Top Aerial Views of Southern Europe

This two-minute aerial tour of Italy will leave you speechless. Shot by pilot Mauro Sciambi, this Drone Video of the Week nominated movie opens with a wide shot of Cinque Terre, the string of historic seaside villages along the Italian Riviera known for their colorful houses and steep terraces. He’ll then move on to the Lombardy region where we’ll see upscale Lake Como. Shots of centuries-old fortresses sprinkled along the Italian Alps, rolling vineyards, and gushing waterfalls finish out the piece. 

Prepare to be astounded by this magnificent drone video of the Italian island of Sicily, compliments of two-time DVA winner Timelab.pro. The video, which mixes footage from a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone with ground footage, features shots of some of the highlights of the largest island in the Mediterranean. Highlights include aerials of the Castle Maniaci and the Greek Theater ruins in the ancient city of Syracuse, and the magnificent Palermo Cathedral in the capital city. This video was a DVOW nominee in August, 2019.

Contributor TravelPenguin created this awesome 4k drone video of the great Portuguese city of Porto. Porto is the country's second city (after Lisbon) and is the center of the main urban concentration of the northern part of the country. It sits on the estuary of the Douro River, a few km/mi inland from its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean.  The video features footage of the Porto historical city center (which is a UNESCO World Heritage site), the famous Dom Luís I Bridge over the Douro River, and more. This video was a DVOW finalist in August, 2019.

In this highly inspiring travel video, contributor Kelly Needleman flies his drone over some of the most spectacular sights in Italy.  The video includes bird's eye views of the Dolomite Mountains in northeastern Italy, the Tuscany region, Venice, and Cinque Terre, among other spots.  The video was a finalist for the AirVuz Drone Video of the Week Contest and also a winner of the Drone Video of the Month Contest for July, 2018.  If you are considering a trip to Italy in the future, this video may help your decision! 

Contributor and drone pilot Hubert Zielenski created this unforgettable aerial tour of Portugal.  Situated in the southwestern corner of Europe, Portugal was once known as the Edge of the World, and then went on to launch the great Age of Exploration.  His video includes stunning bird's eye footage of Sintra, the capital city of Lisbon, the northern city of Porto, and the southern region of Algarve.  Shot with a DJI Mavic Air drone, this video was a winner of the AirVuz Drone Video of the Week Contest in June, 2018. 

Top contributor Oliver Astrologo created this stunning, DVOW-nominated visual tour of Catalonia, the northeastern region of Spain.  Here are some of the locations featured: Barcelona, Blanes, Cadaqués, Sant Pere de Rodes Monastery, Besalú, Sant Pau, Fageda, Sant Martí del Corb, Vall de Núria, Pedraforca, Sant Llorenç de Morunys, Congost de Mont-Rebei, Montsec and Àger, Seu Vella in Lleida, Terres de l’Ebre, Siurana, Tarragona city, Montserrat, La Foradada, Cantonigròs, and more.

Contributor and drone pilot Marco G. Lerin traveled in a van for three months throughout the great Southern European nation of Spain.  This incredibly inspiring travel film blends the natural beauty of the Iberian Penninsula and adds a human element, woven together with beautifully edited transitions.  The video was nominated as a finalist for the Drone Video of the Week contest, and subsequently was picked as a Finalist in the Originality category for the second annual Drone Video Awards. 

Here's a magnificent aerial tour of the Greek island of Crete, compliments of PureCreations.pl. The video features some amazing footage from along the coastline of the island, the Mediterranean's fifth largest. In addition to Crete's stunning beaches (including Balos Beach), the video features bird's eye views of some of the island's other hallmarks, such as its hilltop forts and shipwrecks. Other spots featured include the tiny island of Elafonisi, the capital city Heraklion, and more. This video won DVOW in July, 2019.

Andorra is one of the least well known countries in Europe.  Technically known as the Principality of Andorra, the tiny nation sits in the heart of the Pyrenees, the mountain chain which forms the natural border between Spain and France.  Andorra has a land area covering less than 500 square km (about 180 square miles), making it smaller than many cities.  As you'll see in this drone video from contributor and pilot Karl Veca, what Andorra lacks in size it makes up for in spectacular mountain scenery. 

Venice is one of Italy's most well recognized and treasured sights.  The magnificent Rennaissance city in the Veneto region is, unfortunately,  fighting a losing battle against tourism and water encroachment, leading some to fear that its days may be numbered.  In this video, top contributor and drone pilot Oliver Astrologo takes us on an aerial tour of this magical place, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This video is nominated in our Cities & Urban category for the 2nd annual Drone Video Awards.

In this video, contributor Icarus Aerial Filming gives us a spectacular bird's eye view of the area around Mt. Athos in northern Greece.  In addition to being home to some of the most important Eastern Orthodox monasteries, the fabled mountain (often referred to as the Holy Mountain) was the site of one of the great bits of luck enjoyed by the Greeks in the Antiquity - the foundering of a Persian fleet off the coast of Athos in 492 BC forestalled an imminent Persian naval invasion of the Greek mainland.   

Valencia is the third-largest city of Spain, after Madrid and Barcelona.  It is situated around the midway point of Spain's long coastline on the Mediterranean Sea.  Valencia has one of the finest natural harbors in Europe, and it is the biggest port for containerships in the Mediterranean.  Top contributor Justin Poore used a DJI Mavic Pro drone to to make this amazing aerial portrait of the ancient city, the heart of a semi-autonomous region by the same name which has a very distinctive culture.

Andalusia is a historical and official semi-autonomous region of Spain, its  southernmost.  Andalusia was the center of Muslim (Berber) rule in Spain, which began in the 8th century and didn't fully end until the end of the 15th.  Contributor Hamza_Mujtaba created this epic aerial tour of the region with a drone, which includes aerial footage of Malaga, Almogia, Granada and Cordoba.  Andalusia has been used extensively as a filming location for HBO's Game of Thrones, notably in Seville and Cordoba.

Eaglewood Films took to the skies along the coast of Portugal to capture its rugged and picturesque landscape in 4K. Once believed to be located on the very edge of the inhabited world, Portugal was one of the first areas of Europe to launch long distance ships, which it then used its to amass one of the world's greatest empires in the 15th and 16th centuries.  This aerial video of the coastline in the Alentejo and Algarve regions will show you why this country has become such a popular destination for tourists and drone pilots alike.  

Madeira is a group of Portuguese islands located southwest of the mainland in the Atlantic Ocean.  The tip of a giant volcano rising from the ocean floor, it's a popular resort area and is considered to be one of the leading European island destinations, with over a million tourist arrivals per year.  Contributor XL Creations took a four day trip to Madeira with a drone and made this amazing video, which includes aerial footage from Achada do Teixeira, Funchal, Ilheus da Rib, Porto da Cruz, Ribeiro Frio, Seixal, and more.  

Top contributor Raf_Neo created this spectacular aerial tour of his home country of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean.   If you've wondered what Cyprus looks like, this video is for you.  Treat yourself to epic aerial shots of Lara Beach in Pafos, the famous Erdo III shipwreck of of Peyia, the Limassal marina, Kalavassos Tenda, and the town of Lernaca.  The video ends with some great shots of Ayia Napa, the well known beach resort town on the eastern end of the island, the third largest in the Mediterranean.

Check out this beautiful DVOW Finalist drone video of Barcelona, Spain, compliments of Mi Girano Forte.  The video opens with some epic footage of the city's Columbus Monument on the La Rambla thoroughfare.  From there you'll see Barcelona Cathedral, the ultra-modern W Barcelona Hotel tower, the spectacular (yet still not finished) Sagrada Familia, the Torre Glòries, the Venetian Towers, the Arc de Triomf over the Passeig de Lluís Companys promenade, the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor, and more.  

Mallorca is the largest of the Ballearic Islands, a Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea which also includes the nearby islands of Ibiza, Menorca, and Formentara.  It features gorgeous seaside villages surrounded by mountains in the west and many beaches and quiet towns on its eastern coast. Top contributor and pilot The3venture used a DJI Mavic Pro drone and a ground camera to create a stunning aerial view of amazing Mallorca, which is the top destination island in the entire Mediterranean.

Contributor DomiSchleu's epic roadtrip through Spain allowed him to create this amazing aerial tour of many of these regions.  The video includes amazing aerial footage of several of the country's regions, including Andalusia, Sevile, Murcia, Valencia, and Catalonia.  At the 1:38 mark, you'll see the bullring of Osuna, in Sevile.  This bullring, no longer used as such, was the filming location for a key fight scene (involving dragons, not bulls) in HBO's Game of Thrones, Season 5, Episode 9.

When you hear the word “Tuscany” you are immediately flooded with thoughts of rolling hillsides, miles of Italian Cypress trees, historic cities with red rooftops, and (of course) wine. You’ll see all of those Tuscan images in this drone video by iOlti Films. Shot in cinematic, 4K quality on the Mavic 2 Zoom, it is four and a half minutes of pure Tuscan-countryside beauty. Read their description to learn more about the Italian region. This video was a Drone Video of the Week winner in April, 2019.

The island nation of Malta lies close to the center of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian island of Sicily and the coast of North Africa.  Top content creator Oliverastrologo created this stunning aerial tour of this beautiful spot, which includes epic shots of the harbor at Valletta, the ancient walled city of Mdina, and at the :40 mark the Azure Window rock formation (which subsequently collapsed); all were used extensively as filming locations in Season 1 of HBO's Game of Thrones. 

The Peloponnese Region is a peninsula in southern Greece, connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge and since 2004 by the Rio Rio–Antirrio bridge. You can see the gorgeous part of Greece in this aerial film by pilot johannesbloechl, who also visited the Apollo Temple in Corinth and the Poseidon Temple near Athens (both of which are in the Central Greece region). This stunning 4K piece earned him a Done Video of the Week award in August, 2019.

Award-winning content creator and drone pilot Mauro Pagliai created this magnificent piece from the Appenine Mountains of south-central Italy.  The video features some spectacular timelapse sequences from the Gran Sasso d'Italia masif, home of the highest peak in the entire Appenine chain: Corno Grande, which has a maximum elevation of 2.9k meters above sea level (around 9.55k ft.).  You'll also see some nice shots of the Rocca Calascio, the highest of the Appenine fortresses.  

Nearly 25% of Spain's nearly 50 million people live in its two largest cities, Madrid and Barcelona, which have become population magnets from the country's rural provinces.  Madrid, the larger of the two, is the capital city and lies in the center of the country.  Barcelona is the capital of the semi-aotonomous Catalonia region and sits on the Mediterranean coast.  Contributor Michaelkim_kor spent some time traveling in Spain with a drone, and created this amazing aerial video of the country's two great cities.