Top 10 Heart Stoppers [in no order whatsoever]

This month, contributing editor Mike Peake goes in search of the wow factor

1. Ride a monster at Europa Park
Karlsruhe, Germany
There are some cracking theme park rides in Europe, but 2009’s big newbie is the “megacoaster” at Europa Park, just outside Karlsruhe in Germany. There’s no name yet but it takes you from 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds.
WWW.EUROPAPARK.DE

2. Spanish fly... and fly
Port Aventura, Reus, Spain
If you want the thrill of your life, and I mean pee in your pants scary, the Furius Baco ride at Port Aventura adventure park on the Costa Daurada is the one. You actually hang off the side in your seats on this coaster, feet dangling in the air, and travel from 0-135 km/h in just 3 seconds. Intense!
WWW.PORTAVENTURA.CO.UK

3. Dive a massive wreck
Malta
There’s some cracking diving to be had in the Mediterranean, and some of the best can be found off the tiny island of Malta. Wrecks include a 62m-long minesweeper patrol boat, sunk as a diving attraction just a few years ago.
WWW.MALTAQUA.COM

4. Dinner at the best restaurant
Paris, France
Almost always to be found on lists of the world’s top 10 restaurants, chef Pierre Gagnaire’s eatery off the Champs-Elysées is the stuff most food lovers would die for. Especially when they see the bill – it’s €255 for the tasting menu.
WWW.PIERRE-GAGNAIRE.COM

5. The room with a view
Zermatt, Switzerland
The Hotel Matterhorn Focus in Zermatt, Switzerland, only opened last summer but is already being hailed as the place to be if you want to open your curtains in the morning and go “Wow!”. Rooms, with mountainous views from €280 a night, are sleek, modern and sumptuous.
WWW.MATTERHORNFOCUS.CH

6. Drive an F1 track
Nürburg, Germany
For just €22, you can take your rich uncle’s Ferrari for a spin around 22.5km of the world-famous Nürburgring in Germany. Most Sundays, petrolheads from far and wide turn up, pay their money and make the most of a genuine Formula One track.
WWW.NUERBURGRING.DE

7. Hang-gliding
Andalucia, Spain
There was a time when to hang-glide was to perish young – urban legend has it that 80% of the sport’s first 100 adherents were dead within five years. Kit today is ultra safe – if not infallible – and to soar like a bird above these wondrous Spanish mountains must be heart-in-mouth heaven.
WWW.LEJAIR.COM

8. Ski the ‘flying hill’
Oberstdorf, Germany
It looks like a giant shoehorn dropped out of the sky, but the Heini-Klopfer “flying hill” is actually a man-made ski jump in southern Germany. If you’re unsure whether to try it, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards once told us that a good skier could start out on a small ski jump pretty much straightaway.
WWW.SKISPRUNGSCHANZEN.COM

9. Sleep in a haunted castle
Dingwall, Scotland
Tulloch Castle near Inverness is arguably the most haunted spot in Scotland, and certainly one of the few that you can bed down in. The hotel has reported all manner of sightings, including a gloomy Green Lady.
WWW.TULLOCHCASTLE.CO.UK

10. Stay in Europe’s priciest room
Geneva, Switzerland
The Royal Penthouse Suite at Hotel President Wilson in Geneva will set you back €42,000 for a single night. For that you get bullet-proof windows, 10 rooms, seven bathrooms, a butler, a private guardroom and 1,600m2 to lord it around in.
WWW.HOTELPWILSON.COM