A few friends and I will all celebrate our 40th birthdays in July 2006, and we have decided to book a 3-day trip abroad to celebrate :beerdive: The problem is that we can’t agree where to go. We don’t want to spend too much time travelling, so we have agreed to remain in Europe. Apart from that, there are no restrictions.

So which European cities would Covers recommend? Have you visited somewhere on your travels that surprised you? Somewhere that you can’t wait to return to? Should we come to YOUR city? Is there something happening there in July that we have to see?

And finally, are there any cities you would definitely NOT recommend?

I’d love to hear views from anywhere in the world.

Thanks in advance - and have a great weekend wherever you are.

I hope you have a great holiday. I can't think of too many places I would rather go than South Wales. Anywhere along the coast from Newport west would suit me just fine. That is some of the most beautiful country in the world. The whole area is full of history, castles and scenic beauty.

I guess "home" is never as attractive to those who are already there. I saw a movie one time where a young Greek girl was standing on her balcony overlooking the sea and longed to see the beautiful cities of Europe. I couldn't help thinking I would be happy to stay on that balcony for the rest of my life.

Dave

Baldrick !
I suppose that you are going to get a lot of fascinating proposals. Here is my one. I can help, if needed.
http://www.budapestinfo.hu/en
Regards
György

http://www.salzburgfestival.at/ka_suchen.php?lang=2

If you are a music lover, the Salzburg Music Festival will be in full swing beginning on July 23rd. Another favorite area of mine is Mattsee, Austria (just up the road a bit). Considered to be the "Venice of Austria". http://www.salzburger-seenland.at/en-mattsee.shtml

and several pints of dunkel weiss on one's birthday is not a bad thing either!!!

I am in England on an audit right now and will be ariving in Amsterdam tonight for my fourth visit. Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful and eclectic cities I have ever experienced. Don't let its reputation as a drug and prostitution haven fool you. I have never been bored, never felt unsafe, and always enjoyed myself there. There are more museums per capita here than any city in the world. Rent a bike for the day or week and see the city from a pedestrian's perspective. Take a canal tour. I spend a full day at the Rijksmuseum and Vondelpark every visit. Heinekin tastes better than anyplace else since it's brewed locally (take a tour) and the "coffee" makes for an interesting outlook on things if you choose to try it!:agree1:

I loved Berlin and all that it had to offer...arts, culture, fun...

But why limit yourself to a city? Take a country....Malta!

Valencia, spain. The beaches, fireworks at night (and sometimes during the day), the beaches, great weather (if you like it hot), the beaches, paella, the beaches. Lots of other stuff too. Did I mention the beaches?:cool:

Hey Baldrick
You could do a lot worse then Prague.
It has the culture and history thing if thats what you want.:paint:
It has the music thing (classical and any others you can think of!):nopity:
It has plenty of the beer thing, which being a valley boy myself, has to be around the top of your list!:D :drunk:

Good luck

No, I don't mean the swear word from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.......:lol:

Actually, Brussels (Bruxelles) is a great place. Cosmopolitan, friendly, take all currencies, great beer :beerdive: , great food, folks speak English, make heavenly chocolates and the building architecture is charming too. Just mind out for the dog poop on the streets (well, maybe not, it's been a while since I was there........:lol: )

Andy

If you come near Piacenza, call or write to me. I will be happy to guide you to visit the city and some good restaurants. :bigwave: http://www.comune.piacenza.it/english/index.htm

Heidelberg, without a doubt..........:biglaugh:

Portugal is the place!
Here you have the best seaside in Europe (we are talking of ocean beaches with white sand, not boring Mediterranean), the greatest place to eat and also still not very expensive.
Other important thing – the people is very friendly with tourists and we also have the lowest tax of crime in Europe.

If you need any help, just ask me!:cool:

Lydney, Glos..................???:lol:

Andy

(Well, it is close...........):lmao:

I would recommend Barcelona. It has every thing:culture, architecture, nice weather, night life, close by beaches,...
My favorite city in southern europe.

Have fun planning.

Reigelser,

Have you ever came to Lisbon?
The best city in southern Europe is Lisbon!:cool:
And considering night life..., Barcelona is already sleeping when we go out to have fun...:lol:
I’ve been lots of time to Barcelona, I’ll go there next Wednesday to see my football team play against Barcelona, but Lisbon is much better is almost everything when compared to Barcelona.
In Barcelona, it’s difficult to find someone that speaks anything more than Catalan or Spanish. Here everybody speaks English.

(Ok, trying to think back to my Navy days of '85-91....)

*Places I've been that I liked:
Willamshaven Germany
Palma Spain
Rhodes Island Greece
Antalya Turkey (a surprise)
Haifa Israel
Naples Italy

*Places I've been that I DIDN'T like:
Toulon France
Marseille France
Monaco (sort of France?)
Cairo & Alexandria Egypt (but glad I went once)
Tobaggo & Trinidad

Forgive my spelling on some of these... It's been awhile.

Where would I go back with my wife given the chance? Probably Germany, maybe Rhodes Island. Had a good time in both, Germany if forced to pick one. Took a train into Hamburg.... some fun there!

Jerry:yes:

Surprised nobody mentioned Paris as I read through this thread, it has almost everything except the sea/beach. Of course people do not speak English. In the summer 1997, My wife and I toured west Europe with Euro-pass (a train ticket valid for one month). Among a dozen of European cities we visited, Paris impressed us most. next came Amsterdam, Copenhagan.

We have very much regretted that my wife and I just spent 3 days in Paris. I hope we will make it up in near future. (My 8 year-old daughter is taking French immersion). :cool:

I'm assuming you've ruled out Milton Keynes and Llandudno.
My decision would be influenced by the flights available. I don't know what's available from the Principality but from the London airports, it's easy to get a cheap flight to Estonia which has the best looking women in Europe and reasonably priced beer (neither of which may be of interest at your advanced age!).
Venice would be my choice although I wouldn't rule out the Cote d'Azur around Nice.
Whatever you choose, have a great time.

Surprised nobody mentioned Paris as I read through this thread, it has almost everything except the sea/beach.
:cool:
I doubt if it has to do with a lack of a beach. :nope:

I doubt if it has to do with a lack of a beach. :nope:

Ah, nope... (See previous post of two French destinations that I did not like either)

Jerry:nope:

Ah, nope... (See previous post of two French destinations that I did not like either)

Jerry:nope:
See it live right now on Fox News. Don't bother with CNN, they won't show it. The thugs are out rioting again. Also see this link.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,190458,00.html

Certainly there are other reasons though. You think? ;)

Ok, point made. There are parts of France that I would not mind seeing, especially for the historical value. Many of the other cities mentioned here sound interesting, although I never would have thought of some of them.

How about some more neat places?

So which European cities would Covers recommend? I just got home from Rome a couple of hours ago, and I will gladly recommend it.

The city is an open history book: All you need to do is to look around, and there will be ancient history staring you in the face. I loved it, even though I had but a few hours there (en route home from a supplier visit).

/Claes

I have never been to Paris so I can't recommend it but that is one place I would love to visit before I leave this world.

Dave

I just got home from Rome a couple of hours ago, and I will gladly recommend it.

The city is an open history book: All you need to do is to look around, and there will be ancient history staring you in the face. I loved it, even though I had but a few hours there (en route home from a supplier visit).

/Claes
"(en route home from a supplier visit)".
Tough job Claes, but someone has to do it:lol:

I have never been to Paris so I can't recommend it but that is one place I would love to visit before I leave this worldBut I could and would, having been there many times. It's a great place, and I know parts of it quite well.

Surprised nobody mentioned Paris as I read through this thread, it has almost everything except the sea/beach.It does, actually: In the summertime they shut a couple of streets along the Seine down, bring a lot of sand in and create a temporary beach. Quite creative, wouldn't you say?

See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/in_pictures/3082565.stm for pictures.

/Claes

"(en route home from a supplier visit)".
Tough job Claes, but someone has to do it:lol:Exactly. It is a chore, isn't it? We got there around 7:30 pm, tossed our bags into our hotel rooms and went for a walkabout until midnight. Then we left the hotel at 7am the next morning. Speedy Gonzales has nothing on me...:rolleyes:

/Claes

When we went to Nijmegen a few years back we took the opportunity to drop by Amsterdam. There's a lot of places you can go and enjoy with your buddy. It was a great experience for us :rar: and it was also the first time I ever tasted vodka(smirnoff black ice):beerdive: . I liked it so much that after drinking 5 bottles I brought 3 more bottles home. I don't remember though where it went by the time I woke up the next morning:ko:

I would really like to visit Rome sometime.

July will be a busy time in Europe. France and Italy will be buzzing with people.

World cup sohuld be over in Germany by then so, it may offer some good deals on accomodation.

Don't know what your lifestyle in like so It's hard to judge what you want.

- Prague, Southern Germany, Amsterdam would be my recommendations for partying. UK is my favorite as it whether will be best then.
- Greece and Spain would be recommended for beach hols.
- Scandanavia is beautiful if you want an outdoors hol.

www.easyjet.co.uk is a low cost airline that makes exploring Europe easy from UK. Beware of luggage allowance though.

Talking about the seaside?
Not because I’m Portuguese but I can assure that the best beaches in Europe are in my country.
Here we have Atlantic beaches, not the boring and dead Mediterranean water.
The weather in Portugal in summer is not as hot as it is in Spain and specially in Greece. The humidity is much lower here than in other European country, witch makes it much more pleasant to be here in summer time.
For example in front of where I live, I have 35 km of beach of completely white sand. The distance from the capital Lisbon - 10 km by car!

If you’re looking for the best weather and the best beaches, you won’t find better anywhere in Europe. I’ve been there, I can assure!:bigwave:

I prepared a list of all the destinations you kindly put forward, and passed it to all ten people who are now going on the trip. Everyone was asked to choose their 1st, 2nd and 3rd preferences, and so far (with 2 votes to come) every suggestion you made has received at least one vote. :applause:

We're trying to find available flights at the moment, which may prove to be a deciding factor. But with two votes to come, the leader so far is BARCELONA, closely followed Rome and Lisbon.

Thanks again for all your help.:bigwave:

thumbs up for Barcelona. It IS really nice!

Hello,

Amsterdam! But not for the reasons most people think of....:nope:

See:http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/ :agree1:

Have fun! :bigwave:

Stijloor.

Visit a European city and which one?

Never gave it serious consideration:nope:

I kinda figure there had to be some good reason for everyone to come over here, so why leave?;)

Of course my wife doesn't feel that way so we'll eventually be Tuscany bound with a side trip to the UK and Ireland (the family has a castle there)

Hello,

Amsterdam! But not for the reasons most people think of....:nope:

See:http://www.visitamsterdam.nl/ :agree1:

Have fun! :bigwave:

Stijloor.

I guess you know you're getting old when the mention of Amsterdam conjures up thoughts of windmills and wooden shoes. :D

There are so many amazing European cities that you could travel, too!!! way too many for me to list. It depends on your interests. ex: history=Rome, art=Paris...etc

and yes Amsterdam is a nice city to visit, too

It's kinda late to be posting to this thread............Baldrick wanted to go in July last year.............

BTW - Baldrick, where did you go?