The Szechenyi thermal baths complex in Budapest.
Whether it’s art and food in Madrid, weirdness in Germany or baths and beauty in Budapest, there’s a European city break for every taste.
Madrid
Go for: Food and drink
Why: Various Spanish regions have their specialities – Galicia in the north-west for seafood, Valencia for paella, the Basque country for tapas that border on art – but Madrid pulls all of them together in one place.
The Adventurous Appetites evening tapas tour is an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to delve into the various dining options. Once the initial education is complete, Calle de la Cava Baja is the best street for tapas crawling. It’s lined with dozens of bars, all of which serve their own specialities.
The sheer wealth of options and night-owl tendencies of the locals makes Madrid the perfect city for those who value atmosphere and cultural immersion over a tickbox list of sights and attractions. But Madrid also has plenty to do beyond gluttony.
In the Museo Del Prado, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid has three of the world’s great art museums within a mile of each other. The latter is home to Picasso’s defining masterpiece, Guernica, but a day can be set aside for the Prado alone.
For visitors who prefer artistry with a ball at the feet, Real Madrid is the most successful soccer team in history. Pilgrimages to Real’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium can be topped off with a self-guided tour that goes pitch-side and into the changing rooms.
Berlin
Go for: Edge and nightlife
Why: It may be the German capital, but Berlin doesn’t feel like a normal German city. So many artists, creatives and web entrepreneurs have moved there from all over the world that English is often the default first language. Alternative Berlin Tours (+49 16 2819 8264) does a brilliant job in showing off the city’s edgy side – offering street art tours and have-a-go workshops, plus nighttime crawls that take in computer hackers’ dens and abandoned tower blocks.
Berlin’s epicentre of cool is ever-shifting – the Kreuzkolln neighborhood is the current hip hub – but the many of the former hotspots (particularly in Mitte and Prenzlauerberg) still have a wonderful live-and-let-live character.
Berlin’s modern history is also fascinating. Numerous walking tours take enlightening routes around key Nazi and Cold War era sites, although parts of the Berlin Wall are still up. The stretch along Bernauerstrasse has been turned into an open air museum, while the Berliner Unterwelten tours from Gesundbrunnen station head through nuclear bunkers that were part of the same defence system.
Also in Berlin’s favour are surprising affordability – hotels are remarkably inexpensive – and a series of uniquely weird attractions. The Sunday afternoon Bearpit Karaoke in the Mauerpark, where around a thousand beer-swillers gather in an amphitheatre to cheer on gamely heroic karaoke desecrations, is a classic example. As are the techno-dancing metal sculptures of the Monsterkabinett.
Prague
Go for: Architecture and art
Why: If ever there was a city that served as architecture 101, Prague is it. The spindly Gothic adornments of St Vitus’ Cathedral soar alongside the Romanesque Basilica of St George inside the world’s largest castle complex, while neoclassical theatres, baroque churches and painted renaissance houses are found throughout the old and new towns. There are some modern day stars too – such as Frank Gehry’s fabulously whimsical Dancing Building opposite the Jirasek Bridge.
Art nouveau has the best representation, however – the masterpiece being the attention-monopolising Municipal House on Republic Square.
Public art is also a big draw card, largely thanks to former enfant terrible artist David Cerny. His irreverent works include two statues with rotating hips, relieving themselves into the Czech Republic-shaped pool outside the Kafka Museum, plus freaky alien babies climbing up the Zizkov TV tower.
Prague is also well known for its beer – and a new breed of microbrewers is challenging the pilsner monotony. Pivovarsky Dum and U Medvidku sell their own concoctions on the premises, while the cunningly-named Prague Beer Museum is the best bar for beers sourced from around the country.
Also highly recommended are the history-packed former Jewish quarter and the atmospheric cobbled streets of the Malastrana District, which is home to more than its fair share of odd museums. Alchemy, miniature art and the KGB, anyone?
Rome
Go for: History and culture
Why: Rome repeatedly leaves visitors awestruck like no other city on earth. The weight of history can be found around every corner; the symmetrical perfection of the Pantheon, the towering ruins of the Colosseum, the millennia of stories ready to spring to life in the Roman Forum.
The number one tip for exploring the ancient Roman sites is to get a good guide who can properly bring them to life. Context Travel runs over 50 walks, all led by PHD or MA-level educated scholars.
Then there’s the Vatican, home of both the Catholic Church and one of the most extraordinary art collections on earth. Again, advanced booked small group tours are recommended for beating both the ticket queues and the hordes fighting to see Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel.
Archaeology and Roman history fixes can be gorged upon in the Capitoline Museums – the oldest museums in the world – while the Catacombs on the outskirts of the ancient city offer a more macabre take on things.
It would be a mistake to think of Rome as some sort of heritage mausoleum, however. Eating Italy Food Tours shows off the best of the city’s ever-changing culinary hotspots, while the Monti district is a hive of immediately engaging bohemian bars.
Shopping is the new gladiatorial combat too – the big designer brands congregate around Piazza di Spagna.
Budapest
Go for: All-round charm
Why: It’s tough to think of what Budapest doesn’t have going for it. There’s the beautiful architecture – it doesn’t get much better than standing by the mosaic-tiled roof of the Matthias Church on Castle Hill, staring down over the Danube at the huge Gothic parliament building. It’s also wonderfully budget-friendly – bar bills are about as low as they get in Europe, while a whole host of boutique, design-conscious hotels come in under the magic $150 marker.
Margaret Island – a long sliver in the Danube – is classic lazy sunny afternoon territory for those who want to hire a bike and pedal between cafés, while the 7th district is home to a proliferation of “ruin pubs” – abandoned courtyards turned into giant, grungy outdoor bars. Kazinczy utca is the best street for finding them.
Surprisingly good Hungarian wines – hunt down the Bikaver and Tokaji – and a host of thermal bath complexes (the Szechenyi Baths in the City Park are best for people-watching) up the indulgence quotient.
But Budapest is best at distinctively bizarre. Memento Park gathers together an enormous collection of Communist statues and the Hospital in the Rock takes visitors on a tour through a wartime cave hospital turned nuclear bunker. And the newest craze? Room escape games – where small groups are locked in a basement and have to solve a series of clues within an hour in order to escape. Parapark is the top option for these.
What else?
Up-and-coming: Belgrade
Cool design hotels and high quality, great value restaurants have recently mushroomed in Eastern Europe’s under-the-radar star. The party boats on the Sava and Danube rivers give the Serbian capital serious nightlife credentials too.
Music: Vienna
The home of Strauss, Haydn and Mozart is predictably brimming with classical music performances, while the Vienna Boys Choir and dancing stallions of the Spanish Riding School fit the same stately vibe.
Unexpected beauty: Kiev
The Ukrainian capital is surprisingly gorgeous – full of handsome churches with golden domes and rock-carved monasteries to offset the giant communist-era monuments staring across the river.
Islands and beaches: Dubrovnik
The stunningly preserved Old Town and city walls are this Croatian city’s calling cards, but easy ferry access to a host of idyllic islands makes it the perfect sunseeker’s choice.
Family-friendly: Lisbon
Easy access to beaches, lots of funicular railways, a castle with great views and the enormous Oceanário aquarium in the Parque das Nações makes Lisbon a good bet with kids.
This story was originally written for ASTAnetwork.
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