{"id":239558,"date":"2025-07-05T07:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-05T07:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/239558\/"},"modified":"2025-07-05T07:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T07:46:13","slug":"i-visited-incredible-town-thats-one-of-the-furthest-from-the-uk-its-a-mini-europe-travel-news-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/239558\/","title":{"rendered":"I visited incredible town that’s one of the furthest from the UK – it’s a ‘mini Europe’ | Travel News | Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

During my travels around Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, I constantly heard from locals “just how lucky we are” to be so close to all the European treasures<\/a>. I was reminded of this with each stranger\u2019s fascination with the continent, and it was a start reminder that we don\u2019t take nearly enough advantage of our perfect geographical location as Brits. Back at home, we sit in the vicinity of hundreds of different city breaks, blissfully unaware of our own fortune.<\/p>\n

A pre-dinner aperitivo in Italy, a trip to one of Croatia\u2019s many \u2018secret beaches\u2019<\/a>, a stroll through Amsterdam\u2019s cobbled streets: there are so many elements to a European summer that remain undefeated. And on the complete opposite side of the world, with this far from my mind, I stumbled across New Zealand\u2019s very own version.<\/p>\n

Nestled in the country\u2019s South Island, in the Otago region, sits the tranquil Queenstown<\/a>that’s previously been named the world’s most beautiful place. While not yet a massive tourist hotspot for Brits due to the long and expensive flights required to visit, Queenstown is considered up-and-coming in its appeal. The hostel owner at my previous stop even reassured me that amidst all the places now considered “overrated”, Queenstown\u2019s reputation doesn\u2019t do it justice.<\/p>\n

I can confirm this, with previous visitors describing it as a “mini Norway” as others liken it to the Swiss Alps.<\/p>\n

With the duality of New Zealand\u2019s climate producing a background of snow-capped mountains over sunny beaches, the town is unique in its appeal. It sits on the shore of Lake Wakatipu, and offers a dream destination for those on an adrenaline-packed adventure, or a quiet lakeside break. I enjoyed several activities during my stay, and have vowed to return to those I ran out of time for – or chickened out of after seeing the height of the drop.<\/p>\n

The town is smaller than you\u2019d imagine, given the length of time that you could spend here. It has a village feel to it, and much like the Alps\u2019 towns, gives the impression that it\u2019d be perfect during the festive period. The streets are lined with rooftop restaurants and fun Irish bars – St Paddy\u2019s spent at Ballarat noted as our personal favourite, as well as nearby hikes and pebbled beaches.<\/p>\n

The Luge has been named as a top attraction, with TripAdvisor visitors calling it \u2018a real life Mario Kart\u2019 and only wishing \u2018it had gone on for longer.\u2019 After taking the Skyline Gondola up to the top of Bob\u2019s Peak, with panoramic views of the city, you reach the Luge. The attraction has numerous options to pick from, including a 6-ride package for $99 (equivalent to \u00a343.70). Bloggers reiterate the value for money, but warn that the ride is only open for the summer season; something to bear in mind if you\u2019re planning that Christmas trip.<\/p>\n

Queenstown also boasts a myriad of activities; there\u2019s the AJ Hackett Bungy Jump for any daredevils amongst us, the Bob\u2019s Peak 1099m hike for the athletically-inclined, or the iconic Fergburger diner for those more focused on taking in the city charm from ground level. Overall, it is the town\u2019s charm that keeps people coming back. Described as \u2018a lovely little slice of Europe\u2019, it\u2019s got a few home comforts for those such a long way from home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During my travels around Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, I constantly heard from locals “just how…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239559,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,704,76188,93210,57944],"class_list":{"0":"post-239558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-new-zealand-travel","13":"tag-queenstown-new-zealand","14":"tag-travel-section"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}