A thread dedicated to discussing and sharing opinions on different cities. This allows anyone planning to book a place or who has already booked to receive feedback from other members.
I recently spent a couple of days in Monaco and would recommend it (I treated myself to the Fairmont Hotel opposite the hairpin curve). I'm looking for ideas for a cheap getaway on the Continent at the end of the summer...
For most countries, i avoid the centre of the Capital City. Its always a tourist laden hellhole of expensive food & drink and with as much local soul as an american Tech giant.
second cities, or other smaller towns are far preferable. A case in point was a recent visit to Haarlem , Netherlands. Its what Amsterdam would be like without the hooeers, drug dealers, and drunken fat americans. It did have these vices, but in a more modest quantity and i dare say, a more upmarket quality.
Even villages will often have a nicer atmosphere and more twee architecture & cobbled streets. Plus they are inhabited by baffled locals who cannot understand why you visited them and are happy to chat. Unlike getting stabbed in Central ( insert name of Capital city here ). Make sure to find villages more than an hour commute from any big cities.
Bruges is excellent.
PontaVedra in Galicia is excellent, with a wonderful climate and a beautiful hinterlands.
Benidorm is hell on wheels, as is Venice.
Locronan in Finistere is also memorable for cobbled streets and ambience.
Volterra in Tuscany is nice and over 3 thousand years old. They are currently hosting a Banksy exhibition. Rather ironic when you consider the Romans fought hard to expel the Vandals and now they are honouring a Lefty 'government approved rebel' one.
Linguists are recommended to visit Rural Romania to get Eastern Europes answer to Modern Latin - ditto with hilltop villages in Sardinia.
England
