This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
You’ve trundled the ash-swept streets of Pompeii. You’ve climbed the steps up to the mighty Acropolis — you’ve even welled up when the sun rose for the solstice at Stonehenge. Europe’s ancient pin-ups certainly deserve their hype. Relics of civilisations lost to time, they’ve helped scholars of all disciplines to understand the modern world we live in — from the recently discovered 2,000-year-old Pompeiian still-life painting whose possible depiction of pizza blew the minds of food anthropologists, to the 700,000-year-old stone tools uncovered in a coal mine on the southern Peloponnese peninsula last summer.
Due to islands’ natural geographic isolation, they’ve often developed flourishes of floral and faunal evolution — Madagascar’s endemic giant, the elephant bird, was testament to that before its extinction. A degree of artistic licence could then be granted to apply that theory to human cultures. On Europe’s islands is where you’ll find evidence of unique civilisations who thrived for many centuries, developing a way of life unlike anywhere else as attested by their food, art, music and languages.
Each of these destinations have something to offer travellers, from military history and culinary heritage, to art history and insights into our ancient natural world.
1. Malta
Modern history
It’s difficult to separate Malta from its military history after centuries upon centuries of invaders exploiting the island’s geopolitical advantages. Despite this, the Maltese have proudly protected their unique culture. Though English is still widely spoken as one of Malta’s official languages — installed during 150 years of British rule which also left behind left-hand driving and glossy red post boxes in the otherwise baroque capital of Valletta — impassioned calls for revival saw Maltese become the official language again in 1934.
Maltese is an ancient Semitic language probably derived from Siculo-Arabic, with a large amount of loanwords from other languages — linguists will delight in eavesdropping on morning chatter at cafes and bakeries, where many familiar words punctuate conversations. Dating to the 19th century, Caffe Cordina is a perennial favourite where you can do just that — ideally out of high season. Visitors can learn more about Malta’s military history at the National War Museum.
There’s hardly a time of year when the Maltese aren’t celebrating something — but modern history buffs should head out for 21 September which marks Malta’s Independence Day. The island nation’s sovereignty was hard-fought for and finally won in 1964. Celebrations take place at St John’s Cathedral in Valletta and at the Granaries in Floriana. Check out the tourism board’s website for planned events.
Valletta’s Teatru Rjal is a must-see. Until Luftwaffe bombers obliterated its 1877 form — which was designed by Edward Middleton Barry, also the architect of London’s Royal Opera House — it was among the capital’s most iconic and opulent buildings. Its skeletal remains, soft-lit by honey-coloured lamps in the evening, ooze with a sultry atmosphere that elevates the performances still taking place within its new open-air set-up.
How to do it: Fly direct from the UK to Valletta with multiple airlines. The Casa Rocca Piccola is a 16th-century palace situated in the heart of Valletta’s Old Town.
2. Isle of Skye, Scotland
Musical history
We’re all familiar with the harp — but we may not have heard of its distant relative, the lyre. Those who have are more likely to associate the stringed instrument with the Middle East’s ancient Sumerian civilisation, where a 4,500-year-old lyre was discovered in modern-day Iraq. It’d be a surprise, then, that a lyre said to be just 500 years younger was found quite a distance away, on Scotland’s Isle of Skye. The 2012 discovery tugged on the heartstrings of islanders whose past has been underpinned by a love of traditional folk music, often featuring stringed instruments.
Today, it’s players of fiddles, accordions and bagpipes who pick up gigs at one of Skye’s many live music venues — and they’re fiercely committed to preserving their proud Celtic roots. See a variety of acts at Skye Live, the island’s annual music festival with hours of traditional Scottish rhythms to sing and dance to, including many in the Gaelic language. The festival features ceilidhs (traditional Scottish gatherings, often involving dancing), barrels of Scotch whisky and an impressive backdrop of the Old Man of Storr — Skye’s immense rocky outcrop that stands precariously on a glacial landslip and looks out over the Sound of Raasay.
Skye has always been synonymous with folklore — the island’s striking natural landscapes, including its so-called ‘fairy pools’, have provided settings for storytellers’ tales since time immemorial. The Old Man of Storr is a constant fixture. Legend has it Skye was once a land of warring giants, but following the demise of a particularly vicious giant king, the earth swallowed his body whole, leaving just a thumb poking out of the ground (or something a tad more private). Tour operator Rabbie’s runs single- and multi-day tours discovering the storied landscapes of Skye.
How to do it: Reach Skye by ferry — the closest train station is Mallaig on the nearby mainland, servicing the West Highlands Line. Skye has no airport. Kinoch Lodge, a 17th-century former hunting lodge, is among the island’s most historic hotels.
Isle of Skye has always been synonymous with folklore — the island’s striking natural landscapes, including its so-called ‘fairy pools’, have provided settings for storytellers’ tales since time immemorial.
Photograph by ALBAimagery, Getty Images
3. Crete, Greece
Culinary history
Saki once said, “The people of Crete unfortunately make more history than they can consume locally” — and the Victorian novelist made a good point, which is why consumable history is usually a great idea. Especially in the case of the Minoans — a Cretan people widely credited as Europe’s first recorded civilisation — who are believed to have brought olive oil production to the continent around 4,500 years ago. Cretan cuisine still drips in the stuff — see for yourself on a cookery experience with Minoan Tastes, where you’ll devour food inspired by recipes as old as Crete’s mythical palace of Knossos. The Olive Tree Museum in Vouves not only dives into the history of the industry but is also home to an olive tree at least 2,000 years old, possibly even up to 4,000 — it’s touted as the world’s oldest.
One of Crete’s most ubiquitous traditional dishes is dakos saláta (dakos salad), which scooped the number one spot on Taste Atlas’s list of the world’s best salads in 2023. In this dish, the briny tang of olives and capers meets the robust flavours of ripe tomato and heady oregano; this is then combined with feta or mizithra cheese and chunks of barley rusk, or sometimes, carob rusk. The carob tree, whose fruit produces a malty and almost chocolatey flour (among other products), is an icon of Crete, which is why some locals are campaigning for it to be inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Crete is home to large populations of wild carob trees — during periods of war, particularly the Second World War, and subsequent food scarcity, Cretans relied heavily on carob fruit for survival. As such, its presence on the island is one deeply tied to locals’ cultural identity.
If you’re hungry for more history, there are ancient sites spilling from every corner of Crete. Take a trip to Heraklion’s Archaeological Museum, which holds one of the world’s most important collections of Minoan art.
How to do it: Fly to Heraklion from the UK on multiple airlines. The Domus Renier Boutique Hotel is located in Chania’s Old Town, with decor to match the Renaissance building.
4. Fårö, Sweden
Silver screen history
Ingmar Bergman is widely credited by cinephiles as being among the world’s most important screenwriters and film directors. And this titan of the silver screen — whose acclaimed works include Summer with Monika (1953), Wild Strawberries (1957) and The Seventh Seal (1957) — spent much of his life on Fårö, a Baltic Sea island, until his death in 2007. His legacy is writ large there — the Bergman Center holds his eponymous week of festivities annually at the end of June. For five days, films, music, creative workshops and lectures are held for the public, often with special celebrity guests. There are permanent exhibitions, guided tours and a cinema at the centre, too. Many of Bergman’s films were shot on the island — the popular Bergman safaris take you on a whistle-stop tour of some of the most iconic film locations.
How to do it: Fårö is reachable by ferry from its larger island neighbour, Gotland. Stora Gåsemora offers stylish digs inside a 19th-century former windmill.
The legendary director Ingmar Bergman’s legacy is alive throughout Fårö, a Swedish island, offering tours of iconic film locations.
Photograph by Zoonar GmbH, Alamy Photos
5. Sardinia, Italy
Art history
The Giants of Mont’e Prama — 15 giant sandstone heads said to be 3,000 years old — were discovered by farmers in the 1970s. Their age links them to the island’s mysterious Nuragic civilisation, who inhabited Sardinia around 20,000 years ago, right up until Roman invasion in the third century BCE. Few to no written accounts of the civilisation have been found, which is why their discovery was all the more significant. The heads, with bizarre concentric circle eyes, depict warrior-like figures, with some holding bows and arrows. Being found close to a necropolis points to their possible use in funerary or ritualistic practice. See the figures at Cagliari’s National Archaeological Museum. Within the same museum lie other important finds: Nuragic bronze statuettes, whose metal-wrought figures depict everyday scenes and thus help to paint a picture of the civilisation’s livelihoods, as well as the Nora Stone — so far the oldest Phoenician inscription discovered outside of the Levant, dating from the ninth century BCE.
How to do it: Many UK airlines fly direct to the island’s capital, Cagliari. The Antico Borgo di Lu Puleo hotel is a rustic former farming estate.
6. Menorca, Spain
Ancient history
Just for a little while, Europe’s stalwart sites of classical antiquity can step aside to allow Menorca a moment in the sun. The Balearic Islands’ Talayotic sites, dating from 1600 BCE, finally made the UNESCO World Heritage List in late 2023. The inscription draws well-deserved attention to the little-known prehistoric population that flourished on the island for many centuries (until the Romans marched in at the turn of the first millennium). The Talayotics were prolific builders — the remains of their villages, possibly fortified with curious chamber-like talayots, are scattered across the island as totems of their presence. Guided tours of the sights are advertised on the website of the island’s tourism board, while specialised talks and exhibitions are posted on the Talayotic Menorca website.
How to do it: Several UK airlines fly nonstop to Menorca. The Santa Ponsa is a 17th-century country palace turned luxury boutique hotel.
7. The Azores, Portugal
Natural history
Upwellings of volcanic magma saw this Portuguese archipelago begin to bubble to the surface of the North Atlantic around eight million years ago — and thanks to these nine islands’ unique biogeography, many endemic flora and fauna species have emerged, too. Islands and endemism go hand in hand — think of the Galápagos tortoise or Madagascar’s ring-tailed lemur. On the smaller (but no less fascinating) European island equivalent, you’ll find the Azores noctule bat — the island’s only endemic mammal, not only capable of speedy 30mph flights, but unusually often diurnal, meaning it can be observed hunting during daylight hours. Other attractions for wildlife fans include the Azores bullfinch, found only on the island of São Miguel, and the Santa Maria goldcrest, found only on the island of Santa Maria. You’ll need hawk eyes to spot these and other elusive Azores species, but a guided wildlife tour with the biologist founders of Endemic Azores will help to lift the veil on this mysterious archipelago and the evolutionary history of its species.
How to do it: Fly direct from the UK to São Miguel. Solar de Lalém boutique hotel is situated in a 17th-century manor house.
This story was created with the support of the Caledonian Sleeper.
Published in the Experiences Collection 2024, distributed with the April 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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