Favorite all time European destination

The Lauterbrunnen Valley and all the adventures around that area.

Let me preface this by saying that in all my visits and stays in Europe, I can name the places I didn't enjoy on the fingers of one hand. But the place I return to most often (and will continue to do so) is London. Do I also explore and really enjoy other cities, countries, and even continents? Of course. But London has a special place in my heart.

Lisbon
Copenhagen
Berlin

Not counting London, because I live in the UK and used to live there and still go often, so it doesn’t count as a destination.

It is less a destination only, more a special moment.

Fjords, fjells and waterfalls of Norway at golden hours
Sunrise behind Berlin's Brandenburg Gate in spring
A clear sky midnight sun night on Varanger

And I agree that there are many more.

Rome for sure--not to the exclusion of all other places of course (Venice is its own category of specialness), but I have visited Rome the most of any place in Europe (5 times), and there is always something new i.e. OLD to discover there.

Like Michael, my husband’s favorite was the Lauterbrunnen area of Switzerland.

I am hopeless narrowing it down. Here’s one per a few countries & Italy is down to some main sections.

England - York or in the middle of any English rose garden in the countryside
France - the Loire Valley
Germany - Bacharach
Switzerland - Wengen
Austria - Salzburg

Italy:
Lombardia - Stresa; it’s my favorite place to get over jet lag. 4th time coming up in 2025.
Emilia-Romagna - Parma
Veneto - Venice
Tuscany - Montepulciano & Arezzo
Umbria - Spello
Campania - Ravello & Caserta
Puglia - Polignano a Mare & Alberobello (both early in the morning & in the evening)

Gimmelwald and Obersteinberg
Special mentions.
Hornlihutte on the Matterhorn.
Blumlisalphutte and Oeschinnensee
Sonogno/ Valle Verzasca
Torridon area of Scottish Highlands.
Isle of Raasay.
Villefranche de Conflent
Loches.
Rural villages of Tipperary.
Barr and the nearby Vosges forest.
Gornergrat above Zermatt.

Historically and frequent visits: London, Paris, Florence
Sentimental: Odda, Hardanger fjord, Norway; my dad’s home town
Recent: Turin/Torino, Italy

San Sebastian

Wowwwww!! These are all amazing. Looking through photos of them all are magnificent! Thank you for sharing. So wonderful

Luzern is still my favorite, largely because we went shortly after our daughter was born. A drop-dead gorgeous place.

I find that different places stick with me for different reasons. Two have had a profound impact on my life.

KYIV, Ukraine:
Top on my list must be Kyiv because of the way the people moved me with their bravery and sacrifice; this before the current war. And to be honest, they are among the most welcoming of people that I have met. The city is downright beautiful as well.

In 2016 my wife was in Honduras visiting her family and I was at home in Texas, bored so I began watching documentaries on NetFlix. I came across “Winter on Fire” the documentary that covered the Ukrainian democracy freedom movement at Maidan in the winter of 2013/2014. The most inspirational thing I have ever seen. When my wife got home a few days later, I told her not to unpack because we had tickets to Kyiv the next day. Without planning of knowledge we arrived in time for the 25th anniversary of their independence. Again, among the most moving and inspirational events I have ever been present for. I returned to Kyiv a half dozen times over the years. While visiting is difficult now, they have been the sole beneficiary of my tithes the last 1000 days or so (United24).

BUDAPEST, Hungary:
Budapest was the place where I entered with no expectations then once my eyes had become accustomed to the absolute beauty of the city; I discovered that I was relaxed and comfortable and at home as in no other place outside of my home in Texas.

My wife and I visited Vienna in 2001. After 3 nights in Vienna we were ready to leave. It’s a great city, but it didn’t speak to us. We took a train to Budapest. Knew nothing about it but the hotel name. We arrived and got a taxi to drive us around town. We ended up at the top of Gellert Hill after sunset and looking down on the lights of the city I knew we didn’t have enough time, and I knew we would return. We did return, a lot. I live here now and somehow on that first visit I think I knew this day would come.

So many great places, but I think my favorite place by a very small margin was Florence, Italy. I love art, architecture, and history, which is probably why I enjoyed it so much. We rented an apartment near the market and spent 2 weeks there.

A very close second place would be Barcelona. Again, 2 weeks, and although we saw all the usual sights, my favorite thing there was just wandering around, sitting on a bench with my wife, watching the world go by. Barcelona has some of the widest sidewalks I've ever seen, so you can walk very slowly and not get in anyone's way.

It's funny, now that I'm thinking about it, I've seen so many great things in Europe, but my best memories are just wandering around.

Rome, Italy

Sorry, more than one. :-) And ranked randomly here. @Eatsrootsandleaves, I was glad to see another vote for Raasay! When were you there?

Isle of Raasay (Scotland)
North Yorkshire Moors (England)
London (England)
Istanbul (Turkey)
Fethiye (Turkey)
Leiden (Netherlands)
Germany (Gengenbach)
Dürnstein (Austria)

Iceland, which is why we keep returning:)

If I had to rank my favourite trip, it would be SE England where we toured from Salisbury to Canterbury. Within that trip, Canterbury was the highlight.

2nd on my list is a tie between Sorrento/Pompeii, and the Dordogne Region in France.

I think these three are favourites because we spent extra time in each and didn't make them whirlwind tours where we poked our noses in the door and then left.

Paris is always a good idea. We will be spending a month there next fall to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary. It will be my 8th visit to this beautiful city. As for favorite country, it’s France for me. I have traveled all over and have yet to go anywhere that I didn’t enjoy. We take long trips and often combine new places/countries with some favorites. This year for new we went to Budapest and Poland, and enjoyed them both. I’m working on our 10 week trip next fall and we will be in Switzerland for the first time that doesn’t include day trips. I’m really looking forward to it because our plans there in 2020 and this year had to be cancelled. We will also finally get to Portugal, which has long been on my wish list. We will finish out our trip in London, our 4th time there. There’s always something new to see or do there. There’s so much to see and there’s never enough time to do everything I want.

This is very difficult because there are so many wonderful places in Europe, plus they are all so different, it’s hard to compare them. That said, Immy very favorite is the Orkney and Shetland islands of Scotland. Just magical!

I'm with Andrea! Paris is always a good idea. Very weird that this place has me in thrall. I am SO not a city gal. Normally it's give me a mountain or a lake or a hiking trail or some birds and I am happy but Paris has me!

Runners up:

Orkney and Shetland (agree with Carroll on this!!)
London
Salisbury
Neolithic stones anywhere, lol....in October I was with a guide who took me and another tour member to the stones near St Just in Brittany (no other tour members wanted to go because it was pouring rain, lol). We were the only ones there...besides 2 moms with strollers, kids and a dog we passed on the road and a farmer walking his field we were alone in this mile and a half long line of stones/cists/passage tombs. Fabulous!

Mardee we visited Raasay in August 2016.

The best trip was to Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. Can't pick any one favorite country. There are some cities I did not prefer and would not return.

All of my favorites are more about the experiences than just the place, sorry!

• Taking a walk from a castle in Bavaria with fireflies as the only light on the road.
• 3-nights rough camping hiking in Dolomites, ending on a ridge line that had views into Switzerland & Italy.
• Rome, again and again, ridiculously wonderful food, encounters with locals, vistas from top of Spanish Steps & Capitoline museum sunsets.
• Ravello, sitting on postage sized balcony in Villa Cimbrone sipping an espresso.
• Uppsala Castle looking out over cathedral & biking to Botanic Gardens for lunch.
• Hiking with a Swiss girlfriend out of Ardez, Switzerland, one of the most beautiful villages imaginable, with window boxes filled with flowers & a natural spring that ended in a horse trough.
• Wandering the back streets of Cordoba, Spain.
• Ending a wet hike in the Cotswolds at a pub that had 5 patrons and 7 dogs. (I counted, and got a furry belly to rub with my pint.)
• Bavarian alps, Austrian alps, Swiss alps, Italian alps in autumn, winter & summer. One fav memory is of the amazing hot chocolate served at the foot of a chair lift.
• Salzburg, the cafes on a rainy day.

Cordoba, Spain. A lovely town to stroll through especially at night, great food, and of course the Mezquita.

Mürren, Switzerland.

Favorite non-Parisian destination?

Simple: Ghent.

They love beer; -I- love beer. It's the perfect match!

Wait -- then there's Lyon.

They love food; -I- love food. It's a perfect match!

Hold on -- then there's the Normandy region.

They love cider and cheese; -I- love cider and cheese. It's a perfect match!

I forgot about Bruges.

They love chocolate; -I- love chocolate. It's the perfect match!

So your final answer is: the Lyghenruges Region.

-- Mike Beebe

These are several of my favorite European destinations -

Sorrento, Italy
Villefranche sur Mer, France
Salzburg, Austria
Oia, Santorini, Greece
London
Paris
Copenhagen
Venice, Italy
Strasbourg, France

This is a great post! I am enjoying checking back to see everyone’s favorites!

I haven't visited nearly enough places, but so far, the one place I would love to go back to, and stay for a long time, is Florence.

I am really a fan of villages and can be really happy there. It can be anywhere in Europe and one of my favorites in the UK is still Beaulieu in the New Forrest south of Southampton and more east Arundel with it’s imposing castle.

In France many in Normandy like Lyons-la-Fôret east of Rouen, further west of it Vieux-Port along the Seine, Beuvron-en-Auge and Le Bec-Hellouin. I visited the latter at the end of one of the COVID lockdowns when most were hesitating to make trips. In Le Bec as the locals name it were just a handful visitors and during the golden hour in the evening it had an amazing atmosphere, so peaceful!

In the Netherlands surprisingly close to Amsterdam and north of it, Holysloot and Broek in Waterland. Or Orvelte in the province of Drenthe is certainly one of my favorite Dutch villages.

Salzburg, Austria is my favorite city ever! It's so beautiful and with gorgeous mountains. As a second, I'd say Ljubljana, Slovenia, because it reminds me of Salzburg!

Yikes....so many.... we've enjoyed the cities we've visited in Europe but lean towards mostly smaller areas. Favorites:
North Wales (Conwy area)
Kilmartin Glen in Scotland...also Staffa (puffins!)
Bayeux France
Florence
Albuferia, Portugal

I love reading through everyone's responses! Great question! For me, I generally prefer the smaller towns but it is really hard to pick just one. I'd say (in no specific order):
Île de Ré/La Rochelle
Basque Country
Bolzano (I know, big town but I still love it) and the Dolomites

If you have not yet been to any of these places, I highly recommend checking them out. All stunning with amazing food and lots to do outdoors.

My top 2 favorite cities are now tied, 6 visits each: London and Budapest. Runner-up is Tallinn.

I am a travel tramp. (Well, that's the polite version of what I actually call myself.) I'm always in love with the last place I visited. Until I go to the next one.

A few places have been marvelous flings: Gdansk, Arundel, Vilnius, Tallinn, Dresden. Oh, they were delightful! For a few nights....

For a more lasting appreciation, right now, it's Sevilla. Before that, it was Istanbul. And the week before that, Stockholm.

Those 3 might be lasting. But then, I've thought that before.

Florence-because I love Renaissance art and because it's such a great place to walk

My list of countries visited in Europe in 50 plus years is rather modest, only 10.

The absolute top 2 big cities in Europe that hit me ie, you feel it, etc, etc are Paris and Berlin.

Every trip has included one or both cities, even as a pilgrimage. It's Paris after all. Or, it's that Berliner Mileur. These 2 places simply put.... I never tire of going to them, being in them , walking around, exploring them with a track-down specific agenda or none at all in the summer, simply captivating, intriguing.

The artist/art historian portion of me (the other is IT) makes Paris special. Also, it's the one place to which my husband will always return with me. We felt very comfortable in our long stay in Amsterdam. We were surprised by how much we enjoyed our time in Padua and it was an environment that made us imagine living there.

I can't pick one. There is something a little bit wrong with everywhere :)

London. A few lengths back, Paris in second place. Berlin is a distant third.