Did you know that more than 300 million of us go on a religious holiday every year, making faith-based holidays big business in the tourism industry?
What’s more, since the pandemic more people have turned to religious tourism as a way to find both spiritual solace and distraction from what is going on in the world around them.
Whether you’re travelling individually or as part of a group, now lockdown restrictions have eased there are a wealth of religious holiday hot spots in Europe to choose from.
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If you’re reading this because you’re thinking of booking a faith-based holiday in this collaborative post we take a look at 4 of the best religious holiday hot spots in Europe.
4 best religious holiday hot spots in Europe
Greece
Greece may be famous for its luxurious island parties, delicious local cuisine and Mediterranean climate, but wherever you go, you will find at least one Orthodox church. Many churches date back to the Byzantine era. If you want to feel like you’ve travelled back to that time, you could take advantage of the faith based tours in Greece by Travelway Europe and visit Meteora where six active monasteries are replete with valuable art, documents and holy relics. Getting there is tough, as the monasteries are located at the top of Mount Athos, but it is well worth the visit once you get there.
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans is a country that many Catholics choose to visit to see the statue of Our Lady of Medjugorje, which depicts the Virgin Mary. This statue hit the headlines when six Croatian teenagers in Medjugorje claimed to have seen apparitions of Mary in 1981, and it has been a place of pilgrimage ever since.
Italy
The Assisi pilgrimage is a 550km route from Florence to Assisi visiting key sites in the life of Saint Francis of Assisi. It’s worth noting that the route takes a month and is divided into 28 stages. If you travel to Italy it is also worth taking in the capital, Rome. Once you are there, you could visit the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome during a walkabout of the city, as well as the Vatican City, The Centre of Christianity.
Turkey
In the middle of Europe and Asia, Turkey is full of impressive and beautiful mosques. The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, the capital of the country, is one that attracts most of the attention. Its official name is the Sultan Ahmed Mosque and it dates back to the Ottoman era. Besides the rich history, it is famous for its architecture and the beauty of all the blue tiles that cover the walls of its interior.
This is a collaborative post.
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