european tourist attractions

Tourism in Europe

Tourism in Europe is estimated to have begun during the Middle Ages . Its roots can actually be traced back to religion which promoted travel to sacred sites . This was the pilgrimage which became an essential process for moral and spiritual discovery . While this was the primary objective pilgrimage had also become a time of leisure as it was a chance to experience activities and culture that was outside their usual environment . The pilgrims exhibited the same behavior of tourists of today such as flocking to places of interests , enjoy

local sights and cuisine and bring home souvenirs . In the 17th century , it had become a symbol of wealth and status for the nobility of England to take a Grand Tour to travel around the continent in search of practical and interactive education . For health reasons , people trekked to Rome for its rejuvenating baths with its mineral waters . It was also an opportunity to get together with peers and associates and organize balls and other forms of entertainment . Leisure travel came alongside the industrial revolution . People had money to spare to go on holidays to places with sun , sand and sea . Improvements in technology made it possible for more people to travel farther in a short space of time . It was the British , Thomas Cook , who pioneered mass tourism . He integrated the requirements of the leisure travelers and offered this to them as a whole package . This became a trend that is still being practiced up to now

Europe 's main attraction is its history that gave rise to modern civilization . It left visual representations of its grandeur and people flock to experience this culture . In Greece , its people paid homage to their gods and goddesses and this can be best represented by the Temple of Athena , the Parthenon on the Acropolis . In Britain , there was curiosity on the Druid 's Stonehenge . In Italy , there is the Colosseum where can feel the violence in the place where the gladiators fought to their deaths . In contrast , one goes to the Vatican City to be enveloped in spirituality and as well be awed by the immensity of St . Peter 's Cathedral and the frescoes of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel . There is also the famous landmark , the Leaning Tower of Pisa whose inclined structure has been subject to much architectural and engineering speculation and mass curiosity . In romantic Venice where there are canals instead of roads , one can explore the lavishly decorated Place of the Doges . Then there is France with its Cathedral of Notre Dame which took over 100 years to complete , but whose gothic design and stained glass windows has earned its acclaim to be the most beautiful cathedral in Europe and became the center of medieval Paris . The Arc de Triomphe represents the military might of Emperor Napoleon , conqueror of Europe Dominating over Paris , is one of the most recognizable landmarks the world over , the Eiffel Tower

Europe continues to dominate worldwide tourism . In 2007 , the UN...