Looking for a different city -- suggestions?
 

I enjoy visiting cities more than nature (probably because I live in a very rural area).

I am looking for a European city to go to for a week, where I can walk around the historic section, enjoy seeing 19th century architecture (both residential and commercial/official), get some good food, find a local bazaar that I can browse through, and preferably not spend a fortune on the hotel room.

Italy and Germany are out -- I have been in both too many times. Paris, Budapest, and Prague are off the list for the same reasons.

I am thinking of Bucharest or Sofia but really don't know enough about either to make a decision. Has any one here spent time there and can tell me about them? Also, any other suggestions would be welcome.

Have you been to Lisbon? We are currently in the said city for our first visit and we are totally surprised at all it has to offer. It has a certain charm, very walkable even taking into account the hills and the locals have been very welcoming.

agree.....Lisbon is lovely, weather good and people friendly.

Personally I like Porto over Lisbon but both are great. Barcelona and Istanbul would also go on my recommendations list. Followed by Amsterdam, Tel Aviv & Dubrovnik.

Tel Aviv's in Europe now? Might as well add Montreal to the list too. NTM, I reckon the OP has been to Tel Aviv a few times...

I concur with Lisbon and Oporto.

#1 - Dubrovnik
#2 - Talinn (easy to combine w/ Helsinki tho thats a much pricier city)
#3 - Krakow
#4 - Belgrade
#5 - Istanbul

Most cities further west would be too pricey

I liked Brussels, but a week may be a bit much. Other cities like Antwerp and Ghent are a short train ride away. It has been a while since I have been there, but I am sure Belgium is pricey.

Cheers,
Pogopossum

I thought Sofia was a great city. I spent 4 days there several years ago. My days were spent in meetings but I really enjoyed walking the city at night. The food is fantastic and the nightlife was fun too. Plenty of parks and outdoor cafes to enjoy.

I would suggest Dubrovnik a beautiful fortifided seaport city with lots of history and character.

Not technically Europe, but St Petersburg is definitely worthy of consideration, and a bit more off the beaten path. Loads of old architecture, with a gorgeous and fascinating mix of European and Russian influences. Plenty of historic attractions, too (the Hermitage, etc.). A really beautiful and walkable city criss-crossed by lovely canals and charming bridges. Don't know when you plan to travel, but you'll get very nice weather in the summertime, not to mention nearly constant daylight (the White Nights).

I can't recommend a specific midrange hotel, but we've been able to get excellent pricing at the higher end properties we've booked, and I recall seeing some of the larger chains represented over on the Nevsky Prospekt, so I'm sure you'd have no trouble finding something.

It's west of the Urals.

Europe.

Yes... I was actually thinking in cultural terms rather than geographic technicalities.

Of course, even culturally, it's arguably the most European place in Russia, and feels more western than eastern. Which is what made me think of it. ;)

Lisbon, Barcelona, Valencia, Toulouse, Nice/Cannes, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, Salzberg, Vienna, maybe Birmingham. However, if you really want specifically 19th century buildings, I'm not sure. There are some smaller cities that could get boring for a whole week.

Do you consider Istanbul to be part of Europe? However, I'm not sure how much 19th century architecture it has versus earlier periods. Also, its huge bazaar might seem too similar to some markets in Israel for you.

I have been to Bucharest.
It is not in the same league as many of the other big cities in Europe, I think.
Not a lot of tourist attractions.
A bit shabby in places.
But for your purposes, it might fit the bill.

I found it an interesting city not very geared towards tourism and was perfectly happy there and am going back later this year.

It certainly has interesting and impressive buildings, not least the enormous palace of the parlament.

It has an old town, not big as part of it was torn down to build the parlament.

It would have hotels that are cheap. I stayed in the Hilton Athenee Palace which is in a lovely building and is a very nice hotel ( nice breakfast ).

And it certainly has good food at very reasonable prices.

If you go, this restaurant is a must ( try the spoon tasting ) :

http://theartist.ro

I also had very nice beef several places ( can only remember these two places):

http://www.vacamuuu.com
http://oshoprimaverii.ro

And I am sure there are markets. I cannot recommend any as I don't remember if I went to any ( I normally do ). It was frightfully cold when I was there and I could have skipped this enjoyment.

If you just want 19thC architecture then I'd suggest Glasgow or Leeds. Otherwise you'll have to wade through 18thC and earlier.

Amsterdam has to be the most instantly likeable city in Europe, and its beauty is often under-rated. I never get tired of the place. It's very walkable. If you haven't been there yet, it's a definite must. AMS being a major hub airport makes it very easy to get to as well.

You didn't get the memo? EU annexed it last week because they all wanted SodaStream units.
I totally didn't even read who the OP was when I commented, my bad, but my list still stands in general.

s'Hertogenbosch or Utrecht

Barcelona - More "modern" but more than enough to "see" and substantial ease in doing so. I suspect that Barcelona might be a one time choice, "once around the track" enough, but I can think of no more appealing city for a first and serious visit.

Oxford and environs - One of the best "one week' vacations we've ever spent was in Oxford, with several days of car rental to visit some nearby sites/attractions.

Bruges - a week may be more than needed, but allows for a couple of days in a nearby city such as Brussels or other short side trips.

Lisbon - an easy choice

Istanbul - on the edge, but European enough to qualify. It's been a long time, but it tops my list to revisit soon, even with some social and political discord.

In any case, get yourself out of the big "branded" hotels. We used to stay on "points" often, and I recall the awful realization one morning at Vienna's Marriott at the Spanish Riding School that, even with Vienna's great charm and character and the staff's accents, I might have been in Kansas City. Unlike the US, Europe has hundreds (no, thousands) of appealing small essentially "owner-operated" hotels, many modest in features and facilities (and a week with a tiny bathroom will not spoil your life), but which for a variety of reasons provide greater access to local culture, venues and activities. Reviews for "non-resort" hotels of this sort are easy to "filter", and even the negative reviews may subtly reveal good reasons to select one.

Edinburgh or Dublin.

Mmmm. Tenements. Yaaaay. ;)

One of these for a whole week? Yikes that would get boring.

From Edinburgh, I would suggest taking a side trip by train to York. It's charming but much too small for a week.

Of course! Have you never seen Eurovision or the Europa Cup?

Liverpool and Manchester is as 19th century as it gets - They both rose to world prominence at that time. Both surprisingly interesting, lots to see, good value, and easy to reach.

Barcelona is one of my favorites.

I'd say that Barcelona would indeed be a grand choice for you -one of my favourite places in Europe to visit. :)

It's also in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Fifa.

Since you mentioned Eurovision, how soon until Azerbaijan makes it into the EU? Heh...

A quick review of the cities mentioned:

Lisbon: At age 68, hills are a problem. That's why I now avoid Rome.
Porto: I know nothing about it.
Barcelona: Good possibility.
Istanbul: I've been there twice, but since Erdogan outlawed gambling it has lost much of its attraction for me.
Amsterdam: Another good possibility.
Tel Aviv: Besides the fact that I go there several times each year, I actually find it a boring city -- but I would love it if I were in my 20's or 30's.
Dubrovnik: Good possibility.
Talinn: I have never even heard of it.
Krakow: I will probably be going in early May, and Poland might still be freezing.
Belgrade: Good possibility.
Brussels: I have been there and found it just "so so".
Antwerp: I know very little about it.
Ghent: See above.
Sofia: For some reason, I like the idea but I am not sure of why.
St Petersburg: See remarks about Poland.
Valencia: Possible.
Toulouse: It is borderline -- I have never been there but have spent a lot of time in France.
Nice/Cannes: Been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen: Not before the summer.
Salzberg: Possible.
Vienna: Possible
Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Oxford, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Manchester -- I think I will pass on the UK. Its not very European.
Bucharest: Possible.
s'Hertogenbosch: Possible.
Utrecht: Possible.
Dublin: See comments on the UK.

As Vienna is a possible let me give a mix. Spend a few days there and then venture over to Bratislava which is one hour away and spend a few days there.

Antwerp/Bruges/Ghent would also make for a nice week.

I like Barcelona but damn last time we were there in late September it was over run by tourists. Painfully over run. We found Sevilla to be much reasonable. And would combine with Cordoba/Granada. Madrid is also reasonable.

"Sofia" is likely the name of an old girlfriend.;)

IME Granada is the place that's overrun by tourists.

Madrid isn't nearly as interesting as Barcelona.

I would second Toulouse, even though the architecture is a couple centuries earlier than you were focusing on

Belfast could be good. It's got a very interesting central core, a lot of beautiful architecture (the city hall is a gem), good pubs and restaurants, and accommodation is weirdly cheap - I've stayed in guesthouses for around 30-35 pounds/nt with breakfast.

Shopping may be the weak point of the ones you mention - although there's a rather nice shopping mall downtown, and the area of Botanic Street near Queen's University has a lot of interesting bookstores, cafes, and boutique shops to check out.

If you get bored with Belfast, you could split up the week and also go to Dublin, which is only a couple of hours away by bus or train - although it's far more expensive. However, it does have an amazing collection of Georgian buildings - so that would certainly meet your architecture criterion.

IMHO Bucharest is a dump. Sofia is nice - I sure you'd enjoy your time there. I was stunned by the modern metro in Sofia and the food is great. Not too many people go there so it is not overrun with tourists like Prague or Budapest.

I've never been bothered by tourists in Andalusia. Locals in places like Seville, Granada, Malaga, Cordoba co-exist fairly happily with tourists and don't abandon their favourite bars etc just because they become popular with visitors.

My favourite thing about Granada is that it's the only remaining big city in Spain where all bars serve substantial good quality free tapas with every drink. I'm not quite as slim as Gwyneth Paltrow.

Wouldn't recommend Bucharest - pretty grim

Why not try Liverpool and Manchester -near enough to do both. Nineteenth century architecture everywhere: lots of regenerated commercial buildings (Liverpool's Albert Dock), civic architecture (Manchester Central Library comes to mind) plus museums universities etc and there's also some interesting recent stuff as well (eg Danile Liebeskind's Imperial War Museum in Manchester docks). Good aieline links as well.

While I love Dubrovnik, it is pretty small. Could it be too small for one week? I spent 2.5 weeks there on business and was pretty bored by the end of my trip.

I always wanted to go to Split but never made it. Has anyone been there? It seems to be a lot like Dubrovnik but a bit larger.

My wife and I spent a week in Malaga. Lovely old town. Lots of old architecture and you can easily tour lots of nearby locations (Granada/Alhambra for example). Nice climate, very friendly people, good food and the hotels didn't seem to be too expensive.

Yeah all the foreign holidaymakers are down the costa at Torremolinos and Fuengirola etc, they come into Malaga airport but turn right.

Malaga's pretty good as a base, there's the Picasso museum and fast trains to Seville and Cordoba, not so fast train to Granada, good buses to Marbella & Mijas etc, El Torcal national park up in the hills, some nice local city beaches if that's your thing.

Any place on the Mediterranean coast with nice weather, beaches, prices, etc has its share of tourists.

In North America it is the same with travel to the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

+1 First time I was there was in 1983. I was hard pressed to spend more than a dollar for a taxi. A lot pricer now that they went on the Euro, but still a great city. Ditto for Porto, an easy train ride away.