Top 5 cities in Europe.

[Marcus Nappy]

Im looking for the top 5 must see cities in Europe! Based on cultural aspects such as: museums, architecture, culturally diverse( your given list, more of a "shock" the better), and any other importances along those lines (historical, religious..etc)

[pinknic38]

Well I haven't been to a whole lot of European cities, but these come highly recommended by me, of the ones I've been to:

-Heidelberg, Germany - smaller city but amazing views, cool architecture, etc. Easily my favorite city so far that I've been to.

-Munich, Germany - of course, bigger city, but GREAT architecture, English Garden is AMAZING, great museums (and take a bike tour for sure), and if you love beer, totally a plus. Munich was a great environment with great people.

-Valencia, Spain - I loved Valencia more than Barcelona AND Madrid combined. This is kind of non-sequitor to pretty much everyone else who visits Spain, but Valencia comes highly recommended by me.

-Budapest, Hungary - I only got a little bit of time to check out the city, as I was just passing through, but it was absolutely beautiful, as far as architecture goes. I would love to make it back here.

-Krakow, Poland - Krakow was VERY cool, there is SOOOO much history and so many cool things to see if you're an architecture buff. Plus Auschwitz-Birkenau is a quick day trip. Very inexpensive in comparison to other places in Europe too.

[Thetraveler]

Definitely second the Budapest and Krakow suggestion.

As mentioned Krakow has a ton of history, and they have short day trips that you can take, which are definitely worth it. (plus the food is amazing)

And Budapest is a beautiful city, I was there for 5 days. Lots to see as far as architecture goes and the bath culture is still alive and well there, well worth a visit.

Istanbul is also amazing, I spent 4 days there before traveling around the country and would highly recommend it. Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Underground Cistern, Grand Bizarre and the Spice Market are all great to take in and while you are there you can eat enough kebab's to do you for a lifetime. And if you would want to spend any amount of time in Turkey, Cappadocia is definitely worth the long journey. That is on the Asia side of Turkey though. It is a really cool place and the national parks are gorgeous, plus it is cheaper then Istanbul.

[Elizabeth]

krakow

budapest

lviv, ukraine - wow wow wow... just take my word for it...its amazing and convenient to krakow so why not go?

belgrade, serbia - i only spent two nights here, but i really liked it...it had a great vibe

bucharest, romania - I can't pinpoint why I like this city but I really do. Its not beautiful along the lines of Krakow or Budapest. But the park towards the north of the city is really nice. I met this Romanian guy and he gave me the full tour of the park. From where he used to ride the kiddie rides to where the gays meetup and subsequently get mugged. Needless to say he was a colorful person and it was a colorful tour.

[joe7f]

Lagos, Portugal - The kids at the Rising Cock Hostel liked to ask if there was life after Lagos? Great times.

Salamanca, Spain - University town. I have no idea what the hostel scene is like (although I think I may know where one HI hostel is) but it is a great place to do people watching, architecture admiring and partying past sunrise

Rome, Italy - The Eternal City just rocks.

Munich, Germany - If you love great beer and "traditional" Germany culture, you gotta spend some time here. Great day trips are available.

Krakow, Poland - Beautiful city and somewhat affordable (although this apparently has changed a lot lately).

Europe really is just an awesome continent for backpackers.

--Joey

[aliz]

BERLIN BERLIN BERLIN. ahem. I like it muchly.
then I guess
-London
-Venice
-Warsaw (not many people seem to like it so much but we had a great time there)
-Vienna

[Marcus Nappy]

5 cities in 5 weeks.. too much? Starting in Amsterdam and ending in Athens. With the suggestions so far, Budapest will be one of the cities... Krakow is also a candidate. However it is not covered by the eurail system :S

[joe7f]

5 cities in 5 weeks is beyond doable. Depending on the city you may even find that is too much time. I generally plan on 4 days per city but I have stayed far longer and far shorter in some places.

--Joey

[Marcus Nappy]

I was factoring in travel time as well, but it looks like I could get in another 2 countries/ cities.

[marc873]

Amsterdam
Prague
Berlin
Budapest
Rome
And fuck Athens..... Sorry folks, maybe spend 1-2 days there, see the historic sites and get out. Spend your time elsewhere!!!

[Marcus Nappy]

I would like to fly out of Greece; where would you suggest going? Or another European country to fly out of to Cairo?

[marc873]

You could easily fly out of say Budapest or Prague to Cairo, most major EU airports should have a connection to get you to Egypt. If anything, jump out to the Greek Isles for some time. We floated around the islands for 2 weeks, and it was fucking amazing......

[Elizabeth]

agreed on athens sucksssss

whatever ticket price u pay to get to krakow is SO worth it...joe said on another thread he paid 70 euros to get from krakow to budapest but if u bypass slovakia by going thru ukraine (only takes a few hours longer) then it will only cost u about 25 USD...you dont have to stop in lviv to do this but its an amazing city so you should stop in anyway...i can give the details later if u want

some thoughts...

A-dam -> Berlin -> Krakow -> Lviv -> Budapest -> Belgrade -> Athens

A-dam -> Berlin -> Prague -> Budapest -> Vienna -> Croatia? -> Serbia or Bosnia/Herz. -> Athens

The Balkans have some hideously long train rides though...just a warning. The trains are okay...I had a funny experience with a persistent casanova on a Balkan train...the conductor chased him out of my compartment...otherwise not too sketchy but very loooong train rides. If you really want to get to Athens you should probably try to fly w/ easyjet or something.

[Marcus Nappy]

I was thinking of getting a youth flex pass, the 10 day in 2 month pass. Is this the best way to travel?

[Elizabeth]

it depends on where you're going...you might be able to save a hundred or two with a select pass (choose any 3 4 or 5 neighboring countries)

[expatben]

My top 5 European cities based on culture/archetecture/things to do?

Berlin-SO much archetecture from many different times a wealth of culture and so much to do, it is impossible to make a list without missing stuff out.
WARNING Berlin has a tendancy of making people fall in love with it and changing plans

Wroclaw,Poland again lots of beautfiul buildings and a lot of past to explore

Brussels, The Market Square illuminations at night are a must see especially if you're sitting in an outdoor cafe.

Ghent, close to Brussels and cheaper there are some nice buildings although not as much to do.

Bruge, Belgium-a nice sea side town with some GREAT food if you're traveling from ADam anyway its worth a visit.

[raoulduke]

My favourites in no particular order:

Berlin
Barcelona
Krakow
Budapest
Amsterdam

[MeTurk]

Amsterdam
Prague
Riga (I had a good time there but it's not particularly friendly)
Galway
Berlin

[mushroom22]

my 5 favorites:
1. Munich, Germany
2. Interlocken, Switzerland
3. Rome, Italy
4. Copenhagen, Denmark
5. Barcelona, Spain

[tumblezweedz]

Vilnius. Lithuania
Gdansk, Poland
Krakow, Poland
Paris, France
Dublin, Ireland

Interesting histories, tons of culture, easy to get around, generally helpful people (Vilnius was hit-and-miss in that department, but amazing in every other way), generally easy to manage without speaking the local lingo.

Compiling this list was tough...