Things to Do in Europe

Topping off the western side of Amsterdam’s plush Canal Ring and crossing into the bohemian enclave of the Jordaan, Brouwersgracht is an enticing canal lined with narrow, gabled townhouses and former warehouses with façades that tilt precariously forwards. Connecting the canals of Singel and Singelgracht, it has been voted the prettiest street in the city and its length is home to hundreds of houseboats moored chaotically along the bank. In the 17th century known for its tanners and brewers, the canal has lost little of its tranquil atmosphere even though many of its houses have been converted into luxurious apartments and boutique hotels. It also has some architectural highlights: Brouwersgracht 2 has one of the best examples of 16th-century step gables in the city; the row at Brouwersgracht 188–194 were formerly warehouses storing leather, coffee and spices, and sport a series of identical spout gables dating from the 17th century; and several houses, including no 162, have graphics of fish above their doors, indicating that they were once premises dedicated to the processing of herring and other fish caught locally. 

Tucked between the alpine villages of Brienz and Bönigen, the pristine Lake Brienz makes a prime photo candidate with its backdrop of forested mountainsides and deep, turquoise waters. Stretching 14 kilometers across and a whopping 250 meters deep, the lake, fed by the river Aar, makes an uneasy swimming spot, but a great location for boat trips and paddle steamer sojourns.

There’s more to this lakeside haven than great picture spots though – hike from the lake on one of the area’s 500 kilometers of walking trails, explore the traditional villages littering the lakeside or get a bird’s eye view of the lake by catching the old steam train from Brienz up the nearby Brienzer Rothhorn mountain. Most spectacular are the Giessbach Falls on the south shore, 500 meters of plummeting waterfalls reachable via the country’s oldest funicular railway from Giessbach village.

The peaceful Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest of the 18 Commonwealth military cemeteries in Normandy. It contains 4,868 graves of soldiers from the UK and 10 other countries (including Germany, in contrast to the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer). Many of the soldiers buried here were never identified, and the headstones are simply marked 'A Soldier Known Unto God'. The bodies of 1,807 other Commonwealth soldiers were never found, and are commemorated on the memorial across the main road.

Bayeux was liberated by the Allies in June 1944 and became the seat of government for France until Paris was liberated. In this time the British built the ring road to enable military vehicles to move around the city and established many military hospitals. Many of those buried in the cemetery are from those hospitals.