Which would you say are your top five places to visit in Europe?

I am really interested in Rome, Barcelona, Prague, Amsterdam, and London. Any comments on those?

Yes, they are all very nice places to visit.

I would take out Amsterdam and put in Paris,, Amsterdam is "pleasant" but doesn't hold my attention for long,, and yes, I have been( twice) and get this, I am going again,, but only for 2 days( got a cheap flight there) , then 11 in Paris 4 in Nice and 7 in Spain,, .

I like Rome and London.. so I guess my picks in order would be :

Paris-love it, everything about it, tons to do and tons of daytrips
Rome-History,, history , history
London- fun , lots to see, food sucks, but I forgive them
Anywhere in Switzerland
Greek Cyclade Islands, Mykonos, Paros, Santorini, And want to try Naxos.-heaven on earth,,

Rome of course, and Paris.
Are you talking big cities only? One of my best picks would be Granada for La Alhambra, but in particular, the Generalife gardens. But not necessarily of interest to you...

San Sebastian, Spain. The food capital of the world!

I never like those "best of"-questions.

Europe has hundred of magical places and you cannot compare apples and oranges. Even if you restrict your question to large cities, you find more than five which are equally interesting (to your list I would add Berlin, Sankt Petersburg, Wien, Copenhagen, Madrid, Florence, Nice...). How you rank them is a matter of personal preference.

Everyone has their own list but it is up to you to find your "Top 5". Paris, Florence, London, Provence and Tuscany are mine but note that no one above has a list remotely like it.

Just one other observation: Your suggestions are rather far flung so might make for a lot of travel time and expense.

My list so far (it is always changing based on where I have been).

Paris
Venice
Tuscany
Provence
London

My top 5 places would not include any major cities:
1. The lakes of northern Italy
2. Tuscany
3. The Berner Oberland
4. Andalusia
5. The Amalfi coast

Europe is all about regions, not countries or cities.

I don't like "best of questions" either. They are particularly tiresome when it someone who I don't recognize.

Why are you asking cass? Have you run out of ideas?

What a silly question. I'll answer, but it clearly won't mean anything to you:

St-Geniès
Wölfenbuttel
Matera
Apeldoorn
Lago di Orta

I agree, a perennially silly question. What are you going to do with the answers, which will be literally all over the map?

Not writing a paper or running a survey, are you?

My picks vary according to season and mood. And tend to change as I continue to travel.

Edinburgh, Durham, Chamonix, Picos de Europa, Aeolian Islands

We are planning a trip to Europe and we don't know how to choose just a few places. So I know it's a matter of personal preference, but I was thinking that if more than one person puts a certain city in their top 5, then I would know it's probably one I should consider. We are just trying to make up our minds of which places to choose because it's so hard with so many amazing options. Thanks for your help.

The way to make that decision is to spend time with guidebooks, either hanging out with a cup of coffee at a bookstore or using your library. The glossy ones with pictures (e.g. Insight, Eyewitness) are best at this stage. That way you can chose what excites YOU.

Your question isn;t going to help you - all you're doing is collecting the names of the major tourist cities in europe.

If you really want help you need to provide more info:

1) who and how many are going?
2) how many days or weeks do you have?
3 what time of year will you be traveling?
4) what are your interests? (basic tourist attractions? history? culture? architecture? fine dining? hiking? adventure activities? beaches? clog dancing? kite flying? (I once met a couple touring the church organs of europe!!)
5) budget? (some areas - Switz and Scandinavia - are VERY expensive - and almost every place is more expensive than the US)

If you prefer not to answer - suggest you read some guidebooks.

Cass234 yes there are so many amazing places to choose from.
Some people like to rush from city to city, but what we did when we first went to Europe was to choose a country that appealed to us. A good beginning might be France, Spain or Italy.

After making that choice, research the country, and choose a few regions which appeal to you.

This might seem overly simplistic, but I am sensing that you just don't know where to begin.

In my travels I collect cathedrals.

My husband loves ruins.


We both love painting and sculpture.

We travel for those things. If your interests are similar I can certainly give you some of my top 5 cathedrals, art museums, and ruins.