EUROPE

Europe: Cliffs, Castles and History Around Every Corner

Europe as a continent is home to more than a quarter of the world’s countries. Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. Europe covers about 10.18 million km2 (3.93 million sq mi), or 2% of Earth’s surface (6.8% of land area), making it the second-smallest continent. By surface area, France is the largest EU country and Malta the smallest.

The climate of Europe varies from Arctic conditions to temperate in the south. The Alps are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lie in south-central Europe. The mountain range stretches approximately 750 miles (1,200 kilometers) in a crescent shape across eight Alpine countries: France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia.

European culture is the root of Western civilisation, which traces its lineage back to ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Every world religion is represented in Europe and hundreds of languages are spoken too. More than 100 languages are spoken in Europe. The most spoken languages are German, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Italian and Polish. Visit Wikijunior Languages to find out more about European languages and other languages from around the world.

Travel through Europe is quite easy but can add up, especially if you aren’t aware of discounts and money-saving travel hacks. Take the train. It’s usually pretty comfortable and can be affordable. If you buy second-class tickets, they tend to be about 50% cheaper. ⌖