Top 5 cities in Europe (pre-Brexit bucket list edition)

Cerro de Casa

Cerro de Casa

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I hate the term bucket list but in the wake of the awfulness that is upon the UK, what are your favourite cities in Europe that you'd recommend a visit to? I've got some annual leave to use up pre-Halloween and I would like to plan a couple of city breaks.

For non-UK posters please feel free to exclude or include UK cities as you feel fit.
 
Could you manage a week in one trip? Because I've really enjoyed a couple of trips in Italy where we managed Venice/Verona/Vicenza/Padova in one and Rimini/Bologna/Parma/Modena in another.

I'd like to do Trieste and Ljubljana in one trip as well.

Most of my favourites cities are the biggies, though Rome, Lisbon, Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona etc.

Of the smaller ones I really do need to go back to Bilbao and San Sebastian. And Riga, which also had a beautiful coastline a short trip away. And Tallinn definitely needs more than the day trip I allowed it.
 
I adore Málaga. It feels very much like it's not actually in Europe somehow, perhaps due to the climate and plant life. I had a kind of spiritual epiphany when I went to the botanical garden and looked down over the city.

Heartily recommend Gent in Belgium as well - when the sun is shining everyone is out by the water. Really beautiful architecture and great atmosphere (superb shopping too). It's tiny but feels bigger than it is.
 
lolly said:
Could you manage a week in one trip? Because I've really enjoyed a couple of trips in Italy where we managed Venice/Verona/Vicenza/Padova in one and Rimini/Bologna/Parma/Modena in another.
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I've done Venice / Veneto region several times and I absolutely adore that part of Italy. I've also been to Bologna as an isolated city trip where I had the best food I'd ever had in Italy (if that makes sense). I've done lots of bits and bobs of Italy, particularly north of Rome and Rome itself (bien SUR) but I've not been anywhere south of Rome.
I'd like to do Trieste and Ljubljana in one trip as well.
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Done those - in fact I studied (briefly) in Trieste. Great place and yes you can do both in one trip.
Most of my favourites cities are the biggies, though Rome, Lisbon, Stockholm, Berlin, Barcelona etc.
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Yes to all of those although.. I've never been to Berlin!!
Of the smaller ones I really do need to go back to Bilbao and San Sebastian. And Riga, which also had a beautiful coastline a short trip away. And Tallinn definitely needs more than the day trip I allowed it.
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I've heard good things about Riga...
 
Stockholm, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Berlin are my four favourites.

I also love Ljubljana, Vilnius, Budapest (Hungary in general, really), Cluj, Toulouse.
 
My top 5 cities in Europe (in no particular order really) would probably look like this:

1. Barcelona
2. Amsterdam
3. Paris
4. Rome
5. Stockholm

(6. Prague)


A bit clichéd but there you go.
 
Jark said:
I adore Málaga. It feels very much like it's not actually in Europe somehow, perhaps due to the climate and plant life. I had a kind of spiritual epiphany when I went to the botanical garden and looked down over the city.

Heartily recommend Gent in Belgium as well - when the sun is shining everyone is out by the water. Really beautiful architecture and great atmosphere (superb shopping too). It's tiny but feels bigger than it is.
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Yes, I think Belgium is underrated generally. Personally I preferred Antwerp to Ghent, but both are great places to spend a few days. Enjoyed Brussels as well. I didn't enjoy Bruges particularly at all though - far too theme park/chocolate box (and full of middle aged and up British tourists).
 
lolly said:
Yes, I think Belgium is underrated generally. Personally I preferred Antwerp to Ghent, but both are great places to spend a few days. Enjoyed Brussels as well. I didn't enjoy Bruges particularly at all though - far too theme park/chocolate box (and full of middle aged and up British tourists).
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Bruges is much better midweek in the winter. Tourists are much scarcer and it's still a lovely place to wander around without the crowds
 
I certainly remember vastly preferring Flemish to Walloon Belgium. I recall thinking Liège was an absolute shithole, but it was pissing down and it appeared the entire city centre was being dug up, so perhaps not the best time to judge it.
 
I think Warsaw is underestimated as a tourist destination as well. Krakow is certainly a lot prettier, but Warsaw has a great energy and feels full of possibility - I found it really contagious.
 
You know, I've reached the grand age of 98 and I haven't seen ANY European cities apart from BERLIN (well I poked my head out of the station in PAREE I suppose) and I DON'T REALLY EVEN CARE!

[my mother]Why don't you GO ON A CRUISE?[/my mother]
:manson:
 
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Stockholm, obviously. My favourite city on earth. I haven't been since 2016 which is easily the longest gap since I first visited in 2008.

Of my other Euro-travels I really fell in love with Lisbon. It's really lovely to just walk around and soak in the atmosphere, warm dusky evenings, cobbled streets, fado music coming out of the bars. Bliss. Lovely food too.

Vienna is very impressive, although it has a real air of faded glory which is both interesting (all the old imperial palaces) and a bit sad (all the homeless people sleeping outside the imperial palaces). You can also get a fairly affordable cruise down the Rhine to Bratislava, which is great for a day trip and a truly glorious view on a nice day.

Copenhagen I find to be a fun city without necessarily being all that pretty or interesting. I think I just liked all the drunk Nordic bears. It's like Stockholm's fat, alcoholic cousin.

I've long wanted to do a couple of weeks going around the former Yugoslav countries, but I doubt you could fit enough into a weekend to justify the travel. They're not terribly well connected by public transport. Ljubljana always comes highly recommended though.
 
Marseille is really interesting with lots of cultural and coastal opportunities - and pleasingly rough around the edges. Plus you're really close to Avignon and Aix en Provence.

And who knows, stay long enough and YOU TOO could become a PROVENCE GAY :disco:
 
Yes to Bilbao and Lisbon.

I wasn't that keen on Riga because it felt like it was just overrun with stag dos. I enjoyed Tallinn, Vilnius and Kaunas much more than Riga if you're considering the Baltic states.
 
lolly said:
I think Warsaw is underestimated as a tourist destination as well. Krakow is certainly a lot prettier, but Warsaw has a great energy and feels full of possibility - I found it really contagious.
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Never been to Warsaw (on my LIST), but Krakow is FABULOUS
 
VoR said:
Of my other Euro-travels I really fell in love with Lisbon. It's really lovely to just walk around and soak in the atmosphere, warm dusky evenings, cobbled streets, fado music coming out of the bars. Bliss. Lovely food too.
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Madame VoR :disco:

Never been to Lisbon but I'm going there in Jan next year for the Madame X Tour (tickets still available! Last few UK only blue/glitter cassettes still available! etc. etc.)


Vienna is very impressive, although it has a real air of faded glory which is both interesting (all the old imperial palaces) and a bit sad (all the homeless people sleeping outside the imperial palaces).
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I thought Vienna was far too stuffy and old money. It is probably one of the few places in Europe where I felt self conscious because of looking 'brown'. I preferred Salzburg.
Copenhagen I find to be a fun city without necessarily being all that pretty or interesting. I think I just liked all the drunk Nordic bears. It's like Stockholm's fat, alcoholic cousin.
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I liked it but it was far, far FAR too expensive.
 
I need to see more of Spain and Germany.

I need a Madrid pilgrimage in my life to recreate some Almodovar drama, that's for certain.

Germany I've only been to Munich (nice enough), Dusseldorf (yuck!), Frankfurt (okay) and Kassel (pleasant surprise). I need to see Berlin (obviously) but also possibly Hamburg and maybe Heidelberg.

I've seen lots of France but curiously no Montpelier yet.
 
Suedey said:
I need to see more of Spain and Germany.

I need a Madrid pilgrimage in my life to recreate some Almodovar drama, that's for certain.

Germany I've only been to Munich (nice enough), Dusseldorf (yuck!), Frankfurt (okay) and Kassel (pleasant surprise). I need to see Berlin (obviously) but also possibly Hamburg and maybe Heidelberg.

I've seen lots of France but curiously no Montpelier yet.
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I found Madrid OK, it had its charm but its very busy, I ate well there though.

I really liked Lyon as well for the day/night I was there.
 
Echoing most others, I adore Stockholm and Copenhagen. Neither are perhaps as full of interesting 'things' to the extent of some of the big(ger) hitters, but the vibe in them (and Oslo, but fuck me at trying to eat and drink there) is just so...I don't even know, so magical. Just feels like the places you wish you had grown up in as everything and everyone is so well put together.

Oddly I visit Spain the most but it's mainly due to the weather and price, however Seville as a city I loved and Valencia would be perfect for a weekend.

Berlin is obviously amazing, Munich pretty fabulous too.

Budapest I adored and for weekend getaways (i.e. enough to do to fill your time in) places like Porto, Warsaw (per above) and Dublin I've found great for 2-3 day trips.

Overall there isn't too many that I've found a bit shit. Sure, some are much better than others, but if you can't find enough to fill in a city break then it's a bit baffling. Still, I'm a complete sucker for just spending a day wondering and just getting a vibe from a place, nibbling on the food, having some wines etc.
 
big ron said:
I found Madrid OK, it had its charm but its very busy, I ate well there though.

I really liked Lyon as well for the day/night I was there.
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Lyon is FABULOUS! And it's the gastronomical capital of France. I ate AMAZINGLY well there (though I wasn't a vegetarian at the time, so I expect it'll be a bit trickier now...)
 
I was going to suggest this trip along the Rhine and Maas rivers, but looks like you’ve been to those parts of Germany.

Anyway, it was my plan for the summer (but then I bought a flat and have to save money) so it will have to be after moving in:

 
Anyway, favourite cities are the big ones:

01. Paris
02. Berlin
03. Barcelona
04. London
05. Madrid

Favourite mid size cities:

01. Copenhagen
02. Antwerp
03. Budapest
04. Amsterdam
05. Lisbon
 
I’ve always enjoyed Barcelona, Copenhagen, Antwerp, Lisbon and Porto. People who go to Lisbon should give Porto a weekend try. The hills are motherfuckers though.
 
Wallpaper city guides are pretty much utterly useless.
 
I mean I'm not hugely well travelled (although that is becoming more possible these days, especially now the other half finally seems to understand that going away might actually be fun) but I had a wonderful time in Oslo last summer for a few days. Not "exciting" but a lovely clean, quiet city and great if you enjoy museums which were (mostly) interesting enough. Plenty to see and do.

I think it was heightened by the heatwave they were experiencing and seeing everyone in the water in the bays. The boat trips out to all the islands nearby are well worth it too and easily accessible.

Costs a fucking fortune however, but I'm not sure that's much different to any of the big Scandinavian cities, maybe a touch more.
 
I think Oslo is known to be more expensive than Copenhagen and Stockholm, isn't it?

It's a few years since I've been now, but other than alcohol I felt Stockholm was broadly comparable with London in most respects.
 
I've not been to the others, but they all seem to be the higher end of the spectrum price wise from what I've seen. I suppose Oslo is just that bit higher then.

It's still worth it, even though a few nights cost what may as well have been a full blown holiday :D
 
The Swedish krona has been very low the past two years, so the city would definitely feel cheaper for foreigners now.

$$$$$:
Reykjavik
Oslo
Copenhagen
Stockholm
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
The Swedish krona has been very low the past two years, so the city would definitely feel cheaper for foreigners now
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You underestimate how shit the pound is.

2015: 13.5 krona for a pound
Now: 11.5 krona for a pound

Although similar to 2016, which is rare given Brexit.
 
The negative interest rate has fucked up the krona, so we haven’t been able to enjoy the brexit effect fully.
 
RaspberrySwirl said:
Dislike.

I know what you mean though, but they’re great if you’re into architecture and they’re so stylish. :disco:
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Oh they do look lovely. I bought about three of them because I wanted them to be good. I don't think they are good for architecture though, or at least there are others better. I guess the Wallpaper format does work well though in terms of architecture photography.

Too much of them though are frankly wanky bars I don't want to go to, and design shops with an accompanying photo of a vase or lampshade.

I'll usually buy two or three guide books before I go anywhere. I love reading them pretty much cover to cover before going. I don't like to have an itinerary for every day, but I don't like the thought of going somewhere and then finding out after there was something I would have loved to have seen that I missed.

I probably rely on Time Out guides most.
 
I also love reading everything.

I own several of these (actually all of those in this pic):

CITIx60_City_Guides_01.jpg

And I want to start collecting the Monocle travel guides too, they also look nice:
moctra_boxbundlepackshot_nov2016_side_2000x.jpg
 
Now they all look like the sort of books you want even if you're not going anywhere :D
 
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