ccerts

I'll be going solo meeting up with family in Milan, Italy late September to spread my Dad's ashes. Thinking about leaving for Europe a couple days early. United (I'll fly on points) has direct flights from Chicago that include London, Dublin, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Brussels, Munich, Edinburgh and Paris.

While it was very long ago, I've been to Rome, Paris, Brussels & Munich. And more recently, London and Dublin. I've never been to Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Edinburgh. Ones of those cities might be a fun solo trip for a couple days. I'll then fly to Milan cheap and easy enough.

Where do you think a 50 year old male who enjoys a pint or two should go for a couple days? More about relaxing, drinking and eating than exploring museums or castles. Thanks!!!

Sebas Candia

Hello ccerts, in my opinion I would be between Amsterdam and Frankfurt, since both cities have good places to have a coffee or drink a beer while you relax or eat something delicious. If I had to choose one of the two options would be Frankfurt since several very close friends who have visited both cities, I recommend that for such activities and for the number of days they are.

JBord

I'd say Amsterdam for sure. Yes, you can drink some good German beers in Frankfurt, but it's really just a big modern city in my opinion, when compared to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam is more scenic. How much nicer will it be to sip a beer while sitting canal-side? There are hundreds of places like that in Amsterdam. That said, I think the food will be better in Frankfurt. But seeing your location is Wisconsin (I grew up there), you might enjoy the herring, fries with mayo, and other street food in Amsterdam. Plus, anyone who doesn't like bitterballen and stroopwaffels is not someone I want to be friends with. You can get good German food in Wisconsin!

In Amsterdam, do a canal tour, and you can also do the Heineken Experience since you're a beer lover.

deniah

Edinburgh. The weather's still agreeable that time of year. If you want to lounge around, don't need to venture off or too far off the Royal Mile. Scenic.
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Frankfurt in contrast is a bit more sterile. Amsterdam is fine too but for a lazy stop Edinburgh is easier.

farci

...varied beer selection and people will talk to you in pubs if you stay out of the tourist traps:
https://foodanddrink.scotsman.com/dr...ars-edinburgh/

TomMM

Having been to all 3, Frankfurt doesn't appeal to me as a tourist destination.

Sebas Candia

mmm, I do not agree with that, because any city in Europe is a destination for travel and tourism.

TomMM

True but for me, Frankfurt doesn't seem as much as a tourist destination as Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Munich, Berlin... It strikes me as more of a business city.

1flyer

Amsterdam can be very busy, making it not very relaxing. It's a lot better if you avoid downtown (the Dutch call it "Centrum") but that's exactly where most American tourists would want to go.

I was in Amsterdam in late September--the OP's travel date--last year. Late September is supposed to be after the peak travel season but I still found the city to be over-run by tourists.

According to tourism statistics, Amsterdam is one of the top tourist destinations in Europe; Frankfurt and Edinburgh are not.

farci

dulciusexasperis

In order, I would choose Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Frankfurt. I would rate them 10, 8, 5 in terms of personal appeal to me.

You might also want to consider none of them and instead opt for a smaller town/village where you get more of a feel for the 'real' country while still being able to eat and drink quite well.

For example, the little village of Aberdour is easily reached by tram + train from Edinburgh airport and you can easily spend a day in Edinburgh itself using the train, while staying in a village with a much more laid back atmosphere. Yet at the same time, you can find excellent food and drink in the village, not to mention far more wallet friendly hotel prices.
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Aberdour

Here is a hotel under new management which is getting great reviews after renovations and is run by a family which also owns a nearby award winning restaurant. The Woodside Hotel ? Aberdour ? United Kingdom

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Rev..._Scotland.html

Yoshi212

I'd go EDI or AMS over FRA. Edinburgh has the advantage of being wholly English speaking though Amsterdam is pretty good too and a very great city.

Frankfurt...just didn't win me over. Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf,.. love them all but Frankfurt just didn't.

JBord

I haven't ever met anyone in the parts of Amsterdam that I'm likely to visit who don't speak English well. In fact, I'd say that's true of most Dutch people.

But the OP really can't go wrong with either Edinburgh or Amsterdam.

1flyer

I'm sorry but this is not accurate. Frankfurt's existence has been documented as far back as the year 794, it is considerably older than Amsterdam. You can hardly escape Frankfurt's traditions and history (from the middle ages at least), whether you go to Sachsenhausen, Höchst, Bockenheim, Bornheim, or the old town. Frankfurt played a pivotal role in the holy Roman empire for hundreds of years. It is the birthplace of Goethe and that of the first German democracy. The city has much to offer culturally, be it the museums on the riverbank, or the techno clubs of Frankfurt and Offenbach. (Frankfurt was and is a stronghold of electronic music.)

Before the war, Frankfurt had Europe's largest gothic old town. While some of the city's most important landmarks (cathedral and city hall) were reconstructed swiftly after the war, part of the city's old town was not. The area, 7000 sq meters in size, was carefully reconstructed only in recent years. The project was completed in 2018 and has been celebrated by domestic and international press as well as by the locals. (I don't know what tourists say.) The project is significant as it re-unifies the old town which, until recently, was a bit scattered with a large idle area.

Frankfurt is not so much about "good German beers", either. Yes, you'll find local beers and beer is drunk when people hang out in the thousands on the riverbank during summer. Nevertheless, Frankfurt is much more known for its Apfelwein (hard cider) pubs and presses in Sachsenhausen, Bornheim, and other neighborhoods of the city. Some of the so-called Apfelweinkneipen (cider taverns) are charming and hundreds of years old.

I'm not saying Frankfurt is the way to go for the OP, particularly as he doesn't plan a trip mainly for arts and culture this time around. Nevertheless, being a native "Frankfurter", I am slightly offended by its characterization as a big modern city with decent German beer. Seems somebody hasn' seen much more than the downtown, the central business district, the central station area and the trade fair.

eshroom