Experience The Best of What Europe Has to Offer. This article I prepared for those who love to travel and visit the beautiful places around the World. I believe this list contains the most interesting and beautiful cities in Europe with some pictures, intro and fun stuff on the BEST places in Europe to visit! Croatia, Amsterdam, Paris are just some of the places we will explore on this journey to Europe. Enjoy the read.
1. Venice
Venice is the most beautiful city in the world, and the only one that can truly be described as unique. Each building is a work of art, with their beauty enhanced when reflected on the canals that cross the city. Its magical scenery is fascinating and breathtaking at first sight, evoking the feeling of entering the setting of a real-life fairy tale. It’s perhaps even unfair to all other cities to call Venice a city, as it is a place unlike any other, that no other can compare to, or ever be like.
2. Paris
The Seine and the bridges that cross it, the grand boulevards, the monumental squares, the magnificent monuments, the charming streets of Montmartre — these images of Paris confirm that it is indeed the most elegant and sophisticated of all cities. It has inspired practically every major world capital, with every city claiming its own Champs-Elysees, and Place des Vosges becoming the prototype of residential squares throughout Europe. Sit at an outdoor café table or go on a boat tour of the Seine and see it all romantically flash before your eyes.
Each of the thousands of buildings that line Amsterdam’s main canals can be classified as a monument, beautifully kept as apartments, offices, cafes, restaurants, and even brothels. All together they form an aesthetic uniformity that make the city one of the most charming in the world, a stunning place of bridges and bikes crossing canals, picturesque cobbled streets, and strikingly elegant architecture.
4. Barcelona
Rich in cultural heritage doesn’t even begin to sum up Barcelona. The city boasts memorable museums and some quite breathtaking architecture, with buildings ranging from Renaissance masterpieces to ultra modern classics. One mans work stands head and shoulders above almost everything else and Gaudi’s Art Nouveau influence has defined the image of this great Mediterranean city. Be sure to spend an evening on La Rambla, Barcelona’s grand avenue and take in the sights of the nearby Placa Reial. By dark the city comes alive and party animals should head for the sandy beaches of Barceloneta, with its seaside cafes, restaurants and legendary nightlife.
5. Valencia
Gothic, Baroque and Roman architecture shows the monumental importance of Valencia throughout the ages. Dating back to around 150BC, the city is not only Spain’s third largest urban centre, it is also one of its oldest existing settlements. Valencia is considered by many to contain a perfectly harmonious blend of the old and new. Well worth a day’s walking, and better still to make your base when visiting, Valencia’s old city is a medieval masterpiece, winding streets open onto classic squares and plazas, packed with tiny bars and cafes. No better place to sit and sip a drink as the sun goes down and enjoy some great people watching.
6. Budapest
Split in two by the Danube River, Budapest is the result of the merging of three cities. Buda is the hill with the royal palace and an old town filled with baroque and gothic monuments looking over the mostly-19th century Pest, crossed by broad avenues lined with elegant neo-renaissance buildings. Admire its setting and remarkable architecture (including the stunning Parliament Building) from the monumental Chain Bridge, and step into the old town for some of the most romantic lanes you’ll ever stroll through
7. London
London is going for the knock-out blow in 2012. The Olympics are riding into town and a whole swath of the capital is being transformed in the process. London’s east will be thrust into the spotlight but the rest of the capital will be rolling out the red carpet too. Seeing Tower Bridge lift its bascules to let a tall ship pass beneath is all stately grace, as opposed to your first rush-hour trip on the tube, getting up close and personal with strangers of every colour, creed and nationality. Mind the gap! Whoever you cheer for, you won’t be alone in this most international of cities.
Stockholm looks as perfect as it’s ever been. This is as seductive a capital city as can be imagined – cosy yet cosmopolitan, wilfully alternative and effortlessly picturesque. With its trendy design shops and bohemian bars, the island of Södermalm is one of the coolest kids on the block, while the stately parks of Djurgarden make it the best island for an evening stroll. Admittedly Stockholm has never been a cheap date. But even if Stockholm leaves you with a lighter wallet, you’ll inevitably still leave it with a heavy heart.
9. Dubrovnik – Croatia
This walled City was described by Lord Byron as “The Pearl of the Adriatic“.
Nowhere did I experience such a feeling as when first catching the first glimp of the tremendous view over the city of Dubrovnik. As you walk down to the city gates this feeling in you grows and grows, to reach it’s climax as you climb the magnificent city walls with their view over the Mediterranean… You imagine how the inhabitants of this city must have felt back then: as kings of the world, gods of the Mediterranean..
10. BRUGES
It’s a small city, in a small country, hardly a metropolis, but huge on beauty. It’s one of the world’s best preserved medieval cities, filled with gothic and baroque monuments surrounded by an oval canal and extraordinarily romantic cobbled lanes. It’s no wonder that it is one of Europe’s most visited cities, helped by its location in the very center of the continent. It’s an unmissable destination when in BRUSSELS, and easily accessible from anywhere in central Europe. Its combination of gorgeous architecture and pretty, peaceful spots crisscrossed by canals make it one of the most magical sites to be experienced in the world.
