Backpacking Tours

Paris

Eiffel Tower / Tour Eiffel

The most famous building of the world is nowadays inseparable from Paris, but this was not always so. The builder, Gustave Eiffel, first offered the chance to Barcelona, but the mayor of the Catalan city did not like the idea. Finally it was built with resistance in Paris, but the huge success confirmed the idea of Eiffel – today the Eiffel Tower is the most popular sight – with entrance fee – in the world: in 2006, nearly 7 million people went up to the Tower, while since its building this number is more than 200 million. But even after the initial oppositions, the lady’s life was not easy: lightning stoke her, cheater traders have sold her more times, Hitler wanted to demolish her and wanted to make weapons from the material (Hitler was not the friend of Paris anyway as at the end of the World War II he commanded to burn Paris up, but the governor of the city denied it). The 324-meters high Eiffel Tower was the highest building in the world since the building in 1887 until 1930. The structure is 7300 tons, and thanks to the brilliance of the designer, it only swings 6-7 centimeters even in strong wind. The magnificent lightshow is 292 thousand watts of power.

You can get to the 1st and 2nd floor of the brilliantly built tower by using the stairs or the elevator, while the 3rd floor is only available by using the elevator going from the 2nd floor. From the highest floor, when the weather is nice, you can see even 70 kms away. You can count on a minimum 1-hour long queuing or even more, and on the 2rd floor you need to wait a lot again to get to the 3rd floor. It is worth to visit the Tower at night, when for 10 minutes at the beginning of every hour the yellow lighted tower flashes in white light. Young people lying, eating, drinking and meeting each other applause and are exultant. When the weather is nice, there are a lot of people in the park in front of the tower even at night – no one should miss this feeling. Read the rest of this entry »

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy, center of Lazio region and was the center of the Roman Empire. It is also the biggest and most populated city of the country with more than 2,7 million people per 1,285,3 square kms.. Here we can find the Vatican, the center of the Catholic church, the residence of the pope and this is the smallest independent nation in the world.

It has a history of more than 2500 years. It was the capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The latter was the center of power of Western Europe and the coastal countries of the Mediterranean sea from 1st century B.C. until the 7th century B.C. In 2007, Rome was the 11th most popular city in the world and the 3rd of the European Union, and tourists who visited Italy chose this city as their destination. [1] Its center was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[2] Its museums and monuments, e.g. museums of the Vatican and the Colosseum are included in the 50 most popular tourist attractions of the world.

Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica

Vatican is one of the few enclaves of the world (a country, which is fully in the territory of another country). This country existing from 1929 with its 44 acres is the smallest country of the world. The main sights of the tiny country are the St. Peter’s Square and its basilica and the 14 wonderful Vatican museums.

St. Peter’s Basilica

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Dubrovnik, set in Dalmatia, the southernmost area of Croatia, is probably the most beautiful city in Croatia and one of the nicest holiday resorts in the world. Its old town was added to the World Heritage sites in 1994. With its pretty cottages and having crystal clear blue sea, it steals the tourists’ heart. Dubrovnik is also called the “pearl of the Adriatic”; the city is the center of Croatian language and literature and also the birthplace of many famous writers.

Dubrovnik

The beaches of Dubrovnik

Based on the European Union’s survey, Dubrovnik has extremely clean beaches. The most popular ones arethe followings: Banje beach, a well situated pebble beach, with nice views to the old town. St. Jakov beach is also a popular pebble beach, while the biggest beach of Dubrovnik, Lapad, is a sandy one with showers, changing rooms, cafes and restaurants. Copacabana beach, got its name from the legendary beach of Rio de Janeiro, is a favourite destination for tourists. You can try several water sports here. Read the rest of this entry »