Do not miss PRAGUE around New Years time. AMAZING nightlife. BERLIN is good too. AMSTERDAM is great.

These are a ixture of scenic and historical sites.
Norway
Lofoten Islands and Geirager Fjord [scenery]

England
Oxford and Cambridge.[ old University cities like film sets – see one]
Ely, Gloucester, York Minster, Exeter, Durham, Wells [favourite cathedrals]

Scotland
Edinburgh and Culross [history]
Cuillins of Skye, Torridon Highlands, Glencoe area [scenery.]

Spain and Portugal
Lisbon, Córdoba, Toledo, Barcelona [Cities]
Alhambra (Granada) and the Córdoba Mosque [Moorish architecture
Sierra de Grazalema, Pyrenees, Picos de Europa [scenery]

Italy
Rome and Venice [cities]
Sicily [wonderful remains, scenery and food]

I highly recommend:
*Paris. Paris. Paris. Oh, and did I mention Paris?
*Greece – the islands of Mykonos and Ios especially.
*Dublin
*London

Everyone’s opinions are different. Try to read advice but then make your own decisions.

I’m going to have to agree with segacs on this one and say Paris. I know a lot of people are not very crazy about Paris, but it is definitely a must see…

Budapest is the most beautiful European city I’ve visited. Especially at night, takes my breathe away.

and im gonna go with segacs and clipper and say Paris as well. Anyone who doesnt like paris either had a single bad experience there or has no idea what the hell they’re talking about. Paris is awesome- especially the champs elysees, we just walked up and down it from place de la concorde to the arc de triumph for hours on end and it never got boring, its great. The only problem is prices, especially for us americans who have a shithole economy right now and the dollar sucks compared to the euro.

i agree about paris. some people dislike it, i think if you’re from a little town it can be overwhelming. it’s very fast moving. people don’t wait for lights. it’s not uncommon to be bumped into now and then.

brugge, it’s easy to get to. if you end up planning on going to amsterdam, it’s something like and hour and a half by train.

krakow is wonderful. especially in winter when there’s snow.

one thing i thought and have heard from a couple other people, i found prague quite overrated. it’s definitely worth visiting. beautiful and has an interesting past. i was just expecting so much. i think i would have been more impressed if i didn’t go with the expectations. it’s really the only place i visited that i had huge expectations of.

if you go to amsterdam, don’t stay in the red light distrct. i wanted to be central and all but the red light district is dirty and some of it quite shady. it’s better to just visit and stay somewhere nicer.

Frankfurt-Oder.

As Segacs mentioned, a question like this is so personal, everyone has such verried opinions about what the best are. Nevertheless, here is my list of my favorites:

London
Edinbrough
Paris
Cassis, France
Luzern and Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Tyrol, Austria
Brugges, Belgium
Amsterdam and Delft
Berlin
Bavaria, Germany
Venice
Prague (not as great as I expected, but still a great city, and definetely worth seeing)

Dissapointments:
Doublin
Barcelona (I’m gonna get flogged for that one)
Salzbrug (granted, I was there during a snow storm, but I had high expectations)
Vienna
Florence (I had really high expectations and was let down)
Brussels (no one could possibly disagree with me on this one)

I agree with Paris….its just stunning!
I also adored Krakow, thought Prague was overrated, love the scenery anywhere in Greece…Venice is like nowhere else and Rome is just facsinating.

I thought Prague was AMAZING! very gothic and so much fun!

Bruge, definately a must see…some of my best times there! And the people are soooo friendly.

I agree about Amsterdam being dirty, but we stayed in the Bulldog Hotel right in the red light. Its called a hotel, but really, its a hostel. Might be a little more expensive, but so worth it! It might just be the coolest place we stayed (ended our trip there) and they just renvovated the whole thing! They also have a website and you can even book online. Check it out!

Have fun!!!

Go to Reykjavik in Iceland, its AMAZING and unique! Particularly recommend going on the Golden Circle tour there and of course, the Blue Lagoon! It’s very safe there but incredibly cold and windy!
I was also quite impressed by Monte Carlo (Monaco) as it is just so ostentatious, Edinburgh (Scotland) for all the Georgian architecture and Barcelona for the Modernist buildings. Hope this helps. buffy x

PARIS. PARIS. PARIS
I will never get enough of this place. Ever. LOVED every single last minute of my time there.

One of my absolute favourite places was Agrigento in Sicily (worth it for the Valley of the Temples if nothing else). Actually all of Sicily was fantastic – particular in winter when you’re the only tourist around and the locals are sooo friendly and invite you to stay with them…

I also loved all of Austria, but mainly because I’m a musician and I absolutely LOVED all the music history and concerts in Vienna.

Prague is great ON New Year’s Eve (massive party), but it’s a really bad time to visit for sightseeing, cuz half of Europe will be doing the same thing. You’re better off going to one of the smaller towns in Czech if you want to enjoy the scenery and architecture…

PARIS is the greatest city in Europe. Magnificent.
BAVARIA is wonderful – Munich, Tegernsee, Augsburg.
The PEAK DISTRICT in England is a perfect walking area – stone villages, hills, rolling meadows, limestone gorges.
TRANSYLVANIA in Romania – lovely old Saxon towns and villages, forested mountains.
TUSCANY in Italy. Beautiful hill top towns, lovely scenery, great food, great lifestyle. Don’t miss.
Cities: BUDAPEST, PRAGUE, SIENA, BUCHAREST, MUNICH.

I fell in love w/:
Prague, 4 the nightlife
Norway & its small towns 4 the scenery
any small town in Tuscan is worth it
if u like museums, Moskow is beaoootiful

Most romantic spot – Ravello, Italy on the Amalfi coast.
Best city to get lost in – Paris.
Best food – Tuscany, Umbria, Abruzzo regions in Italy.
Best old castle region – Dordogne Peregord region in France.
Best E Europe city – Krakow
Best beach – Rab island Croatia
Best Greek island – Symi
Most beautiful country in the world – New Zealand!

Madrid.(Best nightlife on earth)
Barcelona.(Incredible Gaudi architecture)
Paris.(The most beautiful classical architecture in the world)
Seville.(A purely Spanish experience)Absolutely beautiful.

I have to agree somewhat with Prague being a slight disappointment. But one place I fell in love with in the Czech Republic was Cesky Krumlov. You see, there’s two different types of travelers 1)the one who possibly has limited time and funds and does a whirlwind tour spending around 2 days in every major city in Europe; then there’s 2) the ones who just go with the flow and end up wherever they end up! I met someone in Prague who was going to Cesky Krumlov and so I left that next morning with him. I ended up staying in Cesky Krumlov for 2 weeks! If you go there, stay at Hostel 99—it has a beautiful outdoor patio that overlooks the town and has a great bar and restaurant attached—very laid back atmosphere and great people!

Also, do not miss the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The Moorish influence is so wonderful to see and the grounds and palace are just breathtaking. You almost forget you’re even in Spain.

Another favorite was Berlin, be sure to hit up all of the major museums as the collections are great (stay at the NEWER Circus Hostel, very affordable and clean-felt like you were at a hotel…plus, great bar in the basement). I LOVED London—but I love big cities…you just never ran out of things to do and see there. The British Museum was very cool.

Edinburgh, Scotland wasn’t the greatest. The castle was cool to see and they have good shopping. The weather sucked and the people were really not as laid back as I found in other cities (and I was visiting an English friend who was going to university there).

Hope that helps!

Prague – hands down. I’ve seen alot of Europe, and have to say that Prague is stunningly beautiful – I think its even more romantic than Paris. I would definitely go back in a heartbeat. Other runner ups: London (so much to do, a city of energy), Santorini, Greece (unforgettable and magical), the Amalfi Coastline, Italy (watch your lunch as you take the bus from Sorrento to Amalfi), Venice (gondolas, ambience and picture postcard shots everywhere) and Monte Carlo (nothing like people watching in front of the grand casino).

i´ve been on the road now for two months now over europe and here is what i found were the best places to visit.

paris: loved the city, i didn´t spend nearly enough time there. it´s absolutley beautiful, and ignore what people say about parisians being unfriendly. not true at all. if you attempt some basic french, i found most to be very friendly.

berlin: this city was mentioned in another thread. lots of people skip it, but i found it to be one of my favorite cities. (see other thread)

barcelona: i´m here right now, and i´m really liking it. very cool scene, laid back, but lots of stuff to see and do. lots of pubs and bars too, tons of nightlife here. of course, nice weather too.

finally the best in my opinion:

SORRENTO, ITALY! i was in venice talking to an aussie tour bus driver and he recommened going there. we changed our plans and made a detour there. boy am i glad we did. it is one of the most beautiful places i´ve been to. beautiful water, cliffs, greenry….capri is a short boat ride away, and you can see the blue grotto there. definatley worth it! (you have to go through naples to get there, but don´t stop, naples is a dump!)

esnvancouver- I will be traveling this time next year (Sept.-Nov.) How have you found the weather in the places you mentioned. I wanted to visit Sorrento, but I thought it might be a waste in the fall (since its a coastal town). Has it been super cold or rainy during your travels? Any place that wasn’t worth it due to the season? Have a great rest of your trip!

quote:
I have to agree somewhat with Prague being a slight disappointment. But one place I fell in love with in the Czech Republic was Cesky Krumlov….

Ohhh…yea!!! I love that town! Sleeping and dreaming to visit that amasing town again! We was staying 2 days (hostel SKUPPY) The owner (Brasilian woman) is great! Very cool and super hostel for hitch-hikers and for fun compayes! I’ve liked the bothroom more (so big…wow and there was window! COOL)
Go, goevery one to CZ.Crumlov

hey cld,

i was concerned a bit too about the weather when i was planning my trip. it was kind of hard to plan my packing, i had to pack clothes for warm and cool conditions.

how i did my trip was that i hit all the northern countries first: Holland, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria. then i moved on to the southern countries. (Italy, Spain, southern France) I have been pretty lucky with the weather. there has been rain on some days, but not much. when i was leaving vienna in october to go to venice it was starting to get pretty cold but it was bearable.

italy was perfect when i went (late october). it was not too hot or cold. mostly jeans and t shirt weather. sorrento was really warm about mid 20´s C. very nice. we were there for only a few days, so maybe we were lucky? water was just warm enough to swim in.

spain has been nice at this time of year too. mostly sunny and somewhat warm. i´m in valencia now, and i wish it was a bit warmer, just so i could go swim in the sea again. it was just a bit too cool.

the only place that sucked during my trip so far, weather-wise, was southern france. i can imagine it is beautiful during the summer, but it was raining while we were there. kind of put a damper on it. it´s ok though, i mean i´m from vancouver, canada, it rains LOTS there. i guess it´s what kind of weather you´re used to.

overall, i don´t regret my decision to go at this time of year. it could have been a bit nicer in some spots, but overall the weather was really good. i would trade the slightly better summer weather any day though for the small fall season lines to see sights. everywhere we went there was no issue of waiting in line too long to see some sights.

i´m heading up to manchester in a week to catch a football game, and i´m really going to miss the nice Spanish weather!

hope this helps!

i have to just add to my list. i´ve been in valencia now for a few days, and it´s even better than barcelona! beautiful, perfect size, huge beaches, nice people, and awesome nightlife.

definatley go here if you can!

stockholm is really nice…stay at the city lodge hostel…not listed in guide books as it is fairly new, but it has free internet, ace showers and it is about 5 mins from main staition….i stay here extra 2 nights as it was that nice, it is like being at home in your bedroom!!!!

Paris is my favorite city in the world. that being said, i dont recommend going there if you are a single male. unless you are a history buff, food lover, museum lover, bridge lover, a romantic, church lover, etc etc. it is amazing there. try the coq au vin and the chocolate there, especiall angelics. i guess you get my point.

p.s. dont believe the hype about rude french people