European city recommendation

go to Paris if you have not otherwise Rome, But I really like what Belgium has to offer

Rome or Berlin meet your criteria.

For walking and exploring given your preferences, I would suggest Berlin.

Consider Ljubljana, Slovenia. It's smaller than the other cities you mention - but 2.5 days in any of the larger cities, when you are flying and right back out - doesn't seem like a whole lot of time. You could digest charming Ljubljana in that short of time, though. It has huge pedestrian-only areas. I wouldn't there are any world-class museums, however, but you could certainly visit a few. It's also far less touristy than most of the other places you mention.

Otherwise - I adored both Prague and Bruges, but both are often mobbed with tourists these days, if that matters to you.

You don't mention the time of year. Great walking cities for 2 -2.5 days from one New Yorker to another -- Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna

With only 2 days, you would barely scratch the surface of Paris and I would be frustrated in what I couldn’t cover in your timeframe. I spent 5 full days in Berlin and I would have liked another day at least.

I am in the “Brussels is the dullest city in Europe” camp!

Prague would be good in your timescale as would Rome, but bear in mind that travelling to these places from central London will take c 6 hours door to door.

Edinburgh would also be good in your timeframe. I would also suggest Lisbon and, closer to London, York.

Thanks for all the great suggestions! To clarify, I’d be going in the summer and I’ve already been to Paris and Amsterdam before.

It seems Rome, Berlin & Prague are the cities that keep coming up in your suggestions.

Also to clarify, I have no issues with a city saturated with other tourists. :)

My main things are: must be a busy, walkable, energetic, foodie city with comparable vibes/ambiance to NYC, London, Barcelona, Boston, Paris, etc.

Thank you!

Good job detailing what you like. It helps a ton when we have an idea what you are most interested in.

You only have time for a tiny taste of Paris. I really like Paris but it's better to have five days, or more, available to visit. That's also true of Rome and Berlin. If it's a first visit, I personally think it's better to skip the major cities and come back rather than visit for such a short time. You might be fine with a small taste of a major city.

I think you can see Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges OR (key word or) one of the other low country cities in your time frame. Another good option is Edinburgh (not time to also visit Glasgow in two days). Based on what you said, however, many of the low country cities may be too slow for you.

All things considered, I think you would be most happy with either Amsterdam or Edinburgh.

Edit: Since you've been to Amsterdam before, Edinburgh may be your best bet. I really liked York but part of that was having a great time with locals around a major horse race. Without that, it might also be too slow for your taste.

Rome doesn't have the ambiance of NY, London, Boston etc but it definitely ticks the foodie and history boxes more than any of the other suggestions. Berlin has a great nightlife and good history but not so great for food. Warsaw is a good option, great nightlife, history, a youthfull outlook and a fantastic emerging foodie scene plus it's incredibly good value for money.

I would pick a city that's more of a fit for only 2-2.5 days and a short flight from London. Berlin and Paris are not good candidates - way too big and too much to do over a spread out area. Even Rome is a big stretch. I think Prague would be fine in terms of size/scale. I haven't been to Edinburgh but that's another one that seems like a decent fit. Brugge is tiny (and you'd probably find it too slow). If you had more time, I would say Istanbul.

Istanbul.

Istanbul is a 4 hour flight from London. Given your time constraints, I would stick to a 2 hour maximum flight.

I'd look into Brussels. Although I spent a day there and didn't enjoy it that much, others have loved the city. It is small enough that you could see all the museums and eat all the waffles(yum), chocolate and beer you want plus it's easily reached by Eurostar from London.

Plus as home of the EU, most tourist places speak English fluently.

With only 2 to 2.5 days, logistically it would be easiest to get to Edinburgh from London by train, or to Paris, Brussels, or Amsterdam by Eurostar train from London. Brussels is a beautiful city, but I feel it is a notch below the others in many categories. Moreover, flying to other more distant cities like Rome, Prague, Berlin, or Vienna (add it to your list!) will likely add more hours of travel time (and stress) due to having to arrive at the airport early, flight delays, etc. Personally, I love train travel in Europe, so I would always opt for it vs. flying if feasible. So, considering your time limit, I would recommend either Edinburgh, Paris or Amsterdam. Foodie-wise, Paris wins hands down. You didn't say how much time you previously spent in Paris or Amsterdam, so if you feel you had thoroughly explored both cities, you could do a day trip on one of the two days (e.g., Giverny from Paris; Keukenhof Gardens, Delft, etc. from Amsterdam).

As another New Yorker who likes exciting cities, I highly recommend Berlin. If you found DC too slow (I don't - I love it), stay away from Vienna or Munich. I'm also one who found Brussels very uninspiring; unless you have specific sights to see there (like my sister in law, who wanted to see specific pieces in the Fine Arts Museum), I think you'll struggle to fill two days there. Bruges is a small place, not a big city. I liked it, but it's not what you seem to be looking for on this trip.

Closer to London, I also recommend Glasgow and Liverpool. I spent 4 nights in each and did most, but not all, of the things I wanted to in each city, so 2.5 days would be easy to fill. Glasgow, in particular, has the energy of a much larger city. Edinburgh is more like a DC to Glasgow's NY, so I while both are worthwhile, I think you'll definitely prefer Glasgow.

If you want to know details of my UK cities visit (I also saw Manchester on that trip), here's my trip report: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/uk-trip-report-glasgow-manchester-liverpool-in-september-2016