Are you thinking of booking your next holiday in Europe, but in need of some inspiration?
Here are some hotspots to add to your bucket list – and some to leave off – according to Reddit travellers.
Tourists on the social media platform have been sharing their best, worst, and most surprising European holiday destinations.
So read on to find out which city has ‘everything you could possibly want’, which metropolis is an ‘absolute nightmare’ and which mountainous destination feels like a movie set…
The best…
There’s plenty of love for Europe’s ‘City of Love’. Paris tops the list for ‘Trafficon405’ who says: ‘Been many times. Never tire of it. It’s not perfect but I always come back.’
‘Seroiaa’ agrees: ‘I just love the architecture, food and general atmosphere.’
Italy‘s ‘Eternal City’ has plenty of travellers ready to Rome too.
Reddit users have been sharing their thoughts on top European destinations. Strasbourg, France, is ‘perfect’, according to one tourist
‘PurpleMonkey781’ says: ‘I probably wouldn’t want to live there but there was so much to see.’
Accomplished_Map7752’ was also a fan, adding: ‘It is an amazing city full of ancient history.’
‘Minskoffuspreme’, meanwhile, was mad for Madrid, explaining: ‘It’s such a fantastic mixture of culture, food and fun. It has the best museums in Spain, hands down.
‘I have been a few times and never get sick of it, there is always something new to do.’
Vienna has been crowned the world’s most liveable city several times and the Austrian capital also ‘has everything you could possibly want as a tourist destination’, according to ‘Dustyloops’.
They add: ‘Beautiful architecture, not too expensive, lively nightlife, cultured museums and palaces and amazing food and beer.’
But it’s not just capital cities that have left travellers impressed, as ‘Ok_Fan7382’ says: ‘Strasbourg [in France] was perfect. Impeccable tourist sites in the most relaxing city imaginable.’
Florence, Italy, was also called ‘simply the most beautiful city in the world’ by ‘SerSace’.
Edinburgh was a pleasant surprise for one tourist who says they ‘couldn’t believe how beautiful it was’
Athens is ‘dirty and ugly’ apart from the big sites, according to one disgruntled traveller
They add: ‘I loved it both as a tourist and citizen since I lived there for a couple of years.
‘Monuments, art, culture, history, food – it has everything.’
The worst…
Some destinations were more of a nightmare than a dream for many Reddit users, including Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital.
‘Deepinthecoats’ says there’s ‘nothing remarkable’ about it.
They also have nothing good to say about Barcelona which they complained ‘felt like a crowded theme park with huge crowds absolutely everywhere’.
Athens failed to impress a couple of travellers, including ‘Visible-tea-2734’, who moans that the Greek capital is ‘dirty and ugly aside from the big sites’.
‘Castlebanks’ goes a step further, describing Athens as ‘ugly as f**k’.
Meanwhile, a comment from a deleted account says they were disappointed by Naples, in Italy, claiming it was ‘dirty, felt unsafe’ and ‘[is] not as interesting as many people made it out to be’.
The air in Ostrava ‘stank of burning coal’ claims one traveller who says they were ‘pestered by dodgy characters’ in the Czech city
Venice didn’t float ‘blehful”s boat as they describe it as an ‘absolute nightmare of a city’.
They complain the Italian canal city was full of ‘endless throngs of people’ and say they were left ‘to fight through sweaty mobs of these families in narrow alleys to move at anything resembling a normal pace’.
There’s nothing worth Czech-ing out in the Czech city of Ostrava, according to ‘Dustyloops’.
They say: ‘Went as a group as part of a backpacking holiday and feared for my safety.
‘Followed and pestered by dodgy characters, police patrolling supermarkets, decaying communist tower blocks, massive steel mills in the middle of the city with smashed up warehouses surrounding them and the air stank of burning coal. Felt like I was in 1980.’
For ‘Trudestiny’, it’s Brussels, Belgium that they found ‘grim’. They add it’s ‘one of the only [European] cities’ they’ve never returned to.
And proving that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, ‘NostaglicDreamer’ puts Paris on their least favourite list, saying ‘they felt on edge most of the time’ and ‘felt like [they] were ripped off everywhere they went’.
The surprising…
Montreux is ‘magical and truly picturesque’, according to a happy traveller
So which European hotspots are a pleasant surprise?
Portugal’s capital impresses ‘PurpleMonkey781’ who says Lisbon is ‘cheaper than most other cities, yet clean, easy to get around and lots of things to see’.
Meanwhile, Budapest left ‘Ok-Fan-7382’ Hungary for more.
They write: ‘Wasn’t expecting such entertaining nightlife and the breathtaking architecture at random.’
‘NostalgicDreaming’ gives Edinburgh the seal of approval, explaining: ‘[I] couldn’t believe how beautiful it was.
‘Locals were as friendly as I’ve met and they had great bars and restaurants too.’
Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana, is ‘pretty small for a capital’ says ‘Shisu-Choc’, but adds the ‘city centre is absolutely beautiful and the castle is great’.
‘Blehful’ recommends Montreux in Switzerland, describing it as ‘jaw-droppingly gorgeous’. They add: ‘Wandering the vineyards overlooking Lake Geneva with the Alps in the background was magical and truly picturesque, like out of a movie.’
There’s something about San Sebastian for ‘JakBlakbeard’ who explains it has ‘mild weather in the summer’ and a ‘beautiful town with two beaches’.
And ‘Glad_Cardiologist_24’ was frankly positive about Frankfurt, saying: ‘Didn’t expect much as people seem to hate it. Great food, nice historical centre and nice downtown. Wouldn’t be opposed to going there again!’
