The Dread Slender Gnome on Nostr: One city for a week is a good idea. I'm not a city person myself (they all look the ...
One city for a week is a good idea. I'm not a city person myself (they all look the same essentially) so don't know which one to recommend, but here are some considerations.
Pick something that offers a possibility of excursions to see something interesting in the surroundings, or at least the outskirts. Nature stuff, historical places (castles are popular) etc. Another possibility is picking a smaller city with another one close enough that you could make a day trip to the other city.
Don't go to Amsterdam in the summer. It stinks of piss and stagnant water. I'm told Venice also stinks in the summer.
The popular cities are FULL during summer. I had a day's stopover in Florence one summer and it was a nightmare of heat and crowds. I'd love to go back, but either in early spring or late autumn.
Europe holidays in August. That means a) places are fully booked, b) crowds everywhere and c) official stuff is closed. The exception to this are the Nordics, there everyone holidays in July. Except the foreigners, who come over in August.
You probably already know this, but public transport is big in Europe. If you're not used to it, it's good to familiarise yourself with the local system once you know where you're going. A lot of cities offer tickets for day, week, 10 days etc. for unlimited travel. Or alternately, tickets for say 12 trips. The entry practices also vary. Some places you buy a ticket and stamp it at the station before getting into the transport, others you stamp it on board. Yet others you just buy a ticket and don't need to stamp it at all.
Pick something that offers a possibility of excursions to see something interesting in the surroundings, or at least the outskirts. Nature stuff, historical places (castles are popular) etc. Another possibility is picking a smaller city with another one close enough that you could make a day trip to the other city.
Don't go to Amsterdam in the summer. It stinks of piss and stagnant water. I'm told Venice also stinks in the summer.
The popular cities are FULL during summer. I had a day's stopover in Florence one summer and it was a nightmare of heat and crowds. I'd love to go back, but either in early spring or late autumn.
Europe holidays in August. That means a) places are fully booked, b) crowds everywhere and c) official stuff is closed. The exception to this are the Nordics, there everyone holidays in July. Except the foreigners, who come over in August.
You probably already know this, but public transport is big in Europe. If you're not used to it, it's good to familiarise yourself with the local system once you know where you're going. A lot of cities offer tickets for day, week, 10 days etc. for unlimited travel. Or alternately, tickets for say 12 trips. The entry practices also vary. Some places you buy a ticket and stamp it at the station before getting into the transport, others you stamp it on board. Yet others you just buy a ticket and don't need to stamp it at all.