JourneyEtc

Some places are worth exploring by foot and there are destinations best seen from a bus. A tour of a city while riding a bus gives you a different perspective as the tour guide helps you frame in your imagination the beautiful scenery, the people going by their daily tasks, historical landmarks, and the diversity of the community.

We list down some of the top bus tours you can take:

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm has earth friendly buses to help travellers go sightseeing. Tour the islands and check out the Old Town and its medieval structures. You will also see the royal palace and the famous cathedral. As you go north, look up and wait for spire which is actually the Town Hall where great men and women receive the much coveted Nobel Prize. The bus tour Stockholm usually has for its last stop the University hospital and a tour of the campus grounds.

With the tough economy and unstable exchange rates, going for a holiday in Europe does not come cheap. If you are on a tight budget, every discount or freebie is a big help to stretch you travel money. Here are some of the best things to do in Europe for free:

Watch the sunset at Pliazzale Michelangelo in Florence, Italy

The Piazzale Michelangelo is just a few minutes away from the city center of Florence. The place provides a spectacular view that can be considered as one of the best in Italy. You will also see here one of the fake David’s in Florence. It is great to see this place during the day but it is a different experience when you get there before sunset and watch the sun go down the horizon.

Listen to the choir of Westminster Abbey in London

Going around a city on foot has always been a favorite pastime of budget travelers like you and me. Walking is a great way to be intimate with a city, learn its rhythm and feel its beat. Unfortunately, walking does get the best of us sometimes, especially if we’re lugging around a big backpack or easily flustered when we open a detailed city map.

A good alternative then to get to know a city would be to sign up for a city tour by bus which will take you to the popular spots in town including a handful of well kept secrets as well. Sure, you might have to spend an entire day with a busload of strangers, but if you look on the bright side, this is also a great way of making new friends along the way. But which cities are the most ideal ones to be seen through the window of a bus and which cities should be saved for meanderings?

Thinking of finding that special someone but tired of going to regular places where you can meet people? Perhaps you can start trying at airports. For a place that supposedly connects one place to another, airports can also bring two people together. Instead of boring yourself waiting in that lounge for your plane, why not strike a conversation with that interesting-looking traveler? Maybe you are bound for the same direction, perhaps even sharing the same flight. All the better—you can continue your friendship in that foreign country the two of you will be visiting. And what better way to get to know someone that by being strangers in a foreign country?

To many, their notion of a wine bar is a dimly-lit area where they can hang out with several friends late at night and sip good wine. Across Europe, more and more wine bars are coming out—but with a different, improved concept and design. Accentuating the place with whimsical art, classical design, and complementing the wine with fine cuisine, these different wine bars are setting a new trend.

All the way back in ancient Rome, wine bars from back then are depicted today by the mosaics that remain standing in Pompeii. And it is no wonder why wine bars have changed across time; experimentations in design and style have made wine bars last through time. In fact, according to Jennifer Simonetti Bryan, holding a Master of Wine, what wine bars have in common is “variety.” Having a good variety of wines in the menu is essential, as well as the ambience. To many, having food on the side is also a must.

There are any number of adult festivals in the world, some more x-rated then others, but all more or less offering the same kind of fare. But one of the most famous is the Madrid Erotica Festival, formerly the Barcelona Erotica Festival, a yearly event that is held in June.

If it’s possible, picture a place where past meets present. Where the flavor of a place is actually visible to all who visit. Picture a place that is friend to both young and old. If you can do all this, you have seen Madrid.

Madrid is a fabulous part of the world. It offers something for everyone. Have kids? Madrid has great attractions for the kids. Love to shop and look at art? Then you’ll think you’re in heaven. And maybe a little morbid fun is good for everyone as you take part…well, watch anyway…in the bull fights.

What isn’t to love about Madrid? Absolutely nothing. Madrid is everything you want it to be. You want it to be a honeymoon? No problem. You want it to be a family vacation, it will be. You want it to be where you fall in love with your husband of forty years all over again? No wishful thinking needed.