Abolutely! Our very first morning in Italy. We were staying in Vernazza in Cinque Terre and were just so excited to be there, we were up at the crack of dawn and made our way to Riomaggiore just in time to see the shopkeepers opening up and the town slowly coming to life. We picked up some pastries that were soooo fresh and coffee and enjoyed a breakfast picnic at a viewpoint overlooking the harbour and village. Will never forget it.

Southhampton, England: a B&B run by an Indian family. They had a big Boxer dog. Somehow, the lady of the house thought Americans liked canned spaghetti. So she served us Spaghetti-Os for breakfast. The Boxer watched us and drooled and drooled and drooled. When the lady exited to another part of the house, guess who got the Spaghetti-Os.

most economical
#4 Paris---yogurt(in glass) and fresh milk(so creamy)from the market and croissants from the bakery,cottage cheese cake from Rue de Rosiers..no surprise but delicious

Most filling
#3 Windy Ridge(a B&B near Stow)...Fresh fruit (including all you can eat raspberries and strawberries)porridge(muesli), fresh breads croissants,jams and fresh milk..the plate full of 2 bangers,sauteed mushrooms,grill tomatoes ,browned potatoes,eggs....and oh yes the beans!!! great except for the beans

Most atmospheric
#2 Hotel Forum ,Pompeii....breakfast buffet consisted of cereals,fresh breads fruit salad,juices,cheese,cured meat,boiled egg, and the most incredible FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN HOT CROISANTS filled with apricot jam.The best was eating out on tiled patio near a fireplace/oven under a arbor of football sized lemons next to the lush garden with my cappuccino in on a dazzlingly sunny morning. Can you hear the chirping birds?

Most variety and quality
#1 Four Seasons Big Island (ok not technically Europe)costing a whopping 50 bucks.Everything from miso to danish....The incredible fruit choices of fresh golden maui pineapples,mango ,papaya and every other fruit...custom omlettes...smoked salmon and bagels..All manner for meats and breads....even poke and lomilomi? And I thought I didnt eat breakfast..

Holy smoke! For 50 bucks, I could fill two shopping carts with fruit, bread, cereals, whatever. And eat breakfast in my room for two weeks.

If you've got the money to spend, definitely go for the hotel spread (EAF - Expense Account Factor - once again). Cuts out the shopping and food prep.

I took my then 14 year old son to Paris. Arriving in Gar Nord early in the AM he insisted that he had to have a real Parisian croissant and real Parisian coffee right then. So I watched his look of absolute delight while he had the crummy train station croissant and coffee- he said that he knew then he was in Paris for sure.

The breakfast buffet at the Best Western Tigra in Vienna was fabulous - the best "inlcluded" breakfast I have ever had. A wonderful variety of the freshest quality cheeses, breads, etc. and hot chocolate that was better than that in the famous cafes.

I didn't say I paid (boss did)!!This is a whole lot cheaper than say the Tour Argent...a lot more food..and fresh as theirs too...

...I've had pastries at Gard d' Nord and depending on where you go they are as good or in my case better than Le Pain Quotidien (which I consider just average)

Oh, I've never found the equal of a breakfast served at most Irish B&Bs. The best of those was at Mal Dua house, Clifden town in the Connemara, County Galway.

After our French B&B hostess provided croissants, yogurt, jams, tea/coffee, and juice, she left the room. The Belgian couple at the table with us looked at each other, then got out packages of cold sliced meats and cheeses. They had come prepared. They offered some to us, saying "Nobody eats less for breakfast than the French."

I'm with Zeus and several others in saying they have all been my favorites. The breakfast buffet with cold cuts cheeses, crusty rolls, yogurt, fruit and great rich coffee is what first pops into my mind when I think about my trips particulary to Germany and Austria.

My very favorite was at the Alpen Rose in Mittenwald as we sat there over a wonderful cup of coffee and great food watching snow flakes the size of chicken feathers falling outside the window.

The most fantastic breakfast we ever had was the breakfast buffet at the Leon Parador (Spain) and it was included in the price of the room. It was so bountiful and huge that when we took pictures of it, it took four different pictures to get everything in. We still talk about that breakfast!

Well breakfast is not a big meal in Italy (unless you stay where they cater to those that enjoy a big breakfast I guess). But I am not a big breakfast person either so that works. I just always enjoy go to a cafe, sitting outside, enjoying two or three cups of espresso and maybe a pastry while I people watch while knowing I have another day to enjoy Italy. Perfecto!

Hi travel2live2, your Scottish breakfast sounds fantastic but did you really eat everything??? All the food sounds so good but it would have been wasted on me.

Breakfast in Hawaii hypatia with all their wonderful fruits has always been a joy, sigh.

Hi, LoveItaly!

I did not eat all of that breakfast but did make a pretty big dent into it. Kippers are not my favourite thing but it certainly was a breakfast I will never, ever forget! They liked me as I reminded them of a dear friend of theirs - they treated us like pure gold.

On my most recent trip to Italy, my first stop was a return visit to Bellagio. I stayed in a lovely, small family run hotel just outside of town and right on the lake. My room faced the lake and had a small balcony.
On my first morning, being jetlagged, I overslept. The owner called my room to tell me that breakfast was closing and asked if I would like her to bring a tray to my room. Naturally I said yes.

A few minutes later she arrived with a tray of fresh fruits, juice, caffe latte, breads and sweet rolls, jams, cheeses and cold cuts, and yogurt.
I sat outside on my balcony watching the sun glistening on the lake, listening to the birds singing, and feeling like I had died and gone straight to heaven.

The breakfasts we had at La Saracina B&B just outside Pienza were fantastic. They were served in a separate breakfast building with glass on two sides so you could view both the property and then the hills beyond. Each morning the five or so tables were set with different linens and casual china and one wall with a fireplace in the middle was filled with every imaginable bread, cheese, jams, fruits, juices, etc. The morning that the gardener came in bearing a basket of freshly picked figs was the capper. This place is right out of an interior design book of a sort of Tuscan Martha Stewart. Oh, and the stereo played soft classical music in the background. Heavenly.

Two come to mind:

1. La Lunga, a B&B in Scotland (near Croabh Haven, south of Oban). It was a 14th C. Manor House turned into a B&B, and the setting was fabulous. Huge dining room with a crackling hearth on one end, looooon table (enough to seat at least 20) simply COVERED in every spread imaginable, from mandarin orange marmalade to lemon curd, marmite to boysenberry jam. Then the host (the Earl) came to ask us our order for breakfast. We got the Full Scottish - which included grilled mushrooms picked fresh that morning on the grounds. Yummy!!

2. Alcantra B&B, Kilkenny, Ireland. Bridget is a wonderful hostess, with homemade jams, fresh fruits, and full Irish breakfast. The scones.... sigh.

Istanbul, one November. Depressing weather outside an unexciting and vaguely Soviet-looking business hotel.

But the first mouthful of bread (and I'm the complete food-is-fuel non-gourmet) was a revelation: as was the fresh honey from the comb that came with it.

Great topic.
With out doubt, the Greenmount Inn, Dingle, Ireland. We were there three years ago for three nights and we still talk about the breakfasts served there.

Hi again travel2live2, do you know when I love a huge breakfast? For dinner! I was thinking about your breakfast in Scotland while unloading the dishwasher and thought to myself I could have consumed most of that food if had been dinner time. Kippers, my father use to love them. Me, not so much. Take care.

Best:

Crete: staying in self-catering studio we'd pop into the next-door bakery and buy the biggest croissants you've ever seen in your life, still warm from the oven. Just ate them plain from the bag and they were delicious.

UK: B&B in Sussex where the food was outstanding. Started with half grapefruit, all usual cereals/toast/fruit juice, and then the nicest full English fry-up I've had, not greasy, great quality ingredients, plenty of it.

Overall I'm not a big breakfast eater...I just pick up a croissant or pastry and go. I do have a few memorable breakfasts though.

We had a lovely breakfast in a small cafe in Trevi (Umbria) a few years ago. The place was filled with locals only, and we had a nice chat with a few of them while we snacked on our pastries and sipped our lattes.

I recall sitting at an outdoor cafe with my husband in Rome. We ate pastries (can you detect the theme? I love pastries!) and had our coffee and this delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. The sun was shining and we were delightfully happy to be in Rome.

We had a wonderful breakfast with our apartment owners in Trogir. The food was good (fruits, yogurt, granola, eggs and toast) but it was the company that made it great. We sat and chatted with them for a good three hours before we had to be on our way. We learned such an incredible wealth of information about Croatia and the surrounding countries, the war (the husband fought in the war), and we had fun comparing the US to Croatia in terms of maternity leaves, healthcare, etc.

Tracy