List European Capitals

Do European Capitals

Albania - Tirana

Tirana, Albania’s capital, is notable for its vivid Ottoman, Fascist, and Soviet-era architecture. Skanderbeg Square, named for an equestrian statue of a heroic figure, is the city’s focal point. The neoclassical National History Museum on the square’s north end encompasses ancient times through Communist rule and the anti-Communist uprisings of the 1990s.

What to do in Tirana

Visit Skanderbeg Square

Skanderbeg Square is the central square in Tirana, Albania’s capital. The square is named after Albanian national hero Gjergj Kastrioti Sknderbeu. The general area is approximately 40,000 square metres. The Skanderbeg Monument overlooks the square. Armando Brasini drew Tirana’s city plan in 1925, which Florestano Di Fausto proceeded in a Neo-Renaissance aesthetic with articulate angular solutions and gigantic order fascias. Gherardo Bosio revised the master plan in 1939 following the Italian annexation of Albania. The Tirana International Hotel, the Palace of Culture, the National Opera, the National Library, the National Bank, the Ethem Bey Mosque, the Clock Tower, the City Hall, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Energy, and the National History Museum are all located on the square.

Take a Walk at the Grand Park of Tirana

The Grand Park of Tirana, commonly called the Park on the Artificial Lake, is a 289-hectare public park in Tirana, Albania, governed by the Municipality of Tirana’s Agency of Parks and Recreation. The Park encompasses an artificial lake and countless other landmarks, such as the Saint Procopius Cathedral, the Presidential Mansion, and memorials to notable Albanian celebrities. Even though more structures are being constructed near the Park, an early-morning run or stroll is a daily practice for many locals. The Zoo and Botanical Garden are located at the Park’s southern end. The latter contains several flowers and plants native to Albania. There are about 120 different tree, bush, and flower species. The Botanical Garden covers 14.5 hectares, the lake covers 55 hectares, and the Park covers 230 hectares. The Gogo stable was established between 1955 and 1956 following a Bulgarian plan for a green region.

See the Et’hem Bej Mosque

The Hajji Et'hem Bey Mosque is a mosque in Tirana, Albania. The mosque, closed under communist control, reopened as a house of worship in 1991. 10,000 individuals attended without government authorisation, and the police did not intervene. Frescoes show trees, waterfalls, and bridges outside and within the portico.

Georgia - Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the country of Georgia’s capital. Its cobblestoned old town depicts a long, convoluted history that includes periods of Iranian and Russian control. Its architecture is eclectic, encompassing Eastern Orthodox churches, magnificent Art Nouveau structures, and Soviet Modernism structures. Narikala, a restored 4th-century fortification, and Kartlis Deda, a renowned statue of the “Mother of Georgia,” loom above it all.

What to do in Tbilisi

Visit Mtatsminda Park

Mtatsminda Park is a manicured park on Mount Mtatsminda that overlooks the Georgian city of Tbilisi. Carousels, water slides, a roller coaster, a dark ride, a funicular, and a giant Ferris Wheel at the mountain’s edge provide a spectacular perspective of the city.

Take a Walk at Narikala Fortress

Narikala is a historic fortress that overlooks Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, and the Mtkvari River. The stronghold is divided into two fortified portions on a steep hill between the sulphur springs and Tbilisi’s botanical gardens. The recently refurbished St Nicholas church can be found on the lower court. It was constructed in 1996-1997 to replace the original 13th-century church, which was destroyed in a fire. The new church is of the “prescribed cross” stle, with three sides of doors. The church’s interior is ornamented with frescoes depicting scenes from Bible and Georgian history.

See the Mother of Georgia

Kartvlis Deda is a monument in Tbilisi, Georgia. In 1958, Tbilisi commemorated its 1500th anniversary, and the statue was erected on the summit of Sololaki hill. Elguja Amashukeli, a prominent Georgian sculptor, created the twenty-metre aluminium statue of a woman dressed in Georgian national garb.

Lithuania - Vilnius

What to do in Vilnius

Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, is recognised for its baroque architecture, particularly in its mediaeval Old Town. Nonetheless, the buildings that line this district’s partially cobblestoned lanes exhibit various stles and ages, ranging from the neoclassical Vilnius Cathedral to the Gothic St. Anne’s Church. The Gate of Dawn, built in the 16th century and housing a shrine with a revered Virgin Mary icon, previously guarded an entry to the old city.

Visit the Vilnius Cathedral

Lithuania’s main Catholic cathedral is the Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus in Vilnius. It’s in Vilnius’s Old Town, just off Cathedral Square. The church, dedicated to the Christian saints Stanislaus and Ladislaus, is the centre of Catholic spiritual life in Lithuania. Within its walls were the coronations of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. Many prominent persons from Lithuanian and Polish history are buried in its crypts and vaults, including Vytautas, his wife Anna, his brother Sigismund, his cousin Švitrigaila, Saint Casimir, Alexander Jagiellon, and two wives of Sigismund II Augustus: Elisabeth of Austria and Barbara Radziwiłł. When Polish King and Grand Duke of Lithuania Wadysaw IV Vasa died, his heart was interred there, albeit the remainder of his body is buried at Kraków’s Wawel Cathedral. About forty works of art spanning from the 16th to the 19th century, including frescoes and paintings of varying sizes. During the cathedral’s reconstruction, the altars of a putative pagan temple and the ancient floor, laid during King Mindaugas’ reign, were discovered.

Take a Walk at the Bernardine Garden

The Bernardine Garden, formerly Sereikiškės Park, is a public park in the Lithuanian city of Vilnius. It comprises around 9 hectares and is located on the right bank of the Vilnia River between the Gediminas Tower and the Bernardine Monastery. Most of its property is parkland, separated into the monastery exhibition, the botanic exposition, and other recreational areas, including a children’s amusement park. It holds several festivals and events, including Ostap Bender’s amateur chess championship.

See the Gates of Dawn

The Gate of Dawn, also known as the Sharp Gate, is a city gate in Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, and one of the country’s most prominent religious, historical, and cultural sites. It is a popular Catholic pilgrimage site in Lithuania.

Malta - Valletta

Valletta (also Il-Belt) is the capital of Malta, a Mediterranean island republic. The fortified city was built on a peninsula in the 1500s by the Knights of St. John, a Roman Catholic order. It is famous for its museums, palaces, and marvellous churches. St. John’s Co-Cathedral, whose lavish interior houses Caravaggio’s masterwork “The Beheading of Saint John,” is a Baroque landmark.

What to do in Valletta

Visit John’s Co-Cathedral

St John’s Co-Cathedral is a Roman Catholic co-cathedral dedicated to Saint John the Baptist in Valletta, Malta. It was built as the Conventual Church of Saint John by order of St. John between 1573 and 1578, after being commissioned by Grand Master Jean de la Cassière. The church was created by Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who also designed several other notable structures in Valletta. Mattia Preti and other painters redecorated its interior in the Baroque stle in the 17th century. The church’s interior is one of Europe’s most remarkable examples of high Baroque architecture.

Take a Walk at the Lower Barrakka Gardens

The Lower Barakka Gardens are twinned with the Upper Barakka Gardens in Valletta, Malta. The gardens overlook the Grand Harbour and its breakwater. It features the Monument to Sir Alexander Ball, a noteworthy feature in the form of a neoclassical temple in the garden’s centre. Furthermore, the terrace area includes historical plaques commemorating, among other things, the 1956 Hungarian revolution, the Prague spring, Giuseppe Garibaldi, and the European Union’s 50th anniversary. A statue is also there.

See the Triton Fountain

The Tritons’ Fountain is located directly outside Valletta’s City Gate. It comprises three bronze Tritons that support a vast basin balanced on a concentric base made of concrete and coated in travertine slabs. The fountain is a significant Modernist landmark in Malta. The fountain was designed and built between 1952 and 1959 under three different governing bodies and was developed jointly by prominent artist Chevalier Vincent Apap and his associate draughtsman Victor Anastasi. It became unofficially operational on Saturday, May 16, 1959. The fountain was used as a stage for National Celebrations named ‘Mill-Maltin għall-Maltin’ and is believed to have contributed to the dramatic collapse of the sculptural group on Wednesday, March 1 1978. The sculptural group was repaired by Malta Drydocks engineers between January 1986 and April 1987. During this intervention, a central sculptural addition consisting of three seagulls and seaweed was introduced within the sculptural group. However, this arrangement subsequently diminished the role of the gigantic Tritons’ figures.

Montenegro - Podgorica

Montenegro’s capital city is Podgorica. Its waterways and bridges include the new Millennium Bridge over the Moraa River and the Ribnica River stone bridge. The Turks built the centuries-old Clock Tower, which dominates the old town. Lake Skadar National Park, located in the Zeta-Skadar valley south of the city, is home to historic monasteries, beaches, and species such as the Dalmatian pelican.

What to do in Podgorica

Visit Independence Square

Independence Square, formerly known as Republic Square or Plaza of the Republic, is the heart of Podgorica, Montenegro. It is located in Nova Varo, the city’s administrative and socio-cultural centre. The square is 5.000 square metres in size. The equitable houses the city library “Radosav Ljumovi” and the state gallery “Art”.

Take a Walk at the Old Ribnica River Bridge

The Old Ribnica Bridge is the oldest in Podgorica, Montenegro. It crosses the Ribnica near its confluence with the Morača. The bridge was built during the reign of the Romans and was extensively rebuilt in the 18th century AD. Adži-paša Osmanagić sponsored the reconstruction, and the bridge has since been known as Adži-paša’s bridge.

See the Ostrog Monastery

The Ostrog Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox Church monastery high up in the massive rock of Ostroška Greda in Montenegro, against an almost vertical backdrop. It was built in honour of Saint Basil of Ostrog, who was buried here. The Bjelopavlići plain can be seen from the monastery. The monastery is in Danilovgrad Municipality, 50 kilometres from Podgorica and 15 kilometres from Nikšić. The Ostrog monastery is the most visited pilgrimage site in Montenegro.

Romania - Bucharest

In southern Romania, Bucharest is the country’s capital and commercial centre. Its most recognisable monument is the vast, communist-era Palatul Parlamentului government building with 1,100 rooms. Nearby, the ancient Lipscani district has an active nightlife scene, the modest Eastern Orthodox Stavropoleos Church, and the 15th-century Curtea Veche Palace, which originally belonged to Prince Vlad III (“The Impaler”)

What to do in Bucharest

Visit Stavropoleos Monastery Church

Stavropoleos Monastery, also known as Stavropoleos Monastery until the monastery was dismantled in the last century, is an Eastern Orthodox monastery for nuns in central Bucharest, Romania. Its church is designed in the Brâncovenesc stle. Saints. Archangels Michael and Gabriel are the patrons of the church. Stavropoleos is the feminine form of Stavropolis. Byzantine music is one of the monastery’s persistent interests, evidenced by its choir and the most incredible collection of Byzantine music books in Romania.

Take a Walk at the Grădina Cișmigiu

The Cișmigiu Gardens, also known as Cișmigiu Park, are a public park in Bucharest, Romania, that extends around an artificial lake. The establishment of the gardens was a watershed moment in Bucharest’s history. They compose the city’s oldest and largest Park, measuring 14.6 hectares. The primary entrance is on Elisabeta Boulevard, in front of Bucharest’s General City Hall; another significant entry is on Știrbei Vodă Street, near the Crețulescu Palace. The prominent Gheorghe Lazăr National College is in the Park’s southern section. On a weekend day, the Park receives an average of 5,100 visitors.

See the Arcul de Triumf

The Arcul de Triumf is a triumphal arch on the Kiseleff Road in Bucharest’s northern outskirts. Petre Antonescu created the monument, built in 1921-22, refurbished in 1935-36, and is being renovated again. It celebrates Romania’s triumph in World War I and the coronation of HM King Ferdinand and his wife, Marie.