IL Magazine: Discover the World's Best Retirement Haven for 2021 + 24 more
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You can take your pets from the U.S. to Europe. In fact, today I’m sitting in a cozy apartment overlooking a moody autumnal landscape in Riga, Latvia, with my dog, Luna, snuggled up on the couch next to me. Luna has been to 19 European countries, and we’ve already booked #20 (Lithuania) and started dreaming about #21 (Greece).
I first visited Europe when I was in my twenties. It was love at first sight. I fell immediately for the lush green landscape of Ireland, the quirky university culture of Vienna, Austria, and then the incredible history, landscapes, and food of Italy and France...
Have you ever dreamed of sleeping overnight in a French castle? What about a yacht moored in the Mediterranean? One of my personal favorite things about travel is finding experiences like these.Indeed, some of my most memorable travel moments have been seeking out...
Deep blue water stretching into the distance. Rocky coastlines where mountains push up against the sea. Terracotta rooftops cascading down bright green hills. Islands silhouetted by fiery sunsets. And fortresses dotted across the landscape, towering above the valleys on a hilltop or settled against the sea with holes in their walls for cannon fire.
John Sklute, a retired English professor from California, has lived just about everywhere—from sunny Spain to spacious Sweden. So when he says that Berlin has a special something, you know he's done the legwork. John's love for Berlin started when he spent a summer there in 1994 and fell in love with a local. The relationship didn't work out, but John's passion for Berlin never waned.
Not enough people are talking about Slovenia.We’ve all heard of Italy—with its perfectly poised pizzas and its hilltop towns—and France—with its fancy cuisine and Medieval castles.But somehow this small Alpine country tucked away along the Italian and Austrian borders isn’t on as many people’s radar.Which is a shame...
Castles...There’s just something magical about them—about their beauty, their strength, the ancient history we can all imagine within their walls. For me, they’re one of the big draws of Europe and one of the reasons I keep taking trains to small Swiss towns and cycling along back roads in the French countryside and hiking up Croatian hills to tumbledown ruins...
It’s no secret that Europe is a great place to live. Its many countries are known for excellent cuisine, gorgeous ocean views, jagged Alpine landscapes, great healthcare, and some of the best public transportation systems on the planet. But in an enormous and appealing continent, it can be tricky to know where to start your search for the most livable cities...
Before I arrived in Croatia, people told me that it was one of the most beautiful places in Europe. "If you love Italy, you'll love Croatia," they said. "After all, the Croatian coast is where the Italians go to vacation." Most of Croatia's coast is along the historic Dalmatian region—a place that perfectly meshes Italian and Eastern European inspirations in architecture, food, and even language. I based myself in Split...
It’s the country that brought us Leonardo Da Vinci, mouthwatering cuisine from pizza to pasta, enchanting art and culture, world-class fashion capitals, wine, and the very best of it, and perhaps most importantly the concept of la dolce vita (literally translated as “the sweet life”). It’s where you’ll find history-steeped Rome with its well-kept ancient monuments and food culture…Venice with its air of mystery and its famous masquerade balls…and Florence with its art and culture and vineyard-covered surroundings.