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Discover Places to Go and Things to Do
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Europe
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Europe encompasses an area of 10,400,000 km² (4,000,000 square miles), stretching from Asia to the Atlantic, and from Africa to the Arctic. Europe's longest river is the Volga, which meanders 3,530 km (2,193 miles) through Russia, and flows into the Caspian Sea. Eastern Europe's highest point is Russia's Mt. Elbrus, which rises to 5,642 m (18,510 feet) above sea level. Western Europe's highest point is Mont Blanc in the French-Italian Alps, which rises to 4,807 m (15,771 feet) above sea level.
Europe's climate ranges from subtropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to subarctic near the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in the northern latitudes. There is much here for the traveller to enjoy, with a bewildering array of diversity and culture, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular scenery.
BackgroundPolitical HistoryEurope, prior to the conclusion of the Second World War, was a region ravaged by large-scale "total war". National leaders realized after World War II that closer socio-economic and political integration was needed to ensure that such tragedies never happened again. Starting with humble beginnings, the EU's first inception was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The founding group of nations were Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and The Netherlands.
Europe's climate ranges from subtropical near the Mediterranean Sea in the south, to subarctic near the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in the northern latitudes. There is much here for the traveller to enjoy, with a bewildering array of diversity and culture, cosmopolitan cities and spectacular scenery.
BackgroundPolitical HistoryEurope, prior to the conclusion of the Second World War, was a region ravaged by large-scale "total war". National leaders realized after World War II that closer socio-economic and political integration was needed to ensure that such tragedies never happened again. Starting with humble beginnings, the EU's first inception was the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The founding group of nations were Belgium, West Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and The Netherlands. Impressed with the results of the union, the six countries pressed on and in 1956 signed the treaty of Rome, with the ultimate goal of creating a common market — the European Economic Community (EEC). In 1967 the union was formalized further with a the creation of a single European Commission, as well as a council of ministers and a EU parliament.
Post-1967 the EU continued to rapidly grow; Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom joined in 1973. Greece joined in 1981, Spain and Portugal in 1986 and Austria, Finland and Sweden in 1995. To date, Norway and Switzerland have resisted membership for historical and economic reasons. The EU pressed on with economic integration and launched the Euro(€) across several nations on 1 January 2002. Currently 18 nations, plus the UN administered Serbian province of Kosovo use the Euro as their official currency. In addition to Kosovo, San Marino, The Vatican, Monaco, Andorra and Montenegro which are not EU memebers, have been granted official permission to use the Euro.
In 2004, a further 10 countries joined the EU. These were: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.
In 2007 a further 2 countries joined the EU. These were: Bulgaria and Romania.
As of 2007, Macedonia, Croatia, and Turkey are official applicants.
From Wikitravel, the free encyclopedia
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By Ingrid
5 days
This 5-Day luxury trip includes staying at the full-service, all suite Embassy Suites in Northwestern DC., all the while enjoying the International Horse Show! On other days, you'll be visiting a lot of parks and gardens.
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By MyEuropeanDreams
15 days
Fly into Rome and out from Paris...and in between, we'll rent a car & visit Tuscany, Florence, Venice, Austria, the Swiss Alps and the French countryside ...8 places, mostly 2 nights at each place = one grand & memorable taste of Europe.
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3 people reviewed Europe
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at 12:55AM October 7, 2009
Europe is beautiful, lots of very different places to see! If you're doing a trip with some friends, you may find a tool such as http://www.potsplitter.com pretty usefull - allows to easily track expenses and split the costs (know who owes who)
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at 9:36PM July 30, 2008
beautiful
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at 2:13PM July 30, 2008
I just want to travel all over Europe to be honest
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