My 15 year old daughter and I got back from 3 days in Istanbul on Thursday. She commented that it is a lot cleaner than Athens where she had been on a school trip this April. We were in Lisbon 4 years ago and it was incredibly clean then.

There were a lot of people begging in Lisbon but I only saw a few in Istanbul.

Lisbon and Istanbul both had plenty to keep us occupied for the few days that we were there. Of the two I'd say I probably preferred Istanbul because it is more exotic and different.

I have been to all the cities that you mentioned and have to agree with some of the comments so far.

Moscow is certainly interesting, but also quite a hassle, so I would eliminate that because of that and the weather.

I would eliminate Athens as well,probably. It is not a fun city like the four that you named that you did a week end with girlfriends. The museums & Acropolis are great, but I think even a week end could be too long there, especially at that time of year.

I would pick Istanbul, Madrid or Lisbon out of the list. Weather matters a lot to me, so I would go with the one least likely to rain then.

Istanbul is a fascinating,unique and beautiful city and most of the important things to see are close together. It is very charming and exotic and you can stay at a beautiful place for very little. So you can probably get more for your buck here if that is important to you.



If you like art museums and night life, then I would lean towards Madrid. You can add tapas, flamenco and great food.

If you go to Lisbon, don't miss spending a day in nearby Sintra and the Pena Palace which is easy to do and will give you a whole different view of Portugal.

Perhaps some of our writings on these places or pictures on our blog might help you decide:

http://www.soultravelers3.com/blog-index.html