Travel in Europe
- Thread starter 80watts
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At the risk of starting a "He said, She said" discussion, my favourite major European cities, in order (YMMV): Prague (by far), Paris, Berlin, London, Venice, Innsbruck, Bratislava, Florence, Lisbon, Barcelona, Copenhagen, then all the others. You can do countries, or you can do cities, but unless you're there for a while it's hard to do both. I lived in Europe for a half-dozen plus years, so I had the chance to do a bit of both. As for suggestions, it would depend on which time of year you're traveling, and my recommendations would be based on weather and timing to avoid the tourist crowds.
The tourist crowds in Europe are now something to behold. Tourism from China has increased tremendously in the last few years and some of the sites haven't adjusted. I was in Versailles in May and the Palace was more crowded than a Skytrain @ 8.30 am. Yes - it was nose-to-nose, that's how crowded it was. Got there first thing in the morning and still had to wait for an hour to gain entry.
As far as choice of country, it really depends on what you like. Mountain scenery: Switzerland, France, Austria. Coastal scenery: Italy. Food: France, Italy.
As far as choice of country, it really depends on what you like. Mountain scenery: Switzerland, France, Austria. Coastal scenery: Italy. Food: France, Italy.
I agree, especially about the non-touristy areas being eye-opening and mind-expanding to explore, but it's also all about timing.
For example, two particular visits to the Louvre (Paris) stand out in my mind. The first was in peak tourist season in the early 80's where I stood in line for an hour to see La Joconde (the Mona Lisa), and even when I got in the room I was 15 rows back to see this tiny painting on the wall in the distance. The crowd was constantly being moved from the entrance door to the exit door so it felt like I was on a conveyor belt flowing through the room, but never getting any closer. On a subsequent, better planned and way better timed visit (around 2005, if memory serves), my partner and I were alone in the room for a good ten minutes, with plenty of time to contemplate da Vinci's masterpiece from as close as the protective glass would let us approach it.
Travel guidebooks (and google) are your friend.
Spain is really beautiful, but i found the beaches had a lot of spider fish, the art museums museums are some of the best in Europe. Spain has a lot of castles as well. Portugal is nice, and I really enjoyed food. I may be bias because my mom is Brazilian. But I really enjoyed the food in Portugal and beaches
