The top 10 European away trips, from Paris-Roubaix to the Six Nations in Rome
What better time to look back across at our neighbours and celebrate what we have left behind? The Independent’s Sports staff picks the continental treats
In leaving the European Union, the UK also leaves behind some of the great sporting venues in the world. So let’s look back across at our neighbours and celebrate what we are waving goodbye to.
In a sporting sense, that really is a great deal and some of the very best sport has to offer. Whether football, rugby, tennis, golf or even running is your thing, this rich continent has something for everyone to enjoy.
This is our selection of the best 10 away trips in Europe.
Victoria Stadium, Gibraltar
Built just 200 metres from the disputed isthmus between Gibraltar and Spain, a stone’s throw from the airport runway that peters out into the sea, the Victoria Stadium stands as an iconic relic in football’s world of modern grounds. Holding just 5,000 people, with only one stand boasting seating under the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar, every team on the territory is entitled to play their games at the ground. Getty
Paris-Roubaix, France
Once a year, as spring blooms in northern France, around 250 masochists race over the bone-rattling cobbles carved through the countryside from Paris to Roubaix. The churn of mud and dust combined with the constant crashes, punctures and array of other obstacles (Bernard Hinault was once famously taken out by a dog, but still won) creates one of the most chaotic spectacles in sport, and for one day only the race draws a crowd to turn the French fields into a unique sporting colosseum. AFP/Getty
Berlin Marathon, Germany
One of the great European cities hosts one of the great European sporting events. Held in September every year the Berlin Marathon sees tens of thousands pound the streets around the unique blend of modern and classic architecture in the city’s centre. One of the world’s fastest courses Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge set a new world record with his 2:01:39 run back in 2018. And what better way to recover from 26.2 miles of pain than with a two-pint stein or two? AFP/Getty
Monte-Carlo Masters, Monaco
The tiny independent city-state on France’s Mediterranean coastline doesn’t only host the Monaco Grand Prix – arguably the most iconic race in Formula One’s calendar. The bijou country also stages the Monte Carlo Masters, a tennis tournament so prestigious it makes Wimbledon seem like a provincial leisure centre. The tournament does not have a player commitment – meaning players are free to skip it if they so wish – but for some reason it’s a packed roster every year. Getty
Valderrama Golf Club, Spain
Regularly crowned Europe’s greatest golf course, the hunting ground of Sergio Garcia – who has won the tournament three times – on the outskirts of Marbella is also one of the sport’s most unforgiving tests. No stranger to reducing professionals to tears, the Robert Trent Jones course first hosted a European Tour event in 1988, and played stage to one of the greatest Ryder Cups in memory where Europe edged an American side featuring Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Fred Couples by a single point in 1997. Getty
Jerez Angel Nieto racetrack, Spain
Sun, speed and a sea of red and yellow. Jerez is perhaps the most magical yet crazy locations on the MotoGP calendar – a series that has its roots embedded in Spanish motorcycling. Located inland from the southern port of Cadiz, Jerez provides a beautiful backdrop to a flowing circuit that provides some of the best side-by-side racing and nail-biting finishes – largely made famous by Valentino Rossi. When the Italian wins, the venue transforms into a yellow smoke-filled basin, though fans of current top dog Marc Marquez have shown that the venue doesn’t look too bad in red either. For sheer emotion, Jerez should be on any sports fans’ bucket list. AFP/Getty
Stadio Olimpico, Italy
They don’t come any more beautiful than the Stadio Olimpico on a warm spring afternoon. The Italian side may find themselves more often than not the whipping boys of the Six Nations, but among the ranks of the best away days in the championship they are light years ahead of the pack. The picturesque sight of the stone pine trees peaking over the top of the stands on the edge of one of the most beautiful cities in the world is worth the flight price alone, and once the ‘Il Canto degli Italiani’ starts to ring out, you won’t regret the trip. Getty
San Siro, Italy
One of the great coliseums of European football, the San Siro, also known as the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, is an essential experience for any football fan. A stroll around the enormous Duomo in the heart of Milan only builds an appetite for both calcio and an aperitivo – perhaps the best pre-match snack available on the continent.
The bustling surroundings in San Siro, easily accessible for tourists, generates buzz before fans climb one of the 11 concrete towers to enter the stadium. An eyesore compared to the renaissance architecture in the city, though no less impressive due to its magnitude. Both AC Milan and Inter’s fans provide colourful choreography in the stands to accompany the eclectic talent on the pitch in one of the more unique sporting experiences.
With both clubs striving to modernise their home and with the distinct possibility of the original structure being demolished, the San Siro has emerged as a priority for sports fans around the world. AFP/Getty
Roland Garros, France
Forget Wimbledon. Every connoisseur knows that the highlight of the tennis calendar in fact comes a few weeks earlier, when both the ATP and WTA tours touch down in Paris. Stade Roland Garros is a truly historic venue, fit to burst with fashion, fine dining and the famous clay. Oh, and the tennis isn’t bad either: competitors slugging it out in the red dirt like gladiators fighting to the death in the Colosseum. Only in sportswear. Getty
Nurburgring-Nordschleife
Motorsport fans are often guilty of looking only at the F1 calendar when looking for the best trip for petrol heads in Europe, but dig a little deeper and you’ll find one of the hidden gems of the four-wheel world. The Nurburgring 24 Hours, staged around the enlarged and historic Nordschleife circuit, is the best value for money you can find and will catapult you back to the roots of motor racing. Tucked away in the Eifel mountains, the 17.5-mile circuit will justify the 24 hours of non-stop action as the sounds of the very best GT racers bellow through the trees throughout the night. AFP/Getty
Chosen by Ben Burrows, Jack de Menezes, Tom Kershaw, Luke Brown, Jack Rathborn and Lawrence Ostlere
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