5 Incredible Places in Europe That You Probably Don’t Know About

beautiful Places in Europe That You Probably Don't Know About

Europe is probably the most popular travel destination in the entire world, and with good reason. There are just so many different cultures, countries, historical landmarks, and sights within the European continent, and there really aren’t many places quite like. The ability to travel to extremely different countries with relative ease is something many travelers value when coming to Europe. But, Europe is so old and most of us know about all the sights to see. We all know about places like the Eiffel Tower or Stonehenge, but what else does Europe have to offer more adventurous travelers? Sure, those places are definitely worth visiting if you’ve never seen them before, but we are going to take a look at five different places in Europe that are extremely beautiful, and you probably didn’t know that they even existed.

Ice Caves of Vatnajökull

5. The Glacial Caves of Vatnajökull – Iceland 

You’ll have to travel quite far for this location, as it’s in Iceland, but the Vatnajökull National Park is pretty amazing. The park is located throughout all of the Vatnajökull glacier, which is one of the largest glaciers in the entire world. Within the glacier, there are many ice caverns that have been carved out by running water over the years. A guide will take you in them to explore, and while it’s not for the faint of heart, they are absolutely insane. The caves go on seemingly forever, and you’ll feel like you’re on an alien planet when exploring them.

Photo from extremeiceland.is

Pointe du Hoc

4. Pointe du Hoc – France

Most tourists that come to France want to visit either Paris or the French Riviera, and often overlook some of the other destinations in France that are worth visiting. One such location would be Pointe du Hoc in Normandy. Pointe du Hoc is a cliff that overlooks the English Channel on the coast of northern France. During World War II, it was used as a military installment by the Nazi’s as it was ideally located between Omaha and Utah Beach. On June 6th, the allies assaulted this region in one of the most important military engagements in history. Today the area is still scarred with massive craters caused by artillery shells, and there really aren’t many places quite like it. Additionally there are numerous museums in the area that are dedicated to the fighting that happened here years ago. It’s historical significance makes it worth visiting, and that’s to say nothing about how beautiful this area is.

Photo from calvados-tourisme.co.uk

Flower Fields of Holland

3. The Flower Fields of Holland – The Netherlands

One of the most beautiful areas in all of Europe might just be the flower and tulip fields of Holland. The Netherlands have optimal weather for growing flowers, and most of the farms are located in the province of Flevoland. It’s pretty overwhelming honestly, as the area is just acres and acres of different flowers and tulips. You’ll want to come during the middle of April to see the flowers in the peak of their bloom, and it’s definitely worth it. To really appreciate it, you can go as far as booking a trip on a hot air balloon which is probably the best way to take everything in.

Photo from Antony Antony/Flickr

Ice Canyon Greenland

2. The Ice Canyon – Greenland

Since Greenland is an autonomous nation within the Kingdom of Denmark, we can include their Ice Canyon on our list. Getting here is certainly quite an excursion, but many will argue that it’s worth it as Greenland is just so beautiful. Given it’s location, the area is also quite alien-like and the terrain is truly breathtaking. Basically if the Grand Canyon was made out of glaciers, it would look like this. While some of the canyon has been observed, it wasn’t until 2013 that geologists really understood the scale of this canyon. The canyon is actually over 460 miles long, it can get up to 2,600 feet deep, and at parts it’s around 6 miles wide. That actually makes it the largest canyon in the world. Much of the canyon exists underneath the ice and you can’t see it, but there are plenty of places where you can.

Photo from placerating.com

Ringedalsvatnet Lake

1. Ringedalsvatnet Lake – Norway

The western coast of Norway is made up by many different fjords, and the area is arguably one of the most beautiful and amazing places in the world. In the county of Hordaland, we find Ringedalsvatnet Lake, and it’s a great place to visit to get a sense of what this area is all about. The lake is around 2.7-square-miles and it’s located thousands of feet below the surrounding cliffs and mountains. This makes for some pretty amazing vistas that you can explore. The most famous area here would be Trolltunga. It’s a large rock that sticks out horizontally from a mountain on the northern side of the lake. It’s 2,300-feet above the water and it’s the perfect place to see the incredible surroundings.

Photo from Håvard/Flickr 

Written by Sebastian Hensiek

From Philadelphia, Sebastian is a fan of music, writing, art, and entertainment.