Tim and I talked about the role that water play a huge role in the major cities of Europe. All great cities are founded on a river; the livelihood and survivability of a city is directly linked to its quality water supply and source (think Rome aqueducts) and, water turns out to be the Great Entertainer as well. We’ve visited a couple of the big places where water serves to delight and entertain. Some of our favorites include:

1) Palace of Versailles Gardens, France. On summer weekends, the gardens’ fountains come alive with lighting and music. If you’ve got the time, summer evenings at Versailles feature music with the fountain shows. Rent bicycles in the garden and spend the evening tooling between the hidden fountains, stopping to listen to the music and enjoy the views.

The fountains come to life in the afternoon when music accompanies the water

Tim ready to create some mischief near the fountains

2)Linderhof Palace, Bavaria Germany. Leave it to the Germans to ensure near perfect precision of water displays and fabulous architecture. Best seen in summer as the flowers and trees are in bloom, you can easily spend a long afternoon leisurely strolling through the gardens and then finding a shady spot in front of the main fountain for the hourly show.

Linderhof Palace is simply stunning

3)Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg, Austria. Hijinks and pratfuls are what come to mind when I think about the Hellbrunn palace in Salburg. The whole place is built to play tricks on visitors and you’re almost certain to get wet.

Trick fountains on the palace grounds catch unsuspecting visitors every time