One week in a European city: which would you choose?

My girlfriend and I are heading to Stockholm from June 14th-21st. After that, we have a week to spend in a European city of our choice. It's our first time over there. We want to ask you folks for your advice on which city to choose.

We're looking for a city that would involve and immerse us for a week, but are aware of our own shortcomings as travelers: we don't speak fluent French or Spanish quite yet, and we have fairly standard interests - the arts, the food, the general flush of urban life. We're both 24, and afterward, will be moving back to New York. (We love the East Village, if that adds some depth to our perspective and sensibilities.)

We immediately thought of London because there would be no language barrier. But Europe is such an embarrassment of riches - we simply don't know what would provide the most varied and accessible cultural experience. We're also thinking about Paris, Madrid, Prague.

We know we can't really go wrong, but were hoping to figure out what would be the most right.

Any transcendent experiences or can't miss recommendations?

Barcelona.
Great architecture, arts, and food that'll just plain amaze you.

My favorite European city so far, with my limited exposure (London, Frankfurt, Milan, Vienna, Paris, Bordeaux, none for very long).

I have this problem where I always think the best European city is the one I visited last.

So right now, I'd say Madrid, no question. We spent 6 days there a year ago, and wished we could've stayed at least a few days longer. I posted about that trip here (it links to a bunch of other Madrid-related threads).

Mike G summed it up perfectly in his post: "Madrid is Chicago, and Barcelona is San Francisco." Having checked out both, I couldn't agree more. I totally dug Madrid's urban-but-laidback vibe.

Before that, I would've said Dublin. Well, maybe 3-4 days in Dublin and 3-4 days in Belfast (including a day trip to Bushmills/Giant's Causeway).

However, you can never go wrong with Paris, London, Rome, Prague, Berlin, Budapest...a week in any of those cities would fly by, and you'd be wishing for more time.

JoelF wrote:Barcelona.
Great architecture, arts, and food that'll just plain amaze you.

My favorite European city so far, with my limited exposure (London, Frankfurt, Milan, Vienna, Paris, Bordeaux, none for very long).

I completely agree. We spent several days in Barcelona last summer and it was really fantastic. Great food, great architecture, and you definitely don't need to know Spanish to get around. All of the improvements made in connection with the Olympics made the city extremely tourist-friendly.

Love Prague and would recommend for any of a variety of reasons but I think a full week there might be more than most people would like. That said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Rome for a full week. No matter where you're considering, think seriously about being there a full week. "Smaller" cities (and it's obviously all relative here) may be wonderful for 3-4 days but a bit much for a full week. I don't think you'll have that problem with London or Paris and, while Barcelona may be spectacular, a full week there may also be a little more challenging. On the other hand, if you don't mind spending a few days with no formal destinations on your "to see" list and are happy just wandering the streets, that might put a lot of cities in contention.

I think that if you are trying to stay in just one city Barcelona could easily be it. We were there last year for four days and could have easily doubbled our time there.

If so please try...

Bar Inopia
c/Tamarit, 104
080015 Barcelona


But my personal favorite way to spend a week in Europe is 3 days in Amsterdam followed by 4 in Paris. It is only a 4 hour train ride conecting the two cities and I think both are best visited for a shorter period.

Also you could always do worse than Pierre Hermes pastry shop...
http://www.pierreherme.com/index.cgi?&c ... 6ph1482936

Or in Amsterdam for the most amazing plat fruit de mare I have ever witnessed...
http://www.lucius.nl/

Also I just returned yesterday from Wroclaw,Poland. Dont do that!!

Cheers,
Bourbon

As you say, there are so many good choices. I guess I would recommend something Mediterranean (or Paris), to provide a contrast to the Nordic week in Stockholm. Here's what I would be thinking about:

(1) a place with great markets -- get an apartment near one of the markets so you can shop there for breakfast and light lunch options (e.g. olives, bread, cheese, charcuterie...) For the immersion in a different place that you are looking for, that's a great way to do it. (and you can figure out enough of the language, whatever it is, to function in the market...)

(2) a city with nearby small town/rural attractions that you could go to as day trips on the train. (Somewhere on LTH there is an old thread in which we all gave gleam advice about a trip to France, urging him to use Paris as a base in that way...). In other words, I wouldn't worry so much about whether the city itself has enough to see for a whole week -- I would think in terms of the whole region. (e.g. Nice as a base for the Cote d'Azur, smaller cities in Italy, etc.)

Have fun!

Gypsy Boy wrote:Love Prague and would recommend for any of a variety of reasons but I think a full week there might be more than most people would like.

Might depend how serious you and the girlfriend are or want to be. Prague is the most romantic city I've ever visited, and I could easily imagine a week or more just to walk across the Charles Bridge at night, holding hands and looking at the stars.

Since this is a food forum though, I should note that Prague would not top my list for culinary exploration.

I agree with Barcelona - you can spend days just walking around and investigating Gaudi. There are many cities in other countries I'd like to visit that I haven't been to yet, and many I've been to that I would like to see again. Barcelona is the only one (so far) that I want to move to.

if the main consideration is food - Bologna. its not a tourist town, very nice to walk around, great food.

prague is probrably all around favorite, budapest is great.

can you narrow down what you are looking for? I've been to quite a few cities in europe and lived in europe for a few years

That said, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Rome for a full week. No matter where you're considering, think seriously about being there a full week. "Smaller" cities (and it's obviously all relative here) may be wonderful for 3-4 days but a bit much for a full week. I don't think you'll have that problem with London or Paris

Totally agree with this. These would be my top picks for someone who has not been to Europe before, even if they're not the trendiest. Plus in my recollection, you can do a day trip by train or overnight to places like Florence from Rome.

globetrotter wrote:if the main consideration is food - Bologna. its not a tourist town, very nice to walk around, great food.

Since my trip to Italy three years ago, Bologna has been tops on my list of places I'd like to return to and rent an apartment for a week or two. Not only is the food culture there fantastic, but there's easy access to a ton of other places for day trips.

Amata wrote:(2) a city with nearby small town/rural attractions that you could go to as day trips on the train. (Somewhere on LTH there is an old thread in which we all gave gleam advice about a trip to France, urging him to use Paris as a base in that way...). In other words, I wouldn't worry so much about whether the city itself has enough to see for a whole week -- I would think in terms of the whole region. (e.g. Nice as a base for the Cote d'Azur, smaller cities in Italy, etc.)

Stockholm is not as central of a flight hub as it should be; as long as you might be bouncing through Amsterdam, Frankfurt, or Paris anyway, I think picking a secondary, non-capital city or region makes perfect sense with the luxury of a whole second week. I agree with Amata that the Mediterranean would make a nice contrast, and Nice is a fantastic hub. You've got the coast, the mountains, a confluence of trading cultures bringing every food imaginable (including some excellent Moroccan), and easy train access to Marseilles, Aix, Provence, Monaco, and Liguria in Italy for eye-opening daytrips or overnights, and this is an area where you can live grandly or economically with equal success (and excellence of food). June falls between two festival seasons in the area and could be just right.

Nothing wrong with Barcelona or Prague, though. While I don't think you should be worried in any destination about language navigation (the world is tipping our way, lament it or not), there is something to be said for picking a central city and developing a relationship with a concierge or host that can get you around, out, and back with a personal touch and easy contact-ability. On that note, the best advice I can give is to call your credit card companies in advance to let them know you'll be traveling, and check in with your cellular provider as well to see what the options or restrictions are, to minimize surprises. Congrats and good luck.

Another vote for Madrid. A lot of European cities roll up the sidewalks surprisingly early, but Spain is a country for night owls, imbibers, food enthusiasts, and fun-seekers; Madrid is elegant, worldly, full of music and great art, and close to all manner of other interesting Spanish cities, like Toledo. I went to Madrid for the first time as a small child, decades ago, and remember thinking even then that it was a place that I'd like to hang out in as a grown-up!

You should go.

Paris. Paris. Paris. Good grief, how can there even be any question about this?

It helps that I know a 75€/night apt. on a quiet street in the 10th, with a city covered market at the end of the street, about 150 m away, and an impasse in front of the boulanger (50 m away) with two Algerian restos, and only 3 mins walk away from my favorite hoot, Brasserie Flo.

A first visit to Europe? Paris.

Geo

Just got home a couple of hours ago from a brief (4 days plus the flight day today) trip to Barcelona. Definitely a great city, and one I would strongly encourage visiting, but I wouldn't recommend a week trip there over London or particularly Paris for someone who hasn't been to either.

Rome.

History, gnocci, Italian women.

Unquestionably, Paris.

Each arrondissement/area has its own unique personality; cafés with wine and café crème, Michelin-starred restaurants or a picnic with extraordinary and affordable wine, cheese and baguette and everything in between; melt-in-your-mouth macarons in remarkable flavors; savoring a scoop from Berthillon while strolling a quay on Ile St. Louis; gallette complet at Breizh Café ; L'As du Fallafel; wandering the market streets; the Seine; Le Louvre & Musee Rodin; have I mentioned the patisseries?

If you feel the need for a side trip, Monet's garden in Giverny would be in bloom.

I am a huge fan of Prague, the only major European city to not suffer great damage during WWII. Its compact central historic district offers remarkable sightseeing without need of transport. From the ancient Charles bridge (Karlovy Most) to the largest castle complex in the world, this is a magnificent place.

Our favorite restaurant, a few blocks from the river Vltava, is Stoleti, serving modern Czech fare.http://stoleti.cz/stoleti_en.html

We like to stay at Residence Retezova, also known as Three Golden Chains.http://www.retezova.com/

If you have never been, it must be Paris!
Mon Dieu!

How can there be any question??
There is so much to explore..
So much to eat!

A quick day trip to Versailles!
Another quick day trip is Giverney - one of the most amazing peaceful and inspiring places I have ever visited in my entire life!
If you can't find a trip- so easy to rent a car and drive in France- they use the same side of the road).

You already know almost all the words for French food anyway if you are an eater....

And the museums and art!
Musee D'Orsay for Impressionists...
THE LOUVRE!!!

For goodness sake- go to Paris
Oh and go up the Eiffel Tower at dusk as all the lights go on-less crowded, more romantic!

There is not a single suggestion above that I disagree with....however, since you site the "East Village" in your post, I really think you will dig London.....Camden town and Soho are pretty much the blueprint for the East Village vibe......

And again, since you'll be there a full week, London is HUGE...so you will not run out of new things to do and see every day....would take several YEARS to get bored with this swinging, cosmopolitan town....and the subway (Tube) goes EVERYWHERE and is easy to navigate...

That being said though, for jaw dropping architecture and history, Rome is the ultimate....not tons of nightlife however (but you won't care...the whole city is a feast for the senses). Bring your very best, stylish clothes though! Italians are smoking hot!

I would say Rome or Paris. Rome has a ton of stuff to see and do, and the food is wonderful. Plus, there's Ostia-Antica that's a short commute away, you can go to the catacombs.

Paris is just, well, Paris. The food is great. Markets, great. The museums, well, Mona Lisa, the impressionists, Victory. Sainte-Chapelle. Giverny.

Both are must-dos.

Everyone is correct with all their recommendations, however Rome would be my choice. Fabulous walking city. Amazing things to see in not 1 but 2 of the great eras in history. In my opinion, the best food in the world. So many other places to see by train if you wish to leave the city.

Pair up London and Paris,
just a ~2-hour train trip apart.

I agree with SCUBAChef, that's a good combo (I'm not a big museum goer, so that combo gives me other options, like shopping, bar hopping and eating. I think I did the Louvre in an hour), as is Rome/Florence (I enjoyed Florence much more). I stayed a week in Madrid, it was a bit long.

Third that idea - London with a train trip over to Paris for a few days.

"Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life." - Samuel Johnson

Western Europe is played out. Go to Budapest and Sofia.

Of course....the London/Paris combo..what was I thinking...done that twice!

It is beyond easy...and fun. Weird aberration last time we did this: first class tickets on the train to Paris were actually LESS than coach....why, I have no idea.....but got a terrific meal and all the champagne we could drink on the way...

And not that most veteran Paris visitors will be surprised at this....but please do not believe the stereotype of the aloof, rude Parisian. Maybe we've just been lucky, but most every person we've ever encountered there has been beyond lovely and accomodating. If you even look a little lost or confused, Parisians will knock each other over to help you!

And the "smoking hot" comment about Italians I made in my earlier post applies to these fashion-forward, impeccably turned out locals as well. Damn, they just make it look so effortless!!

I'm with Habibi, go east. Istanbul is more than half in Europe, and is a very fine city to visit. And as for spending less than a week in a city, there are different types of traveling. I like to spend at least a week and soak in the ambiance, sit and drink coffee (or tea in Istanbul), hit some spots that are not on the tourist track, see more than just the obvious. A day trip or two outside the city (boat tour the length of the Bosphorus, for example) and a week in a city is hardly enough.

Now that I have mentioned the east, I'll put in a plug the other direction -- Barcelona is also wonderful.

But as someone said above, there is really no way you can go wrong here. Except perhaps by running around too fast and not really seeing what is around you.

sofia is great, as is budapest. not sure that either are my favorite food or a "starter" city in europe.

Istanbul is a great food city, as has been recomended. I was just there for a weekend and had some fantastic meals.

(but if food is the only consideration, I stick with Bologna)