danon

I look for " myself" and always see Barcelona .
So, sue me.

Ozarksbill

OK, BigAleinstein, I certainly could have mentioned Helsinki based on quite sunny days and sightseeing when there awhile back. Or other places of course.

Bill in Boston

Improviser

I don't do lists centraleurope.

A friend of mine used to always say about places, 'that is one of the second best places I've ever visited.' What he meant was he had to leave room for the possibility of finding a better place tomorrow. Otherwise, why continue on?

If I already knew what my 10 favourite cities in Europe were, what sense would there be to visiting any new ones? As I say in my profile: "Favorite destinations
don't know yet and don't expect to until the end"

If you think about it, how can anyone say otherwise UNLESS they have visited EVERY city in Europe? Even in the end (of your life) you are unlikely to have visited them all and so the best you will be able to say on your deathbed is, 'Here are my favourites so far.'

PalenQ

However insulted people might feel, the fact is most people are tourists who tour the usual places. Few are truly independent travellers who think for themselves independently.>

I as a retired travel writer who has written articleds on and visited every knook and cranny in Europe - Lecce and all such cities and love them but I love more multi-faceted cities like London, Paris or Rome - a Lecce would bore me after a day or two - I could still like it but it would not make the top of my favorite cities and thus why so many well traveled folks above list the main cities - it is not necessarily following the herd like RM hints at but just love large cities - Berlin and the type where you can spend weeks and not be bored vs Lecce where I become bored in a day or two, lovely as it is.

Improviser

You are in a position to have such an opinion PalenQ. Most posters here are not. So how can they possibly know what their favourite cities will be until they have visited enough to know the difference? ;-)

Most won't go beyond the well-known and decide for themselves what they prefer, you have.

danon

Exactly, PQ

Posters who spend most of the time scolding others - all one needs is to
read Imprviser's
other posts - are mostly looking for a place to pamper their ego.

RM67

It's a hell of an assumption that because people list 'obvious' cities as favourites, they can't possibly have been anywhere off the beaten track. Or have been, but diliked places off the beaten track. What precludes people from having loved less obvious cities like Padua, Quimper etc but just not liking them quite as much as Venice or Paris?

And it's perfectly possible to have favourites out of the places you've visited so far. It's ridiculous to say you shouldn't attempt to list favourites until you've seen every metropolis on the continent. Maybe travel writers shouldn't write articles in case they big up somewhere at the expense of somewhere better but as yet undiscovered. Maybe people shouldn't give advice on restaurants until they've dined at every single restaurant in that city. Twice, in case the chef has on off day. What would be the point of this board at all if advice and opinion always needed to be qualified in that manner. Or had to meet someone else's 'cool' index.

BigAleinstein

Want to have a posting that will be exorcised quickly-places in Europe, I would never visit again.

denisea

I haven't yet travelled enough to generate a list. But, the above lists are helpful to give me an idea of where I might enjoy for a next destination.

fourfortravel

BigAl, please start that post. I'll play!

PalenQ, my list:

1. Paris. I've only been 4 times, though, so maybe I don't know any better.
2. Krakow
3. Istanbul
4. Sarajevo
5. Belgrade
6. Prague
7. Rome
8. Tuscany (in the off season)
9. Vienna. I live here, and am finding new ways to love my temporary home every day.
10. Sofia

Aramis

This thread was started as a simple request to list one's favourite cities. A place can only be a "favorite" if one has experienced it. It would be difficult to describe a place as a favorite if one had never actually visited it. All but the most experienced travelers will, of course, have experience with only a relatively small number of larger cities and that those cities would tend to be "gateway" cities with a great number of sights available Therefore any list of favorites would naturally skew to those places.

The request was not one to the list the most esoteric, interesting, or worthy places. It was not to list places connected by a theme, or places which are "original" (a strange choice of adjective, I think). it was to list favorites.

There also seems to be a bit of a challenge here in understanding the concept of "favorite". The term is not a temporal absolute, as Improviser chooses to explain it. It is not impossible to have a "favorite" place until one has actually experienced every city in Europe. It is also ludicrous to suggest that there is no sense in visiting any new places if one deigns to describe any place already visited as a "favorite". Words seem to be taking on new meaning.

Improviser decided that the simple and fun focus of this thread presented an opportunity to criticize other people for "being common", "following the herd", doing "what the masses do", or simply for not getting out enough and experiencing enough places to participate in such a discussion. In so doing, he/she seeks to elevate him/herself from those common herded masses. What is especially interesting here is the attempt to subjugate common terms of language to the same end.

I expect I shall enjoy your participation in these forums, Improviser - Welcome

centraleurope

Wow 4... Sofia?... What did you like about it, if I may ask?...

We lived in Bratislava where we had very close friends from Sofia. They have always been quite negative about their home city.

We are now living in Budapest. ... But should I not elect to retire, Sofia would be a likely place I will be asked to move. I have never thought positively of the city. Perhaps I should visit?

Nice list... I have been to the other cities... But have had this anti Sofia bias ....

For me, it is always Paris...

centraleurope

Btw, I really am very common... I do not consider that any kind of insult. (Should I?)

Grindeldoo

Difficult - but today my list is as follows. It could be different tomorrow as it does tend to depend on my mood!
1. London
2. Berlin
3. Munich
4. Prague
5. Paris
6. Venice
7. Barcelona
8. Vienna
9. Amsterdam
10. Newcastle-upon-Tyne

BigAleinstein

Serious question. Would your list be the same if it were interesting places. For example, Iceland was extremely interesting but clearly not a favorite. Visiting Auschwitz was important,but could never be a favorite.

kenav

Cities we've been to:
Venice, Budapest, Vienna, Bern, Zurich, Barcelona, Paris, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Krakow. Will be in Nice soon, so we shall see about that one.

Of those my favorites in no particular order are: Paris, Budapest, Moscow, Vienna, Bern.

Toucan

1) London!
2) Venice
3) Lucerne
4) Rye, UK
5) Bern
6) Prague
7) Florence
8) Krakow
9) Rome
10) Paris and many others I've yet to visit!

Loacker

I had some free time on my hand so I tallied the votes.
Here are the results:
1-Paris
2-London
2-Venice
3-Barcelona
4-Berlin
5-Prague

BigAleinstein

That correlates, more or less with the most visited European countries.

Improviser

Aramis, well written. I could agree with you but then of course both of us would be wrong.

Yawn, now they're listing the 'city' of Tuscany and the city of Iceland. Really?

Toucan has introduced a good idea (even if inadvertently). A list of cities for which it is necessary to also name the country. ie. Rye, UK.

If you have to name the country in order for anyone to know where you are talking about, it certainly can't be all that common a city for tourists to visit.

Paris, Ontario, Canada.
Berlin, New Hampshire, USA.
..........