Fun question, thanks.

Israel 10+
Russia 2
Georgia 7
Switzerland 9
Lugano 10
Zurich 4
Geneva 4
Lausanne, Montreux 9
Zermatt 8
Venezuela 6
Spain 8
Granada 10
Barcelona 9
Madrid 8
Seville 6
Arcos 5
Italy 10
Verona 9
Venice 9
Positano 10
Varenna 10
Tuscan hilltowns 9
Siena (cathedral inside) 9
Rome 9
Florence 9
France 9
Paris 9
Provence 10
Monaco 5
Carcassonne 6 Great, but 2-ce is enough
Lyon 6
Dijon 6
Sweden 7
Denmark 7
Norway 8.5
Amsterdam 5
coastal Holland 9
Brussels 5
Vienna 6
England 7

London - 10 is it because I know London a bit better, because my goddaughter is there?, is it the tube? I don't know, I just really love London

Paris - 6 I feel guilty that I didn't love it more, although truly I enjoyed it. Laure says I have to come back when she has her baby so maybe it will grow on me

Edinburgh - 7 Love it, but not as big a draw back as London

Madrid - 3 Glad I got to visit, probably will visit again on business but I doubt vacation

Switzerland - okay, I know it's a whole country, but I've had three business trips there and I think it's beautiful. I HAVE to make plans for a vacation there.

Outside of Europe

Australia - 15. Next one in November.
Belize 8. Loved the people we met in our travels there.
Colorado 9. Mostly never tire of it, but getting hard to fit in the domestic trip.
NYC 10. Enough said.
Texas. It's a bird and warm weather thing. Oh, and golf. I can't believe I vacation in Texas (long standing parents from Texas issues)

Practically everything is an 8 and above.

I give Madrid a 2 - wouldn;t bother again.

Munich gets a 6 - OK - but only if I'm doing something else in the area.

Scotland - 13 - love it so much I want to live there
England - 9 (been to Scotland and England several times but cannot get enough)
London - 7 (would like to return but probably only once more)
Wales - 9
Rome - 9 (would never tire of that city)
Venice - 8 (would like to return once more)
Prague - 9 - loved it
Czech countryside - 9
Croatia - 13 (want to live there in the winter, Scotland in the summer)
Germany - 7 - would definitely return
Paris - 2 - not all it's cracked up to be - would never return (food's good, though)
Tuscany - 8 - would love to return
Switzerland - 7
Austria - 9 - find Austria to be magical
Provence - 8
Iceland - 5 - beautiful but would not likely return
Sicily - 9 - love the laid-back lifestyle
Rest of Italy - 9
Niagara Falls - 1 (so disappointing that I am still bitter about it!!)

Next year Romania - I can tell it will be a 9 already
Next year Turkey - I believe it will be a 9 also

hi, curmudgeon,

thanks for your comments upon Cornwall. I think we'd all agree about Newquay, though it does have some good high-end accommodations.

locals tend to avoid Padstow in season too [as well as St. Ives, see other thread], but then we tend to avoid most places unless we have to go there!

regards, ann

10- Lac Leman area, Switzerland
10- Venice
8- Paris
5- Amsterdam

Paris 8, London 6, Amsterdam 5, Brussels 5, Antwerp 3, Rotterdam 3, Cotwolds 8, Stonehenge 1, Versaille 7, Bath 7, Windsor 7, Haarlem 5.

• Paris 10 - could return every year, especially in late spring
• Chartes 10 - gorgeous
• London 7 - been there twice and will probably not return
• The Cotswalds 8 – beautiful
• Lake District 8 – wonderfully romantic
• Ireland 10 - loved it so much in 2003 that I went back again in 2004 and can’t wait to return again
• Rome 9 - so much to see
• Florence 10 – had the good sense not to go when it was hot and crowded
• Venice 10 – it just haunts me
• Milan 5 – good museums, great shopping
• Bologna 5 – good food
• Italy overall 12 – my favorite country
• Amsterdam 8 – fun city and cute
• Vienna 5
• Switzerland 8 - beautiful
• Munich 6 – fun city
• Black Forest – 6
• New York City 10
• Kauai 10
• Sedona, Arizona 10
• Santa Fe, New Mexico 8
• San Francisco 9
• Seattle 8
• Las Vegas 0
• Dallas 1
• Florida 2

I was just getting used to the new format and was perusing threads I had contributed to over the years.

I remember this one as one of my favorite threads and since my posting, I have to add a few more places:

South Africa : 10+++ We went last year: Cape Town and environs, wine country, Joburg AND Botswana also a 10+++: One of my most memorable, fantastic trips to date: SOOOO diff than Europe, safari is just about the coolest thing you can do, loved every inch of what we did!!

Las Vegas -1! I hated it. After all the traveling around the globe, DH wanted to go to LV for his bithday this past July. Ugh! Even though we stayed at the Bellagio( it is very nice) , the whole atmosphere was a circus! Had good, albeit expensive, and not necessarily worth it meals. Highlight though was Bette Midler: outstanding. Never, ever want to return. ( however, I would go outside LV, we did not as we just went for the weekend)

Barbados: Just returned last week, rate it about an 8. Lovely island, clean, felt safe, very nice people, Hilton was lovely. Just very pricey meals ( I know you can eat for cheaper, but we did want sit down meals in nice restaurants), but the cost did not always justify. but overall the experience of the island was very nice.

Next up in about 4 months is Egypt, Jordan and Israel and I know these are going to rate about a 10+( hopefully, although I know there will be some drawbacks). Very excited!

Hmmm..

Paris 10! Love it!
Madrid 8 Making my 4th visit this spring
London 7
Dubrovick 5 (Overcrowded for my taste)
Istria 8
Tuscany 9
Rome 7
Vatican 3 (Just because of the museum. Profits over quality of experience seemed to be driving factor here 'Pack em in')
Florence 8
Mont St Michel 4 (hmm. there's a trend. Sites run by the Catholic church seem overrun LOL!)
Normandy 9. (Major WWII History buff)
Greek Islands 8
Athens 7
Switzerland 6 (cost pushes it down)
Spain overall 8
Mexico 4
Belize 8
Jamica 2

That's all I can think of now.

Interesting! I just need to think of the places that I've been and how I should lump them together....

London - 3 (what can I say...I'm just not a huge fan)
Cotswolds - 7 (would love to return)
Wales - 7 (same as above)
Vienna - 8
Florence - 2 (not a fan)
Rome - 10+ (one of my faves)
Berchtesgaden region of Germany - 10+ again
Paris - 8
Czech Republic - 8
Slovenia - 5
Croatia - 10+
Montenegro - 10+
Bosnia - 9
Umbria - 6
Tuscany - 6
Rhine/Mosel - 8
Switzerland - 9
Ireland - 6
Amsterdam - 8
Austria - 10+
Japan - 10+
Turkey - 10
Belgium - 3
Mexico - 2

tripgirl, just a quick aside but I can't wait to read your trip report. Your exact trip (Egypt, Jordan and Israel) is one that we've considered numerous times.

Trcy

I'm not as well traveled as many of you but I'd say Paris, Venice, and London: 10
Florence: 7
Rome: 5
Luzerne: 8
Copenhagen: 6
Stockholm: 8
Mexico: 5
Vancouver and Victoria: 8

Places within the places:

Tower of London: 10
British Museum: 10
Victoria & Albert: gift shop
The Accademia: David: 10
Hadrian's Villa: 8

Santorini 10
Ephesus Turkey: 10
Dubrovnik: 9
Pula, Istria Croatia: 10 - I really loved this city and the Roman Amphitheatre
Budapest: 8 loved it
Vassa Museum in Stockholm Sweden: 9
Brugges: 9
The Alsace region of France: 10
The Rhine and Bavaria: 10
Brussells: 0
Tallin: 8
Tower of London and Windsor: 10 would always go back
Copenhagen: 8 For political interest

Venice - 9
Florence - 10
Rome - 9
Amalfi Coast - 9
London - 8
Bora Bora, Moorea - 9
Alaska - 8
Vancouver/Victoria - 8
Kauai - 8
Maui - 7
Canadian Rockies - 9
Caribbean - 7
Sedona, AZ - 10

I'm also not nearly well traveled as most here, but I do have favorites and not so favorites.

10 - Venice
9 - Paris, Provence, Umbria (and surrounding area/towns for a week)
8 - Positano, Capri, Edinburgh, St. Andrews (the Old Course, of course), Salzburg, Athens, Santorini, Inverness and the Scottish Highlands, Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, Denali National Park
7 = London (MANY years ago), Vienna, Nice
6 -Japan, Bangkok, New Delhi, Sabratha in Libya, (MANY MANY YEARS AGO)
5 - Barcelona, Monaco, Florence
2-4 - CDG, FRA, and other assorted airports from hell.
1 - Life never gets that boring!

Sam

10 Paris (I could live in Paris)
10 Venice
10 Florence
10 Athens, unexpectedly wonderful.
8 London, Bath
8 Tuscany
8 Rome
6 The Lot (glad to see somebody else mentioned it as well)
5 Cinque Terre
5 Sorrento
3 Giverney - completely underwhelmed for some reason. Loved Monet's water lilly pond, but hated the restrictions of the garden. Felt as though I was in a retail nursery!!
We loved Cinque Terre and Sorrento (and surrounds) but don't feel any overwhelming desire to return.

This is a great post.

Rome - 10
Paris - 10
Tuscany - Val D'Orcia - 10 (the Italy of my dreams)
Wales - 9 (N wales-charming villages and people, awesome castles)
Orvieto - 8 (felt at home here)
Tuscany - between Florence & Siena - 8
Venice - 8
Bologna - 7
Ravenna – 7 (although I would not have to return)
London - 6 (city did not grab me, but I acknowledge I still have tons to see)
Edinburgh - 6
Siena - 6
Loire Valley - 5 (Pretty, but so many more stunning and interesting places to see)
Brussels - 4
Florence - 4(But I would actually like to return if I can figure out when it is not crowded)
Milan - 3 (Including the Cathedral, which I think is overwrought)
Assisi – 3 (Except for the Basilica, which is a 10)
Como, Italy - 3 (but we did not have much chance to explore; if I returned, I would try another town on the lake)
Pisa - 2 (Sorry, even the Field of Miracles did not grab me)
Chiasso, Switzerland - 1 (blah border town)

This thread illustrates wonderfully why there is so little of interest on Fodor's Europe forum for us fans of Greece. Of the 37 so far -- and that includes constant travelers that have been perhaps a dozen times Paris, London, Rome, and to many many European destinations, only 3 have seen fit to visit Greece (tho one does say she would move there).

Even though we were in Greece for only a total of 2 days (1 day Athens/Cape Sounion, 1 day Santorini), we thoroughly enjoyed our experiences in both places. After studying western history, civilization, and philosophy throughout high school and college (MANY years ago), I was really eager to go to Greece.

That being said, however, I do think that at least for many American travelers (and I am one), Greece is not as accessible and perhaps a bit more intimidating than western European destinations because of the alphabet/language differences. Perhaps that's not a "good" reason, but I offer it as a hypothesis. I am having some similar qualms for our upcoming Baltics/St. Petersburg cruise.

Sam