Budapest has some bad-ass food. Foie gras and wine to rival Paris. Pastries that more than hold up to Vienna.

And this.

My only experience was a week in London. There I know a week would not cover it all and if you are interested in English history (as I am) it is a treasure trove.

This fall we will be in Rome. I suspect I might change my mind then.

I think I might enjoy Paris more if I were young as you are.

Habibi wrote:Budapest has some bad-ass food. Foie gras and wine to rival Paris. Pastries that more than hold up to Vienna.

And this.

I love my Hungarian food, but I'd hesitate to call Budapest a culinary destination, unless you have a specific interest in Hungarian food, and even then you really do need to dig hard to find the good local restaurants (although the great pastries are pretty ubiquitous). As a general tourist destination, though, I definitely would recommend the city. Your dollar will go a good bit farther there than in Western Europe, and there's enough to keep you busy for a week. Plus, if you feel like it, Vienna's a two-hour train trip away.

My choice, though? I'd have to go with Paris. As a lover of food, art, wine, and big cities to wander aimlessly in, there is none greater than Paris.

There are a lot of young chefs doing cool things in Budapest these days, and there are some really nice wines you'll never see in the US at amazing prices. Plus you can go into McDonald's and order a shite burger and no one will bat an eye. Heck, they'll even give you extra shite.

San Sebastian, Spain! My wife is a Basque and we have been going back and forth for the last 14 years spending all of our summers in Spain. As for food, Catalunya has some great dining places but for the true gourmands, the Basque country hands down (more michilen stars than anywhere else in the world). Madrid is wonderful also but summers can be brutal with the heat. I have to disagree that Chicago and Madrid, Barcelona and San Francisco are in anyways similar...not by a long shot. People, food, lifestyle, transportation, culture, museums (El Prado dwarfs the Chicago Art Museum), weather...no comparisions, sorry.

We spent a month in Split, Croatia last year and the Adriadic sea was absolutely breath taking and the people could not have been more pleasant. I would vote for Split as a second city!

Truly grateful for the generosity of care, thought, and effort in these responses - thank you all so much.

Since the initial post, we have become so enamored with so many places that we've extended our post-Stockholm trip to two weeks. It stretches the budget a little tighter - we just started our respective post-grad student piggy banks - but we figure, two weeks of immersion beats one week of (relative) splendor.

The current idea is three days in London, a trip on the chunnel followed by three days in Paris, and then eleven days on the wind, day trips and then staying longer when we feel a a particularly profound pull. Thanks to the responses here, the current destinations are: Barcelona, Madrid, Bruges, Rome, Vienna. (There's one to-be-decided spot there, too. Habibi - Budapest would have made it if Samantha hadn't been there twice already.)

We both love the idea of travel as a negation of cultural assumptions - being reminded that many truths, imperatives, luxuries that add up to personal happiness are distinctly American and that there are other, often better, alternatives. (This is culinarily true, as well.) We're hoping that going to more cities will be like beating the windshield wipers a few more times across the glass.

Plus, we walk like New Yorkers. (New Yorkers predisposed to awe, anyway. We passed the Hancock walking home last night, and it was enshrouded in fog and looked like it extended into the sky, like some gothic Tower of Babel. We stared up for so long that I had to fend off other Chicagoans volunteering directions.)

So, I think our trip now becomes a combing and culling for must-visits and highlights, neighborhoods and hostels. I've looked through older posts and found a number of excellent suggestions, but new thoughts are always welcome. Or any other insight for two people about to dive into Europe, really. I would love a pair of floaties.

Ah, a *most* excellent decision. And now here's my best Paris shot: the Hotel Esmeralda! Quintessential Left Bank, quintessential grad student/postdoc/genuine professor environment, best location in the known universe. Probably one of the best hotel experiences of my life: it's the anti-Hilton, -Hyatt, -whatever-of-that-ilk. But make reservations NOW!

Restaurant counterpart to the Esmeralda: Le Petite Pontoise, about a 10-min walk from the Esmeralda.

Be sure to spend some time on rue Mouffetard, and have a coffee somewhere on the Pl. de la Contrescarpe, one of the delicious quiet places just east of the Sorbonne.

Enjoy!

Geo

That's great that you'll be traveling longer, and going to both London and Paris. I was ready to fly to Paris for a week myself reading some of the passionate recommendations above.

But wow, what a long list of destinations after Paris! I would seriously recommend scaling down a bit. Look at train schedules and figure out how much time you would spend getting from Barcelona to Rome to Vienna ... Some of these wonderful destinations can be saved for the *next* trip to Europe, after all.

You also want to be able to spend enough time in each place to make your own discoveries, to get a sense of how the local folks spend their time, to get beyond the recommended spots (whether recommended in a guidebook or here on LTH). Apply the Slow Food philosophy to your trip, in other words, and savor the place you are in.

Now, if you do go to Brugge/Bruges, here are some old posts about other cities in Belgium by Antonius, who lived in Belgium for several years. I think they might give you a sense of some of the pleasures of Belgium. (Nothing specifically on Brugge, though; Antonius and I spent part of our honeymoon there, but that was long before we discovered the internet food forum community. )

A la Mort Subite
Leuven: Boeken en Bier
Elsen Kaasambacht, Leuven, België
Amon Nanesse, Lîdge / Liège

Bon voyage! I'm sure we all look forward to reading your trip reports, wherever you end up.

Your trip is right around the corner! If you make it to Rome, have dinner somewhere in Trastevere, then go up the hill (the Gianicolo) and look down at Rome by night.

I have to chime in here for Paris.

Paris is a never ending exploration of sights and sounds and smells and tastes. Art, history, diversity, quirk -- and food.

You can never go wrong with Paris, especially if you've never been there before.

It's magic. Go there.

Based on the OP's requirements and OP's status as first timer, without a doubt, it would have to be Italy. Having lived there and traveled extensively throughout Europe, I must say Italy can't be beat for food, culture, people triple combo. Having been to Bologna, it is known throughout Italy for it food. However, go with Rome: It's easy to do day trips for a week stay and a good choice for a first timer.

I just caught this post as I haven't been on the site in a while. I'm actually in Paris for two months on vacation with my wife and 2 year old, living in the 5th. We found a great babysitter so we still go out about 2-3 times a week. We picked Paris for all of the same reasons you mentioned earlier - food, art, metropolitan city, etc.

Just a few notes about Paris. Neither my wife nor I speak French and it's not really a problem but I'm willing to bet that wherever you go and don't speak the native language, you wish you did. Anyway, your timing should be great in Paris. The sales (summer shopping) starts June 24th and the stores will all be having great sales. Plus the World Cup is still going on - which is great. The art museums are top notch and I would recommend hitting the Louvre for only the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (you don't have enough time to see the rest) and instead spend some time at the Musee d'Orsay and the Rodin museum. For food - well, it's incredible. One of the best comments I heard back in Chicago was: "you know how Chicago has these great small restaurants like Mado, the Bristol, etc? - well in Paris, there are literally hundreds of them." It's true, great little places, serving great food. You won't have enough time here to do everything you want so I would take a serious look at what you want to get done and then cut it in half and enjoy walking the city and sitting in the parks.

If you have any specific questions, just pm me. Good luck.

tyrus wrote:The art museums are top notch and I would recommend hitting the Louvre for only the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (you don't have enough time to see the rest) and instead spend some time at the Musee d'Orsay and the Rodin museum.

I agree with this advice wholeheartedly... the Rodin museum, in particular, is a must.

I would recommend hitting the Louvre for only the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (you don't have enough time to see the rest)

I agree that the Louvre is an embarrassment of riches and it's difficult to decide what to see, but I would do just the opposite of the above. While everyone is packed inside one room oohing and aahing over the ML, I would avoid the crowd to admire close-up the 4-5 superb DaVinci's in the galleria just outside, along with many other Renaissance splendors.

You'll be glad you threw Vienna in there. I've been all over Europe, and I think it is one of the most beautiful cities. Of course the pastries are off the charts, but you'll have no trouble finding good restaurants for a brief stay.

In Paris we stayed in a lovely hotel that tres jolie- the anti-Hilton as described above, and has actually been written up in Gourmet once to my delight (after our stay)

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles
75 Rue de Cardinal Lemoine
(+33 or 0) 1 43 26 79 23

I would reccomend it if you have not yet nailed down a spot.
Also do try to get to Giverny (Monet's Garden) outside Paris-
in Vernon neaar there we stayed and ate incredibly well in an amazing Chateau:
Chateau de Brecourt, Douains
27120 PACY SUR EURE
tel : (+33 or 0) 2 32 52 40 50

In London- a very fun and less expensive alternative is the Baden-Powell House if either of you is or was a boy or girl scout:
It is an interesting hostel, where you meet other scout families from all over the world-

Baden Powell Hse (Gloucester Rd tube)
65-67 Queens Gate,LONDON. SW7 5JS.
(+44 or 0) 2075 847031

Whatever you do I know you'll have a great time.

Paris.
Great architecture, arts and food that all just plain amaze you. It is really amazing place, nice food, nice architecture and of course it is very modern city compare to any city in the world.

Young couple, love food, museums.... Paris....no question. You need to see it some time in your life so just do it now. Of course, maybe after I see Barcelona...no, it'll still be Paris.

I'll second the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles as Mrs. Davooda and I spent two weeks there in 2001 and it was lovely. Even in the bustling Latin Quarter, it was a quiet retreat since the buildings are surrounded by a courtyard that is closed to Rue de Cardinal Lemoine by huge metal doors. I cannot recommend the on-site breakfast, though. Expensive and nothing special when we were there.

Place de la Contrescarpe is but a hop and a skip away for the morning croissant et cafe. The nearby open-air market (wonderful cheeses and saucissons sec) on Rue Mouffetard is a shorter walk than from the Sofitel to Michigan Ave. There are two Metro lines and the RER readily accessible - it's a great location to use as a base. I was joined on my morning jogs along the Siene by the firefighters down the hill too!

Bon voyage,

Davooda

Davooda wrote:is a shorter walk than from the Sofitel to Michigan Ave

Not to mention waaaaay more fun! Walking up and down the 'Mouf of a morning is just about the most fun in the whole world. [Only an LTHer would/could say that! ]

Geo

I'm with ya Geo! I had so much fun shopping there and using my limited French that I made Mrs. Davooda come with me the next time and she loved it too. Can't wait to go back...Paris is paradise for an LTH-er

We stayed in an apartment along the Rue Mouffetard last year. It was a little too young for me but not for you. I still enjoyed it because of the market. My favorite place to stay is www.hotel-paris-relais-saint-germaine.com, also in the Latin quarter.