National Parks of Europe

A celebration of and practical guide to Europe’s areas of incredible natural beauty. Step into a world boasting hilltop coastal villages, frozen Arctic landscapes and sweeping mountain ranges – and discover the 60 most breathtaking national parks, as well as itineraries for experiencing their top sights and activities. The beautiful hardback includes: Suggested itineraries for long and short visits The essential activities for every season Awe-inspiring landscape photography How to get to each park and where to stay Illustrations of local wildlife to look out for Europe’s national parks are incredibly diverse – and that’s what makes them so special. They protect areas of coast, high-altitude peaks in the Pyrenees and Alps, and even parts of the frozen Arctic, and include wildlife from Carpathian squirrels and fin whales, to peregrine falcons and polar bears. Setting out to choose Europe’s top 60 national parks was no easy task, so we called on our expert writers and well-travelled editors. We asked them to tell us which parks provide the best experiences and why. The final selections were those that offered something truly unique, often an enthralling mixture of stunning natural beauty, incredible wildlife, fulfilling activities, local culture and, occasionally, a compelling history too. We hope the following pages inspire you to explore more of Europe’s wild and wonderful spaces. Includes 60 national parks: Abisko Abruzzo Aiguestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici Arcipelago di La Maddalena Atlantic Islands of Galicia National Park Dolomiti Bellunesi Berchtesgaden Black Forest Brecon Beacons Cairngorms Carpathian Cinque Terre Connemara Curonian Spit Dartmoor Donana Durmitor Ecrins Etna Gauja Golfo di Orosei e del Gennargentu Hardangervidda Hohe Tauern Hortobagy Jostedalsbreen Jotunheimen Killarney Kornati Lahemaa Lake District Lake Skadar Lemmenjoki Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades Nordvest-Spitsbergen Ordesa Oulanka Paklenica National Park Peak District Pembrokeshire Coast Peneda-Geres Picos de Europa Pirin Plitvice Port-Cros Pyrenees Retezat Sarek Saxon Switzerland Sierra Nevada Slovensky Raj SnA|fellsjokull National Park Snowdonia Swiss National Park Tatras Triglav Valbona Valley Vatnajokull Vikos-Aoos National Park Wadden Sea About Lonely Planet: Since 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world’s leading travel media company with guidebooks to every destination, an award-winning website, mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet covers must-see spots but also enables curious travellers to get off beaten paths to understand more of the culture of the places in which they find themselves. The world awaits! ‘Lonely Planet. It’s on everyone’s bookshelves; it’s in every traveller’s hands. It’s on mobile phones. It’s on the Internet. It’s everywhere, and it’s telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.’ — Fairfax Media ‘Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.’ – New York Times