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OT and Attn: Euro girls and travelers - Where should I go?!

Ele

(website)

For a couple of reasons, my BF and I might not be doing our yearly trip to NYC this May. (For one thing it's $$$, plus a good friend is getting married in Canada in September, so we may go then instead.) But we are both wanting a break, so have decided to take advantage of having Europe on our doorstep (which we really should do more often) and plan a weekend away next month.

We're not looking at large and/or capital cities- I tend to think smaller, "second cities" are more suited for long weekends. Something with a bit of culture, a bit of shopping, some good walking and some pretty buildings! Bonus points if there's cake.

The contenders are:
Antwerp
Brussels
Budapest
Copenhagen (may be the forerunner at this point)
Rotterdam
Salzburg
Stockholm
Vienna
Zurich

Have you been to any of these? Have a favourite? Other options you can think of?

PS. I know this is a really obnoxious "problem" to have so don't hate me. I can be really indecisive and can't see the forest for the trees right now!

General

22 replies

Latest reply was from Amanda

Kate

Veteran

GO TO BUDAPEST! It's amazing! I spent a week there in May 2008 and loved it! So much to do and see, all reasonably priced, and a very relaxed city - its vibe reminded me of the Pacific Northwest.

I also LOVE Istanbul (spent two weeks there in March 2008), and Turkey in general.

Let me know if you want more info, and what kind of info you want! I could talk about both for a while....

hanna

(website)

i've been to a few places on your list - budapest, vienna, salzburg and stockholm - but will throw in my vote for budapest as well. just so much old world charm and history. prague is also a very fun city!

Dawn

(website)

I love Kraków and Prague! I've also visited Salzburg and Vienna, and loved both.

Kate

Veteran

Krakow is nice too (haha, I spent 2 months there, also in spring 2008), but I would go to some of the other places first (like Budapest!), as Krakow is kinda dreary and concrete when you leave the old town and enter the post-soviet areas.

Also, I applaud you interests in going to the "lesser" cities! I'm a big fan of traveling to the less developed, more rugged places while I'm young and childless. I can do Western Europe with kids in tow or with a walker. I think it's great to go to places that are changing, like post-soviet countries, and will be different in a matter of decades (if not years). On the other hand, some cities and countries will be almost exactly the same when I'm old and gray, so I don't feel an urgent need to visit them.

Ele

(website)

So, Budapest is pulling ahead. Interesting...

I should have said, there are several great cities NOT on my shortlist because either Andrew, myself, or both of us together have already been there. These include Prague, Amsterdam, a bunch of places in Italy and Germany, and (somewhat bizarrely) Goteborg, Sweden. There are cities in Europe that I'd return to again and again if I could (Florence, Amsterdam), but it doesn't seem fair on the rest of the continent to do that

Kate, I like smaller cities in Europe because often they're more walkable, less commercial and more digestible than the huge meccas. Don't get me wrong, I love Paris, Rome, etc., but after visiting somewhere like that, you sometimes feel like you need a vacation to recover from your vacation!

bella

(website)

Veteran

I've been to Antwerp, Brussels (to me Anvers and Bruxelles!) and Vienna. Of those three, I would go back to Vienna in a heartbeat. However, for a weekend, I would actually pick Antwerp, or even better Bruges! Have you thought about Bruges?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I also want to throw in Prague. I'd suggest Amsterdam instead of Rotterdam. (Amsterdam is still one of my favourite Euro cities). Berlin would probably be my top choice right now (unless you've been there).

Stockholm and Copenhagen are VERY expensive. I've been to Stockholm and it was lovely.

Zurich, Brussels and Antwerp all fab too.

Ele

(website)

Angie, we've been to Amsterdam, and LOVE it! I added that in my reply- I wouldn't want you to think I was ignoring your homeland Ditto Prague, and Andrew goes to Berlin now and then for work.

Yeah the only thing about Copenhagen is the cost. We do want somewhere "design-y", though. Antwerp would fit the bill, maybe...

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

Ohhh, fab problems. Out of all the places on your list the only places I haven't been in the last 4 years are Antwerp, Salzburg and Rotterdam.

My favourites would be Vienna, Budapest and Stockholm. Stockholm is expensive, but you can at least get some reasonable hotel deals and there seemed to be cheaper food than in Copenhagen. Flights from London can be reasonably priced too. Stockholm had heaps of designery shops which I loved looking at.

Vienna and Budapest I visited just before Christmas to experience Christmas markets. Both were lovely places and if you want cake then they should be top of your list. Vienna I think had better palaces to visit and I know that it has lovely parks, which in a months time should be full of flowers. Vienna also has some fantastic Art Nouveau buildings. I think that out of all the places on your list Budapest would probably be the cheapest.

Brussels and Antwerp are great from the perspective that you can just jump on the Eurostar, I would prefer that than having to get to an airport especially for a weekend away. If you went to Brussels I would recommend heading down to Brugge - perhaps for the Sunday.

The other places I would vote for would be Barcelona (but I am sure you will have already been there), Bilbao and Lyon. I would also consider Madrid or a visit to Rute's home town of Lisbon.

Istanbul is perhaps one of my favourite cities ever, but you need a lot more than one weekend to do it justice.

JuliaInGermany

The cities from your list that I have been to are Brussels, Budapest and Copenhagen. Brussels was ok, but not great, I thought. I'd also recommend Bruges instead of Brussels. I liked Copenhagen a lot, but my favourite is Budapest. Ok, we went there for our honeymoon and stayed at an excellent hotel, so that might have added to my pleasure. Budapest ist lovely, very "old world" with coffee houses (and cakes!), great architecture, good shopping possibilities. And people in Budapest are extremely friendly.

Ele

(website)

Oh, thanks Fi- great insight.

There's the possibility that we'll do 2 trips in the next few months- one to Vienna, and one somewhere else. My cousins are stationed in Vienna until the end of the summer, have a big house in a gorgeous neighborhood WITH a guest room, so it would be a "cheaper" trip for us. I was thinking early June for that trip, but obviously I have to work it out with them.

I actually haven't been to Barcelona but think I'd need more than a weekend there. All the Gaudi to see, I couldn't do it in three days! Plus Spain seems awfully far away for such a short trip- I think I'm in a Nordic mood right now.

Ok, so I've narrowed it down to Antwerp, Budapest, Copenhagen and Stockholm. I wonder which would be the best "counterpoint" to a trip to Vienna?

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

I love it when you have people to stay with and show you the city - some of our best trips away have been those ones!

Barcelona is only a two our flight, slightly less than Budapest, we only ended up spending an afternoon there as we had significant flight delays. It was long enough to do the outside of ths Sagada Familia (AMAZING!) but that was about it.

Budapest and Vienna were of course part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for a long time, so there are a lot of similarities, but I don't think that you would visit them and think that you had seen the same thing twice.

If you are feeling Nordic then Stockholm and Copenhagen get my vote with Stockholm inching out Copenhagen. For a weekend I would allow quite a lot of spending money though and it is probably still quite cold in both places.

Antwerp is the easiest to get to with the Eurostar and is reasonably self contained. Lots of shops to browse and cafes and bars to stop in to.

Tansie

Great problem to mull over! I haven't been to Stockholm but have heard good things. Copenhagen is indeed a very cool place to visit. Otherwise i second those suggesting Bruges/Brugge. I would also like to suggest Basel. Have you been there? It isn't nordic, but still cold! I lived there for 5 years and I love it! Very walkable, cool shops hidden around in the old city, some interesting museums and lots of cake shops.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ah. Got it, Ele.

How could I forget about Barcelona! Silly me. The food is sublime. And the Gaudi architecture is FABULOUS.

Which country tickles Andrew's fancy?

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

From my own foodies perspective:

Food in Western Europe is okay (apart from France where it is out of this world).

Southern European food rocks my world!

I was not at all impressed with Scandinavian food. They don't make nice bread and cheese and they eat reindeer. But then, I may have just ended up at the wrong places!

Your palette might be different to mine. But I live for the very best bread, cheese, chocolate, pastries and tea. Love spice and brilliantly cooked vegetables too. Do not eat mammals.

More inane information from me for you, Ele :0)

Ele

(website)

Angie, I think our palettes are probably quite similar (if you ignore the fact that I LOVE good Italian food). Bread, cheese, sweets and tea all rate very highly on my list, too. And I don't eat mammals or birds. I don't have too much experience with Scandi food, but I wasn't thrilled with the offerings when I was in Sweden.

Andrew is not being too much help- he's focused on organizing a work trip to NYC first. He likes cities where he can do lots of cafe-sitting, coffee-drinking, people-watching and walking. I like to do a LOT of museums and sights, and we both like shopping Also it should feel young, hip and vibrant, rather than old and stuffy. (I think he is worried that Vienna will feel stuffy, and probably likes the idea of Copenhagen/Antwerp/Stockholm more). He loved Amsterdam a LOT.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ele! I LOVE good Italian food, as I mentioned - the food from Southern Euro countries rock my world (Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain).

High Five, Andrew. We both love Amsterdam.

Hmmmm, I vote Belgium then. Also quite affordable.

Ele

(website)

Ah, but I thought you never ate pasta, Angie? Pasta is my Achilles heel, unfortunately.

Though obviously Italian food is more than just pasta. (Or pizza- my other Achilles heel.) I had amazing seafood a couple years ago on the Ligurian coast.

Ok, now we're just talking about food again

shana

Veteran

We were in Copenhagen last year and it was really, really expensive! Loved Brugges, Vienna & Salzburg (my husband had a work project that took us to Graz for awhile a few years back). Mmm, I'm craving a Salzburger Nockerl right now! Vienna is great for cafe-sitting and people watching and though it is a large city, it's very walkable (in terms of seeing the sights).

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Really, Ele? Noodles are one of my favourite things on earth. And I'll eat pizza without cheese. I don't eat melted cheese.

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

I say start at the top of your list and work your way down, 1 city every month. Hello you're in EUROPE!!!! Hehe don't mind me, I'm just isolated down here in the southern hemisphere! You'll have a ball wherever you go!

Amanda

I was in Salzburg last September and loved it. We bought the 48 hour tourist pass and did everything. I only spent a day in Vienna but that was enough to make me spend more time there. Budapest is great also.