Planning a European football break this summer? Here are my tips for how to make the most of it. With Real Madrid having won the Champions League on Saturday, football fans' attention turns to Munich and the European Championship. Although I don’t have the same obsession I did when I was younger, I still get more excited about major football championships than I should.
My first tournament was Italia 90 and it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I’m sure the same will be true for millions of kids all over Europe with their eyes on Euro 2024 this summer (even if future partners won’t let them have a Paul Gascoigne duvet cover and any future children will call Panini sticker books ‘boring’). What has any of that got to do with travel? For me, Italia 90 wasn’t just about the .
Yes, I watched nearly every game. But in between times, I wanted to learn as much as possible about the teams and the countries participating - the flamboyance of Brazil, the fun and joy of Cameroon, the mystery of the then Soviet Union team. But the star of the show was the impossibly cool .
I was intrigued by the cities the teams were playing in. And with the unofficial anthem of the tournament being ‘Nessun Dorma’ performed by Luciano Pavarotti, nine-year-old me had become awakened to culture higher even than MC Hammer’s ‘U Can’t Touch This’. I’d also, unknowingly set the wheels in motion for a lot of city breaks to watch European .
A group of friends and I have been.