eurogals

1. Paris
2. Pienza as base for Tuscany
3. Florence
4. Sorrento/capri
5. Honfleur
5. Les andelys
6. Cinque terre. In1996 before it was regulated by government
7. Vienna
8. Salzburg
9. Beaune and surrounding countryside
10. Nice which includes St. Paul de Vence

I base this list on my own specific good time had in each location. But I could live a long time in Paris and love each day.

eurogals

I inverted my cities so 10would be least and Paris #1

Aramis

>>Improviser on Aug 3, 13 at 9:03pm

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

I expect that using the phrase about contemplating agreeing with someone but both then being wrong is one that you have often used as a substitute for assembling a logical counterpoint.

A somewhat wittier version of "I know you are, but what am I?"

fourfortravel

centraleurope, as a visitor to Sofia I was unexpectedly charmed--same for Belgrade. Perhaps it was the beautiful autumn weather, the mix of cultures reflected in everything from architecture to the people to the food, or some combination of all of it. DH mentioned that he'll be returning again in the fall, so I am excited to start planning for my second visit.

The report of my brief trip is here should you need inspiration to visit. http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-in-sofia.cfm

fourfortravel

I, too, ranked my 10 cities in descending order. Sorry.

lukehead

I'm going back to the OP's question - what are "your" (reading my) favorite European cities. Some are on on lots of lists, some on no one else's but each makes me happy:

1. Amsterdam
2. Barcelona
3. Florence
4. Bergamo
5. Krakow
6. Glasgow
7. Bruges
8. Seville
9. St Andrews
10. Copenhagen

lukehead

Oops - can I have 11? I'll add Budapest.

coral22

PalenQ thank you for being a fun and enthuiastic Fodorite who just suggested a fun topic. If others are not interested, move on! I want to thank you to all the Fodorites who have helped me and my family have even more wonderful trips than we could have accomplished on our own. I am not a regular but someone who visits when planning an elaborate trip in the next year. Our next trip is Europe so I was drawn in to your query. I am fascinated and appalled by the responses to many excited and novice people just seeking help with their first experience being shot down with snobbish disdain. Not to name names (Improvisor) but you are right that someone on this sight is truly challenged. Aramis, I applaud your statement about gateway cities, these are the biggest international airports and the most affordable, why wouldn't you spend time there. These cities are not the most popular because we are all sheep but because they have stood the test of time with their character, history and charm. I have been blessed to go to Rome and Paris 3 times, once as a college student, once as a newlywed and once with our 3 high schoolers. Each experience was fabulous and different. I would be happy to never go to either again until we knock off more of our bucket list, but if I get to go to either hand in in hand with a grandchild, I will do it in a second. As I get older the smaller villages have more appeal but I can only say that as someone who has already been to a lot of big cities. I think all of our favorites mirror our weather there, our health, who were were with and quicky unique experiences no one else will ever have. Many people in this world are embarking on their first time, I advise diving into the big favorites with some small town side trips. Many people know they will get to go once. Their bucket list is theirs, you do not get to "yawn." The rest of us are privileged to keep traveling and make it more off the beaten path. I cannot imagine not having gone to London, Paris and Rome if that was my one shot. We would love to go for 3 weeks every year to more specific areas but we don't have the budget or the time. Thank goodness we don't all have the same favorite places, wouldn't that be crowded and expensive!

Peter_S_Aus

Coral, very well put. A most thoughtful comment.

centraleurope

Four... Thanks. I will read your trip report... They are always excellent, so I am sure I will enjoy it.

Al, I think it would be very different if we looked at most interesting (and a great question). For example, I would add Prague as an interesting city even tho I do not particularly like it. Not sure what to make on the fact the favorites are the most commonly visited. Is that because people go to these cities because they are the "best"? Or they voted for them because they are the only places visited. Perhaps it is a mix.

Luke. You can add budapest. But I think you need to rethink Glasgow. Not sure you can be allowed to keep that one.

For me, I am an American who has lived and worked (not to mention vacationed) across Europe. But for me, it will always be Paris. The most visited? Common? Frankly, I don't care.

coral22

Now that the lecture portion of my response is done.... I am ready to play!
1. Ville Franche
2. Rome
3. Paris
4. Lisbon
5. Amsterdam
6. London
7. Lucerne
8. Cassis and the Calanques
9. Salzburg
10. Interlaken

brizzieLizzie

Thanks for the original post and all the lists. I now have some new places to add to my list of places to visit in the future as well as those I am continually drawn back to.

So in return , here are my 10 cities/ towns/ villages ( based on factors like: have I been there more than once; in different seasons; would I like to live there for at least 6 months etc althought I confess not all factors apply to all locations but it helped me come up with a top 10)

1. Paris
2. Salzburg
3 . Venice.
4 . London
( which do meet all my criteria with multiple visits)
5. Zermatt( over other beautiful places in Switzerland as it is home to my favourite mountain)
6. Bath
7. Sarlat ( as a representative of all the beautiful medieval villages in the Dordogne - perhaps because it was where I stayed enabling a longer/ closer look)
8. St. Petersburg
9..Alesund ( as my starting point for exploring the beautiful Geiranger fjord region)
10. Santiago de Compostela ( never was I so glad to see a city having just completel 5 days on the Camino de Santiago- I know 115km is not as far as some people walk and it is a lovely city in its own right)

Liz

Libretto2

1. Paris
2. Amsterdam
3. Copenhagen
4. London
5. Barcelona
6. Bergen
7. Bruges
8. Albi
9. Bath
10. Bayeux

NYCFoodSnob

Oh, those snobby trolls on Fodor's. So unoriginal. All imitations. It's a kardashian world, so what else can we expect?

I haven't a common pore on my La Mer slathered skin, and I adore Paris, Venice, and Rome. In case one is blind, I'm a rare jewel who loves living in BIG.

I have my favorite small town charmers, for sure, but damn if I'm going to list those here. The last thing I want to do is invite a tacky troll to my party.

Improviser

Yawn, no make that a double yawn.

Aramis, I said 'well written'. That was referring only to your writing skills, not the content. The content was primarily nonsense.

For example, you wrote:
" 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."

That's assumption from beginning to end. You have no idea what I 'decided' or what I intended in what I wrote. I did in fact state my intentions but you choose to ignore that. I have already had to admonish RM67 for presuming to know what my intentions were, now you too need to be admonished for the same thing.

I gave you a compliment on your writing skills and when doing so chose not to take you to task for your assumptions. In other words, I let you off with a simple, 'we would both be wrong'.

Now you return and AGAIN presume to know something you have no way of knowing. You write: "I expect that using the phrase about contemplating agreeing with someone but both then being wrong is one that you have often used as a substitute for assembling a logical counterpoint."

You 'expect' incorrectly Aremis. I meant the phrase to mean exactly what it said. I didn't agree with your content and if I did we would both be wrong. It is in fact a LOGICAL statement.

Coral22, while I understand you are happy being a typical tourist and see no need to change that, someone else reading might have a different opinion. You are free to disagree with me but you are not free to tell me whether I can 'yawn' or not.

How do you feel about my giving you this suggestion Coral22. Learn to write in paragraphs and leave an empty line between them.

centraleurope

I forgot Amsterdam. It is a city I love.

Though Copenhagen, perhaps considered a distant relative by some, left me ambivalent.

Aramis

Fascinating.

Still no counterpoint except to state that no one can know what you are thinking ( or deciding, intending, whatever - I want to exclude you the need for you to take issue with the word I am using) and, therefore, any assumption a third party makes about you has to be incorrect.

Let's have some fun with how you create a world in which you can espouse theories you cannot defend and feel justified in doing so. I know, I know....I can't know what worlds you create, what you can or cannot defend, or whether or not you feel justified (thought I'd save you the trouble of raising these points in response). You wrote;

>>You 'expect' incorrectly Aremis (sic). I meant the phrase to mean exactly what it said. I didn't agree with your >>content and if I did we would both be wrong. It is in fact a LOGICAL statement.

This response might strike a chord in you - my expectation is mine, you cannot know what I expect or don't expect so you are incorrect in declaring my expectation incorrect.

I could go through your postings to date and find dozens of examples of you making precisely the kind of assumptions you attempt to assail. Let's start with three (not one, not two, but three!) more in just one sentence of this same post;

>>Coral22, while I understand you are happy being a typical tourist and see no need to change that....

1 You cannot understand anything about Coral22's;

1 state of happiness
2 self identification as a typical tourist
3 need to change either, or both, of no.s 1 and 2

Are you going to make it this easy?

centraleurope

Sorry fellas... The MENSA exam is in the next room.

This is merely us kids having fun and tossing out a few cities we like.

Underhill

Nice, 1 to 10.

bilboburgler

What is a kardashian?