12-Day Oktoberfest European Capitals

Aarhus is the capital of the Jutland peninsula, and is the second largest city in Denmark. It has a population of approximately 265,000 people. Aarhus is metropolis as well as a village, offering cultural activities, commerce, and shopping, while the countryside is a twenty minute drive from town. Aarhus is located near the sea, with surrounding
pubic beaches. Aarhus has many parks, inlcuding the botanical garden, and a variety of restaurants both in the city and in the more outlying places.

Brussels, (brùs´elz) Fr. Bruxelles, city (1991 est. pop. 140,050), capital of Belgium. An important manufacturing center, it is also a seat of the European Union and of NATO. Brussels was inhabited by the Romans and later (7th cent.) by the Franks. It developed into a center of the wool trade in the 13th cent. and became (1430) the seat of the dukes of Burgundy and later (1477) of the governors of the Spanish (after 1714, Austrian) Netherlands. In 1830 it became the capital of an independent Belgium. Its historic buildings include the Maison du Roi (13th cent.), Gothic city hall (15th cent.), and parliament building (18th cent.).

Elegant is the word that will come to mind.

As you take in the Danish capital’s rich history and traditions. With castles and crown jewels, galleries and museums, cathedrals and canals, the sightseeing ranks among the best in Europe.

The Strøget is a series of pedestrian-only streets which make strolling and shopping a pleasure. And be sure to visit Tivoli, a unique combination of picture-perfect flower gardens, lakes, theaters and restaurants with more than 100,000 colored lights.

Gothenburg, also known as Goteborg, is the largest port in Sweden and its second-largest city. Located on Sweden’s southwest corner, it is known as the home of the Volvo Group, the Gothernburg Film Festival, the Liseberg amusement park, a variety of music festivals, and much more.

Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport, Sweden’s second-largest airport and the only commercial passenger airport in the city.

Hamburg, city (1989 est. pop. 1,603,000), coextensive with, and capital of, Hamburg state, N Germany, on the Elbe and Alster rivers. It is Germany’s largest and busiest port. Manufactures include copper, ships, and machinery. Founded in the 9th cent., it formed (13th cent.) an alliance with Lübeck that became the basis of the Hanseatic League. The city was largely destroyed by fire in 1842. Severely damaged during World War II, it has been rebuilt and is now a modern cultural center. Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms were born in Hamburg.

Restless, enduring and wonderful, London is Europe’s largest city. And surely, if you have the choice to visit only two or three cities of the world in your lifetime, by all means make one of them London.

The Romans started it all. The city they developed was “the square mile,” – and Londoners still hunt for Roman relics in the Thames. History is everywhere you look in London, yet today the city is as modern and metropolitan as any city on earth.

By day, London is buzzing with the frenetic pace of commerce not even Dickens could have imagined. By night, the excitement and glitter of theatres, cinemas, pubs and restaurants beckons throngs of travellers from around the world. But there is another London, a peaceful London of cool museums, quiet tea rooms, immaculate gardens and hushed churches.

There is Royal London – ancient pageantry in a modern kingdom – with its palaces, pomp and precise manoeuvres at the Changing of the Guard. And there’s outrageous London, the urban gathering ground for Cockney pitchmen, “fringe” theatre and the city’s youth, with their own distinctive style.

There is also Greenwich, easily accessed from central London by public transport, or take a more scenic route and arrive by riverboat. Notable for both its maritime history and royal heritage, it is perhaps best known for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian (0° longitude) and Greenwich Mean Time, based at the Royal Observatory.

London, this extraordinary city of contrasts, holds a stunning abundance of hidden-round-the-corner surprises. You owe it to yourself to explore them all. Here, then, is the London you’ll come to know and remember.

Situated at the head of a 60-mile fjord, Oslo, Norway, one of the oldest of the Scandinavian capitals, is beautifully framed by a vast expanse of woods, moors and lakeland. A blend of 19th- and 20th-century architectural styles, Norway’s capital is known for the wood carvings and colorful frescoes that decorate its buildings and public spaces.

As the French capital, Paris is the commercial, financial, and industrial focus of France, a major transportation hub, and a cultural and intellectual center of international renown. A beautiful city in which tourism is the main industry, Paris is cut by the Seine River. On its stately, formal right (northern) bank are many of the most fashionable streets and shops, and such landmarks as the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, Louvre, and Sacré Coeur.

The left bank houses governmental offices and is the site of much of the city’s intellectual life. It is known for its old Latin Quarter and for such landmarks as the Sorbonne, the Luxembourg Palace, the Panthéon, and the modern Pompidou Center (see Beaubourg). The historic core of Paris is the Île de la Cité, a small island occupied in part by the Palais de Justice and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. Above the city rises the Eiffel Tower. Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements (boroughs) and governed by a mayor.

A fishing village when it was conquered (52 B.C.) by Caesar, it became an important Roman town. It was a Merovingian capital in the 5th cent. and became the national capital with the accession (987) of Hugh Capet, count of Paris. It flowered as the center of medieval commerce and scholasticism but suffered severely during the Hundred Years War. Paris consistently displayed a rebellious and independent spirit, as in its resistance to Henry IV (1589-93); the first Fronde (1648-49); the revolutions of 1789, 1830, and 1848; and the Commune of Paris (1871). During World War II it was occupied (1940-44) by the Germans but was relatively undamaged.