The most beautiful places in Europe, by travel writers who’ve seen them all

My first glimpse of Lake Bled was my colleague showing me where she got engaged, on the banks of the lake with blue-green water shimmering behind them. So last year, I flew to Ljubljana and hopped on a bus there myself. On a clear day, the glassy water reflects the trees and green mountains that flank the lake, as if it’s brushing the clouds away. Your eyes are instantly drawn to the little island in its centre, which is home to the Church of Mary the Queen. And that soft chiming sound? That’s the wishing bell in the 52-metre bell tower, rung by tourists as a reward for climbing the 99 steps to the top.

Time Out tip: Look up and you’ll spot the terracotta-coloured rooftop of Bled Castle, built in the sixteenth century. Its terrace café alone makes it worth a visit, especially if you order their speciality, a slice of Bled cake – a light cream cake topped with flaky pastry. 

Legend and land combine in an awe-inspiring way at the Giant’s Causeway, a striking stretch of the Antrim coast where some 40,000 polygonal basalt pillars emerge from the cliffs and crumble into the Atlantic. As lore has it, it’s the handiwork of Irish hero Finn McCool, a giant who built a bridge to confront his Scottish rival across the water. A visit proves that it’s magnificent enough to be a feat of ancient engineering – just don’t mind those who say it’s the result of cooling, cracking lava 50 million years ago. The best part? Visitors can hop, skip and jump across the pillars freely. I prefer soaking in the scene from a height: the surrounding cliffs are etched with paths with great views of the causeway and beyond. 

Time Out tip: The Visitor Centre is entirely optional and you don’t need to a ticket to access the Giant’s Causeway – just walk around the side and follow the road (a public right of way) straight to the stones.

Glistening turquoise seas, craggy outcroppings and pristine white yachts are hardly an uncommon sight in the Mediterranean, but if the region earned itself a stereotype, Comino’s Blue Lagoon was likely the cause. Malta’s smallest inhabited island is home to one of the country’s biggest attractions, an impossibly azure stretch of ocean languishing between the sloping sides of Comino and the steeper, limestone edges of Cominetto. Its remarkable beauty is generated in part by the lagoon’s vast, sandy seabed, which is relatively rare in a country dominated by rocky seafloor. As a result, the honey-coloured grains reflect Malta’s intense sunlight back through its famously clear waters, to maximum sapphiric effect.

Time Out tip: From 2025, travellers wishing to visit the Blue Lagoon must register online before arrival. It’s free and pretty simple to do, so best sorted out well in advance of your visit. Accessing the Blue Lagoon is easy as locally-run boats operate from Mgarr and Hondoq in Gozo and various sites in Malta throughout the day. Be aware though: there’s no shade at all here, except that provided by umbrellas, so bagging a sun lounger early is imperative to having an enjoyable experience.

You might have seen it on countless postcards, desktop backgrounds and Instagram stories, but no over-exposure will ever take away the feeling of walking Amsterdam’s canals. And yes, I mean that even when things look a little sketchy, or inebriated tourists are clattering past and obstructing your view. My favourite moments there are in autumn and winter, when the trees lining the canal are strung with twinkly lights and the surrounding buildings are reflected in rippling water. And when a canal boat floats by, carrying a group of pals sipping wine out of plastic glasses? Pure romance, I tell you. 

Time Out tip: If you’re really lucky, and you catch Amsterdam when it’s cold enough, the canals will freeze over – and you can watch locals go ice skating. 

📍 The best things to do in Amsterdam

Sandwiched between Manchester and Sheffield is one of England’s most remarkable national parks, a land of dramatic gritstone cliffs and windswept dales. Planning a stay in the Peaks is simple: first, you pick an adorable town to stay in, preferably with a good pub and some nice shops (I’d go for Hartington for its cheese shop alone). Then, you walk. You could hop along the stepping stones at Chee Dale, or follow sylvan trails along the River Dove. You could clamber up to Thor’s Cave, a natural cavern in a limestone crag, fascinatingly deep and offering pretty spectacular views over the Manifold Way. There are quite literally thousands of routes to choose from – this is England’s walking country, after all.

Time Out tip: The Izaak Walton Hotel in Dovedale is home to what has to be the country’s most beautiful beer garden. There are fewer than a dozen tables, dotted over a grassy hill that slopes down in reverence before the arresting peaks of Bunster Hill and Thorpe Cloud. Perfect for a post-walk pint.

Fjords exist in only a handful of countries, and Norway is home to the longest, deepest and most spectacular. Unfurling from the Norwegian Sea, these cavernous inlets stretch the length of the country’s coast, harbouring the type of scenery that will make you audibly gasp. I was particularly smitten with the pastoral Nordang Valley, where near the village of Oie you’ll find fresh-out-the-sauna locals plunging into popsicle-blue water (no matter the weather). And if all those thundering waterfalls and forested mountains get a bit boring, the fjords are home to a couple of surprisingly buzzy little cities: Stavanger and Bergen make for ideal bases to explore the region. 

Time Out tip: Unesco-listed Geirgangerfjord’s incredible scenery is made all the more thrilling when bouncing along the water on a high-speed RIB boat. Book a local tour and your guide might well beguile you with troll stories. And if you head out early or late (before or after the cruises are in town), you’re in with a decent chance of having the entire site to yourself.

Mediaeval architecture. Tick. Rolling green hills. Tick. Views of vineyards for days. Tick. Motovun, an ancient village in the Istrian hills, has got everything you could possibly want for a picturesque European old town. Found in Croatia’s southernmost peninsula, Motovun is deep in truffle and wine country, meaning the food and drink is top notch. In my opinion, there’s simply nothing better than spending an afternoon soaking in the views from the hilltop town over a few glasses of Istrian rosé.

Time Out tip: Bring your walking shoes, those cobbled streets and steep hills aren’t for the faint hearted.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the theories behind Marseille’s La Cité Radieuse (The Radiant City), the first unité d'habitation from legendary French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. The 56-metre tower opened in 1952 as a kind of vertical village, its 1,600 residents living in 337 neat, spacious, futuristic modules. La Cité Radieuse wanted to transform how we live – but it did so in utterly spectacular fashion. This place is gorgeous inside and out, from its façade of bright concrete boxes and mesmerizingly colourful balconies to the dappled light and rich woods of its corridors. People still live in the Cité, but it has several areas – including its rooftop – which are free to access (so long as you sign in at reception).

Time Out tip: Stop for a coffee (or cocktail) at the restaurant/café on the third floor. Nab a table on the balcony and take in both the mid-century décor and views over Marseille.

I visited the beautiful Perast this year, a little coastal town surrounded by mountains and sea, away from the tourist madness of nearby Kotor. Quiet but oh-so pretty, there’s a cluster of very nice restaurants along the seafront where you can tuck into squid ink risotto and share pomegranate wine (a local speciality), and no one stops you jumping off for a swim afterwards. But the highlight, undoubtedly, was my visit to Our Lady of the Rocks, an island sanctuary (technically an islet), unique pilgrimage site and symbol of faith in Montenegro  which you can get a return boat to from Perast for just €5. 

Time Out tip: The story goes that Our Lady was built by seamen in 1452, who laid a singular rock in the bay for every voyage they took. If you visit on July 22, you’ll see locals adding stones to commemorate them. 

📍 The best places to visit in Montenegro

Ever looked at a Toblerone and wondered if the pyramid-shaped mountain on its wrapper was a real place? The answer is yes, and that place is Zermatt. The literal chocolate box village in the Swiss alps is watched over by the majestic Matterhorn peak. In the winter, Zermatt is a ski-bum’s paradise, with snow-topped wooden chalets flanked by armies of fir trees, and it’s got some of the best skiing around. But Zermatt in the summer is just as pleasing, with lush green mountains filled with scuttling marmots and bouncing mountain goats. 

Time Out tip: Ring in the new year in Zermatt and see skiiers descend the mountain in a torch-lit procession – it will make the most magical New Year’s Eve ever.