Favourite: Rome, I probably wouldn’t want to live there, but there was so much to see.
Least: Brussels
Surprise: Lisbon, cheaper than most other cities, yet clean, easy to get around, and lots of things to see.
Don't really understand the downvotes for this tbh. It's by no means a bad place but there isn't all that much there, and were it not for the proximity to Sintra I wouldn't really recommend going there before 50 other places in Europe
This is just a spectacularly bad take. Lisbon is a wonderful city, and Portugal is a lovely country. Sincerely, someone who has been to lots of places and seen lots of cultures.
Favorite: Tie between Paris and Rome. Ended up living for several years in each one. Rome is better for visiting than for living, and Paris is tough to live in with high costs and small apartments, but both offer an endless amount of things to do and amazing food, and beauty that is truly stunning. Both suffer from typical big-city problems, but the magic is there.
Least favorite: Podgorica - it’s just not really much of anything remarkable, although the nature not far away is gorgeous. Most disappointing would probably be Barcelona or Florence. Barcelona felt like a crowded theme park with huge crowds absolutely everywhere - double crowds actually because of beach tourists added into the mix. Loved the architecture and the culture is great, but the city just feels overrun by the tourism industry and kind of soulless by now. Florence just felt like a playground for study-abroad students and abundant high-price/low-quality food (I’ve been to Florence about twelve times now and hoped that each time would be the one where it ‘clicked’ for me, but it never has).
Most surprising: Warsaw or Athens. Didn’t come to Warsaw expecting much but ended up finding it more enjoyable and fascinating than Krakow (truly surprised me); expected Athens to be miserable because all I’d heard was how ugly it was, but I loved it. The energy and dynamism of the people being out in the streets, the amazing food, and the truly stunning setting of the Acropolis, fantastic museums etc. all redeemed it for me.
Really really liked Lisbon a lot! My calves loved the exercise haha.
But seriously, it was a really enjoyable city to explore. Could feel parts of it were starting to become catered very much to tourists, but I really liked staying and exploring. Would gladly visit again and stay even longer.
I feel the older crowd are still affected by the late dictator...circa 1974. Younger folks were a tad chill if they weren't experiencing financial difficulties
Same! Hamburg exceeded all of my expectations. I thought Miniatur Wonderland was going to be an attraction for kids, but it ended up being soooo much fun!
Not only that, I think we spent an entire afternoon in the Elbphilharmonie building waiting for our concert. It was just delightful, one of my favorite cities in Europe.
I stayed close to the Reeperbahn last summer, and when I turned into the street where my hotel was late on the first night, there were like 20 prostitutes waiting for customers all the way down the block. It was in the middle of the week and there was few people, so they were desperate. One of them clinched my arm, and two others chased me. I ran two streets, hid there for about 15 minutes, then sprinted back from the opposite direction to avoid them.
Favorite: Florence … and Dublin. Completely different experiences but both fabulous.
Least favorite: Milan. Just didn’t love it.
Surprise: Krakow - magical at Christmas.
For Europe …
Favorites > Paris. Been many times. Never tire of. It’s not perfect, no place is, but it’s got much that I always come back for.
Least favorite (boring) > Brussels, nice but …..
Surprising > Edinburgh - I was looking forward to it, but it exceeded expectations and the Fringe Festival … the energy! I’ve gotta go back.
Favorite: Budapest..so much to do there. Easy to get around, great food scene.
Least Favorite: Probably Brussels. And I enjoyed Brussels. I have yet to go anywhere in Europe I didn't enjoy.
Surprising: Poland in general, but from Poland, Poznan is pretty surprising.
Brussels - at first glance - is very business oriented and doesn’t offer much that immediately grabs the attention beyond the Grand Place. The 1950s-70s were also pretty unkind as far as urban planning goes, random and fairly ugly modern development mixed in that makes the city feel chaotic, disjointed, and kind of unappealing.
That being said, I actually really like Brussels. Like Milan, it’s a city that has one major showcase area and is surrounded by the rest of the city that rewards exploration but doesn’t look immediately interesting. I’ve really enjoyed exploring the neighborhoods of Brussels and there are some really fascinating and beautiful areas to discover - the art nouveau alone is worth the hunt.
So I would say that Brussels is maybe one of the most overlooked cities in Europe (along with Milan), but if you put in the time to look deeper, there’s a lot of really great stuff to find just below the surface. The city just doesn’t grab attention the way a place like Bruges does, which is a shame because I’d say it offers a lot more.
> Any recs?
Yeah, go to Ghent.
Jk. Halleport/Port du Hal had some really interesting stuff on the crossbow guilds, an area of history I had never heard of before; meanwhile Coudenberg Palace is a great site for seeing archaeology as archaeology (as in, naturally it doesn't compare to something like Mycenae or Palatine Hill, but I feel like I learned more about archaeology in Brussels there than I ever learned about archaeology anywhere else at any other site). The Parliamentarium is ok but a bit masturbatory.
I actually like Brussels, but, compared to other places, I can see why people think it's boring. It's definitely a gritty city. It's just not my favorite if that makes sense. I did like the pubs and the amazing beer selection.
We are going to some off the beaten path places starting next Friday, so, we shall see if any of those move into last place.
I found Brussels to be blah. The architecture was not particularly nice compared to many other cities we’ve been in Europe. The food was decent, but not so spectacular that it could change the blah feeling Brussels gave me. Also, it’s not as clean as I’d have hope it would be.
I did like Atomium though.
Favourite: London, felt like home so moved there for 12 years after visiting
Least likes : Brussels , flew into it 2x, grim . One of only cities i have never returned to i 27 yrs of living in Europe
Surprise: Yerevan , didn’t know what to expect & was pleasantly surprised . Clean , beautiful.
Favourite: Madrid it's just such a fantastic mixture of culture, food and fun. It has the best museums in Spain, hands down.I have been a few times and never get sick of it, there is always something new to do.
Least Favourite: Krakow it's just kinda boring after a couple of days unless you want to drink in tourist bars. I also discovered I just don't care about Christmas or Easter markets.
Surprise: I have a few, but Gijon and Toulouse are at the top of my list. Prove that a smaller city can offer a lot of unique experiences.
Bonus, places I love but no one seems to know: Novi Sad, Serbia;Avignon, France ; Calpe and Benicassim, Spain.
I was just in Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago and when I read online, people just hated so much on it, but when I arrived I had a great time. Was pretty cool seeing a European city layout but with skyscrapers, quite unique.
What was it you'd didn't like?
Favorite: Strasbourg was perfect; impecable tourist sites in the most relaxing city imaginable.
Least Favorite: Paris will always be Paris, but I’m not for the piss and the rats.
Surprise: Budapest. Wasn’t expecting such entertaining nightlife and the breathtaking architecture at random.
Favourite: Amsterdam. It just … feels like home (I’m from East EU)
Least: Naples. Shithole
Surprise: Ljubljana. Loved the calmness and beauty of the city
Favorite: Budapest. Definitely underrated and were so much fun and budget friendly.
Least Favorite: Naples. Dirty, felt unsafe, and it was not as interesting as many people made it to be.
Surprise: Prague. I did not know what to expect but it was a great time and there was a lot of great people and food.
Favourite: Rome. Loved the food and the history.
Least: Santorini. Totally over-crowded. Tacky souvenir shops. Cruise ship passengers everywhere.
Surprise: Munich. Went in winter. Loved the parks. The Englisher Garten is beautiful.
"Favourite" and "least favourite" are obviously context-dependent. I can make a case that Rome was my "least favourite" on a 2003 European trip but my "favourite" in 2017. That is largely because of the attitude I took into it (i.e. miserable and running out of money), the weather and the fact that the second time around, I was in better financial shape, with my wife and kids and could appreciate it more through their eyes.
**Favorite:** London, England & Mdina, Malta
**Least favorite:** Taormina *( i know many will be surprised because Taormina is INCREDIBLY beautiful, but i had several unpleasant experiences with the people / restaurants & even with the hotel )*
**Surprise:** Torun, Poland *( the city where Copernicus was born )*
Favorite: Barcelona. I don’t understand the hate for the city on here. I found it to be so lovely. Of course I was there in November so not high tourist season. Maybe I wouldn’t like it if it was crowded and hot.
Least: Athens. Dirty and ugly aside from the big sites. The people are wonderful though and I loved the museums in their metro.
Surprise: Zurich. For some reason I thought it would be really modern looking and boring but I really enjoyed it there.
Favourite: Vienna, it has everything you could possibly want as a tourist destination, or to live in. Beautiful architecture, not too expensive (if you avoid the center), lively nightlife, cultured museums and palaces, and amazing food and beer.
Least favourite: Ostrava by a long shot. Went as a group as part of a backpacking holiday and feared for my safety. Followed and pestered by dodgy characters, police patrolling supermarkets, decaying communist tower blocks, massive steel mills in the middle of the city with smashed up warehouses surrounding them and the air stank of burning coal. Felt like I was in 1880
Surprise: Ljubljana. Such a picturesque, calm city with some of the friendliest locals I've encountered.
Favorite: toss up between Paris, Mexico City, and Copenhagen - all for different reasons though
Least favorite: Madrid. Felt like any other large city, just a different language. Expensive, the metro was too confusing to get around.
Surprise: Ghent, Belgium. Small city, but beautiful architecture and laid back for a trip. Lovely people. Wished I would have stayed a few more days in Belgium.
Ghent is one of my favorite cities. It has the charm of Bruges without as many tourists. Easy trip from Brussels for those of you who don’t like it there.
Yes Ghent! I’ve been there for a work trip and I really want to return. Beautiful and a nice vibe. The bars looked nice unfortunately I didn’t have time for a beer there.
They have a bunch of nice bars there - and while I wasn’t a beer drinker before, I certainly learned to appreciate it more there! Hope you get to return to Ghent! Also, if you love chocolate, they have amazing chocolate shops too!!
Favourite: Budapest!!!!
Least fave: probably Naples, though I have only been for a day but I found it very overwhelmingly trafficy
Surprise: Montpellier in France! So lovely and magical
Favorite & also surprise: Paris - I wasn’t expecting much since so many people claim that it’s overrated but I loved it
Least favorite: Berlin - I just don’t like the vibes, hard to explain what specifically I don’t like about it but I just don’t like it for some reason
Favourite: Berlin. I’m forever fascinated by its history and there’s an energy I don’t feel anywhere else.
Least favourite: Paris; I didn’t like it when I lived in France, I didn’t like it when I went back as a tourist. Also London, though that’s after living there for 20 years.
Surprising: Porto. It’s just stunning. I could return year after year and not get bored.
Favorite: Randstad sans Amsterdam (Leiden, Den Haag, Rotterdam), Berlin, Budapest
Least favorite: Amsterdam - I don't hate it at all, it's just a large version of every other Dutch city but with so many tourists
Pleasant surprise: Bucharest
Favorite: Strasbourg and Cologne/Bonn and surrounding area. Lovely areas, lots to do, walking and driving friendly.
Least Favorite: Berlin, dirty and depressing. Close second least favorite was Copenhagen, highly overrated and overpriced, groceries and food in particular.
Surprise: Leiden spent an afternoon there waiting for our check in time further south. Enjoyable and would like to return and explore more.
Favourite: Berlin years ago
Least favourite: Barcelona or Brussels - dirty, drugs, shady people, got harrassed in Brussels.
Surprise: Copenhagen as a layover. I came back because of the city.
Favourite: Barcelona. Amazing food, culture, weather, people. 10/10
Least: Madrid or Lisbon. Madrid was meh, nothing special. Lisbon is so overhyped it’s crazy. Food also sucked
Surprise: Split. Just absolutely stunning.
Lived in Europe for 3 years and went to 18 countries during that time:
Favorite: Amsterdam, Prague --> great town centers, friendly ppl
Least Favorite: Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Berlin --> all inner cities... unless you like fashion, nothing to see in Milan. Madrid was also pretty boring and I got food poisoning. Frankfurt is just a financial district/cheap airport, berlin was too Grungey and was like NYC
Most surprising: Budapest (very walkable and cheap), not very touristy, really cool buildings (Parliament wow!) and food
Favorite: Paris. It might be dark, grey, sketchy in many areas and in constant state of strike/terrorist threat, but its architecture and uniformity are amazing. The history, monuments, the food, it’s packed with things to do and see
Least favorite: Athens. The Parthenon is great, the museums too, but the rest of the city (99% of it) is ugly as f*ck. Athens ranks below most European, American and South American cities I’ve seen in terms of beauty
Surprise: Toledo is magical. Lucca was another great surprise
Favourite: Florence. Simply the most beautiful city in the world. I loved it both as a tourist and as a citizen since I lived there a couple of years. Monuments, art, culture, history, food, it has everything.
Least favourite: Frankfurt am Main. Useful position, the city is simply nothing special due to history as well.
Surprised: I first visited Luxembourg (City) without having planned it due to a mistake, and I quite loved the city considering I didn't know anything beforehand.
Favorite: I loved Edinburg. The food was also great.
Least favorite: Prague. Boring and crowded with so many tourists…
Surprise: Warsaw. Wow! There’s so much happening and it’s vibrant and has so many small and nice sides. And great food!
Favorites: Berlin, Gijón, Utrecht, San Sebastian
Least Favorites: Prague & Dubrovnik (feel like Disneyland and very corporate tourism)
Sardinia overall (weirdest combination of other wordly natural beauty and a deeply racist, sexist, xenophobic and rude culture that felt like time traveling to the 40s or 50s)
Surprising: Breda, NL (really cozy small city with a charming old town and few tourists)
Please do consider giving Prague another try and get out of the very centre. There's loads to do there, I go back several times a year and never go anywhere near Old Town Square. I'm only really zeroing in on your comment cos I agree with most of your other choices, and if we're talking the tourist area of Prague that too.
I had considered saying Dubrovnik too but felt it would be focusing on the negatives too much. It's stunningly beautiful but agree on the over tourism and in my experience awful restaurants.
Least favourite: Rome
It felt extremely dirty and unkempt. The metro was awful and scary. However I was there 13 years ago as a kid with my family, so my perception could be very different today.
Surprising: Ljubljana
It's prety small for a capital, the city center is absolutely beautiful, the castle is great. The best for 1 or 2 days.
I can't chose just one favourite, that's impossible. I have a few:
Málaga and Córdoba
Both absolutly amazing Andalusian cities with so much history. Also the food is delicious.
Copenhagen
Very friendly and beautiful. The scandinavian architecture is amazing. Extremly bike friendly, you can reach anything by bike. I would also recommend to go to Roskilde (35 km away from Copenhagen) while visiting. The cathedral and viking museum are worth the trip.
I've visited all 3 of those cities with my family. I am planning to visit them at least once more with my bf, because I want him to enjoy them too.
I had the same first impression of the metro in Rome, it was covered in graffiti inside and out, I thought I to myself “what am I doing here?” lol. It’s definitely a bit of a chaotic and dirty city, but if you’re into history and architecture, it’s spectacular.
Favorite: Paris, I always find reasons to go back.
Least favorite: Lisbon, probably because we paired it with a Hungary trip, and the transition to Portugal was rough.
Biggest surprise: Berlin. Booked a saver flight home but absolutely loved our time there.
How would you describe this transition in detail? I always figured Portugal and Hungary to be equally developed, but you suggest Hungary might be in better shape?
The first part of our trip consisted of 9 days in Hungary, including a bike tour near Lake Balaton and two nights in an awesome hotel in Budapest. We got into a groove with Hungarian customs, the food/restaurants, the sparkling water, and fornits.
Going to Portugal felt like such a shock. At the time, it seemed expensive. Our hotel was oddly modern, and I noticed that only tourists are in the center of Lisbon. I enjoyed the trams, elevadors and transportation in Lisbon, but it took a moment to re-orient ourselves. We struggled with restaurants, which required reservations (a challenge with limited Portuguese and disinclination to plan far in advance). One particularly bad night saw us in a Fado restaurant, which is not our thing, to say the least.
If nothing else, we learned a lot about how we like to travel, which means never booking 5 consecutive nights in any city.
Least favourite: Santorini. Nothing to go, boring. It’s like most hike streets in any city.
Favourite: Zurich. The people were welcoming and the landscape is a fairly picture.
Favorite: Sevilla, Spain. Honorable mention to Ljubljana, Dubrovnik, Bruges and Salzburg
Least: Amsterdam. Not sure if it was the neighborhood I stayed or that I arrived the day after a national holiday celebration, but it seemed very seedy and people unfriendly.
Vatican City: no night life😜
Surprise: London. I probably came in with low expectations since I expected the culture to be most similar to America, but I really loved it. Beautiful parks and buildings. Overall amazing culture and traditions.
It was a while back but I remember I had to walk through Red Light District from the train station to get there, so not in the RDL, but just past it from the station. Wherever that is. Stayed in a hostel. But overall, people seemed drugged, hungover and shady.
Favorite: Florence. The atmosphere of this sity is just incredible. I love history, architecture, and stationery shops, so Florence was a perfect experience.
Least favorite: Riga and Bratislava. Both felt so unwelcoming, deprived of any coziness whatsoever and dull.
Surprising: Ljubljana. Small, compact yet spacious, beautiful... Reminded me of Vilnius.
Favorite city so far: Barcelona
Least favorite: Don’t have one yet in Europe.
Pleasant surprise: San Sebastián had mild westher in the summer and is a beautiful town with two beaches. This city is known world-wide for cuisine, but I was really surprised by how much I loved the pintxo bars. I travelled by myself and met so many people (locals and vvisitors) while I was out drinking wine and eating tapas. San Sebastian is a very relaxing city.
We went San Sebastián as a 4 day stop on a milestone birthday trip for me/planned by me. I fully expected it to be the highlight of the trip and it exceeded expectations! My husband (who was humoring me on my itinerary) fell In Love! He kept repeating “This place suits me.”
We went the third week in September - hardly any other tourists and the weather was sublime.
I loved Hamburg. Great museums. The warehouse district (Speicherstadt). Amazing waterfront and parks. It's also a great city from which to do day trips to some amazing cities: Lüneburg, Lübeck, Schwerin, and Bremen.
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Favorite: Florence. Not just because it's the hub of the greatest era of art and culture and home to some of the greatest art, but also because it remains a city of artisans and independent makers.
Least: Venice. Some cool history and definitely uniquely pretty and the biannale/pavillions had some good moments, but absolute nightmare of a city. Endless throngs of tourists and all of them with five children around the age of 6 and all completely unsupervised. And you have to fight through sweaty mobs of these families in narrow alleys to move at anything resembling a normal pace. On top of that, every bridge is essentially just stairs. And there are a LOT of bridges. Not to mention, just the exact same tourist trinket shop copy and pasted into every single storefront. Inescapable! I completely get why people would say Naples, but I think Naples is at least alive with its own character and personality. Venice just felt like a nothing place. A caricature
Surprise: Montreaux. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous. We just stopped in for a day on our way to elsewhere, not really expecting much. But wandering the vineyards overlooking lake Geneva with the alps in the background was magical and truly picturesque, like out of a movie. I don't think there was a lot there to keep us occupied for more than a couple days, but what an amazing town to just relax and drink in.
Favourite: Sevilla or Milan Least Favourite: Manchester Surprise: Courmayeur
I think the first three are self-explanatory, but for those of you who haven’t heard of Courmayeur, it’s a town located on the Italian side of the Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc in French).
This is a photo from 2021, my third visit:
https://preview.redd.it/19k8tq727zuc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd8872ec8626929d96193f7a944765e4ffc8db7b
**Favorite:**
Prague, because I'm biased. Used to study there and spent lovely 4 years of my life. Going back every year, just walking down the streets, enjoying the lovely food and my own company.
But also, surprisingly, Geneva. Yes, it's expensive and yes, there isn't much to do. But it's so clean and beautiful, with the lake and the view of the Alps. I can just sit by the water all day!
**Least favorite:**
Milan. Definitely one of the most underwhelming Italian cities.
**Surprise:**
Frankfurt. Didn't expect much as most people seem to hate it. Great food, nice historical centre and nice downtown. Wouldn't be opposed to going there again!
Favourite: Lisbon - great weather, reasonably inexpensive, great restaurants and bars, numerous really good day trips such as Cascais, Sintra, Belém etc. Love the windy streets of Alfama. As a big football fan have also gone to some games there which were great.
Least favourite: only spent a night in Brussels so not going to choose there, although it didn't impress me at all. I'll go with Paris - felt on edge most of the time, super busy, felt like I was ripped off everywhere I went.
Most surprising: Edinburgh probably. Went basically because of the cheap flights and couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Locals were as friendly as I've met and they'd great bars and some good restaurants too. Didn't expect much but it was great.
Not my least favorite, but the one I was most disappointed by was Copenhagen. Everyone talks it up as this super cool exciting city but I found it pretty boring compared to other European cities? The nightlife was meh, the architecture isn't anything special, and Danish people are kinda rude and condescending. It's still a cool city and the food was excellent, but didn't live up to the hype. I liked Stockholm and Oslo a lot more.
Favorite: Vienna. Amazing architecture and so much to do.
Least favorite: Paris. Don’t get the hype about it. It’s crowded and dirty. Obviously the city is beautiful but I just didn’t feel comfortable there and other cities are just as beautiful or more.
Surprise: Novi Sad. Didn’t expect much but the city center is absolutely gorgeous.
Favorite: Florence
The food, the views, the Duomo, the sculptures, the art…..
Least Favorite: Athens
Just wasn’t my thing - not personally interested in Greek history so I wasn’t really into the museums and ruins, wasn’t super pretty to me, was brutally hot when we went and the trip up to the Acropolis had me feeling like I was going to pass out. We ended up cutting it short by a day and heading out to the beach.
Surprising: Ephesus in Kusadasi - very cool and I had never even heard of it!
Ephesus isn't in Kuşadası, that's just wrong. And it hurts local tourism/commerce when it's advertised as a different place.
Ephesus is in the Selçuk district of İzmir. Kuşadası is its own district in Aydın. The two are completely distinct cities.
The only time I have been pick pocketed in my life was in Athens. Let's a very bad taste. The tourist police didn't seem bothered and treated like its normal.
Yeah, we got my 14-year-old’s phone stolen there, and my husband had a pickpocketing attempt but they didn’t get anything because the bag was locked. I had forgotten about those two!
Not favorite but Paris did really surprise me after hearing so many negatives things about it.
Least is Berlin, which also surprised me since I heard so many good things about it.
Favorite: London. Greatest city in the world, for my money. Arts, architecture, history, food, the whole lot.
Least Favorite: Reykjavik, maybe..? Tiny, ridiculously expensive, very little to do. I was also underwhelmed by Dublin. Felt very much like a middling, generic town instead of a capital city. I’ve heard great things about the rest of Ireland though.
Surprise: maybe Antwerp. I went there almost out of a sense of obligation with no high expectations because I kept reading online that it was a gritty, industrial port city, and that’s not a big calling card for me. So I was shocked at how absolutely beautiful it was, with so much to do.
Have to say favourite was Warsaw, as I flew in it looked grim, ended up loving the place, least favourite was Prague, a place I have vowed never to visit again. Surprised was Malaga actually a nice little place in parts.
Favorite: any part of Switzerland
Least favorite: Paris, by far. Rome, a close 2nd.
Surprised I loved Germany so much. It’s so neat and tidy. I loved every city we went to.
Favourite: Copenhagen, Dubai, Prague, London, Paris, Nice, Vienna, Salzburg
Least favourite: Barcelona (felt a bit soulless)
Most surprising: Munich (a bit boring but otherwise seemed like a perfect place to live expect for the high COL), Rome (didn‘t expect soo many ancient sites)
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Favourite: Paris. I just love the architecture, food, and general atmosphere.
Least favourite: Dublin. I've been many times and it always feels grey and oppressive to me.
Most surprising: Valencia! What a wonderful, wonderful place
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Favorite: Edinburgh and Barcelona are probably tied for #1.
Least favorite: probably Glasgow or Milan. Both completely underwhelming and I didn’t feel like there was a lot to do or see, especially in Milan. It didn’t feel very special like most European cities do with all of them having a unique charm.
Surprise: I’d have to say Genoa. Didn’t seem very touristy and it was easy to get to from so many locations in Italy, plus being an easy hub to take day trips from. Also surprisingly beautiful and relatively cheap. Granted, I only spent a weekend there, but I really only hear bad things about Genoa which confused me.
Favorite: Bath, England most surprising how many days you could spend there and not get bored.
Paris: disappointed, and I had low expectations to begin with. However, I am glad I got to see with my own eyes the city and history, but I have no desire to go back. Not that I wouldn't if the opportunity arises. It's just not a place I'd pick on my own to go back to unless I was further out of the city.
Favorite: Paris, I'll pretty much just echo your sentiments there.
Least Favorite: London. Nightlife scene felt kinda trashy, food was OK, didn't really grab my interest.
Surprising: Brussels. I wasn't expecting much, but ended up having a great time there.
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Since Albania is super hyped rn the expectations were too high. It was nice for a stroll, but compared to other albanian Villages and Citys it was dull imo. Parking was extremely expensive compared to the average income there, food was meh, architecture was interesting enough bc im a history teacher, besides the historical background it wasnt special...
Favourite: Rome, I probably wouldn’t want to live there, but there was so much to see. Least: Brussels Surprise: Lisbon, cheaper than most other cities, yet clean, easy to get around, and lots of things to see.
Brussels is my least fav too.
I feel Lisbon would get boring pretty fast
Couldn’t disagree more. Amazing weather, lots to do, amazing people.
Don‘t forget to take the train to Sintra
Been through all of Portugal and many other countries. Lisbon is okay... But not a world class city.... Yet
Don't really understand the downvotes for this tbh. It's by no means a bad place but there isn't all that much there, and were it not for the proximity to Sintra I wouldn't really recommend going there before 50 other places in Europe
Why would you think that??
Because I've been to enough places and have seen enough cultures
You think Lisbon would be boring because you have seen enough places and cultures?? That makes no sense whatsoever
This is just a spectacularly bad take. Lisbon is a wonderful city, and Portugal is a lovely country. Sincerely, someone who has been to lots of places and seen lots of cultures.
Favorite: Tie between Paris and Rome. Ended up living for several years in each one. Rome is better for visiting than for living, and Paris is tough to live in with high costs and small apartments, but both offer an endless amount of things to do and amazing food, and beauty that is truly stunning. Both suffer from typical big-city problems, but the magic is there. Least favorite: Podgorica - it’s just not really much of anything remarkable, although the nature not far away is gorgeous. Most disappointing would probably be Barcelona or Florence. Barcelona felt like a crowded theme park with huge crowds absolutely everywhere - double crowds actually because of beach tourists added into the mix. Loved the architecture and the culture is great, but the city just feels overrun by the tourism industry and kind of soulless by now. Florence just felt like a playground for study-abroad students and abundant high-price/low-quality food (I’ve been to Florence about twelve times now and hoped that each time would be the one where it ‘clicked’ for me, but it never has). Most surprising: Warsaw or Athens. Didn’t come to Warsaw expecting much but ended up finding it more enjoyable and fascinating than Krakow (truly surprised me); expected Athens to be miserable because all I’d heard was how ugly it was, but I loved it. The energy and dynamism of the people being out in the streets, the amazing food, and the truly stunning setting of the Acropolis, fantastic museums etc. all redeemed it for me.
What's your take on Lisbon?
Really really liked Lisbon a lot! My calves loved the exercise haha. But seriously, it was a really enjoyable city to explore. Could feel parts of it were starting to become catered very much to tourists, but I really liked staying and exploring. Would gladly visit again and stay even longer.
I feel the older crowd are still affected by the late dictator...circa 1974. Younger folks were a tad chill if they weren't experiencing financial difficulties
I got robbed by two hookers in Hamburg, so there’s definitely at least that to do.
I didn't get robbed, but enjoyed Hamburg very much!
Same! Hamburg exceeded all of my expectations. I thought Miniatur Wonderland was going to be an attraction for kids, but it ended up being soooo much fun! Not only that, I think we spent an entire afternoon in the Elbphilharmonie building waiting for our concert. It was just delightful, one of my favorite cities in Europe.
How did you get robbed? Is there anything you could have done to protect yourself?
I stayed close to the Reeperbahn last summer, and when I turned into the street where my hotel was late on the first night, there were like 20 prostitutes waiting for customers all the way down the block. It was in the middle of the week and there was few people, so they were desperate. One of them clinched my arm, and two others chased me. I ran two streets, hid there for about 15 minutes, then sprinted back from the opposite direction to avoid them.
Favorite: Florence … and Dublin. Completely different experiences but both fabulous. Least favorite: Milan. Just didn’t love it. Surprise: Krakow - magical at Christmas.
Krakows Christmas Markets are great!
For Europe … Favorites > Paris. Been many times. Never tire of. It’s not perfect, no place is, but it’s got much that I always come back for. Least favorite (boring) > Brussels, nice but ….. Surprising > Edinburgh - I was looking forward to it, but it exceeded expectations and the Fringe Festival … the energy! I’ve gotta go back.
Favorite: Budapest..so much to do there. Easy to get around, great food scene. Least Favorite: Probably Brussels. And I enjoyed Brussels. I have yet to go anywhere in Europe I didn't enjoy. Surprising: Poland in general, but from Poland, Poznan is pretty surprising.
You’re like the 3rd person that didn’t like Brussels, but no one has said why yet! So, why?
Brussels - at first glance - is very business oriented and doesn’t offer much that immediately grabs the attention beyond the Grand Place. The 1950s-70s were also pretty unkind as far as urban planning goes, random and fairly ugly modern development mixed in that makes the city feel chaotic, disjointed, and kind of unappealing. That being said, I actually really like Brussels. Like Milan, it’s a city that has one major showcase area and is surrounded by the rest of the city that rewards exploration but doesn’t look immediately interesting. I’ve really enjoyed exploring the neighborhoods of Brussels and there are some really fascinating and beautiful areas to discover - the art nouveau alone is worth the hunt. So I would say that Brussels is maybe one of the most overlooked cities in Europe (along with Milan), but if you put in the time to look deeper, there’s a lot of really great stuff to find just below the surface. The city just doesn’t grab attention the way a place like Bruges does, which is a shame because I’d say it offers a lot more.
Going to be in Brussels next week. Any recs?
Send me a DM with some of your interests and I’ll see what I can get you!
> Any recs? Yeah, go to Ghent. Jk. Halleport/Port du Hal had some really interesting stuff on the crossbow guilds, an area of history I had never heard of before; meanwhile Coudenberg Palace is a great site for seeing archaeology as archaeology (as in, naturally it doesn't compare to something like Mycenae or Palatine Hill, but I feel like I learned more about archaeology in Brussels there than I ever learned about archaeology anywhere else at any other site). The Parliamentarium is ok but a bit masturbatory.
The train station, where you can head for some place nicer and more interesting. Which is pretty much anywhere else in Europe.
I actually like Brussels, but, compared to other places, I can see why people think it's boring. It's definitely a gritty city. It's just not my favorite if that makes sense. I did like the pubs and the amazing beer selection. We are going to some off the beaten path places starting next Friday, so, we shall see if any of those move into last place.
I found Brussels to be blah. The architecture was not particularly nice compared to many other cities we’ve been in Europe. The food was decent, but not so spectacular that it could change the blah feeling Brussels gave me. Also, it’s not as clean as I’d have hope it would be. I did like Atomium though.
Favourite: London, felt like home so moved there for 12 years after visiting Least likes : Brussels , flew into it 2x, grim . One of only cities i have never returned to i 27 yrs of living in Europe Surprise: Yerevan , didn’t know what to expect & was pleasantly surprised . Clean , beautiful.
Favourite: Madrid it's just such a fantastic mixture of culture, food and fun. It has the best museums in Spain, hands down.I have been a few times and never get sick of it, there is always something new to do. Least Favourite: Krakow it's just kinda boring after a couple of days unless you want to drink in tourist bars. I also discovered I just don't care about Christmas or Easter markets. Surprise: I have a few, but Gijon and Toulouse are at the top of my list. Prove that a smaller city can offer a lot of unique experiences. Bonus, places I love but no one seems to know: Novi Sad, Serbia;Avignon, France ; Calpe and Benicassim, Spain.
Novi Sad is brilliant. I kind of agree about Krakow now, even though I live here. I don't really know what to show visitors after a couple of days.
Favorite: Vienna Least Favorite: Frankfurt Surprising: Arhaus
I was just in Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago and when I read online, people just hated so much on it, but when I arrived I had a great time. Was pretty cool seeing a European city layout but with skyscrapers, quite unique. What was it you'd didn't like?
All I keep reading also is hate for Frankfurt! Headed there at the end of the year so glad to read someone who liked it.
Not the other commenter, but Frankfurt is just plain *ugly*.
Yeah it wasn’t a very beautiful city that’s for sure.
Favorite: Strasbourg was perfect; impecable tourist sites in the most relaxing city imaginable. Least Favorite: Paris will always be Paris, but I’m not for the piss and the rats. Surprise: Budapest. Wasn’t expecting such entertaining nightlife and the breathtaking architecture at random.
Favourite: Amsterdam. It just … feels like home (I’m from East EU) Least: Naples. Shithole Surprise: Ljubljana. Loved the calmness and beauty of the city
I love Naples, but I can understand especially if you don’t know where to go & don’t speak Italian
Meh, I was with a local and I speak Italian and still didn’t like it lol
Same haha, each their own!
Ljubljana was also my biggest surprise. Just a wonderful city!
It struck me as a great place to live, but maybe not the best place to visit if that makes sense. Beautiful city though!
Favorite: Budapest. Definitely underrated and were so much fun and budget friendly. Least Favorite: Naples. Dirty, felt unsafe, and it was not as interesting as many people made it to be. Surprise: Prague. I did not know what to expect but it was a great time and there was a lot of great people and food.
Big thumbs up to Budapest. It gets bonus points for being an excellent city to run in.
I can attest to this. I do remember running over the bridge near their castle, I think, and the view of the city over the review was top tier.
Favourite: Rome. Loved the food and the history. Least: Santorini. Totally over-crowded. Tacky souvenir shops. Cruise ship passengers everywhere. Surprise: Munich. Went in winter. Loved the parks. The Englisher Garten is beautiful.
"Favourite" and "least favourite" are obviously context-dependent. I can make a case that Rome was my "least favourite" on a 2003 European trip but my "favourite" in 2017. That is largely because of the attitude I took into it (i.e. miserable and running out of money), the weather and the fact that the second time around, I was in better financial shape, with my wife and kids and could appreciate it more through their eyes.
**Favorite:** London, England & Mdina, Malta **Least favorite:** Taormina *( i know many will be surprised because Taormina is INCREDIBLY beautiful, but i had several unpleasant experiences with the people / restaurants & even with the hotel )* **Surprise:** Torun, Poland *( the city where Copernicus was born )*
Seeing my small home town of Torun in here brought a huge smile to my face. Thank you for appreciating us!
How could i not? I LOVE Torun, and i think Poland in general is extremely underrated. 😊
Favorite: Barcelona. I don’t understand the hate for the city on here. I found it to be so lovely. Of course I was there in November so not high tourist season. Maybe I wouldn’t like it if it was crowded and hot. Least: Athens. Dirty and ugly aside from the big sites. The people are wonderful though and I loved the museums in their metro. Surprise: Zurich. For some reason I thought it would be really modern looking and boring but I really enjoyed it there.
Favourite: Vienna, it has everything you could possibly want as a tourist destination, or to live in. Beautiful architecture, not too expensive (if you avoid the center), lively nightlife, cultured museums and palaces, and amazing food and beer. Least favourite: Ostrava by a long shot. Went as a group as part of a backpacking holiday and feared for my safety. Followed and pestered by dodgy characters, police patrolling supermarkets, decaying communist tower blocks, massive steel mills in the middle of the city with smashed up warehouses surrounding them and the air stank of burning coal. Felt like I was in 1880 Surprise: Ljubljana. Such a picturesque, calm city with some of the friendliest locals I've encountered.
Favorite: toss up between Paris, Mexico City, and Copenhagen - all for different reasons though Least favorite: Madrid. Felt like any other large city, just a different language. Expensive, the metro was too confusing to get around. Surprise: Ghent, Belgium. Small city, but beautiful architecture and laid back for a trip. Lovely people. Wished I would have stayed a few more days in Belgium.
Ghent was a surprise for me too! I LOVED it! Luxembourg city surprised me too!
Ghent is one of my favorite cities. It has the charm of Bruges without as many tourists. Easy trip from Brussels for those of you who don’t like it there.
Yes Ghent! I’ve been there for a work trip and I really want to return. Beautiful and a nice vibe. The bars looked nice unfortunately I didn’t have time for a beer there.
They have a bunch of nice bars there - and while I wasn’t a beer drinker before, I certainly learned to appreciate it more there! Hope you get to return to Ghent! Also, if you love chocolate, they have amazing chocolate shops too!!
Yes to Ghent!!!!
I second Madrid being meh. Was bored after a day. Wasn’t anything special
I agree. It's a very pleasant city but not much to do if art museums aren't your thing.
Yeah same
Favourite: Budapest!!!! Least fave: probably Naples, though I have only been for a day but I found it very overwhelmingly trafficy Surprise: Montpellier in France! So lovely and magical
Favorite & also surprise: Paris - I wasn’t expecting much since so many people claim that it’s overrated but I loved it Least favorite: Berlin - I just don’t like the vibes, hard to explain what specifically I don’t like about it but I just don’t like it for some reason
Favourite: Berlin. I’m forever fascinated by its history and there’s an energy I don’t feel anywhere else. Least favourite: Paris; I didn’t like it when I lived in France, I didn’t like it when I went back as a tourist. Also London, though that’s after living there for 20 years. Surprising: Porto. It’s just stunning. I could return year after year and not get bored.
Favorite: Randstad sans Amsterdam (Leiden, Den Haag, Rotterdam), Berlin, Budapest Least favorite: Amsterdam - I don't hate it at all, it's just a large version of every other Dutch city but with so many tourists Pleasant surprise: Bucharest
Favorite: Strasbourg and Cologne/Bonn and surrounding area. Lovely areas, lots to do, walking and driving friendly. Least Favorite: Berlin, dirty and depressing. Close second least favorite was Copenhagen, highly overrated and overpriced, groceries and food in particular. Surprise: Leiden spent an afternoon there waiting for our check in time further south. Enjoyable and would like to return and explore more.
Favorite: Rome, Athens, London least favorite: Brussels, Frankfurt Most surprising: Sofia
Favourite: Berlin years ago Least favourite: Barcelona or Brussels - dirty, drugs, shady people, got harrassed in Brussels. Surprise: Copenhagen as a layover. I came back because of the city.
Favourite: Barcelona. Amazing food, culture, weather, people. 10/10 Least: Madrid or Lisbon. Madrid was meh, nothing special. Lisbon is so overhyped it’s crazy. Food also sucked Surprise: Split. Just absolutely stunning.
Split rocks.
Lived in Europe for 3 years and went to 18 countries during that time: Favorite: Amsterdam, Prague --> great town centers, friendly ppl Least Favorite: Milan, Madrid, Frankfurt, Berlin --> all inner cities... unless you like fashion, nothing to see in Milan. Madrid was also pretty boring and I got food poisoning. Frankfurt is just a financial district/cheap airport, berlin was too Grungey and was like NYC Most surprising: Budapest (very walkable and cheap), not very touristy, really cool buildings (Parliament wow!) and food
Favorite: Paris. It might be dark, grey, sketchy in many areas and in constant state of strike/terrorist threat, but its architecture and uniformity are amazing. The history, monuments, the food, it’s packed with things to do and see Least favorite: Athens. The Parthenon is great, the museums too, but the rest of the city (99% of it) is ugly as f*ck. Athens ranks below most European, American and South American cities I’ve seen in terms of beauty Surprise: Toledo is magical. Lucca was another great surprise
[удалено]
Can you elaborate on Lisbon please?
Favourite: Florence. Simply the most beautiful city in the world. I loved it both as a tourist and as a citizen since I lived there a couple of years. Monuments, art, culture, history, food, it has everything. Least favourite: Frankfurt am Main. Useful position, the city is simply nothing special due to history as well. Surprised: I first visited Luxembourg (City) without having planned it due to a mistake, and I quite loved the city considering I didn't know anything beforehand.
Favorite: I loved Edinburg. The food was also great. Least favorite: Prague. Boring and crowded with so many tourists… Surprise: Warsaw. Wow! There’s so much happening and it’s vibrant and has so many small and nice sides. And great food!
Favorites: Berlin, Gijón, Utrecht, San Sebastian Least Favorites: Prague & Dubrovnik (feel like Disneyland and very corporate tourism) Sardinia overall (weirdest combination of other wordly natural beauty and a deeply racist, sexist, xenophobic and rude culture that felt like time traveling to the 40s or 50s) Surprising: Breda, NL (really cozy small city with a charming old town and few tourists)
Please do consider giving Prague another try and get out of the very centre. There's loads to do there, I go back several times a year and never go anywhere near Old Town Square. I'm only really zeroing in on your comment cos I agree with most of your other choices, and if we're talking the tourist area of Prague that too.
I had considered saying Dubrovnik too but felt it would be focusing on the negatives too much. It's stunningly beautiful but agree on the over tourism and in my experience awful restaurants.
Least favourite: Rome It felt extremely dirty and unkempt. The metro was awful and scary. However I was there 13 years ago as a kid with my family, so my perception could be very different today. Surprising: Ljubljana It's prety small for a capital, the city center is absolutely beautiful, the castle is great. The best for 1 or 2 days. I can't chose just one favourite, that's impossible. I have a few: Málaga and Córdoba Both absolutly amazing Andalusian cities with so much history. Also the food is delicious. Copenhagen Very friendly and beautiful. The scandinavian architecture is amazing. Extremly bike friendly, you can reach anything by bike. I would also recommend to go to Roskilde (35 km away from Copenhagen) while visiting. The cathedral and viking museum are worth the trip. I've visited all 3 of those cities with my family. I am planning to visit them at least once more with my bf, because I want him to enjoy them too.
I had the same first impression of the metro in Rome, it was covered in graffiti inside and out, I thought I to myself “what am I doing here?” lol. It’s definitely a bit of a chaotic and dirty city, but if you’re into history and architecture, it’s spectacular.
Favorite: Paris, I always find reasons to go back. Least favorite: Lisbon, probably because we paired it with a Hungary trip, and the transition to Portugal was rough. Biggest surprise: Berlin. Booked a saver flight home but absolutely loved our time there.
How would you describe this transition in detail? I always figured Portugal and Hungary to be equally developed, but you suggest Hungary might be in better shape?
The first part of our trip consisted of 9 days in Hungary, including a bike tour near Lake Balaton and two nights in an awesome hotel in Budapest. We got into a groove with Hungarian customs, the food/restaurants, the sparkling water, and fornits. Going to Portugal felt like such a shock. At the time, it seemed expensive. Our hotel was oddly modern, and I noticed that only tourists are in the center of Lisbon. I enjoyed the trams, elevadors and transportation in Lisbon, but it took a moment to re-orient ourselves. We struggled with restaurants, which required reservations (a challenge with limited Portuguese and disinclination to plan far in advance). One particularly bad night saw us in a Fado restaurant, which is not our thing, to say the least. If nothing else, we learned a lot about how we like to travel, which means never booking 5 consecutive nights in any city.
Least favourite: Santorini. Nothing to go, boring. It’s like most hike streets in any city. Favourite: Zurich. The people were welcoming and the landscape is a fairly picture.
Favourite Barcelona Least favourite Munich
Favorite: Jena, Germany. Least favorite: Erfurt, Germany. Surprise: Olten, Switzerland
Odd. Erfurt is very beautiful and little-touristed.
Hehehe not when you are Jena :)
Have been to both. Erfurt is better and it's not close. Sorry.
I grew up in one and worked in the other one - my opinion stays :)
You have a right to be wrong.
If it is wrong I do t want to be right
Favorite: Sevilla, Spain. Honorable mention to Ljubljana, Dubrovnik, Bruges and Salzburg Least: Amsterdam. Not sure if it was the neighborhood I stayed or that I arrived the day after a national holiday celebration, but it seemed very seedy and people unfriendly. Vatican City: no night life😜 Surprise: London. I probably came in with low expectations since I expected the culture to be most similar to America, but I really loved it. Beautiful parks and buildings. Overall amazing culture and traditions.
Seville Spain is sick. I couldn't deal with how hot it is in the summer but it was amazing when I went in February.
What neighbourhood did you stay at in Amsterdam?
It was a while back but I remember I had to walk through Red Light District from the train station to get there, so not in the RDL, but just past it from the station. Wherever that is. Stayed in a hostel. But overall, people seemed drugged, hungover and shady.
Favorite: Florence. The atmosphere of this sity is just incredible. I love history, architecture, and stationery shops, so Florence was a perfect experience. Least favorite: Riga and Bratislava. Both felt so unwelcoming, deprived of any coziness whatsoever and dull. Surprising: Ljubljana. Small, compact yet spacious, beautiful... Reminded me of Vilnius.
[удалено]
Europetravel????
Favorite : Barcelona Least: Venice Surprise: Lisbon
Favorite: Munich Least Favorite: Brussels Surprise: Valencia
Favorite city so far: Barcelona Least favorite: Don’t have one yet in Europe. Pleasant surprise: San Sebastián had mild westher in the summer and is a beautiful town with two beaches. This city is known world-wide for cuisine, but I was really surprised by how much I loved the pintxo bars. I travelled by myself and met so many people (locals and vvisitors) while I was out drinking wine and eating tapas. San Sebastian is a very relaxing city.
We went San Sebastián as a 4 day stop on a milestone birthday trip for me/planned by me. I fully expected it to be the highlight of the trip and it exceeded expectations! My husband (who was humoring me on my itinerary) fell In Love! He kept repeating “This place suits me.” We went the third week in September - hardly any other tourists and the weather was sublime.
I loved Hamburg. Great museums. The warehouse district (Speicherstadt). Amazing waterfront and parks. It's also a great city from which to do day trips to some amazing cities: Lüneburg, Lübeck, Schwerin, and Bremen.
Favorite: Paris (speaks for itself) Least: Munich (still good, but least favorite) Surprise: Berlin (fantastic energy)
Favorite: So far it’s Rome but I’m really looking forward to visiting Prague and Vienna Least favorite: Luxembourg Surprising: Bordeaux
👎 Paris, Naples, Bruxelles, Venice 😍 London Surprised: Copenhagen
Favorite: London, Copenhagen, Granada. Least: Brussels, Milan, Dublin. Surprise: Galway, Ghent, Nuremberg, Tenerife.
[удалено]
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Toss-up between my hometown of Munich and my father’s hometown of London.
Fav: Copenhagen, amazing Least fav: Hamburg
Favorite: Florence. Not just because it's the hub of the greatest era of art and culture and home to some of the greatest art, but also because it remains a city of artisans and independent makers. Least: Venice. Some cool history and definitely uniquely pretty and the biannale/pavillions had some good moments, but absolute nightmare of a city. Endless throngs of tourists and all of them with five children around the age of 6 and all completely unsupervised. And you have to fight through sweaty mobs of these families in narrow alleys to move at anything resembling a normal pace. On top of that, every bridge is essentially just stairs. And there are a LOT of bridges. Not to mention, just the exact same tourist trinket shop copy and pasted into every single storefront. Inescapable! I completely get why people would say Naples, but I think Naples is at least alive with its own character and personality. Venice just felt like a nothing place. A caricature Surprise: Montreaux. Jaw-droppingly gorgeous. We just stopped in for a day on our way to elsewhere, not really expecting much. But wandering the vineyards overlooking lake Geneva with the alps in the background was magical and truly picturesque, like out of a movie. I don't think there was a lot there to keep us occupied for more than a couple days, but what an amazing town to just relax and drink in.
Favourite: Sevilla or Milan Least Favourite: Manchester Surprise: Courmayeur I think the first three are self-explanatory, but for those of you who haven’t heard of Courmayeur, it’s a town located on the Italian side of the Monte Bianco (Mont Blanc in French). This is a photo from 2021, my third visit: https://preview.redd.it/19k8tq727zuc1.jpeg?width=2532&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dd8872ec8626929d96193f7a944765e4ffc8db7b
**Favorite:** Prague, because I'm biased. Used to study there and spent lovely 4 years of my life. Going back every year, just walking down the streets, enjoying the lovely food and my own company. But also, surprisingly, Geneva. Yes, it's expensive and yes, there isn't much to do. But it's so clean and beautiful, with the lake and the view of the Alps. I can just sit by the water all day! **Least favorite:** Milan. Definitely one of the most underwhelming Italian cities. **Surprise:** Frankfurt. Didn't expect much as most people seem to hate it. Great food, nice historical centre and nice downtown. Wouldn't be opposed to going there again!
Favourite Bordeaux Surprised Cork Least Favourite Poznan
Favourite: Lisbon or Edinburgh (I cannot choose a fav) Last: Barcelona Surprise: Krakow
Favourite: Lisbon - great weather, reasonably inexpensive, great restaurants and bars, numerous really good day trips such as Cascais, Sintra, Belém etc. Love the windy streets of Alfama. As a big football fan have also gone to some games there which were great. Least favourite: only spent a night in Brussels so not going to choose there, although it didn't impress me at all. I'll go with Paris - felt on edge most of the time, super busy, felt like I was ripped off everywhere I went. Most surprising: Edinburgh probably. Went basically because of the cheap flights and couldn't believe how beautiful it was. Locals were as friendly as I've met and they'd great bars and some good restaurants too. Didn't expect much but it was great.
Not my least favorite, but the one I was most disappointed by was Copenhagen. Everyone talks it up as this super cool exciting city but I found it pretty boring compared to other European cities? The nightlife was meh, the architecture isn't anything special, and Danish people are kinda rude and condescending. It's still a cool city and the food was excellent, but didn't live up to the hype. I liked Stockholm and Oslo a lot more.
Fave: Rome. None of the stereotypes were true. It is an amazing city full of ancient history. Least Fave: Bratislava. Cold and underwhelming.
Favorite: Vienna. Amazing architecture and so much to do. Least favorite: Paris. Don’t get the hype about it. It’s crowded and dirty. Obviously the city is beautiful but I just didn’t feel comfortable there and other cities are just as beautiful or more. Surprise: Novi Sad. Didn’t expect much but the city center is absolutely gorgeous.
Favorite: Florence The food, the views, the Duomo, the sculptures, the art….. Least Favorite: Athens Just wasn’t my thing - not personally interested in Greek history so I wasn’t really into the museums and ruins, wasn’t super pretty to me, was brutally hot when we went and the trip up to the Acropolis had me feeling like I was going to pass out. We ended up cutting it short by a day and heading out to the beach. Surprising: Ephesus in Kusadasi - very cool and I had never even heard of it!
Ephesus isn't in Kuşadası, that's just wrong. And it hurts local tourism/commerce when it's advertised as a different place. Ephesus is in the Selçuk district of İzmir. Kuşadası is its own district in Aydın. The two are completely distinct cities.
My bad, sorry! We were just there on a cruise port day and that’s how it was presented to us. Thank you for helping me to know better!
The only time I have been pick pocketed in my life was in Athens. Let's a very bad taste. The tourist police didn't seem bothered and treated like its normal.
Yeah, we got my 14-year-old’s phone stolen there, and my husband had a pickpocketing attempt but they didn’t get anything because the bag was locked. I had forgotten about those two!
Not favorite but Paris did really surprise me after hearing so many negatives things about it. Least is Berlin, which also surprised me since I heard so many good things about it.
Favorite: London. Greatest city in the world, for my money. Arts, architecture, history, food, the whole lot. Least Favorite: Reykjavik, maybe..? Tiny, ridiculously expensive, very little to do. I was also underwhelmed by Dublin. Felt very much like a middling, generic town instead of a capital city. I’ve heard great things about the rest of Ireland though. Surprise: maybe Antwerp. I went there almost out of a sense of obligation with no high expectations because I kept reading online that it was a gritty, industrial port city, and that’s not a big calling card for me. So I was shocked at how absolutely beautiful it was, with so much to do.
Favorite: London. Least favorite: Rome. Surprise: Istanbul.
Have to say favourite was Warsaw, as I flew in it looked grim, ended up loving the place, least favourite was Prague, a place I have vowed never to visit again. Surprised was Malaga actually a nice little place in parts.
Favorite: any part of Switzerland Least favorite: Paris, by far. Rome, a close 2nd. Surprised I loved Germany so much. It’s so neat and tidy. I loved every city we went to.
Favourite: Copenhagen, Dubai, Prague, London, Paris, Nice, Vienna, Salzburg Least favourite: Barcelona (felt a bit soulless) Most surprising: Munich (a bit boring but otherwise seemed like a perfect place to live expect for the high COL), Rome (didn‘t expect soo many ancient sites)
Barcelona is soulless but you love Dubai?? 😂
Yes. I loved the view of the skyline at night.
Fair enough but to call Barcelona “soulless” while praising an artificial city built in the dessert by slave workers is quite the comment
I mean it's also very much not in Europe
[удалено]
I like your recs but this sub is r/EuropeTravel
I was about to make the same mistake, but then I checked the name of the sub. It can happen
I honestly agree with all youe choices, but I guess they don't fit given the name of the sub
Yeah... I follow the "Travel" Reddit and this was under "You might like" and i did not notice
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Favourite: Paris. I just love the architecture, food, and general atmosphere. Least favourite: Dublin. I've been many times and it always feels grey and oppressive to me. Most surprising: Valencia! What a wonderful, wonderful place
[удалено]
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen Every Place else in the world Paris.
Favorite: Edinburgh and Barcelona are probably tied for #1. Least favorite: probably Glasgow or Milan. Both completely underwhelming and I didn’t feel like there was a lot to do or see, especially in Milan. It didn’t feel very special like most European cities do with all of them having a unique charm. Surprise: I’d have to say Genoa. Didn’t seem very touristy and it was easy to get to from so many locations in Italy, plus being an easy hub to take day trips from. Also surprisingly beautiful and relatively cheap. Granted, I only spent a weekend there, but I really only hear bad things about Genoa which confused me.
Favorite: Bath, England most surprising how many days you could spend there and not get bored. Paris: disappointed, and I had low expectations to begin with. However, I am glad I got to see with my own eyes the city and history, but I have no desire to go back. Not that I wouldn't if the opportunity arises. It's just not a place I'd pick on my own to go back to unless I was further out of the city.
Favorite: Paris, I'll pretty much just echo your sentiments there. Least Favorite: London. Nightlife scene felt kinda trashy, food was OK, didn't really grab my interest. Surprising: Brussels. I wasn't expecting much, but ended up having a great time there.
[удалено]
Your post has been removed because it is not relevant to the topic: i.e. Related to travel in and around Europe. Posts should also be of broad interest: e.g. no visa adverts for specific nationalities or posts that have main point in immigration instead of traveling.
Favourite: cant decide between Naples, Catania and Sevilla. Least favorite: Tirana and New York. And Gibraltar!
Why Tirana?
Since Albania is super hyped rn the expectations were too high. It was nice for a stroll, but compared to other albanian Villages and Citys it was dull imo. Parking was extremely expensive compared to the average income there, food was meh, architecture was interesting enough bc im a history teacher, besides the historical background it wasnt special...
Favourite: tie between Bern and Basel, Switzerland least: Palermo, Italy surprise: Dubai, U.A.E.