San Marino – the oldest country in the world

Possibly because it’s too small and insignificant for anyone to worry about invading, the tiny Republic of San Marino has been in existence since AD301. Surprisingly, this makes the 61 km² state, entirely landlocked by Italy, the oldest country in the world. Whilst other nations have been busy invading each other, changing names and having revolutions, sleepy San Marino has stood by and watched, untroubled. It doesn’t have an airport or railway station (try nearby Rimini in Italy for that), and shopping is the main attraction for the three million tourists that visit every year. This is largely because items are not subject to the 20% sales tax imposed by Italian law, but novelty collectables such as stamps and coin sets are also big earners. However, it’s not all souvenirs and duty free shopping, with the three mountain fortresses overlooking the Adriatic coast providing views that far bigger nations would be insanely jealous of. Getting to San Marino Nearest International Airport: Rimini in Italy is the closest, although Bologna is not far away and that gets more flights. Using public transport: Buses go reasonably regularly from outside Rimini’s train station. More information: San Marino tourism

Author David Whitley is an Australia travel expert who runs AustraliaTravelQuestions.com

World's oldest restaurant - Casa Botin in Madrid, Spain

Those authoritarian chaps at Guinness World Records have attempted to silence the bickering over who gets the honour of being dubbed the world’s oldest restaurant, and have declared the Casa Botin in Madrid, Spain the winner.
Tucked away on Calle de Cuchilleros near the main square in the Spanish capital, this has become something of a tourist trap, but it has been open since 1725 for a very good reason.
Whilst most diners are visitors, it is not one of those places that the locals conspicuously avoid because the food isn’t up to scratch.
Quite the contrary, in fact, with the house speciality of roast suckling pig reputed to border on the divine and well worth the few extra Euros you’ll pay for location and gimmick factor.

More information: Casa Botin

World’s oldest hotel – Hoshi Ryokan in Awazu, Japan

Shrouded in ancient Japanese mysticism, the Hoshi Ryokan in the village of Awazu, Japan dates back to AD717. This makes it the world’s oldest hotel.
The story goes that Buddhist monk Taicho Daishi was ordered to the village on the foothills of Mt Hakusan, Honshu, to find a divine spring and show it to the locals.
Find it he did, and the hot spring baths are now the central point of this popular retreat.
The hotel has passed through 46 generations of hosts, amazingly from the same family. It’s the second oldest family business in the world.
Awazu is two-and-a-half hours on the train away from Osaka.

Stromatolites at Hamelin Pools in Shark Bay, Western Australia

Oldest living things on earth
Whilst they’re about as interesting to watch as a mime version of Dances With Wolves, stromatolites are fascinating.
Made up of single cell organisms called cyanobacteria, they have been around for 3.5 billion years. In fact, they are the oldest living things on earth, and without them, we probably wouldn’t be here.

Creating oxygen
Stromatolites have played a huge part in creating an atmosphere that we can survive in. They create oxygen as a waste product, and without that, we’d quite frankly be long gone.
Until 1956, scientists thought they no longer existed. Fossilised examples had been found in old rocks, but none still alive.

Hamelin Pools at Shark Bay
That was the year that millions of living stromatolites were found in the Hamelin Pools of Shark Bay in Western Australia. More have since been found in the Bahamas, but the extremely salty water of Hamelin Pools has allowed this ancient life to survive undetected.

World Heritage-listed
They are the main reason that Shark Bay is World Heritage-listed, and whilst they don’t exactly entertain, such history has an incredibly mesmerising quality.

Getting to Shark Bay
A viewing platform, board walk and information about the Hamelin Pools stromatolites can be found 105km from Denham in Shark Bay. Denham is 842km north of Perth, Australia and Hamelin Pools is on the way. Try the Shark Bay office of the Department of Conservation And Land Management to find out more.

World’s Oldest Museums – Musei Capitolini in Rome, Italy

Unsurprisingly, the prestige of being the oldest building containing old things is fought over quite vigorously by people who should perhaps know better.
Anyway, just about every place housing a dusty old relic will claim to be the oldest museum by inserting some kind of sub-clause, but the most convincing argument comes from the Musei Capitolini (Capitoline Museums) in Rome, Italy.
They go back to 1471, although they would have been admittedly a pretty poor effort back then, containing only some bronze statues donated by Pope Sixtus IV.
It was 1734 before the museums opened to the public, and is now home to a wealth of artefacts from the Roman Empire, as well as various impressive sculptures.

More information: Musei Capitolini

The world’s oldest pub – Sean’s Bar in Athlone, Republic of Ireland

It’s a fairly time-honoured tradition that any pub with a cobweb and peeling paint will make spurious claims about its age in a bit to show just how authentic it is. Therefore, judging the world’s oldest pub is a nigh-on impossible task.
However, that establishment is largely thought to be within the British Isles, and Guinness World Records rates Sean’s Bar in Athlone, County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland as the most ancient.
The establishment claims to date back to AD900, and has remnants of bygone days scattered around the place to prove it. Just make sure you take a pinch of salt with your pint of stout.
Sean’s Bar can be found on Main Street, Athlone.

World’s oldest show cave - Postojna, Slovenia

In proof positive that vandalism has its uses, the Postojna Cave in Slovenia has utilised careless graffiti artists to get itself into the record books.
Incredibly, it has been a tourist attraction since 1213, which is the earliest date identifiable from visitors’ etchings on the walls. This makes it the world’s first show cave.
Whilst an unfortunate amount has been destroyed by candles, torches and thoughtless scribbling, a huge system still remains, and due to lashings and lashings of calcium carbonate, there are some incredible features. These include a giant ‘diamond’ column.
The highly popular tours are available year-round.

More information: Postojna Cave

World's oldest golf course – Musselburgh Links near Edinburgh, Scotland.

It may not be the most challenging of adversaries, but golfers have been fluffing their putts on the Musselburgh Links in Scotland for longer than anywhere else in the world.
It’s only nine holes long, and par 34, but the club has documentary evidence showing that people have been spoiling good walks here since 1672.
Hoary old legends suggest that Mary Queen of Scots turned up on the course for a quick round on the world's oldest golf course in 1567, but this may well be wishful thinking.
Being a short course, and not that prestigious, green fees are very reasonable, should you wish to swing your way through history.
Musselburgh is in East Lothian, a short drive (that's as in car, not golf shot) from Edinburgh.

More information: Musselburgh Links

Loughborough, England – the world’s oldest package holiday destination

People have been leaving their home town to have an explore somewhere else for centuries, but the first time it was done in an organised manner was 1841, when Thomas Cook arranged the first package holiday. Yep, that’s the same Thomas Cook that the major holiday firm is named after.
Ironically, given the hard-drinking reputation of today’s packaged trips, the tourists were all temperance campaigners, going from Leicester in the English Midlands to nearby Loughborough for a rally against the perils of alcohol.
The 11 mile journey can still be done in the same way today, by steam train on the Great Central Railway.
Once in Loughborough, you’ll find an archetypal market town, the main claim to fame of which is the world’s largest bell foundry. The John Taylor Bellfoundry Museum has a small museum on site, and can arrange tours.
Loughborough’s other claim to fame is that it’s home to the largest indoor cricket centre in the world – it’s where the England and Wales Cricket Board trains cricketers in its National Cricket Academy.
And, on a less important note, it’s also the home town of the creator of Bizarre Places. And he can well understand why no-one organises package holidays there now.

Getting to Loughborough

Nearest international airport: Nottingham East Midlands airport is a short bus ride away, and a train connection is in the planning process.

Using public transport: Loughborough is well connected to London, Sheffield, Leicester and Nottingham by direct trains.