[AD]What Are The Best Football Stadia To Visit In Europe

Football is, by some distance, the most popular spectator sport in Europe. Great strides have been taken to get as many spectators close to the action as possible, and that means some astonishing feats of stadium engineering. Many of the grounds operate stadium tours, even while the football season is on a summer break. Thus, if you’re planning a trip to a major European city, the chances are that you’ll be able to work in a tour of the local football stadium. If you’re on a budget, then you can limit the cost of a visit like this by travelling off peak.

Camp Nou

Barcelona’s Camp Nou is among the world’s most famous football grounds. It’s here that some of the truly astonishing teams of the last decade have worked their magic, with Lionel Messi taking most of the plaudits. With a capacity of almost a hundred thousand people, this is the largest football stadium in Europe, and the largest anywhere in the world to regularly host matches at an elite level. It was first opened in 1957, and has undergone several major renovations since then.

Anfield

The home of the current Champion’s League holders, Anfield is among the oldest football grounds anywhere in Europe. It was actually the home of Merseyside rivals Everton until 1892, until that team made the switch to Goodison Park. Nowadays, the stadium is known for being among the most atmospheric and, for visiting teams, intimidating.

Santiago Bernabéu

Visitors to Madrid will want to make time for a visit to this stadium, which has been the home of Real Madrid since the end of the Second World War. Currently, the stadium is undergoing renovations which, when complete, will see the height increased by ten metres, and the addition of a roof.

San Siro

While neither Inter nor AC Milan are enjoying quite the same good fortune that they did in their respective heydays, their iconic shared stadium, the San Siro, remains among the most famous football grounds on the continent. It’s due to be knocked down and replaced in the next few years, so now’s the time to plan a visit!

Old Trafford

The stomping ground for another sleeping giant, Old Trafford is the most capacious club stadium in the UK. It’s also more than a hundred years old, and has had to be modified considerably in order to meet modern standards and demand.

Allianz Arena

Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena sits at the more modern end of the footballing spectrum. Completed in 2005, it’s a remarkable feat of engineering. Part of the ground’s appeal is its pearl-white exterior, built from pressurised ETFE-foil panels which is actually semi-translucent if you look at it closely.

This is a collaborative post.