Mediterranean
Area Destination Guides

As Europe's oldest capital and one of the world's oldest cities, Athens is an innovative, beautiful place rich in history. The city is known for being the home of Plato, the famous Athenian philosopher. It also is home to many sculptures of ancient Gods and landmarks.

Athens is full of historical landmarks and preserved areas. In 2011, the city's population was around 665,000. However, its smaller size hasn't hindered Athens from staying innovative. The city is referred to as Europe's Capital of Innovation.

Croatia is a former Yugoslav republic on the Adriatic Sea. It is about the size of West Virginia. Part of Croatia is a barren, rocky region lying in the Dinaric Alps. The Zagorje region north of the capital, Zagreb, is a land of rolling hills, and the fertile agricultural region of the Pannonian Plain is bordered by the Drava, Danube, and Sava Rivers in the east. Over one-third of Croatia is forested.

Greece is undoubtedly a country steeped in ancient history. Cycladic civilization inhabited the country as far back as 3000 BC, after which other civilizations emerged over time. The city-states of Ancient Greece, called polis, created the more advanced concepts of separate governments, language dialects, and laws, many still used today.

Over the centuries, the Greek islands have been the stepping stones between North Africa, Asia Minor and Europe, across which warriors, tradesmen, conquerors and even civilisations have hopped. Since ancient times the islands have been fought over and claimed as prizes by successive invaders. Their strategic location, in a seafaring world, made many islands prosperous and autonomous trading centres. Some were run by foreign masters, as evidenced by the Venetian ports, Roman aqueducts and Frankish castles found on the islands today.

Madrid has been inhabited since the Stone Age, but its rise as an important city within Spain began in the 1500s, and it became the country’s capital in 1606. The population of the city grew rapidly over the centuries, but most notably in the early 1900s around the time of a civil war. Madrid underwent many changes since, going from a politically oppressed town to a booming and prosperous city.

Rome is the capital city of Italy, the home of the Vatican and the Papacy, and was once the center of a vast, ancient empire. It remains a cultural and historical focus within Europe.

Venice has a history that spans thousands of years, but that history, technically took place before the city was known as Venice. Venice, as the tradition of the town goes, was founded in 421 A.D. Throughout its history, Venice has seen a lot of things. Venice was originally a part of and controlled by the Byzantine Empire.