MOST BEAUTIFUL AND SCENIC
 

Okay, all you well-traveled Fodorites, this time kindly tell us the most BEAUTIFUL and SCENIC places you've ever seen in Europe!

My goodness, what about THE TOP FIVE?. Otherwise, each post may easily be a 10-page testimonial. Here are my top five: <BR> <BR>1. The Highlands in Scotland (includes the Great Lakes Region). <BR> <BR>2. Southern Bavaria (Alps) Region (G/P, Ettal, Fussen, Berthchesgaden). <BR> <BR>3. Pueblos Blancos Area in Southern Spain (Andalucia). <BR> <BR>4. The Tuscany Region in Italy <BR> <BR>5. The Normandy-Brittanny provinces in France. <BR> <BR>The Swiss Alps are OUT OF LEAGUE. That must to be what heaven looks like! <BR> <BR>P.S. Fun question!

Stephen <BR>Lake Geneva -- either from the cafe at the Eden au Lac hotel or from the vineyards above Rivaz. <BR>suzann

Lake Anacy in France, Les Beaux in Provence, Oberlech in Austria (skiing time), Costa Brava in Spain.

Santorini, Greece, overlooking the caldera.

The Swiss Alps first thing in the morning on a cloudless summer day. <BR>Lake Geneva from the hilltops above Montreaux at dusk.

Good question Stephen---I am a nut for <BR>scenery and have sought it out all over <BR>Europe. I especially like where water <BR>meets the mountains---therefore: <BR>1. SANTORINI---OIA AT SUNSET <BR>2. AMALFI COAST---POSITANO, RAVELLO <BR>3. BERNESE OBERLAND---MURREN, WENGEN <BR>4. THE DOLOMITES--SELLA PASS <BR>5. THE ITALIAN LAKES--STRESA,RIVA,COMO <BR> <BR>Hard to exclude the Cinque terre and the <BR>Algarve[Cape St.Vincent] in Europe, and <BR>who can dispute Yosemite. I recently fell in love with the Salzkammergut area <BR>of Austria, especially Hallstatt. A <BR>glaring void in my resume for scenery is <BR>Yellowstone and the Tetons. I plan to <BR>solve that come next May---after chasing <BR>scenery in Europe 13 times in the past <BR>12 years. <BR>

Zermatt with the Matterhorn in a blue sunny day. <BR> <BR>While the city i think of venezia.

I could not stop looking out the train window from Geneva to Lausanne. The lake, the mountains and the vineyards were absolutely incredible.

<BR>Only five? <BR> <BR>1. Galway (can't believe no one said Ireland yet, been to Scotland too and liked it, but a poor man's Ireland) <BR> <BR>2. Geiranger Norway <BR> <BR>3. Swiss Engadine (less traveled than the Bernese Oberland, and certainly less than Zermatt) <BR> <BR>4. Villach instead of Hallstatt <BR> <BR>5. Italian Lakes (any of them) <BR> <BR>

<BR>Anything in the Swiss Alps or practically anywhere in Switzerland, and the fjords in Norway - incredible!

<BR>Sorry, but just thought I positively have to add the runner up: <BR> <BR>6. Gullfoss, Iceland <BR> <BR>

Bob the Nav: get yourself out to the Rockies, all the ranges are fabulous. Banff, Canada, Wasatch in Utah,Tetons, San Juans in Colorado, etc., etc., etc. You'll be in heaven!

1)The northern coast of Northern Ireland <BR>2)Perigord <BR>3)Valence <BR>4)Lake Como <BR> <BR>

La Coruña, Spain

It is hard to beat Switzerland. My top 4 non-cities so far, but many more to come I hope: <BR> <BR>(1) Berner Oberland anyday, but especially when clear - the tops for me would have to be the view from Kleine Scheidegg <BR>(2) Vierwaldstattersee (Lake Luzern) <BR>(3) Train ride from Interlaken to Luzern <BR>(4) Rolling hills and vineyards of southern Moravia <BR> <BR>I will add that one of the most interesting landscapes I have seen is the Hortabagy Plain in Hungary. Until then I didn't think anything could be flatter than Indiana!

Beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder. It has everything to do with your attitude. If you are open to the magic of living and the beauty of creation, sitting in a field in the middle of nowhere enjoying wildflowers and a sky dotted with fluffy clouds can be the most beautiful place on earth. That said, some of my favorite places have been: <BR>1. Rocamadour (sp?), France in the Perigord region. A whole medieval pilgrim's city embedded in the side of a cliff. <BR>2. On a mountain-top guesthouse farm anywhere in Austria, waking up in a bed full of down comforters, getting a tray of fresh ground coffee, homemade bread, butter and jam, and eating it on the balcony of our room, while gazing at the clouds which were beneath us. <BR>3. Riding a gondola in Venice at sunset. <BR>

Anywhere on the northwest coast of Ireland. Breathtaking.

The Marmolada massif <BR> <BR>The Cliffs of Moher <BR> <BR>The C.T., Manarola to just north of Vernazza <BR> <BR>Lipari, an electrical storm rolling in, balcony doors open, 2:00A and my wife in my arms.

In no particular order: <BR> <BR>Zermatt, Switzerland <BR>Scottish Highlands <BR>Venice <BR>Dingle Peninsula, Ireland <BR>