn G’s chamber through the narrow “roofbox” opening. To get here, instead of turning left onto the small road to Carrowkeel from Castlebaldwin, keep straight. After the first large house, park and follow the farmer’s fence to the top. No trail and rough terrain, but the grade isn’t steep. 

Neolithic Europe:

*Please note that all photos posted since the start of the Pandemic travel restrictions are from the archives, or taken locally within a short distance of our home. 

La Roche aux Fées Neolithic tomb, France

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Roche aux Fees

La Roche aux Fées Neolithic tomb, France

While travel isn’t possible right now, we’re continuing with our virtual explorations, this time a visit to northern France. Ireland probably contains the Neolithic era’s highest density of Neolithic monuments, but it’s not the only country with great prehistoric sites. Scotland and England are also home to quite a few Neolithic – and Prehistoric in general -era sites. The region of Brittany / Bretagne is another place of Celtic influence (as well as parts of Spain and Portugal), and Bretagne also home to quite a few of these ancient sites. What the region lacks in quantity, it makes up in quality. The Roche aux Fées – translating as the Rock of the Fairies – is one of the best-preserved ancient sites of this era. Comprising of 48 stones (9 of which are roof slabs) – the heaviest of which weighs 40-45 tonnes – the site is very complex. Like many sites we still see in Ireland (notably, mountaintop cairns), the original structure of the Roche aux Fées would have been covered with a mound of stones and earth. Stones used to build this 20 metre long gallery tomb would have been dragged here on a series of ropes, wheels and pulleys from the quarry site. Though its gallery form is not unique – there is a similar tomb at Lough Gur in Co Limerick, and others in rural Ireland such as in Co Mayo – the Roche aux Fées is certainly one of the best specimens of its type, and one of the largest. It is thought that it dates to 3,000-2,500BC, making it about 5,000 years old (and therefore older than the Pyramids of Giza)! Unlike in Ireland where such sites were built atop mountains or near bodies of water, the Roche aux Fées is located down a country lane in a quiet woodland. It is possible to go inside the tomb – the highest point is 4 metres, so you can stand up inside. As its name suggests, local legend claims that the Roche aux Fées was built by fairies (also common in Irish folklore) as a house or temple.

Pro tip: Generally, April and May are ideal months to travel in France – the weather is mild (generally just a light jacket needed), you’ll avoid peak season prices and there are few others travelling at this time. Watch out for May 1st (Labour Day) when most museums, castles etc are closed. The Roche aux Fées has free entry. Visitor centre open from June to August. 

More Neolithic & Prehistoric Monuments

*Please note that all photos posted since the start of the Pandemic travel restrictions are from the archives, or taken locally within a short distance of our home. 

Aviemore Stone Circle, Scotland

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Aviemore stone circle Scotland

Aviemore Stone Circle, Scotland

Though happily hard to tell in the photo, the Aviemore Stone Circle is today actually in the middle of a modern housing estate, built up around this ancient site. Prehistoric stone circles are fairly common in Scotland and Ireland but despite how many of them remain, experts still don’t really know why ancient cultures built them or much about these people. Built by ancient peoples during the Neolithic era, the oldest stone circles are as much as 5,000 years old. The Aviemore Stone Circle, comprised of stones far smaller than the stones of more famous exemplars like the Ring of Brodgar or Callanish Stones (or Stonehenge down in England), can be dated as far back as 2,400 BC. The ancient people did not have a system of writing (at least, not that we know of), and other than their megalithic monuments, many of their artefacts were made of easily decomposable materials, so much of their culture is lost to us. But we do know that these Neolithic cultures, found in what are considered in modern times as the Celtic regions, built hundreds – thousands – of great ancient monuments of stone. We also know that they had complicated rituals, and that astrology was important to them. Today, the best Neolithic-era sites are found in Celtic places like Ireland, Scotland, England and Brittany.

Pro tip: Aviemore Stone Circle is in a housing estate a short walk from Aviemore Train Station. For the best Neolithic ruins in Scotland, head to the Orkney Isles (home of Skara Brae) or over to the Isle of Harris. Outside of Scotland, Ireland holds a treasure trove – head out for a walk in the fields of the woods and you’ll practically be stumbling over them.

Visit More of Scotland

 

The Arab Baths of Ronda, Spain

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Ronda Arab baths in Ronda, Spain

The Arab Baths of Ronda, Spain

Alongside the amazing Puente Nuevo on the cliffs of Ronda, the Arab Baths are among Ronda‘s most impressive and fascinating sights. At first glance, they seem a look a lot like Roman baths – and indeed the builders were inspired by the design long perfected by the ingenious Roman architects. The main difference here is that instead of hot water heated from below, the baths the Moors built used steam sweat out pollutants from the body. The Arab Baths of Ronda were built by the Moors, a conquering culture on the Iberian Peninsula that originated in North Africa, changing the architectural and cultural landscape of modern-day Spain and Portugal. For the Moors, the baths were built for sanitary reasons but also as for religious ‘purification’ purposes. At one time, Ronda used to be full of Moorish (or Mudejar) architecture, from mosques to Medinas to fortified walls and bridges, though little remains now. Today, Ronda is a wonderful town right in the heart of Andalucia, a perfect base for exploring all of those picturesque pueblos blancos. 

Pro tip: Visiting the Baths at night adds as extra atmospheric element and sets the scene for some lovely photos. Also – it will be cooler and there are far less tourists about! These days, the Arab Baths are open until 19h00 on weekdays (closing at 15h on weekends) and cost €3 to enter. Sometimes they are open later. 

More of Andalucia

 

Newgrange, Ireland

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Newgrange 2

Newgrange, Ireland

Ireland is one of the richest destinations when it comes to Neolithic heritage, in particular, Neolithic era tombs. Here in Ireland, we still have thousands of them. Capping most hills and mountains is some kind of cairn, usually small and inconspicuous. Two regions are particularly concentrated: Sligo and Meath (though interestingly, Celtic Neolithic societies stretched all the way to Scotland, Wales, Bretagne, and Galicia). The biggest of the Neolithic tombs is found in Meath. UNESCO site Newgrange is one of Ireland’s wonders. Built around 3,200BC according to archeologists, the Newgrange monument is an enormous mound/ cairn that encloses a single, 19-metre-long passage tomb ending in 3 burial chambers where cremated remains were once placed. Inside, the passage is narrow but visitors are still able to walk (unlike the tombs at Carrowkeel where you have to crawl…). Walls are adorned with spirals and other basic forms of megalithic rock art, and the tomb’s roof uses corbelling, an ancient drystone technique that makes the tomb waterproof without even requiring mortar! Even with the thousands of tombs they’ve left behind, we know very little about the ancient Celtic Neolithic people of Ireland. One thing that is evident is that astronomy was very important to them. In fact, Neolithic people had a good understanding of sun, moon, and stars including solstices and equinoxes. Newgrange is aligned with the Winter Solstice, therefore for 6 days in mid December, the sun shines through the “roofbox” (that narrow slit above the door of the tomb) to the lighten the chamber with sunlight. Amazing!

Pro tip: If you want to visit for the Winter Solstice, you can enter the lottery (with about 30,000 other applicants for 100 available places!) Or head to one of the other Neolithic sites for similar alignments. For Newgrange, in general we recommend booking in advance, and going early in the day. However, Newgrange Visitor Centre will be closed for most of 2019 so while works are going on, you can’t book in advance, but to compensate, tickets are free and first-come basis during the works. Best to visit in the off season or early, around 9 am. Nearby site of Dowth is also amazing – you can’t get inside anymore, but you’ll have it all to yourself. Or head to the Hill of Tara. 

Other Places to Visit in Ireland

 

Gargoyles on Dijon Cathedral, France

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Gargoyles on Dijon Cathedral, France

Gargoyles on Dijon Cathedral, France

Though the most famous gargoyles are on Notre Dame de Paris (thanks, Victor Hugo and Disney), one finds gargoyles on most French cathedrals, and Dijon’s Notre Dame Church is no different. This unusual, square-faced cathedral, commenced in 1230, is a medieval masterpiece. In fact, it contains no less than 51 gargoyles (nearly all mere decorations). Though Notre Dame de Dijon dates back to the Middle Ages, the gargoyles were only carved in the 1880s (around Hugo’s time…). The original facade had many such gargoyles of monsters and men, but local legend states they were all (but one) removed by the friends of a usurer (money lender), who was killed by a falling stone gargoyle on his wedding day. Gargoyles have long held both the fascination and horror of their audiences. While the original purpose was simply to drain water away from a wall, they quickly evolved into displaying grotesque and fantastical designs. The term itself comes from an French word “gargouille,” meaning “throat” (think “gullet”). The idea of the gargoyle is said to have came from an ancient French legend from Rouen, in which St Romanus conquered a terrible winged dragon called La Gargouille who was both long-necked and fire-breathing. Upon slaying it, the city burned La Gargouille’s body but its fireproof head and neck would not burn, so they mounted it on the church walls to ward off the evil spirits (though you’d think that’d ward off good spirits too!). Thus, the idea and name were adapted for fanciful drains sprouting from France’s soaring cathedrals, and Dijon’s gargoyles don’t disappoint: all 51 are fascinatingly fantastic, bizarre, eye-catching and grotesque.

Pro tip: The church also contains a small statue of an owl, now the symbol of the city, and said to have magical powers. Find it on the left side of the cathedral and touch it with your left hand to make a wish come true! Also, follow the owl symbols on the ground to discover Dijon’s historical heritage sites. 

Other Fascinating Statues in Europe

Etruscan Tomb in Fiesole, Italy

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Etruscan Tomb in Fiesole, Tuscany, Italy near Florence

Etruscan Tomb in Fiesole, Italy

The Etruscans were an ancient civilisation in central Italy from the 7th century BC until the Romans conquered the powerful civilisation, assimilating it into their ever-growing Roman Empire at the end the 4th century BC. Even today, the Etruscan influence cannot be denied; Eturia’s ancient heartland even lent it’s name to the modern region of Tuscany. In its heyday, Etruria reached as far north as the Po River valley, past Rome along the coast to modern-day Naples (in the Campania region). A merchant community, the Etruscans grew rich and powerful on trade with the northern Celtic communities as well as the ancient Greeks, who influenced much of their culture. Etruscans had a vivid pantheon of gods and used their wealth to fill their tombs – which is where much of our understanding of their culture, history, art and architecture comes from. The village of Fiesole, some 10km from Florence, is both a tranquil escape from the bustle of Florence as well as a time capsule to the ancient Etruscans and Romans. Here, find crumbling Etruscan walls, what remains of the Roman baths built later on, and a Roman amphitheater still used today for summer events. Nearby, there’s even the green hilltop where Leonardo da Vinci once experimented with flight! Once a powerful rival to Florence, Fiesole was founded as an Etruscan town in the 8th century BC until the Romans finally conquered and destroyed it, building their own Roman town on Fiesole’s roots. In the 1500s during the magnificent Italian renaissance, Florentine nobles moved out of Florence and built their splendid villas much like movie stars do today in glamorous SoCal towns. Fiesole’s beauty also inspired writers and artists such as Oscar Wilde and EM Forster, making cameos in their work.

Pro tip: Take bus #7 from San Marco Piazza to Fiesole. Or, splurge on the hop-on-hop-off bus to see even more of Florence and its region. 

Amazing Places to Visit in Italy

 

 

Nimes Canals, France

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The Canals of Nîmes, France

The Roman city of Nîmes has been a splendid city in the south of France for thousands of years. Known for its chic boutiques, terrific Roman ruins (including the amazing Roman Arena), and mild Mediterranean climate, Nîmes has long been regarded as one of France’s most beautiful cities – and best-kept secrets of France’s Languedoc-Roussillon/Midi-Pyrenees region. But not all of Nîmes is ancient. The Romans built a spring (the Spring of Nemo) and decorated it with a temple (now gone). But in the 1700s, the growing city needed a better source of safe drinking water, and therefore opted to construct a network of canals. Ulterior motives included powering Nîmes’ mills to sustain its’ top-ranking position in the textile industry as well as the indigo dying industry for a new product, serge de Nîmes, better known today as denim (from the French, ‘de’ or ‘from’ Nîmes; indeed, thank Nîmes for your jeans!). The project became a grand affair, and included a beautiful park laced with ornate statues, exotic gardens, and of course, the wide, boulevardesque canals. They were the first gardens in France created for the benefit of the public, not royalty. Today’s visitors to Nîmes who wander the park and the canals will still feel the glamour and elegance that exudes off these complex and orate 18th century creations, so important to the Nîmois. 

Pro tip: Not far above the canals is the wonderful Jardin de al Fontaine topped with the Tour de Magne. Visit the region for a place for a lovely stroll through lush gardens and delightful sculptures and panoramic views. 

More Beautiful Canals in Europe
  1. Bruges, Belgium
  2. Ghent, Belgium
  3. Annecy, France
  4. Strasbourg, France
  5. Copenhagen, Denmark
  6. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  7. Bath, England