1. Sarajevo
2. Kotor, Montenegro
3. Transylvania
4. Belgian beer bars (with hundreds of brews available)
5. Istanbul
6. Bohinj/Bled area of Slovenia
7. Spissky Hrad in Slovakia
8. Belgrade
9. London
10. Glasgow (the real #1)

I have travelled in Europe quite a bit but there are far too many places I’ve not been for me to feel confident about selecting 10 with any certainty.
Having said that the following all seem strong candidates:
London, Oslo, Lofoten Islands, Cordoba, Granada [just for the Alhambra], Prague, Ghent

1. High Tatra mountains, Slovakia/Poland
2. Berlin, Germany
3. Belgrade, Serbia & Montenegro
4. Venice, Italy
5. Crete, Greece
6. The Burren, Ireland
7. The Ardennes, Belgium
8. Lower Silesia, Poland
9. Britanny, France
10. Prague, Czech Republic

1. Spain
2. Portugal
3. France
4. Italy
5. Great Britain
6. Switzerland
7. Croatia
8. Slovenia
9. Czech Republic
10. Everything else in Europe

1) Sarajevo, BiH
2) Prague, CZ
3) Vilnius, LT
4) Dalmatian Coast, HR
5) Bay of Kotor in Montenegro
6) Ljubljana, SLO
7) Bali, Indonesia
8) Tallinn, EST
9) Rovinj, HR
10) Krakow, PL

These were my favourite places…hope it helps

*Oktoberfest in Munchen (A MUST!)
*Amsterdam
*Vienna, Austria
*Gallipoli, Turkey (especially if ur Aussie or a Kiwi)
*Paris
*Anything in Switzerland
*Venice, Italy
*Beaujolais (spelt wrong) region in France

Yes, Miss Bridget Jones, Paris! Why hasn’t anyone else listed Paris? What’s wrong with you people! OK, having said that…here’s my list (though in no particular order):

1. Paris
2. Edinbrough, Scottland
3. Jungfrau region, Switzerland
4. Venice
5. Iceland (all of it!)
6. Tyrol region, Austria
7. Brugges, Belgium
8. Holland region, The Netherlands
9. Brittany region, France
10.Copenhagen, Denmark

I haven’t seen much of Eastern Europe, but I hear Croatia is beautiful. Out of the places I’ve been, here are my suggestions.

London
Berlin, Germany
Athens
Prauge
Paris (everything)
Stockholm
Rome
Venice (city is so different)
Barcelona (Gaudi Artwork)
A boat tour along the Rhein/Main rivers

1) French Riviera
2) Paris
3) London
4) Amsterdam
5) The Netherlands (other than Amsterdam)
6) Venice
7) Munich
8) Rhine Valley
9) Austria
10) Rome

Most of these places have lots of touristy things and sights that you hear about and kinda must see. That said, the colosseum, vatican and pantheon are brilliant but I was very disappointed with the cleanliness of Rome and the safety of its metro as opposed to that of other cities. I wasn’t fond of the Italian hospitality industry either. These are just personal opinions though.

Beaujolais——I loved that recommendation! My point is that, all too often, I’ll see questions about "How can I get from Big City A to big city B…?", and the posters aren’t aware that they’re missing seeing beautiful villages and countryside by concentrating on the quickest travel from one major city to another, often by night train.
Until it was popularized a few years back, Cinque Terre was an area that most first-timers would have missed because they’d have been so intent on getting between Nice and Rome the fastest way, or would have taken a night train to avoid paying for a hotel or hostel room.
So, I’d put in advice that you make a point of stopping in smaller towns along your route. Read some guidebooks before you leave, and try to get a few ideas ( I’d hasten to add that some small towns are less well known because, well… there’s nothing to see!)
Here are a few examples of worth-while places that lie more-or-less on the route between Barcelona and Nice, for example: Collioure, Montpellier, Nimes, Arles, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Juan-les-Pins. Some may require slight detours, but all have rail service that is good so that you wouldn’t be stranded if you didn’t like a place.
One other small point: Often, your memories of a place are colored by intangibles or unexpected events. Perhaps you’ll stay in a small family-run hotel, and the owners are especially friendly and welcoming (or not!), for example. I’ve been lucky enough to have gone to Europe many times now, and my experiences even in the same towns have varied widely.

Country/Location:

1. Croatia
2. Scotland
3. Ireland
4. Iceland
5. Scandinavia
6. Austria
7. Italy
8. France
9. Czech Rep.
10. The Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
-. Istra (Croatian peninsula)
-. Kornati (The greatest archipelague in the Mediterranean sea!)
-. The Alps (Italian side)
-. Bretagne
-. Sicilia & south Italy

City/Location:

1. Dubrovnik
2. Venezia
3. Roma
4. Firenze
5. Paris
6. Prag
7. Edimburgh
8. Berlin
9. Budapest
10. Athinai

==> Everything else in Europe
– The culture & the variety of people, architecture, languages and more… no place is equal to another one.

Have FUN!

Amanda,

Top ten??? Let’s just start with the first place you should go as an american and feel welcome in Europe. I have been to Amsterdam 6 times in the last 4,5 years. Loved it everytime ans was welcomed by the locals with open arms. Unlike a couple of other places I have been to e.g. Paris and Brussels

Instead of listing a city or country, how about a specific sight.

For example, The Mannekin Pis in Brussels and the Mermaid in Denmark are a big disappointment.

I think that some of the most memorable things are:

In Lucerne – the a national monument called the Dying Lion, which is a lion that is carved into a rock mountain with the outline around the lion is in the shape of a pig (the actual cave outline).

In Oslo – the Kon-Tiki Museum which displays the original Kon Tiki – that Thor Heyerdahl took across the Pacific and Ra II, that he sailed across the Atlantic.

In Tallin – the main Town Square (Raekoja Plats) is pretty neat and has a cool castle-like building that even has drainpipes (for water to run off the roof) that are shaped like dragon mouths!

In Vilnius – the KGB museum

In San Gimignani – the torture museum

Rome – the bone collection in the basement of a church called Santa Maria Della Concezione

Kutna Hora, Czech – another bone church in an ossuary near the town of Kutna Hora

A fondue restaurant in Paris called Au Refuge des Fondues.

That is some of the things that stand out for me. i suppose I could go on and on, but that gives you a flavor.

Everyone’s suggestions are great…in fact, I have already planned out my itinerary for a two month trip, although I wanted to know if I left out any spectacular sites. I am not that familiar with Western Europe, so my itinerary consists of mostly larger cities, with a few smaller ones like Cinque Terre, Lucerne, and Salzberg. Thank you everyone for your opinions! I’ll take them into account while I’m over there this Spring! By the way…during early May, which Greek Island would be better for site seeing, Mykonos or Santorini? Mykonos was my first pick because it’s closer to Athens.. what do you all think? Thank you
Amanda

Well I’ve yet to go backpacking round Europe, so my list is based on what I’ve seen with family and friends so far, but some of those places have been more off the beaten track!

• Northern Spain – beautiful green area of spain, which not many people know that much about but has beautiful beaches and fantastic mountain range – the Picos de Europa. Bilbao is a very nice clean, arty city.
  
• the Pyrenees – if you like mountains, then great place to go, especially Cirque de Gavernie which has a fantastic waterfall.
  
• Brittany – a must!
  

*Innsbruck – beautiful city, with a really friendly feel to it. If you can, its worth going on a train ride up the hill to Igls where the ski jump is – just the height the train climbs up to and angle it goes at its incredible.

• Samnaun – kind of difficult to get to if you’re backpacking, however if you can get there its a gold mine! In Switzerland, but can only be entered from Austria, which is why its duty free. For some reason, they sell bags of sugar there by the 10 kilo bag!
  
• Ypres, Belgium – worth going to see the Last Post at the Menin Gate at 8pm,which occurs every night. Definitely sends shivers down your back
  
• West Coast of Scotland – might not think it, but has white beaches and turqouise water
  
• Amsterdam – mainly because there is no where else like it!
  

In no particular order –

Paris – France,
Cologne – Germany,
Canterbury – UK,
London – UK,
Krakow – Poland,
Venice – Italy,
St.Gottards Pass – Switzerland,
Santorini – Greece,
Lefkada – Greece,
Brenner Pass – Austria.

1. Paris
2. Venice
3. Florence
4. South of France (Nice, Cannes, Eze, etc.)
5. St. Georges de Didonne (Bordeaux)
6. Copenhagen
7. Vienna
8. Prague
9. Rome
10. Ios, Greece