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The Vatican City – The Smallest Country In Europe

It might surprise you to learn that the smallest country in Europe is no bigger than 110 acres (0.2 square miles) with a population of just over 800 people. This is The Vatican City, a landlocked sovereign state which is located in Rome. This is the official smallest country in Europe, and is so small in fact that many of us would not think it was a country at all to look at.

The Vatican City – the smallest country in Europe – was established by the ‘Lateran Treaty’ in 1929 and is where the Pope resides. Despite being the smallest country in Europe, The Vatican City is nevertheless a popular tourist attraction and has many things to see and do. Of course many people will travel to see the Pope and it is a common pilgrimage as the centre of Catholicism. Meanwhile though, many others will travel to The Vatican City in order to admire St Peter’s Square and Basilica. The square also contains an Obelisk taken from Heliopolis, Egypt, as well as a fountain.

Exploring the Basilica is a highly interesting experience and there is a lot of fantastic architecture on display, while the interior is filled with statues and other items. It is possible also to travel to the top of the Basilica’s dome by heading up hundreds of stairs, which will afford you a fantastic view over all of the smallest country in Europe as well as wider Rome.

The Smallest Country In Europe

Another great thing to see when visiting The Vatican City, the smallest country in Europe, is the Vatican museum. This is a huge museum that has a vast range of religious paintings, statues and sculptures. It’s here that you can see the Sistine Chapel with Michaelangelo’s greatest works including the creation of Adam. A great way to make the most of your trip is to visit the museum in the evening (you can book online) which creates a more scenic and romantic experience.

For the next smallest country in Europe, you’ll need to visit Monaco – which is just 0.75 square miles across. This is closely followed by San Marion (24 square miles), Liechtenstein (62 square miles), Malta (122 square miles) and then Andorra (180 square miles).

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Eastern European Countries

Eastern European countries are those that reside in the Eastern portion of Europe. This term is used largely colloquially and  is not simply defined being highly context dependent (whether somewhere is ‘Eastern’ depends very much on your location. The United Nations Statistics Division described Eastern European countries as ‘Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary and Moldova’. Colloquially, many people would consider Eastern Europe to be all those countries East of Germany – Poland onwards. Of course many of the other differences in Western and Eastern European lifestyles and cultures can be seen as being a result of the differences in climate and geography that impact many other areas of Eastern European life.

Some definitions of Eastern European countries describe the concept of Easter Europe as being a cultural phenomenon rather than solely a regional or geographical one as the name would suggest. This is a controversial subject, but here the characteristics of Eastern European countries are considered the differences in religion, economy, culture and politics when compared to those in the West. Other definitions are related to the cold war and describe Eastern European countries as those in the Eastern Bloc and all those that came under Soviet influence at the end of WW2.

Those visiting countries largely considered to be Eastern European in nature then can expect a wholly different experience from Western Europe. Whereas Western European countries are similar to Northern America in terms of culture and politics, Eastern European and Central European cultures are more likely to have differences in the cost of living, their traditions, their climate and their religions and might be more similar to India or other countries in that region. Visiting Eastern European countries then can provide a more affordable holiday as well as a more interesting one politically and culturally for Westerners.

The earliest reference to Western and Eastern European divisions was during the Roman Republic. As the Roman empire expanded across Europe, there appeared to be a division between the reek speaking Eastern provinces and the Latin speaking Western provinces. This division was then further cemented during the late middle ages and the late antiquity. The Middle Ages began after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, while the Eastern Roman Empire, known also a the Byzantine Empire, survived for a subsequent thousand years. During this time there was further a division in Christianity across East and West Europe in 1054 resulting in two different branches of Christianity – the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in Eastern European religion. The Mongols would then invade many Eastern European countries resulting in yet more differences.

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Trips to Europe

If you are fond of traveling or you plan to spend a nice vacation with your family, then Europe is definitely the place for your needs.  Europe has all the arrangements for adventure vacation, golfing holiday and winter sports. Europe has varying topography from rising mountains and glaciers to lowlands, from oceans, beaches, harbors to lakes, from beautiful forests, flora and fauna to stunning grasslands. Europe also manifests deep roots of culture and history with stunning architecture, sculptures, art work, folk music, operas, theatres, and galleries. What more do you need to have a memorable vacation!

Planning trips to Europe with kids and family is simple. All you need to do is to find a suitable vacation package to suit your needs.  You can find a great budgeted vacation package on the internet with ease.  If you go through the map of Europe, you may get confused. There’s so much to visit that trips to Europe are no jokes. It is almost impossible to travel the entire place in the span of one vacation itself. Time and money are two very important factors required to budget your vacation to Europe. You can also opt for a eurail or inter rail pass to save unnecessary expenditure. These passes will let you travel all over the place for a certain number of fixed days. This way you will not have to expend on your travel expenses again and again. Rail travel will also help you to have the real essence of Europe’s natural beauty. You will take less time to travel large distances.

Where do you want to begin your journey from? Now, that’s the big question!

Begin your journey from London and you can have a happy ending at Paris, Vienna, Athens or Amsterdam.  If you are visiting Europe, you just can’t ignore famous cities like Rome, London and Paris.  You may take three to four days for the inter country travelling.  But try to spend most of your time in these cities i.e. at least 5 days per country. You might face some language problem while traveling. Most European countries use English as their medium of communication.

Do not make a hasty decision. Believe in quality and not quantity. If you visit a country for one or two days in order to rush to the other country, then you will surely lose on something really amazing about that country. Try and stick to your plans only.  But be open to changes and new events.

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European countries

It is difficult to cover each and every part of Europe, so I will touch on some less known facts quickly.

Austria, a small country in Europe, has a rich heritage. It is home to international flavors called the Wiener Schnitzel and Apfelstrudel.  Belgium, situated in northwest Europe, is a free country. It is one of the founding members of the European Union.  Belgium is the source of origin of many Flemish painters and artists. Belgium is famous for its chocolates all over the world. Czech Republic is world famous for its meat cuisine. Bulgaria, one of the oldest nations of Europe, counts for the major export of food and wines. Folk music is the trade mark of this nation.  Did you know that Cyprus is known as the island of Aphrodite? People believe that the goddess of love and beauty was born here.  Cyprus is the juncture between Europe and Asia.

Denmark is a beautiful country with magnificent natural harbors and many other water bodies.  Denmark introduced the concept of open sandwiches which are enjoyed world wide now.  Sweden, situated in northern Europe, has a beautiful long coastline. Slovakia is well known for its beautifully varying topography characterized by the beautiful Alps, the Pannonian plain, the Mediterranean and the Dinaric area.  Slovakia is well known for the Carpathian Mountains.

Romania is world famous for its sumptuous cuisine.  Poland is rich in minerals like iron, zinc, copper and cobalt.  Portugal, a country rich in history and culture, has stunning Oriental influences in architecture and art. Portugal is world famous for symbolizing art and culture. Malta is a beautiful island popular for golf resorts.  Netherlands has great history of painters.  Luxemburg produces large percentage of European beer. Lithuania specializes in culinary skills like cold beet soup and potato dumplings puffy with meat.  Latvia is characterized for the Latvian bacon pies.  Estonia is the original home to many famous people like the Kalevipoeg and Jaan Kross.

Finland, a snowy country is world famous for the patriotism imbibed in the citizens. It is also the place for you, if you are fond of winter sports. Ireland is marked with the beauty of the Blasket islands, Cliffs of Moher, Newgrange and Dublin Zoo. Hungary is known as the musical country.  Greece is home to many European scholars. Greece has played an important part in European civilization, culture, art, literature and architecture. Greece cuisine is popular for the use of mutton.  Germany has a dominating influence on Europe.

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