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Association football in Europe

Europe is gripped by football fever every year between September and May: bars show matches, huge arenas host games, children play football in the streets, overweight adults play football on pitches in pub teams. What sets Europe apart in footballing terms from the rest of the world is the sheer quality of the domestic leagues, which are head and shoulders above those from elsewhere around the world.

AC Milan, Ajax, Arsenal, AS Roma, Atlético Madrid, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus, Liverpool FC, Manchester City, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all truly world class teams with world class players that play week in week out against other top rate teams in internationally-known stadiums. The premier club competition in Europe, and arguably the world, is the UEFA Champions League. Most football enthusiasts regard the level of football in the UEFA Champions League to be even higher than in the FIFA World Cup. UEFA runs two other club competitions for men, the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, as well as the UEFA Women's Champions League.

The elite tournament for men's national teams is the European Championships, often shortened to just Euros. Women's national teams have their own European Championships, shortened to Women's Euro. UEFA also operates the UEFA Nations League (men) and UEFA Women's Nations League, biennial tournaments split into leagues based on competitive level, though with all teams having the chance to qualify for the final round. The traditional footballing powerhouses with regard to men's national teams are Germany, Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Traditional women's powerhouses have been France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, but since 2010 England, the Netherlands, and Spain have emerged as major contenders.

Attending a football match can be a fantastic way of experiencing a city's culture and getting up close and intimate to locals in a what is in most cases a relatively safe environment (see the "Stay safe" paragraphs below for country-specific advice). Many of the teams also hold stadium tours where you get to take a look at their trophy cabinets (empty or not), club museums and changing rooms, though mostly only of interest to supporters.

England
The Premier League, run by The Football Association (FA), is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, and keenly followed throughout much of the former British Empire. Football played in the English Premier League tends to be faster but less technical than the Italian Serie A or Spanish Primera División, and the stadiums, despite being dogged by hooligan troubles in the 70s and 80s, are very family friendly and safe. The main domestic cup competition, the FA Cup, is the oldest football competition in the world, and is open to all clubs that are affiliated with the FA. England also has a second, less prestigious domestic cup competition known as the EFL Cup (or League Cup), which unlike the FA Cup is only open to clubs in the top four divisions. This means that England is one of the few European countries in which it is possible to achieve a domestic treble.

Top clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United play in front of packed out stadiums every week, and the majority of seats are reserved for season ticket holders, so it can often be tricky to find tickets for their Premier League fixtures. Instead, why not try seeing them play in European Champions League matches, for which there are often tickets available to the general public.

Match tickets range from around £20 for the smaller games of the lower quality teams, up to around £60 for the best seats at the best matches of the big teams; some tickets can be bought on match days at the grounds, but it is best to buy them online well in advance from the clubs' websites.

Teams
Top clubs include:
 * Arsenal (London) have spent the most number of consecutive seasons in the top division, and play at the Emirates Stadium, which is sadly lacking in atmosphere compared to their old grounds at Highbury. They finished the 2003-04 league season unbeaten, the only one to do so since the Premier League was formed in 1992, and the second in the history of English top flight football after Preston North End did so in the inaugural 1888–89 season.
 * Aston Villa (Birmingham) were 1982 European champions and play at Villa Park.
 * Chelsea (London), Premier League champions twice in the last decade (2015, 2017) and winners of the 2011–12 and 2020-21 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League 2012-13 and 2018-19, play at Stamford Bridge.
 * Everton (Liverpool) have spent more seasons in the top division than any other team.
 * Leicester City (Leicester) completed one of the most astonishing turnarounds in sports history—going from likely relegation in April 2015 to Premier League champions for 2015–16. They've remained a contender for European places, and won the 2020–21 FA Cup. Play at King Power Stadium. Unfortunately, they were relegated to the second-level EFL Championship after the 2022–23 season, but are returning to the Prem for 2024–25.
 * Liverpool (Liverpool) play at the famous Anfield stadium, which saw better days in the 1980s when the club won title after title, but the drought has come to end; they won the 2019-20 English Premier League title, making it their first domestic league win since the 1989-90 season. They have been European champions a total of 6 times, most recently in 2019, making them the most successful English club in European competition.
 * Manchester City (Manchester) are the current Premier League champions (2023–24) and winners of five of the last six league titles, and play at City of Manchester Stadium (commercially known as Etihad Stadium). The only English team to have won a domestic treble when they won the League Cup, Premier League and FA Cup in 2019, and achieved a continental treble by wining the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 2023.
 * Manchester United (Manchester) have collected a very healthy trophy haul (most recently the 2023–24 FA Cup), and play at Old Trafford. The first English club to become European champions when they did so in 1968. Also the first English team to win a continental treble, when they won the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in 1999.
 * Newcastle United (Newcastle upon Tyne) play at St James' Park, also known as the Sports Direct Arena if you wish to annoy a Magpie supporter.
 * Tottenham Hotspur (London) opened a new stadium late in the 2018–19 season on the site of their former home of White Hart Lane.

The English Premier League is also well known for some of the intense rivalries between clubs. By far the most famous one is the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United, a rivalry that stems partly from the city rivalry that has existed between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool since the Industrial Revolution. The rivalry between Manchester United and Leeds United is also an intense one stemming from the traditional rivalry between Lancashire and Yorkshire which has existed since the Wars of the Roses. Of course, there are also many notable local derbies, such as the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham, the Merseyside Derby between Liverpool and Everton, the Manchester Derby between Manchester United and Manchester City and the Tyne-Wear Derby between Newcastle United and Sunderland.

Women's football
Although football had long been regarded as a male sport in England, the popularity of women's football has taken off in the 2020s, after England made deep runs in the two most recent FIFA Women's World Cups (semifinals in 2019, final in 2023), and won the UEFA European Women's Championship in 2022. England now has a well-patronised women's professional league, with the top tier being the Women's Super League. Many of the top tier men's teams now field professional women's teams in the competition. Women also routinely referee top-tier men's fixtures, and act as their trainers and managers, establishing role models in the sport.

Stay safe
In the 1970s and 80s, hooliganism was a major problem in English football, but now it is highly unlikely for violent incidents to occur in and around football stadiums. Still, certain precautions must be taken:

 * It is very unwise to support opposition teams openly in home sections of the stadiums. At the very least you will be shouted at, or possibly ejected from the stadium by the police for your own safety.
 * Try not to wear clothing in the opposition's colours in the home areas of the stadiums.

Partly due to past problems with hooliganism, certain items allowed in foreign stadiums are banned from being taken into football grounds in England. They include aerosols, air horns, bottles, fireworks, flags with poles, flares, glass vessels, smoke bombs and vuvuzelas.

Other strict regulations also apply to football in England. Spectators are not allowed to drink alcohol in view of the pitch, unless they are in an executive box. Standing up for long periods in all-seater stadiums is also strongly discouraged. Standing sections are not allowed in top tier stadiums (although there is growing demand for, and political support for changing this), and are rare in the second tier ('The Championship') but are common, particularly in older stadiums, below this level.

Don't be alarmed if you see if a visible police presence at certain matches, they are typically deployed with the co-operation of the clubs playing, to ensure that the match remains a safe experience for all the fans. A number of clubs also have visible stewards or marshals inside the stadium.

France
Top sides compete in France's Ligue 1, the top level of the two-division Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) under the purview of the France Football Federation (website in French only). The cup competition is the Coupe de France, open to professional and amateur clubs, including those in France's overseas possessions. France once had a second cup competition, the Coupe de la Ligue, open only to professional sides in the top three divisions, but even before COVID-19 it was a blip on the radar, and LFP announced that the 2019–20 edition would be the last for that competition. Due to the history of French colonialism, the French league is home to a particularly high concentration of top-class African players, primarily from the former French colonies in North and West Africa, and the French national team also includes many players of African descent.

Top clubs include:

 * Olympique Lyonnais (Lyon) play at Groupama Stadium (Parc Olympique Lyonnais behind the corporate naming rights) in the adjacent suburb of Décines-Charpieu. The dominant team in French football in the early 2000s; won seven consecutive French championships from 2002 to 2008, a French record. Also of note is that OL's women's section has been even more dominant than the men were in the decade of the 2000s. The OL women, who play at the OL training center next to the stadium, had two dominant streaks ended in 2020–21: 14 straight French women's titles and five straight victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League. They reclaimed both titles in 2022, and won the league in 2023.
 * Olympique de Marseille (Marseille) play at the Stade Vélodrome. Traditionally one of the great French football powers, they won the Champions League in the early 90s.
 * Paris Saint-Germain (Paris) play at Parc des Princes (Paris/16th arrondissement). The current dominant team; won six of seven titles from 2013 to 2020, a streak interrupted by Monaco (below) in 2017, and won the 2022 and 2023 titles as well. The 2023 title broke a tie with Saint-Étienne for the most in French men's history. The women's section, which plays across the street at Stade Jean-Bouin, ended both of the OL women's streaks in 2021, winning the French league title and eliminating OL from the Women's Champions League (though PSG would lose that final to Barcelona).
 * Girondins de Bordeaux (Bordeaux) play at Stade Chaban Delmas.
 * Lille OSC (Lille) play at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the nearby town of Villeneuve d'Ascq. They ended PSG's recent national dominance on the men's side by winning the 2021 title. (The site nominally offers an English-language option, but the English version is not yet active.)
 * AS Monaco (Monaco) play at Stade Louis II. Although it plays in the French league system, it is not actually based in France but in the neighbouring country of Monaco. It is nevertheless one of the most successful clubs in the French league system, having reached the final of the UEFA Champions League in 2005, claiming the scalp of Spanish giants Real Madrid in the process.
 * AS Saint-Étienne (Saint-Étienne) play at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Saint-Étienne have won a 10 Ligue 1 titles (a record until PSG surpassed it in 2023), as well as six Coupe de France titles, a Coupe de la Ligue title and five Trophée des Champions.

Although many rivalries exist, the most historically significant one is Le Classique between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique de Marseille, which stems in large part from a regional rivalry between Paris and the north of France, as well as the class divide between the nobility of Paris and the working class of Marseille.

Germany
"Football is a simple game. Twenty-two men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans always win."

- Former England international Gary Lineker

The highest level league in Germany is called Bundesliga. It has quickly caught up to other top European leagues and the fan scene is known to be one of the healthiest in the world. The Bundesliga has the highest attendance figures of any European league, and at all clubs the fans participate in fan displays and coordinated chanting, creating an excellent atmosphere within the stadiums. The most successful team in Germany is FC Bayern München. Bayern have won more Bundesliga titles than any other club, have won every European cup, and "the treble" in 2013, winning the Bundesliga, German Cup, and UEFA Champions League. The Bundesliga has a relatively large number of contenders for the top ranks, making it a remarkably diversified and unpredictable league, compared to other countries' leagues that are dominated by just a few top teams. A club that was champion or runner-up in the last season may find itself struggling against relegation in the next (and vice versa).
 * Bayern München (Munich) — Germany's most successful team and holder of most records — naturally hated as much as it is beloved. Its women's section has three of the four most recent Frauen-Bundesliga titles (2021, 2023, 2024).
 * Borussia Dortmund — Bayern's chief rival in the 1990s and 2010s. Its home of Westfalenstadion (commercially Signal Iduna Park), the country's largest stadium, is famous for its atmosphere. The stadium's south terrace, known as the "Yellow Wall", is the largest terrace for standing spectators in Europe, holding over 24,000. (For European and international matches that require an all-seated configuration, seats are installed.)
 * 1. FC Union Berlin — A club from East Berlin that had a non-conformist image during GDR times, and even before reaching the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019 enjoyed at least as loyal a following in Berlin as Hertha, traditionally the city's main team. This rise was capped off in 2022–23 by Union finishing fourth, qualifying it for the Champions League for the first time ever, while Hertha was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.
 * Werder Bremen — Often a good team, especially in the 2000s, have had trouble since the 2013/14 season.
 * Eintracht Frankfurt — Winners of the 2022 UEFA Europa League. Also notable for having amicably taken over the former 1. FFC Frankfurt, four-time Women's Champions League winners, in 2020.
 * 1899 Hoffenheim (Sinsheim) — Rose dramatically from the fifth division in 2000 to the Bundesliga in 2008, and now a regular contender for Champions League places, though disliked by many because their rise was funded mainly by a billionaire software mogul who had been a youth player with the club.
 * RB Leipzig — A rising power thanks to its backing by Red Bull, finishing second in 2016–17 and third in 2018–19, winning the DFB-Pokal (domestic cup) in 2022 and 2023, and reaching the Champions League semifinals in 2022, but have replaced Hoffenheim as the most hated team in the country because of said corporate involvement
 * Bayer 04 Leverkusen — Came close to being champions several times, including reaching a "vice treble" in 2002 when they placed second in the Champions League, the domestic cup and the domestic league, before finally winning their first Bundesliga title in 2024, also becoming the first team to go through the entire league season unbeaten; originally the factory team of chemicals giant Bayer AG and still owned by the company.
 * Borussia Mönchengladbach — Bayern's chief rival in the 1970s, but have entered a slow decline since then.
 * FC St Pauli – Hamburg "cult club" based in a bohemian borough, the fan base is considered to be unconventional and left-wing. Celebrity fans include Bela B. of Die Ärzte and Turbonegro. Won the 2. Bundesliga in 2023–24 to return to the top flight for the first time in over a decade.
 * VfB Stuttgart
 * VfL Wolfsburg — Originally the factory team of Volkswagen, and still owned by the company; they have managed one men's national championship so far. The women's section has enjoyed much more success, with seven national titles and six appearances in the Women's Champions League final, winning it twice.

The fiercest rivalry in German football has traditionally been the Revierderby between Gelsenkirchen-based FC Schalke 04 and Borussia Dortmund, and matches between the two are guaranteed to draw partisan sell-out crowds. However, it's dormant as of 2024 (apart from the possible cup match) because the clubs are no longer in the same league.

As alluded to above, the Frauen-Bundesliga is also one of the world's best women's leagues. Most of the top women's sides are under the umbrella of the men's clubs, with the most prominent teams nowadays being Bayern and Wolfsburg.

The second league (2. Bundesliga) has a high quality level and many long-standing traditional clubs, including: About seven to nine clubs have serious ambitions to get promoted to the Bundesliga so it is a very tough league. The support is not weaker than in the Bundesliga (some say it is even better).
 * Hertha BSC (Berlin) – Traditionally the capital's premier club, which isn't saying much and not necessarily the most popular or ardently supported team among "true Berliners". Relegated from the Bundesliga after the 2022–23 season.
 * 1. FC Köln (Cologne) — The first Bundesliga champion in 1963/64, formed in 1948 to bring first class soccer to Cologne. Most recently relegated after 2023–24.
 * Fortuna Düsseldorf (supported by German Punk band "Die Toten Hosen")
 * SpVgg Greuther Fürth (Nuremberg's rival from the 1920s, still not much love lost. Nuremberg-Fürth is the most played "Derby" in Germany)
 * FC Schalke 04 (Gelsenkirchen) — Often a championship contender in its earlier history, though unable to win the big one since the 1950s, and having a fierce rivalry with Dortmund. Went into severe decline during the 2020s, and relegated at the end of the 2022–23 season.
 * Hamburger SV — The only team to play in the Bundesliga without interruption since its inaugural season in 1963, until being relegated for the first time in 2018. Hasn't returned to the top flight yet, notably losing the promotion/relegation playoffs in both 2022 and 2023.
 * 1. FC Kaiserslautern (historically, one of Germany's best clubs, the only team to ever win the championship the year after being promoted)
 * 1. FC Nürnberg (won nine German championships during the early years of the sport, since 1968 - their last championship and only one in the 1963 established Bundesliga - however they have been struggling between promotion and relegation with few truly good seasons in the Bundesliga - their 2018 promotion from second to first Bundesliga was the eighth in club history - a German record. In addition to those eight promotions and relegations between the top two tiers (the first as reigning champion in 1969 and another one as reigning cup winner in 2008) they also had to endure relegation to and promotion from the third tier in the mid 1990s)

Even in the lower leagues there are many clubs with a healthy fan base so some clubs below the 2nd league have 10,000 visitors per game and more. If you want to "feel" an atmosphere of authentic, not so commercialised football, it might be good to visit a game of one of these teams. One notable lower-league team is:
 * Dynamo Dresden — An ex-GDR club now playing in the 3. Liga with a huge fanbase, a part of which is said to be violent.

In the Bundesliga violence is not a serious problem due to a high number of police inside and around the stadium. Just don't support the wrong team in the wrong corner of the stadium and everything will be all right.

There is a bigger problem with violence in the lower leagues, especially with regard to some East German clubs, where social issues meet with a sharp decline in sporting success and relevance. German police have an eye on problematic fans even down to the 4th league.

Greece
Greece may not have the illustrious football history that its neighbours have, but what the fans certainly do not lack is the passion for their teams, and Greek teams have been known to pull off upsets at European competition. The top tier domestic league in Greece is Super League Greece (Ελληνική Super League). The most famous Greek clubs are:

 * Olympiacos (Piraeus) — the most successful team domestically, Olympiacos has won 44 Championships and 27 Cups. Also the first club outside the so-called "big leagues" to win UEFA's newest club tournament, the Conference League, doing so in 2024.
 * Panathinaikos (Athens) — the most successful Greek team in European competition, and the only one to have reached the final of the European Cup.
 * PAOK (Thessaloniki) — the reigning champions (2023–24) and the most popular team from Northern Greece; went unbeaten in domestic competition in the 2018-19 season on their way to Championship and Cup glory.
 * AEK (Athens) — the third most successful Greek team.
 * Aris (Thessaloniki) — the second most popular team from Thessaloniki.

By far the largest rivalry in Greece is the Derby of the eternal enemies (Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων) between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, which can trace its history to a class rivalry, with Olympiacos traditionally being supported by the working class and Panathinaikos traditionally being supported by the nobility.

Italy
The Italian Serie A is one of the top leagues in the world, and the second most popular destination for the top South American players after Spain's La Liga. In particular, many Argentinian players are of Italian descent and choose to play in the Serie A. The top clubs in Italy's Serie A are:
 * Internazionale (Milan) — Often shortened to just "Inter", and called "Inter Milan" by English-language media. Regular contenders, though they fell into a dry spell after claiming the Serie A/Coppa Italia/Champions League treble in 2009–10, not claiming the scudetto (league title) again until 2021. They clinched the 2024 scudetto with five matches to spare. Shares its home stadium with AC Milan. Inter is the only team that has never been relegated from Serie A.
 * AC Milan (Milan) — Ended Inter's five-year reign atop Serie A in 2010–11, and ended their own title drought in 2022. Shares its home stadium with Inter. The second most successful team in European competition after Spain's Real Madrid with a total of 7 titles to its name.
 * Lazio (Rome) — Shares its home stadium with AS Roma
 * AS Roma (Rome) — Shares its home stadium with Lazio. Winners of the inaugural UEFA Conference League in 2022.
 * Juventus (Turin) — The dominant team throughout the 2010s, winning every league title from 2012 to 2020. Having won 65 official national and international titles throughout its history, Juve is also the most successful Italian football club and one of the top teams worldwide.
 * Napoli (Naples) – Probably best known as the club for which Diego Maradona played at the height of his career. After going bankrupt twice at the turn of the 21st century and being dropped to Serie C, they made it back to Serie A a few years later, and became contenders in the 2020s, capped off by clinching the 2023 scudetto with five matches to spare.
 * Genoa (Genoa)
 * ACF Fiorentina (Florence)
 * Atalanta (Bergamo) – An entertaining side that has become a millstone to more prominent sides in recent years. The club's victorious 2024 Europa League campaign was capped off by spoiling Bayer Leverkusen's quest to finish unbeaten in all competitions.

Among the most notable local football rivalries in the world are the Derby della Madonnina between the Milanese clubs of Internazionale and AC Milan, and the Derby della Capitale between the Roman clubs of Lazio and AS Roma. The Derby della Capitale is the more intense of the two owing to its political undertones; AS Roma is supported by many left-wing groups, while Lazio is supported by many overt fascists. However, the clubs involved in the Derby della Madonnina have been the more successful pair in terms of domestic and European trophies won. Another notable and bitter rivalry is that between Juventus and Internazionale, known as the Derby d'Italia, which involves the two most successful teams in Italian football.

Netherlands
The top league in the Netherlands is the Eredivisie. Traditionally, it has been dominated by three clubs, none of which have been relegated since the formation of the Eredivisie in 1956 (though all had been relegated from the top level before then):

 * Ajax (Amsterdam) — One of the most decorated clubs in European football, with 33 national titles, 18 wins in the KNVB Cup (Dutch Cup), four wins in the European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League, and one UEFA Cup (now UEFA Europa League).
 * Feyenoord (Rotterdam) — Not quite as decorated as Ajax, but with a still-impressive 14 national titles, 11 Dutch Cups, a European Cup, and two UEFA Cups.
 * PSV (Eindhoven) — Second only to Ajax in domestic titles, with 21. Also has 8 Dutch Cups, plus one European Cup and one UEFA Cup.

Other contending teams for the top half of the season standings tend to be AZ, FC Twente, Sparta Rotterdam and FC Utrecht. Additionally, the 2023/24 season is the first time that FC Almere is in the top league, having slowly crawled its way up the ranks since the 1990s.

The KNVB Beker, as per the 2018 edition of the cup the Toto KNVB Beker is the more all-round championship of the Netherlands, featuring clubs from the Eredivisie, the best amateurs from the Topklasse, and clubs that have won the district cups. The KNVB Beker is less conform to the same winning clubs than the Eredivisie, and often features Eredivisie clubs winning, though rarely a club wins both the Eredivisie and KNVB Beker. The KNVB Beker's outcome tends to be a bit more varied compared to the Eredivisie. Since 2010, the cup has been won by FC Twente, PSV, AZ, PEC Zwolle, FC Groningen, Feyenoord, Vitesse and Ajax. In the same time, the Eredivisie has only been won by Ajax, PSV and Feyenoord.

Portugal
The top Portuguese league, the Primeira Liga, has been steadily climbing the European rankings in the 21st century. Many of the country's top clubs play in state-of-the-art grounds, a legacy of the country's hosting of UEFA Euro 2004. The historic "Big Three" clubs have completely dominated the league. None have ever been relegated from the top flight, and they have collectively won 82 of the 84 league championships to date.

 * S.L. Benfica (Lisbon) — Boasts the most wins in both of the major domestic competitions, with 36 league titles and 26 Portuguese Cups. Also a two-time winner of the European Champions Cup (now UEFA Champions League) in the early 1960s.
 * Sporting Clube de Portugal (Lisbon) — Often incorrectly called "Sporting Lisbon" by English-language media, Benfica's eternal crosstown rival has 18 league titles and 16 Portuguese Cups. They also have a win in the now-defunct UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
 * FC Porto (Porto)— Porto are second to Benfica in domestic trophies, having won the league 28 times and the cup 16 times. However, their accomplishments in European play stand above those of the two big Lisbon clubs. They match Benfica with two wins in the European Champions Cup/Champions League, and have also claimed the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League twice, most recently in 2011.

The most famous rivalry in Portugal is O Clássico between Benfica and FC Porto, fuelled in part by the rivalry between Portugal's two largest cities, and that both clubs are the most successful Portuguese clubs in domestic and European competition. As with many local rivalries, the Derby de Lisboa between Benfica and Sporting is also an intense one, and has produced many classic matches over the years.

Scotland
Scotland is a fanatical football country. Per head of population, it has the highest number of football supporters (those who actually attend games) of any country in the World. While clubs in Scotland sometimes struggle to attract world-class players, the standard of football compares well with other European leagues. This is borne out by the successes of Scottish clubs in European competitions from the 1950s to the present. Indeed, Celtic were the first club from any country other than Italy, Spain or Portugal to win the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League) when they defeated Internazionale of Milan in the 1967 final in Lisbon.

Teams
42 clubs play in the Scottish Professional Football League, the four-level national football league. At the top, there is the 12-club Scottish Premiership; below that are the Scottish Championship, Scottish League One and Scottish League Two, each with 10 teams. Below League Two, teams take part in regional leagues. Like England, Scotland operates two cup competitions—the Scottish Cup, open to all clubs that are members of the country's governing body, and the Scottish League Cup, open only to the 42 SPFL clubs.

The top football clubs in Scotland include:

 * Aberdeen (Aberdeen). Nickname: The (Dandy) Dons. Home ground: Pittodrie. Shirt colour: red. Have been in Scotland's top level since 1905, longer than any other club except Celtic.
 * Celtic (Glasgow). Nickname: The Bhoys, The Tims, The Tic. Home ground: Celtic Park. Shirt colour: green and white hoops. The first British club, and to date the only Scottish club to ever become European champions when they did so in 1967. The only founding member of Scotland's league to have been in the top flight continuously since the league's formation in 1890. Current Premiership champions (2023–24).
 * Dundee United (Dundee). Nickname: The Arabs, The Tangerines. Home ground: Tannadice (once (in)famously pronounced "Tanna-dee-chay" by a BBC newsreader to much hilarity north of the border). Shirt colour: tangerine. Relegated to the Championship following the 2015–16 season, and have yet to return.
 * Heart of Midlothian (Edinburgh). Nickname: The Jambos (Hearts --> Jam Tarts). Home ground: Tynecastle Park. Shirt colour: maroon. Most recently promoted to the Premiership in 2015.
 * Hibernian (Edinburgh). Nickname: The HiBees. Home ground: Easter Road Stadium. Shirt colour: green. Most recently promoted to the Premiership in 2017.
 * Rangers (Glasgow). Nickname: The Teddy Bears, The Gers, Sons of William . Home ground: Ibrox Park. Shirt colour: royal blue. Returned to the Premiership for 2016–17 after being forced into the Scottish Football League Third Division (now known as League Two) in 2012 due to bankruptcy. They fully returned to their historic prominence in 2020–21, ending Celtic's nine-year reign over the Premiership with an unbeaten league season.

Fixtures are listed on the clubs' websites and in the local press. Tickets can be purchased directly from the relevant club. Tickets can be hard to come by for matches between Celtic and Rangers, for European ties involving Celtic or Rangers and sometimes for home matches of other teams against the 2 big Glasgow clubs. The "Old Firm" derby between Celtic and Rangers is by far the biggest rivalry in Scotland, and also ranks among the most intense in the world as a result of its sectarian undertones; Celtic is traditionally supported by Catholics while Rangers is traditionally supported by Protestants. Incidentally, this makes Old Firm matchdays especially volatile in Northern Ireland — arguably as much as in Glasgow itself.

Stay safe
Stadiums are all-seater and generally attending a match is a safe experience. Bear in mind that opposing supporters' seating areas are segregated - avoid cheering for the "wrong" team, or wearing their colours (though the worst that is likely to happen to you is verbal abuse followed by ejection by stewards or police). Trouble often occurs around the city (and indeed, around other towns in Scotland) after derby matches in Glasgow, and (to a lesser extent) Edinburgh. Caution should be exercised on these occasions.

Spain
Spain's Primera División, more often known as La Liga, is one of the best in the world, and very keenly followed in much of Latin America. Most of the top South American footballers, as well as a handful of top Mexican footballers, spend much of their professional careers in Spain. The top clubs include:

 * FC Barcelona (Barcelona), the Camp Nou is the biggest stadium in Europe
 * Real Madrid (Madrid), the most successful team in European competition, having been European champions 14 times
 * Valencia (Valencia)
 * Atlético Madrid (Madrid)
 * Villarreal (Villarreal)
 * Sevilla  (Seville)
 * Athletic Bilbao (Bilbao), known for its policy of signing only Basque (or at least Basque-trained) players, and the only club other than the giants of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona never to have been relegated from La Liga.

The biggest rivalry by far in Spanish football is El Clásico between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, and this rivalry goes beyond just football with a long history of politics behind it. Back during the Franco era, Real Madrid was supported by Franco himself and widely regarded as the club of the ruling establishment, and till this day, the club is still strongly associated with the Spanish state. FC Barcelona, on the other hand, is seen as a symbol of Catalan identity, which was brutally suppressed during the Franco era. Even today, Catalan nationalism is a political hot button issue and "El Clásico" often gets bundled up in it. However, the avid following this game in particular has in much of Latin America is not nearly as connected to politics.

Spain's top women's league, Liga F, has emerged in the 2020s as one of the world's top women's leagues thanks to huge investments by the top men's sides. This emergence was cemented by Barcelona winning the Women's Champions League three times in four years (2021, 2023, 2024), and even more so by Spain winning the 2023 World Cup.

Turkey
While Turkish clubs have never been European champions, and the quality of players is somewhat below those of the leagues in the major footballing countries, there is no shortage of passion from Turkish football fans, and matches involving both clubs and the Turkish national team regularly result in violent confrontations with the opposing team. The Turkish Süper Lig has traditionally been dominated by three teams, all based in the largest city, Istanbul.

 * Fenerbahçe S.K.
 * Galatasaray S.K.
 * Beşiktaş J.K.

The rivalry among all the three clubs is very intense, though the Intercontinental Derby (Turkish: Kıtalararası Derbi) between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray, so named because the two clubs are based on the Asian and European side of Istanbul respectively, is the most famous in all of Turkey. While the class differences between the supporters have since blurred, Galatasaray is traditionally supported by the nobility, while Fenerbahçe is traditionally supported by the working class.

Wales
Historically, Wales did not have a national league. The top tier was divided between the Cymru Alliance, for teams in North and Mid Wales, and the Welsh League, for teams in South Wales. Consequently, many of the bigger clubs chose to compete within the English football pyramid. Starting from the 1992/93 season, the League of Wales, now Cymru Premier, was founded to form a national competition. The "exiled" clubs were invited to resign their positions in the English leagues, and enter the League of Wales, along with the top teams from the Cymru Alliance and Welsh League. Some of the clubs chose to remain within the English system. The Cymru Alliance and Welsh League were replaced in 2019 by the current second-level leagues, Cymru North and Cymru South.

Wales' two largest teams both play in the English league system:
 * Cardiff City (Cardiff) returned to the EFL Championship for 2019–20 after being relegated from the Premier League after the 2018–19 season. Nickname: The Bluebirds. Home ground: Cardiff City Stadium.
 * Swansea City (Swansea) have played in the EFL Championship since the 2018–19 season, having been relegated from the Premier League after seven seasons at that level. Nickname: The Swans. Home ground: The Liberty Stadium.

Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport County and Wrexham all compete at a lower level within the English game. Wrexham is most notable outside the UK for its purchase in 2021 by Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The club has since become the subject of Welcome to Wrexham, a documentary TV series on the U.S. FX network.

The biggest clubs in Cymru Premier are
 * Aberystwyth Town (Aberystwyth)
 * Connah's Quay Nomads (Connah's Quay, in Deeside)
 * Llanelli
 * Rhyl FC (Rhyl)
 * The New Saints - whose Park Hall stadium is actually just across the English border in Oswestry

Compared to neighbouring England, Cymru Premier stadiums are small, and attendances are low. In South Wales, the popularity of Rugby Union and the presence of the large exiled clubs, Cardiff and Swansea, conspire to keep attendances down. In North and Mid Wales, the proximity of the glamorous Premiership teams in the English North-West and West Midlands, as well as the presence of the increasingly prominent Wrexham within the region, means that many football fans prefer to journey across the border or follow Wrexham rather than watch their local teams, and nearly all the top Welsh players play for English clubs. This often means that attending matches can be a fairly relaxed activity, with a strong community feel at clubs. Tickets are fairly cheap, there is usually a small clubhouse for a drink before and/or after the match, and visitors will generally be made to feel welcome by the locals. Violence between fans is very rare, though bad feelings between fans of Rhyl and Bangor City, before the latter club's demise, could sometimes go too far.

Summer
Soccer is mostly a winter game, but the northernmost countries of Europe have such harsh winters that playing and travelling as a supporter is unrealistic. These countries are Belarus, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Two other UEFA member countries play in summer—the Caucasus country of Georgia and the Central Asian country of Kazakhstan. Their Premier Leagues (under equivalent local names) have a dozen or so teams playing April to October, plus or minus a couple of weeks. Their league leaders thereby qualify for European tournaments, when unheard-of teams containing the letter "ø" briefly trouble the sun-pampered elite, but they seldom progress far.

Almost all of their national teams play in their capital city, which usually but not invariably has the strongest club sides. Georgia is a partial exception; most of its home international matches are in the capital of Tbilisi, but matches are also taken to Batumi and Kutaisi. Lithuania plays in its second-largest city of Kaunas, which is more centrally located within the country than the capital of Vilnius. Sweden's men's national team plays in Stockholm, but the women's national team plays in Gothenburg. These summer nations do not include Russia's men's league, which takes a long mid-winter break but finishes its season around May, as do other winter-playing nations (though its women's league does play a summer season).

.
 * Sweden is by far the strongest of the summer-playing nations. The national men's team (home ground Strawberry Arena, in the Stockholm-area community of Solna) often qualify for the Euros and World Cups. The top tier is Allsvenskan, with 16 teams and relegation of the bottom two to Superettan the second tier. There's also a knock-out, Svenska Cupen. The women's national team (home ground Gamla Ullevi in Gothenburg) has qualified for every World Cup to date. The top tier for women is Damallsvenskan, with 14 teams.
 * Ireland is famously mild though rain-lashed in winter, and the point of summer soccer in the Republic is to avoid competing for support with rugby union and Gaelic football. (For some reason, they're not bothered by competition from cricket.) The national men's team play in Dublin; Northern Ireland play separately in Belfast, unlike rugby. The top tier for clubs is the League of Ireland Premier Division of ten teams. The bottom team is relegated to First Division and the penultimate faces a play-off. Oh lucky people of Derry, who in summer can watch Derry City FC, and in winter Institute FC playing in the NIFL, as the north hews to the UK winter playing season.

Go next

 * The next FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will be held from 16 October–3 November 2024 in the Dominican Republic. Starting in 2025, this will become an annual event, with Morocco hosting through 2029.
 * The next FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup will be held from 31 August–22 September 2024 in Colombia.
 * The next FIFA U-17 World Cup will be held in Qatar in 2025; the dates have not yet been announced. Starting in 2025, this will be an annual event, and Qatar will host through 2029.
 * The next FIFA U-20 World Cup will be held in Chile in 2025; the dates have not yet been announced.
 * The next FIFA World Cup, running from 11 June–19 July 2026, will be a joint effort between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with most matches (including the knockout rounds) in the US.
 * The next FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in Brazil from 24 June–25 July 2027.

title: Association football in Europe


text:
Foppolo

Foppolo is a ski resort in the Brembana Valley, Lombardy, Italy.

Understand
Although its population is only 170 in 2021, it hosts thousands of holiday apartments and second homes.

Get in
Foppolo is 90 minutes from Orio al Serio Airport in Bergamo and is connected to Carona by piste and to San Simone by ski bus. The road from Bergamo takes you through San Pelegrino Terme, the spa resort and San Giovanni Bianco, an attractive town where the nearest hospital is based.

By car
A4 motorway: Bergamo exit. Follow the directions for Ponte San Pietro, Villa d'Almè, Zogno, San Pellegrino Terme, Piazza Brembana, Branzi and Foppolo.

By train
Bergamo railway station.

By bus
Connections with the Bergamo Trasporti bus line for the Brembana Valley.

In winter
Foppolo is connected to Carona by slopes and to San Simone by ski bus. An area with 12 lifts serving 26 slopes for a total of about 30 km.

 * Ski Area

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Foppolo


text:
Ford and Etal

Ford and Etal are two neighbouring villages in Northumberland. Most of its attractions are connected to the Ford and Etal estates and the towns receive thousands of visitors every year, admiring the castle ruins, riding the heritage steam train or enjoying the beautiful rural surroundings.

Get in
When you're driving in, take the A1 and then follow the B6352 from Berwick-upon-Tweed or the B6353.

Do
Don’t expect to be able to plonk your bum on a bench in Etal Village and watch the world go by while you wait for the return train! Ford Estate removed the benches outside the village hall in 2020 as part of COVID-19, and to refurbish, and have not brought them back.

You can sit in the garden at Lavender Tearooms, but you will need to purchase a snack, and/or one of their excellent teas or coffees, the hot chocolate is pretty good too, seating is limited due to Covid, so you may need to wait. There is also the Black Bull across the road, if they are open. Cyclists very welcome.

Eat
Lavender Tearooms, excellent service and food n drinks.

The Black Bull pub, not bad when it’s open, good selection of real ale brewed a couple of miles up the road. Take-away service for food when open, fish and chips are A1.

Drink
Lavender Tearooms, excellent service and food and drinks.

Connect
As of June 2022, Ford and Etal have a basic mobile signal from Three but no other coverage. 5G has not reached this area.

title: Ford and Etal


text:
Fordlândia

Fordlândia is a small historic town of 3,000 people (2017) on the east bank of the Tapajós River in Pará. It was founded by American industrialist Henry Ford to secure a source of cultivated rubber for his automobile manufacturing operations. The main attraction in Fordlândia is the remains left behind by the Ford Motor Company when it abandoned the plantation.

Understand
Henry Ford bought a large amount of land in the Amazon jungle in the late 1920s and attempted to cultivate rubber for use in the manufacturing of his cars. What makes Fordlândia interesting is that Ford tried to "export America" to the Amazon, forcing workers to work American hours, eat American food, etc. The project turned out to be a major failure, mainly due to the workers' resentment of the imposed lifestyle and to the forces of nature. Later on, the operation was moved to Belterra.

By boat
Boats leave Santarém from the Praça Tiradentes port from Monday to Saturday at 16:00 and on Sunday at 14:00. The trip takes 12 hours and costs R$45. Bringing a hammock is recommended if you don't want to pay extra for a cabin. Sometimes it's possible to rent a hammock from crew member, but don't depend on it for R$10, for example. There are good hammocks to buy around the port for as low as R$25-40, if you avoid expensive brands.

You'll arrive at around 04:00 the next morning and if you bought a hammock you can hang in it on the dock until sunrise. You also can go by different speedboats ("lanchas") at Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 13:00 for R$50. They leave around "Pontão de lancha" close to Praça Tiradentes and the trip will take 4-7 hours.

There is really a lot of transport options available, and the easiest is probably to show up at the port and ask around.

If you're coming from the south, boats leave Itaituba daily at 16:00 and take 4 hours to reach the town. A speedboat takes around 1 hour.

By bus
Buses leave to and from Itaituba.

By car
There is just one road into Fordlândia. 4X4 is recommended in rainy season.

Get around
Small enough to walk around. There are also several mototaxis around.

See

 * The most recognizable landmark in town is the 45-m-tall (150-foot) water tower. Ask the guard for permission to climb to the top for a great view.
 * Vila America is about 2.3 km (1.5 miles) from the town center and contains several house from the Ford era, american fire plugs, remnants of a paved sidewalk, a beautiful alley, and an abandoned swimming pool among other things. As of 2017, all houses had inhabitants except one decayed house that was partly hidden by vegetation. The houses are crumbling, but previous travellers have noted that in abandoned ones you may still see old beds, bathtubs, sinks, etc. from the 1930s.

Do
There is no organized tourist infrastructure in Forlândia, although there is sure potential for one such.

Eat

 * You can enjoy rice and vegetables like the original workers of Fordlandia (bring it yourself though)!

Connect

 * There are a few different internet cafés in Fordlândia, but the connection is rather slow usually.
 * There are no ATMs, but in case of an emergency a motorcycle workshop features the places only equipment for paying with card, which can be used to extract small amounts of money.

Go next
Boats going upriver to Itaituba leave at around 04:00. Boats going downriver to Santarém leave at 20:00. Lanchas (speedboats) leave daily. It seems like they leave M-Sa at 15:00 and Su at 14:30. Ask a local when there to be sure. There are likely more more possibilities than this, boats where coming and going every now and then.

Apart from this, buses leave to Itaituba.

title: Fordlândia


text:
Forest Grove

Forest Grove is a city in the Portland Metropolitan Area region of Oregon.

By car
From Portland, take Highway 26 west to the Banks exit at OR-47, and go south on OR-47 into Forest Grove. Likewise one can exit US Hwy 26 at NW 185th and go west on Evergreen Pkwy from NW 185th into Hillsboro as NE 10th and than go west on OR-Hwy 8 to Forest Grove through downtown Hillsboro and Cornelius.
 * OR 8.svg Pacific Ave/ Gales Creek Rd Main east-west road through town. It goes through town as Pacific Ave (WB) and 19th Ave (EB). Continues another  west to its western terminus at OR-Hwy 6 as Gales Creek Rd. Going east it continues east towards Hillsboro through Cornelius.
 * OR 47.svg from US 26.svg & OR 99W.svg SR-47 connects US Hwy 26 to OR Hwy 99W in McMinnville via Forest Grove. From US Hwy 26 it's  into Forest Grove and another  to OR-Hwy 99W between McMinnville and Lafayette. It goes through town, north-south, as Tualatin Valley Hwy. Going south it passes by Henry Hagg Lake (see below under 'Do').

By bus
bus route serves Forest Grove from Beaverton via Hillsboro and Cornelius. It starts at Beaverton Transit Center, and connects with MAX train service (trains to/from Portland) in both Beaverton and Hillsboro, before continuing on to Forest Grove. As of May 2022, it is a frequent service bus line, running at least every 15 minutes. The 'bus station' is a lot at 19th Ave and B St for several buses to park, serves as the first/last stop and a bus turn around for route 57. Connections to Amtrak, Greyhound, Oregon Point and other intercity services are in Portland.

Fishing Henry Hagg Lake
Take Highway 47 South for approximately 5.9 miles, until you arrive at the intersection of Highway 47 and Scoggins Valley Road. Turn right on Scoggins Valley Road, and head west. You will pass the Lakestop Store and arrive at the Fee Both. After the fee booth, the road leads to West Shore Road which takes you around the entire lake.

West Shore Road takes around the entire lake, giving fisherman many access points all around the lake for bank fishing. There is also a few designated fishing docks for people who don't want to search for a spot, although they fill up really fast. For boaters, there are a few boat launches to get your boat out on the lake. Half of the lake is a designated no-wake zone(under 5 mph) which is great for the trollers. Boating out on Henry Hagg is very popular, because many of the good spots are not accessible from the bank (not to take anything away from the bank fishing, there are some awesome spots!). Hot spots on the lake depend on the weather and temperature. In the morning over by the dam seems to hit a lot. When it gets to be later in the day and warmer, head to opposite of the dam where there are a lot of shady waters.

- Season Entry Pass: $50 - Season Boat Pass:  $55 - Senior Citizen Pass: $35 - Daily Pass:        $5

title: Forest Grove


text:
Forest Lake

Forest Lake is a city in Minnesota.

Get in
Interstate 35, US-8, and US-61.

By bicycle
The city is located along the Hardwood Creek/Sunrise Prairie Bike Trail, a 30+ mile paved, bike trail stretching from Hugo to North Branch. The trail also passes areas of hardwood forest, deep marsh wetlands where sightings of grouse, deer, wild turkey and waterfowl are common. Additionally, the city has built two bike/pedestrian bridges in the last two years to allow for safer travel.

The Forest Lake Parks Department has made a bike map for biking in and around the city.

Eat
There are plenty of restaurants throughout Forest Lake. The city is home to many popular chains such as Famous Dave's, Applebee's, and all the major fast food chains. In addition to the well known chains, Forest Lake has restaurants and cafes unique to the region.

Go next

 * Pine City, just a half an hour's drive north on I-35, is well worth a look.

title: Forest Lake


text:
Forest of Bowland

The Forest of Bowland is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covering in the north of Lancashire and part of North Yorkshire, north-west of Clitheroe and south-west of Settle. Its main villages are Chipping, Slaidburn and Dunsop Bridge.

Use OS Explorer Map 41 or Landranger Maps 98 & 103 to guide you round the area.

Understand
The Forest of Bowland is a nationally protected landscape and internationally important for its heather moorland, blanket bog and rare birds. The 'forest' refers to its ancient status as a hunting park rather than a wooded terrain.

History
Bowland today is remarkably unchanged since the late medieval period. Across the area there are many fine examples of the stone buildings that were built to replace timber houses between the 16th and 18th centuries, with their characteristic stone mullions, lintels and datestones. There are also sites that survive as isolated reminders of the medieval heritage of the Forest of Bowland, for example the Cistercian monastery at Sawley.

Landscape
Bowland is upland country which forms part of the Pennines, and shares many of the characteristics of other upland areas like the Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales. The area is dominated by a central upland core of deeply incised gritstone fells with summits above 450 m and vast tracts of heather-covered peat moorland.

The fells’ fringe of foothills is dissected by steep-sided valleys which open out into the rich green lowlands of the Ribble, Hodder, Wyre and Lune Valleys. Well-wooded and dotted with picturesque stone farms and villages, these lower slopes, criss-crossed by drystone walls, contrast with and complement the dramatic open sweep of the gritstone heights. On its south-eastern edge lies Pendle Hill.

Flora and fauna
The heather moorlands of the fells are exceptionally important as a habitat for upland birds and have been designated as a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the European Birds Directive in recognition of this.

The Bowland Hen Harrier Project is centred on the Bowland Visitor Centre, Beacon Fell. Continuous footage of a Hen Harrier nest in the Bowland Fells can be viewed seven days a week at the Visitor Centre on Beacon Fell Country Park near Preston.

Get in
You need a car, or bike at a pinch. The County Council loftily declare their commitment to use of public transport in the Forest of Bowland, but don't provide any, eg the "Bowland Explorer" has been axed.

Get around
In 2004 parts of Bowland became open to walkers for the first time as a change in the law gave general right of access to the public to ‘Access Land’ for the purposes of open-air recreation on foot. The Forest of Bowland now offers great walking through some of the most beautiful and remote areas of the country.

See

 * Slaidburn is a picturesque grey stone village set on the banks of the Hodder. The 10th-century ‘Angel Stone’ carving can be seen at the Heritage Centre, which has tourist information and houses displays, artifacts and an audio-visual presentation about the village’s heritage and the Forest of Bowland.

 * Dark skies: on a cloud-free night, you should have good views of the Milky Way, maybe an occasional meteor, and if you're lucky the Northern Lights. Pretty much anywhere in Bowland will do, but especially recommended are Beacon Fell Country Park, Gisburn Forest Hub, Slaidburn Village Car Park, Crook o’ Lune Picnic Site and Newton in Bowland.

Do

 * Walking: the Park suggest some 14 routes, free to download.
 * There are 5 cycle routes within Bowland including the Gisburn Forest Cycleway and Lancashire Cycleway.
 * There are opportunities for fishing, birding, gliding and horse-riding in the area.
 * Learn how to build dry-stone walls. Training courses are held in summer, the next is Sat 1 & Sun 2 June 2019 at Slaidburn.

Sleep

 * Camping is available at a dozen sites, including Dale House above Tosside (in a barn, so it's more like a hostel dorm), and Dalesbridge & Orcaber Farm off A65 near Clapham.
 * The Inn at Whitewell (see listing above). Has 23 bedrooms, 14 with open fires.

Go next

 * Lancaster - interesting town, a good base for Bowland and also a staging point for The Lake District
 * Clitheroe - makes a good base for exploring the area

title: Forest of Bowland


text:
Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean (Welsh: Fforest y Ddena) is ² of ancient woodland in the West Country region of England.

Understand
The southern part Forest of Dean district is one of the United Kingdom's most impressive forests, offering spectacular scenery throughout the year: whether it's bluebells in spring or the rich colours of oak in the autumn. The northern half around the town of Newent is more open countryside and also worth visiting. The Forest of Dean and Wye Valley is also a great area for outdoor activities including walking, cycling, canoeing or kayaking on the River Wye, climbing, caving, Nordic walking are just some of the activities that can be found in the area.

Mining in the forest goes back before Roman times. Also, the Forest of Dean used to be the elite Hunting Forest for royalty.

Great scenery all around the main forest area comprising of lots of hills and trees.

Visitor information

 * Dean Wye visitor information website

Get in
From the South come in on the M4 and cross over the river Severn on the Severn Bridge (M48). From the north come down the M5.

Fees and permits
If you go for fishing then you will need a permit.

Get around
There is a train route from Chepstow to Lydney, and also the Dean Forest Railway which runs from Lydney to Parkend. Due to its semi-rural location there is a limited bus service in most parts of the area, and a car would be a much quicker means of transport. Gloucestershire Tourism provides a Royal Forest website which shows a touring route around the Forest of Dean, taking in all the major attractions.

See
The Speech House walk is well worth to see for sculptures deep inside the Forest. Clearwell Caves are ancient Iron mines estimated to be worked for over 8,000 years and is worth a look into. Lydney Park is worth a visit to see some Roman ruins. Great Western Railway Museum (Coleford) is excellent for steam buffs. The main feature is the landscape - some of the towns are very ordinary. May Hill towards the North provides panoramic views

Do
Lots of scope for walking and off-road cycling. Quite a few marked trails.

Buy
No city centre in the Forest of Dean, only Market towns and villages in this district so not a great place to go shopping if you are looking for the typical high street shops. However, if you enjoy the small individual shops with character, there are plenty to be found.

Eat
Lots of nice restaurants and also good quality pub meals.

Drink
Local ale is still made in the Forest of Dean for 'Real Ale' fans. The Freeminer brewery produce several different unique beers.

Camping
There are several camping sites in the area; best to check with the tourism board for the best facilities.

Stay safe
There is a chance of coming across wild boar in the area, keep your distance and do not get between mother and young.

Go next
The nearest cities are Bristol and Newport, both within 30 minutes drive. Gloucester is actually closer (about a 20 minutes drive), but it is a much smaller city.

title: Forest of Dean


text:
Forestville

Forestville is an unincorporated town of 3,800 people (2021) in Sonoma County, Northern California. Set in the heart of "wine country", has one major street and no stoplights.

Get in
The largest nearby airports are San Francisco International Airport and Oakland. Horizon Air runs flights to the Charles Shultz airport in Santa Rosa, with daily flights from Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas. Driving there, most people use Highway 116.

Get around
Driving around Forestville is the easiest mode of transit. Traffic is rarely busy, and parking is abundant. A car will allow you to explore the mostly rural, but beautiful areas. One should take care along Pocket Canyon, and Maribel Rd though, as logging trucks are known for speeding around the very tight turns.

Although there are no designated bike lanes in the town, it remains one of the most popular modes of transit. As always, be aware of transit on the busier routes, and do not leave your bicycle attended outside unless locked up.

Walking is a great way to see the small town, visit the coffee house, and few local shops. Downtown can be walked from one end to the other in about fifteen minutes.

title: Forestville


text:
Forgotten Coast

The Forgotten Coast is a coastal stretch of the Florida Panhandle so named for being left out of Florida tourism promotions for several years in a row. This region is comprised of Franklin, Gulf, Jefferson, and Wakulla counties.

Cities

 * – County seat of Franklin County, the historic Heart of the Forgotten coast featuring 200 historic buildings and amazing oysters.
 * – Home of the "World's Smallest Police Station" - it's in a phone booth.
 * – County seat of Wakulla County
 * – the commercial center of the Forgotten Coast, with a number of shops and restaurants.
 * – County seat of Gulf County, good fishing, shopping.
 * – History and the HuManatee Festival
 * – History and the HuManatee Festival

Other destinations

 * – a small island connected by bridge to the mainland, St. George is a tiny town surrounded by a sprinkling of vacation homes and a state park in the dunes.
 * – a small island connected by bridge to the mainland, St. George is a tiny town surrounded by a sprinkling of vacation homes and a state park in the dunes.

Understand
This is the part of the Gulf of Mexico's coast just south of Tallahassee, on the eastern end of the Florida Panhandle. Consequently it's a mixture of Florida's typical coastline "style" of long, skinny beach islands across a waterway from the coast, and coastal swamp. The former has far more tourist appeal, and as a result the tourist's focus is in the western part of this region with towns such as Port St. Joe and St George.

For a coastal region, the population in this region is small, with only a few thousand spread in a few towns, quite unlike the not-so-distant Tallahassee, the state capital a few miles to the north of Crawfordville. The vast majority of the land area is rural, despite the tourist appeal, with even the intracoastal and beach areas sparsely populated by Floridian standards.

As is the case across most of Florida, the beaches are on islands, with a natural waterway separating the beaches from the mainland. Therefore there are in practice three shorelines: one on the mainland and two on each of the islands. While the important towns are on the mainland, the tourism is on the more attractive shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico.

Get in
You will want a car to enter and explore this region once you've landed at Tallahassee's airport, as it's sparsely populated and lacks sufficient public transit infrastructure.

By car
US-98, which follows the Florida Panhandle's Gulf Coast, is the main highway in the region. It stays on the mainland, as the beach islands in this part of the state are too inconsistent to be linked by highways and bridges as they are in the Keys. It makes a number of curves following the course of the coastline. US-319 connects to the region from Tallahassee.

Get around
US-98 is the primary route along the coast, and as the region is a coastline, there aren't roads crossing it that would be used to navigate within the region — only to enter or leave.

See
There are four Florida Lighthouses in the Forgotten Coast. Only the St. Mark's Light is not climbable.

is one of the world's deepest and largest freshwater springs, near Crawfordville and St Marks. includes two lovely lakes just a short drive from the coast. FL-71 goes north from Port St Joe to Wawahitchka, which is several miles to the north along this route. There is also a river to the east of the town.

Do
is a long thin sandbar peninsula with one of the top 10 state parks in the US. There is a bridge across the inlet from the mainland to St George Island, which has a beach.

Eat and drink
There are a few restaurants in the tourist areas, but as the population is small, the overall number of restaurants is low. Port St. Joe and Apalachicola have some restaurants to offer.

Stay safe
This is a hurricane-prone region, so plan trips carefully during the June-November period, which is the hurricane season.

Go next

 * Emerald Coast to the west
 * Tallahassee, the state capital

title: Forgotten Coast


text:
Forks

Forks is a city in the Olympic Peninsula of Washington in the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America. Well-known due to the Twilight saga hype, this little charming town of 3,300 people (2020) serves primarily as a transit point for visitors further exploring the beaches and mountains on the Olympic National Park, while the city has a number of attractions related to the movie that are worth seeing.

Due to its distance, attractions in the Quillayute area, including La Push, are included here.

By car
The main route that goes through the town is U.S. 101. Forks is about 77 mi (roughly 90 minutes) west of Port Angeles, 2 hours north of Aberdeen and Hoquiam, and at least 4 hours from Seattle.

By bus
The for Clallam Transit and Jefferson Transit is located along Hwy 101 (Forks Ave locally) at 551 S Forks Avenue on the corner of Forks Ave and "E" Street, south of the high school. Buses travel more or less along US Hwy 101 and do not go into the Olympic National Park itself, Hoh Rainforest Visitor Center or the Olympic National Forest. They can only drop off along the road, and you have to hike into the park:

 * Clallam Transit operates service Mondays to Saturdays:
 * Route 14 To Port Angeles
 * Route 15 Thrice daily service (M-Sa) to La Push
 * Route 16 To Neah Bay via Sappho, Clallam Bay
 * Route 17 Forks Shuttle, local service around town.

 * Jefferson Transit-Olympic Connection travels along Hwy 101 between Forks and Amanda Mercantile at Amanda Park on Mondays through Saturdays. Connection with Grays Harbor Transit Rt #50 to Hoquiam & Aberdeen from Amanda Park (Mercantile). There are no east-west roads across Jefferson County (Olympics Mountains) between the US Hwy 101 corridor and Port Townsend (major city and county seat of Jefferson County) without going all the around through Port Angeles. Passengers can also transfer buses in Aberdeen to continue further south along the coast or east towards Olympia and Shelton.

By plane
The Forks Airport (for general aviation only) is 1 mi south of the city. While there is no commercial air traffic, the airport has a lot of general aviation traffic every day. An alternative is Quillayute Airport, , 20 minutes to the west of Forks, which has quieter traffic but a longer runway. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the nearest commercial airport to Forks, is 4 hours away.

By car
The local roads are designed more or less around a grid system, where most roads are numbered based on their distance from the city center. Addresses also conform to the numbering of the roads around them. Nearly all streets run with the compass directions. Forks Ave (US-Hwy 101) divides east from west while Division St divides north from south.

By bus
The town of Forks is compact and can be easily covered on foot. Clallam Transit Route 17 runs a loop around the town.

See
Forks is the key setting of the Twilight series by the author Stephenie Meyer and houses several sites featured in the novels and films.

Do
Forks acts as the transit point for travelers exploring Olympic National Park, especially the Hoh Rainforest area, the Pacific beaches, and Lake Ozette. If you wish, you can visit all of them in a single day!

Sleep
In addition to the usual bed & breakfast and motels, vacation homes are also up for grabs in the summer, perfect for groups. Campgrounds, especially in the Olympic National Park grounds, are ubiquitous.

Go next

 * Visitors following the Twilight series (the written novel) usually combine their tours with a visit to La Push, the home of the Quileute Tribe in the stories. It is 14 mi west of Forks along Route 110, and is also accessible by Clallam Transit Route 15, which runs three daily services on weekdays (leaving Forks 7:20AM, 11:05AM and 3:35PM) and two on Saturdays (leaving Forks 9:20AM and 4:50PM).
 * Port Angeles is the largest city in the Olympic Peninsula, just an hour drive away northbound on Highway 101. Some parts of the Twilight story was also set in Port Angeles.
 * Queets is a small town about 40 mi south of Forks along Route 101. On the way you'll pass through Kalaloch campground, with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.  There are many places to camp here, as well as cabins.  Queets features a "general store" and a small village on the border of the Quinault Indian Nation.
 * Hoh Rainforest is a the major temperate rainforest in North America and is part of Olympic National Park. The entrance into the park is south of town along US Hwy 101 and it is another  to the visitors center from the main highway.
 * Actual filming of Twilight (2008) took a place in Portland while Twilight: New Moon (2009) was filmed in Vancouver, BC. Other locations in British Columbia, Oregon and Washington state were also used to depict the settings of the story in both films. Later scenes for Volterra in New Moon were filmed in Montepulciano, Italy.

title: Forks


text:
Forlì

Forlì is a city of 118,000 people (2017) in Emilia-Romagna. The city is on the Via Emilia, on the bank of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre. The city hosts some of Italy's culturally and artistically significant landmarks; it is also notable as the birthplace of painters Melozzo da Forlì and Marco Palmezzano.

Understand
Forlì is a prosperous agricultural and industrial centre, with manufacture primarily focused on silk, rayon, clothing, machinery, metals, and household appliances. In the city also has seat the Ferretti Group, one of the most famous producers of yachts. The city was featured in the video game Assassin's Creed II.

Climate
Forlì is characterized by hot and sunny summers, with temperatures that can exceed 30 °C (86 °F) and even reach 40 °C (104 °F) during the hottest weeks of the year.

Winters are cool and moist, with frequent fog. Occasionally the warm Sirocco wind blows from the south, bringing warmer temperatures for brief periods.

By plane

 * Aeroporto G. Marconi di Bologna BLQ (1 hour by car, 78 km).

Get around
Mi Muovo is an integrated public transport pass for the region. Short-stay visitors might use "Mi Muovo Multibus", a 12-trip bus ticket, see Emilia Romagna.

Go next

 * Ravenna
 * Cesena
 * Bologna — Forli is well-connected to Bologna via railways. It takes around 40 minutes to reach Bologna from Forli by train.

title: Forlì


text:
Formby

Formby is a small, affluent town in Merseyside. Formby's sleepy atmosphere, wealthy residents, and National Trust Reserve make it a popular destination for tourists in the summer months. Formby is well worth a visit if you are wanting a break from the hustle of Liverpool.

Get in
Formby's closest civilian airport is Liverpool's John Lennon Airport which is 23 miles away however it is easily accessible from the Liverpool-Southport railway.

Merseyrail offers a handy train service connecting Formby to Liverpool and Southport. Formby's two train stations are Formby and Freshfield; both within walking distance of each other.

Get around
In most cases it will be easiest to get around on foot, enjoying the tree-lined streets as you go.

Formby does have local buses connecting places like the Squirrel Reserve and the village. Another service is the taxis that run through the town. These can be hire from several stores in the Village.

See
In Formby, the main attraction is the squirrel reserve and beach, which is a site of special scientific interest. It is home to rare fauna and flora, including the red squirrel, natterjack toad, and the white flower of parnassus. Unless Formby is your hometown, this will be your main reason for visiting.

The Village:- Brows Lane: In the middle of Formby and about 5 minutes from the railway station. Includes shops such as M&S Simply Food, Boots, New Look, Waitrose, a swimming pool and several other businesses.

Altcar Estate:- On the outskirts of Formby, is the Altcar Estate by Formby Bypass (A565)which includes a Tesco, several local businesses and Formby Football Club.

Duke Street Park: On Duke Street is the park where local football matches are played. These matches include local school boys and Formby Dons.

Victoria Road has been home to footballers such as Steven Gerrard and Duncan Ferguson, and Shireburn road has the most expensive houses in the county. However it is worth remembering that Formby is a private and tranquil place; staring and taking pictures of houses won't be appreciated by the residents.

Do
In Formby, the best thing to do is simply walk and relax in the woods, beach, and general atmosphere of the village.

Formby is not the type of place which offers endless activity but you can check Formby Events website for things that are happening locally There are two main golf clubs within Formby itself - one being the elusive Formby Golf Club which does offer the opportunity of playing golf, but membership is exclusive and very difficult to attain unless you have both connections to the club, and the money to back your membership. Formby Hall Golf Resort and Spa is more accessible and includes a 4 star hotel and spa as part of its estate.

Buy
Souvenirs of the red squirrels are common-place in Formby, as are local books about the unique nature of Formby's wildlife.

Drink
The Railway Cross House Inn The Taps Village Inn Bay Horse The Pinewoods The Grapes The Royal The Lighthouse Shorrocks Hill

Go next
Trips to Liverpool and Southport are a must when in Formby and both are easily reach by the railway line at £2.10 to Southport and about £5 to Liverpool.

title: Formby


text:
Formentera

Formentera is the smallest and southernmost of Spain's Balearic Islands. The island is flat and sandy with magnificent, unspoilt beaches. There are a few places where the land rises to present spectacular cliffs to the sea. It is perfect for cycling, walking, snorkelling and sailing.

Understand
With no airport and a population of just over 12,000 (2019), Formentera is usually quieter than its neighbour Ibiza. However, in the peak season of July-August, it draws huge numbers of tourists. The overwhelming majority are Italian and the Italian language is heard more often than any other. Some are independent travellers, but many come on package holidays. In peak season, advance booking for hotels is absolutely essential. The hotels on the island are mostly small and independently owned. The majority are in the one- and two-star categories. There are also many small apartment developments. There are no high-rise buildings on Formentera. Camping is forbidden on the island.

It has very few cultural or historical attractions such as museums, castles, churches or art galleries. Its cultural attractions include some megalithic sites, a Roman road, some watch towers (18th century), the 18th-century chapel of Sant Francesc Xavier and a small Ethnological museum.

Some of the islanders make their living from small-scale traditional fishing. In parts of the island, the soil is good enough to support vines and fruit trees. Several parts of the island are covered in Mediterranean pine trees. Salt marshes (now abandoned) are defining features of parts of the island. However, tourism is the biggest sector of the local economy.

Outside the peak season when the tourists are not mainly high spenders, Formentera has an atmosphere of simplicity and back-to-nature that is the heritage of its past hippie phase. More and more, parts of the island are actively managed as a national park with, for example, boardwalks through the sand dunes to enable them to regenerate their vegetation. In addition, areas of the surrounding seas are designated as zones of particular scientific interest in which certain plant and fish species are protected.

The public authorities pursue a policy of responsible, sustainable tourism. It is questionable whether the saturation of tourists in the peak weeks of July and August is compatible with such a policy although, in reality, the revenues from this period are very important for the local economy.

Talk
On Formentera the Catalan dialect formenterenq is the main language, but standard Castilian Spanish is spoken by everyone as well.

Get in
Getting to Formentera is quite easy, as you can catch a boat from the Spanish mainland with your car from either Barcelona, Valencia or Denia to Ibiza (Eivissa) and from there catch another ferry to Formentera. In the summer months there are direct ferries between Denia and Formentera.

Alternatively, you can fly to Ibiza and Formentera can be reached by regular ferries from the Estacion Maritima in Ibiza Town and by tourist ferries from other parts of Ibiza during high season. If you're traveling Ibiza by car, check out the stop at Playa d'en Bossa which has a free public parking place right next to it (€20 for a return trip that takes about 60 minutes each way). The boat from Ibiza (Eivissa) to Formentera takes around half an hour, and leaves every half hour in the summer. The boat trip costs €17-24 per person for a single trip. You can buy the ticket on the boat, and you do not need to reserve, but if you want to take a car it is best to reserve during the high season.

Next to the standard ferry there is a yellow speedboat ferry for around €30 per person for a return trip. The speedboat starts from the beach of Platja d'en Bossa near Figueretes.

Get around
Regular buses during the summer season go to all parts of the island from the port, where most visitors arrive by ferry, but are less frequent during the winter months. Normally they leave every half hour. When planning your bus trip, make sure that you check that the bus stops at your destination, because strangely each bus stops at different stops.

The bus charges a fixed fee between €1 and €2, independent of where you get on or off. You can pay in cash. All buses are tour buses, so you can easily put your (big) travelling luggage at the bottom of the bus.

See
On Formentera, you must see underwater. All of the waters are perfectly transparent, and with goggles and a snorkel, you can see all the beautiful fish and the bottom of the waters. You can buy a set of goggles and a snorkel everywhere on the island, for a price ranging between €10 and €20.

Apart from the beaches (see below) there are various sites that are worth a visit. Some of these sites are the lighthouses of Cap de Barbaria (southeast) and El Pilar de la Mola (west). There are several caves on the island with the most visited being the Cap de Barbaria cave located on the right of the lighthouse facing the sea.

Beaches
The only other destinations on Formentera are the almost Caribbean beaches. Generally, they are pretty empty (especially compared to Ibiza), with clean sands and clean, transparent water. Most people sunbathe nude on Formentera. The sun can be very strong on the island – so watch out for sunburn!

Some good beaches:

 * Renting a moped is what most people do, so you can easily and quickly get to your preferred beach.
 * Rent a bicycle and cycle around the island.
 * Snorkel in the crystal clear waters. Beware of poor quality snorkel and goggles.
 * Relax and chill out in one of the birth places of the hippie movement.
 * Formentera has a strong nude beach culture with nudity common on all the island's beaches. There's no pressure and normally there's a mix of states of attire, with 'clothing optional' being the key phrase, but try it out, it's actually pretty nice!. The sole exception is the town beach in Es Pujols during the peak season.

Eat
Formentera has many, many small restaurants, varying in price and quality. Most are run by hippies, and are very cheap with medium quality.

Sleep
Formentera has a variety of options for accommodation on the island. Where at first it was mainly basic hostels, there are now many hotels and villas being reformed or constructed to cater for the more demanding clientele that the island is attracting.

Stay safe
There appears to be very little crime on Formentera (especially compared to Ibiza). The most common type of crime is petty theft of small items such as jewelry and documents, but this is still in very small numbers. It is always recommended that you keep your belongings safe.

Be careful with walking on the (asphalt) road in the dark. The island is notorious for people (often tourists) drinking and driving. In general the car driving style on the island is not very subtle.

title: Formentera


text:
Formosa

Formosa means "beautiful" in Portuguese. It is used as a name for more than one place:

Argentina

 * Formosa (province), a province in the Chaco region of Argentina.
 * Formosa (Argentina), the capital city of Formosa (province).

Brazil

 * Formosa (Brazil), a city in the state of Goiás.

Canada

 * Formosa (Canada), a town in Ontario.

Portugal

 * Formosa (Santarém) - a town in Portugal.
 * Formosa (Portalegre) - a town in Portugal.

Taiwan

 * The island was called "Formosa" by non-Chinese until the late 20th century. The Chinese name "Taiwan" is in general use now.

United States of America

 * Formosa (Virginia) - a town in Virginia.
 * Formosa (Arkansas) - a town in Arkansas.

title: Formosa


text:
Formosa (Argentina)

Formosa is the capital city of Formosa Province in the Chaco region of Argentina.

Get in
From Asunción, Paraguay:
 * 1) Direct bus: ~AR$350; 2 hr.
 * 2) Exchange bus at the border (cheaper and faster):
 * Asunción Bus Terminal to the border: Bus #101 - every hour or so - GS.6,000 - 30-45 min.
 * Border to Formosa: Every 2.5 hr - AR$150 - 1.5 hr.
 * Note, not all buses to Formosa leave from behind the San Ignacio de Loyola International Bridge. Some start from the nearby . So, you might have to walk there first, or take a taxi. There is also a pedestrian crossing between Nanawa (Paraguay) and Clorinda (Argentina), which is right next to the bus terminal in Clorinda. If you find a bus from Asunción to Nanawa, this is probably the better option, because all Loyola also go by the Clorinda Bus Terminal on their way to Formosa.

Do

 * Laguna Oca, great recreational venue along a displaced oxbow of the Paraguay River. Situated south of Formosa and a biosphere reserve, it's an intriguing place to enjoy the outdoors and nature.

Sleep

 * Asterion Hotel, Avenida Arturo Illia 4865. Oversized pool and breakfast buffet in store for guests here.

title: Formosa (Argentina)


text:
Formosa (Brazil)

Formosa ("Beautiful") is a city in the state of Goiás, in Central West Brazil

Understand
The first residents of the city of Formosa were the Paleo-Indians or paleoamerindios, who left cave paintings and rock recordings, dating back 4,500 years ago in the Stone Lapa and the Archaeological Site of Bisnau, located between the districts of Bezerra and JK.

The present Formosa city emerged in the mid-eighteenth century, when Goiás belonged to the captaincy of São Paulo. It was formed by former residents of the Arraial of St. Anthony, in the valley of the Paraná river, who fled their village after a strong malaria epidemic hit the region. Afraid of the disease, drovers and traders who came from Bahia and Minas Gerais camped in the area where Formosa is located today.

The town was named in honor Arraial dos Couros after the travellers who camped in leather tents that they brought to trade. The creation of the municipality of Formosa was on August 1, 1843.

The Cruls Commission trip came to the Central Plateau in 1892, from Uberaba heading into Pirenópolis. A team toured Corumbá, Santa Luzia (Luziânia) and Mestre d'Armas (Planaltina), arriving in Formosa on September 14, 1892. A team led by Mr. Luiz Cruls followed another path, straight to Formosa, and arrived earlier on August 23. On Sept. 15, the whole party left Formosa toward Mestre d'Armas, following the same route left by Viscount of Porto Seguro. The result of this trip was the demarcation of the Cruls quad, within which the new capital was built and inaugurated in 21 April 1960.

By plane

 * The nearest airport is Brasilia.

By car

 * Leaving Brasilia, take the direction of Sobradinho, and head straight through the BR-020. Total distance is 100 km.

By car
Access to some attractions may become problematic in the rainy season.

Outside the city

 * District Bezerra, 20 km, following BR-020. Huge archeological site. There are several locations, many of which are still unknown.

Waterfalls

 * Bisnau Waterfall - 20 km from the District Bezerra. 100 m long, 130 m tall, with 6 small waterfalls along the way, beside the great waterfall. There are two bathing pools, one on top of the waterfall and another at the end, plus a wonderful view, from a natural belvedere. You can descend the waterfall, climbing the wall next to it, or via rappelling, or even down a steep trail in the midst of the virgin forest. The waterfall is near the archaeological site of the same name, with indescribable figures in rock formations - are more than 29 archaeological sites nearby. In them, there are signs on the rock charts, ranging from rock excavations of the bas-relief paintings monochromes. The site hides big secrets of our ancestors, according to the local guides.
 * Lajedo - 19 km from District Bezerra. Looks like a human work, judging the perfection of the finish of the rocks that cover a large area of the Bisnau riverbed. Waterfall about 2 m tall, beautiful waterfalls with a vertical drop of 10 m, finishing in a well of crystal clear water, 3 m deep.
 * Poço Azul - about 35 km from District Bezerra, is a spring of translucent water, about 9 m deep, in the midst of a virgin forest, and you can see various species of fish.
 * Santana - about 16 km from District Bezerra, formed by the Rio Paraim, the waterfall Santana has two falls, the first is about 20 m high, forming a small pit; the second drop is largest, approximately 80 m. Access to the site is difficult, but is rewarded by the beauty and tranquility of the place. At the foot of the waterfall there is a pool where you can swim and fish.
 * Santana - about 16 km from District Bezerra, formed by the Rio Paraim, the waterfall Santana has two falls, the first is about 20 m high, forming a small pit; the second drop is largest, approximately 80 m. Access to the site is difficult, but is rewarded by the beauty and tranquility of the place. At the foot of the waterfall there is a pool where you can swim and fish.

Caves

 * Buraco das Araras (Macaws' Hole)- One of the largest quartzite sinkholes from Brazil and the second largest in the Central West, 105m deep and 295m wide, has in its midst a dense rainforest with giant ferns, typical of the site's Primitive age. The trail leads to a huge cave with an underground river where you can snorkel (you'll need a watertight flashlight). Point is really impressive, despite the difficult track; it is common to rappel down.
 * Gruta das Andorinhas (Cave of the Swallows) - A 21 km from District Bezerra. About 250 m deep, inside there is a pond with clear water.
 * Jabuticabeira Cave - At about 8 km from District Bezerra. 2 km long. Within it, runs a river with crystal clear and very cold water, forming deep wells. To make your crossing is necessary to walk through the river water; in some places, you need to swim due to depth. The darkness inside the cave is impressive, but with good flashlights you can enjoy the beautiful stalactites and stalagmites inside. This cave ends in a waterfall 8 m tall, with beautiful pool.
 * Toca da Onça (Jaguar's Nest) - A 14 km from District Bezerra. Passage of 200 m beneath a massive limestone boulder, located on the farm Capetinga. Gets its name because farmers claim that, formerly, the site was home to jaguars, who attacked the cattle ranches.

Go next

 * Brasília
 * Cocalzinho
 * Goiás City
 * Goiânia
 * Pilar de Goiás
 * Pirenópolis
 * Rio Quente
 * Rio Verde

title: Formosa (Brazil)