Great question. Hard to narrow it down to just 3 but I’ll have a good go. I loved Geneva and my house sit there. The lake is beautiful and it’s just so fabulously clean everywhere. The only downside is it’s very expensive but still, it’s well worth a visit.
I also love Prague and Vienna for the beautiful old architecture and their character. The lovely old street lanterns in Prague lit up in the early evening give the stroll along the river a lovely atmosphere.
Plus, Prague served up the best hot chocolate I think I’ve ever had in my life so it became an instant hit with me for that reason alone!!! I also loved Helsinki and would really love to go back there one day.
Intriguing question. I love reading responses.
Mine change often, but in my top three I visited in 2022 were:
1 - Vevey, Switzerland - gorgeous, artsy, lively, fun, lakeside, outdoor benches wiht views everywhere, picturesque (and sadly expensive)
2 - Lisbon/Porto - tied for 2nd, but heading back to the latter to be sure. heehee
3 - Amsterdam - bike culture, outdoor lifestyle despite the weather, stunning canals and architecture
And nearly tied for #3: honorable mention to Testaccio, Rome, my new favorite neighborhood there. Neighborhood vibe, excellent food, city in a city, parks, and easy access.
These are the most popular European cities according to the study in 2022
Copenhagen - Denmark
Stockholm Sweden
Barcelona - Spain
Florence - Italy
Recently, searched got Barcelona city have got more than 1.9 Million tourists visited in 2022 and become the most popular place in the world for tourism.
@Chatsetchiens If you love hot chocolate you must try the hot chocolate options, especially their delicious Le Mousseux (au lait) which is hot chocolate mousse with whipped cream and buttered toasts at Chocolat Cazenave in Bayonne, France’s chocolate capital!
Yum!!
This is Stortorget Square in Gamla Stan, one of the best things to do here is just sit in one of the many wonderful cafes and watch the world go by! Stortorget, (or the Big Square), is the oldest square in Stockholm and is lined by beautiful buildings dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, once owned by wealthy merchants.
The next on my top 3 list and my number 2 would be San Sebastián, officially known as Donostia-San Sebastián which is a city and municipality located in the Basque Autonomous Community, Spain. It’s a true highlight of Spain for me, and the charming old quarter is bursting with cafés, bars and restaurants, where you can try their tasty Pintxos (style of Tapas).
Despite the city’s small size, events such as the San Sebastián International Film Festival and the San Sebastián Jazz Festival have given it an international dimension.
A really tough choice but my number 1 spot goes to Venice, the capital of northern Italy’s Veneto region which is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea, simply beautiful. It has no roads, just canals, including the Grand Canal thoroughfare which is lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces.
I LOVE your top 3 choices but I have yet to visit Stockholm…We get asked questions like this all the time “What’s the best place you’ve traveled to” or “your top 5 favorite” and honestly it feels like saying what child I love most…I just really can’t. I fall so deeply in love with almost everywhere I have traveled to, no matter how different it is from where I am from there’s always so much beauty, history, incredible people and food that it’s just too hard to choose. My husband thinks I’m a weirdo and he can easily list his top five…so maybe someday when I’ve seen more of the world I can give a better response to what my top favorite European cities are.
The thought of Italia makes me happy. Such a warm, friendly, inviting, sensual and special place.
I studied in Florence for a Summer, hung out on the bridge painting, and loved reading Dante and Boccaccio. I also studied in Siena for a Summer and sang Mozart’s Requiem in every small church across Tuscany, and studied Italian, and had a boyfriend who was from Siena who spoke only the English he learned studying to be a doctor, so medical terms. We laughed a lot. That was a good life.
Top 3 is not possible, there are too many wonderful cities to visit. So let me suggest a few new ones.
Valette, the capital of Malta is a place with a lot of history, things to do and visit and eat good food. The island of Malta also allows some more exploring.
Riga, the capital of Latvia is not too big, and has a small but wonderful old city center and wonderful architecture.
Ghent in Belgium, very nice old center with a lot of canals/riverarms. More authentic than Bruges and less visited. Also great food and beer of course…Good place to stay if you want to do day trips to Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, Mechelen and other interesting cities in Belgium