EURO MPs want to turn the Iron Curtain into a tourist attraction as part of plans to boost Europe as a holiday destination.

Memorably named by wartime leader Winston Churchill, the Iron Curtain described the post-war division of Europe between the western powers, with the eastern part of the continent effectively controlled by the Soviet Union.

The phrase came to symbolise the Cold War which lasted for decades.

Now the European Parliament wants member governments to back a project to promote the 4250-mile route of the former Iron Curtain as a tourist trail to show how division has been overcome through peaceful European reunification.

The call comes in a report approved this week on New Perspectives and Challenges for Sustainable European Tourism.