Top 5 European destinations
New year, new destinations to visit! Why not start with a great European city trip and get away for a few days? These were the most popular European destinations among travellers at Schiphol in 2022:
Something to suit all tastes in Barcelona
It’s not surprising that Barcelona is so popular, there’s so much to do! You don’t need to be an architecture expert to be able to marvel at the works of Antoni Gaudí, from the impressive Sagrada Família to colourful Park Güell. Football fans can’t miss a visit to Camp Nou, the home of FC Barcelona. During the FC Barcelona Experience, you’ll visit the club museum, stadium and more. Foodies will certainly get their fill in this city too. Do as the Spanish do and start your day with sweet churros, take a leisurely lunch, have some tapas or pinxtos at the end of the afternoon and then finish with a light meal at around 21:30. Barcelona also has something rather unique for a large city: sandy beaches. You’ll find five kilometres of them at the edge of town. Vamos a la playa!
Flying to Barcelona from Schiphol
Frequency: Several flights per day
Airline: Vueling, KLM and Transavia
Flight time: 2 hours and 10 minutes
Short of time in London
You’ll no doubt have seen iconic buildings like Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Tower Bridge on TV. And so walking around London feels a bit like a trip down memory lane. A must do when in England’s capital is visiting museums. There’s modern art at the Tate Modern, dinosaurs and fossils at the Natural History Museum and antiquities and artifacts at the British Museum. These museums and many others are free of charge – good news in expensive times like these! You won’t be bored in the evenings either. Show off your best disco moves at the ABBA Voyage, where holograms of Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid perform the Swedish foursome's greatest hits. Prefer musicals? You’ll be short on time with everything that’s on offer, from The Great British Bake Off Musical to the Tony Blair Rock Opera, and favourites like the Lion King and Les Misérables.
Flying to London Heathrow from Schiphol
Frequency: Several flights per day
Airlines: British Airways, KLM and Flybe
Flight time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Raise a glass in Dublin
The Irish capital is bursting with history, culture and cosy ambiance. Start the day with a trip to historic Dublin Castle or St Patrick’s Cathedral. Also worth a visit is Trinity College’s impressive library. Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde studied here, and there are more than 200,000 historic books in the collection, including the 1200 year-old Book of Kells. Next, go on a tasty and insightful tour of the Guinness brewery, where you can learn all about the history and brewing process of this famous dark beer (and where you can of course sample it). Prefer whiskey? The head to the Jameson distillery, where you can find out all about whiskey production and have a taste too. End the day in one of the city’s countless pubs, where you can enjoy live music with a pint of Guinness or glass of whiskey. Sláinte!
Flying to Dublin from Schiphol
Frequency: Several flights per day
Airlines: Aer Lingus, Ryanair, KLM
Flight time: 1 hour and 40 minutes
Discover Copenhagen by bicycle
The Danish capital, Copenhagen, is well known for being bicycle friendly. So get on your bike and discover the city, perhaps starting with the Tour de France route. You may not associate it with Denmark, but in 2022 the tour started with a time trial in Copenhagen. No need to race though – following the route at your own pace is a lot more enjoyable as you’ll be able to take in the sights along the way. The 13 kilometre-long route goes past the Amalienborg royal palace, Tivoli Gardens and the famous colourful houses on the Nyhavn waterfront. If you’d prefer not to cycle, you can easily discover the city using the well-organised public transportation system.
Flying to Copenhagen from Schiphol
Frequency: Several flights per day
Airlines: SAS, KLM, Vueling, easyJet and Norwegian Air
Flight time: 1 hour and 20 minutes
Regal Madrid
Lovers of grandeur can indulge themselves in the Spanish capital Madrid. How about a visit to the Palacio Real? Its 3,418 rooms are no longer occupied by the royal family, so during a guided tour you can marvel at the beautiful ceiling painting in the stairwell, the throne room, the Royal Library and many works of art. Seen enough? Remain in the regal theme and head to the green city park, Parque del Buen Retiro. Once the location of Felipe IV’s palace, it is now a lovely place for a stroll in one of the pretty gardens and along the colonnade, or for a nice rowing boat tour of the pond. You can still find a palace of sorts in the park. The Palacia de Christal was first built in order to house tropical plants but now hosts changing exhibitions from the Reina Sofia Museum.
Flying to Madrid from Schiphol
Frequency: Several flights per day
Airlines: Iberia Express, Air Europa and KLM
Flight time: 2 hours and 35 minutes
Europe by rail
Did you know that several popular European destinations can easily be reached by train from Schiphol? For distances of up to 700 kilometres, trains can easily compete with planes in terms of travel time. And at these distances, taking the train is better for the environment when compared to flying. You can travel to various destinations, including Paris and London, from Schiphol and many other train stations in the Netherlands.
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