Looking for "Must See" European Destination Recommendations

I'm not a big one on "must see" classifications but I totally understand what you are asking.

I, personally, would go to Venice over Vienna but I'm sure many others would keep Vienna in the mix. I am not an architect but the building of Venice on pilings driven into the mud and lasting these hundreds of years is astonishing to me.

Hallstatt is interesting but is filled with tourists (me included, lol). When I was there on a Rick Steves tour we were told that the Chinese took precise measurements of EVERYthing in the town and rebuilt a replica in China. It is in a lovely Alpine location.

Welcome to the forum!

Leave Greece and the Islands for another trip - too many good things to see there!

I’ve not been to Florence as it’s never particularly appealed to me. Venice is not to be missed at some point. I found Matera with its cave architecture interesting. All easily reached from Rome by train.

A bit out of the area you are looking at is Sicily. It is known for Greek, Roman, Norman and other architecture. Stunning scenery, wonderful food etc. As RS does a tour to Sicily I assume he has a guide book covering it, check it out.

Vienna and Salzburg are both interesting cities and Budapest is within easy reach of Vienna by train as an add on.

Hi Ben,

”I've been determined to visit Hallstatt ever since seeing it on one of Rick's episodes a few years ago. Plus I think this may be a good place to chill out for a couple days and take in some nature …”

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66634889

I don’t want you to be disappointed, anticipating this charming laid back little village and walking into a mass crowd of tourists. You might want to consider St. Gilgen on Wolfgangsee Lake (we stayed at nearby St. Wolfgang) or the Berchtesgaden area - both close to Salzburg, instead.

I am going to throw out ideas, not knowing you, but surmising from your previous European locations:

I love Salzburg but I think you might be bored with it. If you haven’t purchased your flight, yet, fly into Amsterdam for a few days & then on to Rome. Head to Florence and then fly to Prague. You could have your countryside experience in Karlovy Vary or another Czech location. Finish in Munich. If you have extra days in between, add Budapest.

Below is the Certified and Official Ranking.

But please understand Vienna is fantastic so don’t be put off that it scores lower than for example, oh, I dunno, Venice or Cleveland. You can’t go wrong seeing it! I loved it myself.

1. Paris
2. London
3. Rome
4. Madrid
5. Venice
6. Amsterdam
7. Florence
8. Cleveland Oh
9. Budapest
10. Prague ....

14.Lisbon

….
17.Salzburg

….
22.Vienna

Happy Travels

You have a lot of travel time in your itinerary. Every time you move, you lose at least half a day. I'd take the train from Rome (4 nights) to Florence (3 nights). Train to Venice (3 nights) Then fly to Vienna (4 nights). Train to Salzburg (3 nights). Train to Munich for your last 4 nights. That should equal 21 nights. When RS tour went to Hallstatt it was just for an overnight. I'd cut that from your list but I haven't visited.

Prague is my idea of the single most "must-see" I've ever been to.

Friends have told me that Moscow also is a must-see, but I doubt I'll have the opportunity. And I'm not sure I'd take advantage if the situation were to change, assuming the same regime were in power.

I am an architect who travels solo most of the time …… so we have that much in common.

Florence, Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstatt --- good ideas.

Since you have the Rome and Munich figured out it’s a matter of filling in the gaps.

Rome, you will want nothing less than four full days. A full day is when you wake up and go to bed in the same city.

Rome to Budapest (Wizz or Ryan Air, 1:45 under $100). Budapest is fully preserved 19th pre-war city in which all the architecture still functions as it was originally intended. https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared In other words, it ain’t no museum. The city is a bit rough around the edges, but sprinkled across the city is some excellent Austro-Hungarian Empire architectural excess (the parliament for instance). Anthony Bourdain once said that the architecture in Budapest was so pleasurable that it was Architectural Porn https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX 3 full days at a minimum, 4 is better.

Budapest to Vienna (2.5 hours on the train). Smaller area of interest than Budapest but some of the most well restored and polished relics of a fallen empire as you can find anywhere. The downside is they no longer live, they are museums. Similar to Budapest, but at the same time as opposite as you can get. Nice study in contrasts. 3 full days at a minimum.

Vienna to Hallstatt. (about 3 hours on the train). I avoided Hallstatt for decades because of the sorts of comments you will read here. When I finally got dragged kicking and screaming all of the way; my g-d it was beautiful. Happy I went. Yes, it’s a tourist town. It no longer exists for any other reason. And you do tourist things like tour the salt mine. Enjoy it, love it. September isn’t high season and that will help; and that’s when I went (last year) and there were not many tourists to be honest. It was good for two nights for me.

Salzburg I visited on the same trip last year as Hallstatt. Ehhhhhh. Will never make my top ten. Spend the time in the previous cities if you have more time. Or maybe spend one night on the way to Munich so you can say you did. It is about 2:45 on the train to Salzburg or about 4 hours by train to Munich. Last year I wanted to do a bit of sightseeing on the way to Salzburg and I wasn’t crazy about the train schedules so I hired Daytrip.com to get me there. I think I would do it again. Not real cheap, but if you throw in the stops along the way, not a bad investment.

Munich. Yes.

Other biased thoughts. Prague has a tiny well preserved non-functioning old town with an amazing Disneyesque feel. Beautiful and worth the visit someday. Florence is great, nice mix of museums and wonderful renaissance but if Rome really lights your fire, then save Florene for that big Italian tour in the future. Same for Venice and the thousand points in between.

Portugal and Spain, great, wrong way this trip.

Looking for places with great architecture

From the perspective of an amateur photographer who loves architecture, there are many recommendations.
But the question is always, which architecture?

In Munich, for example, which you will visit anyway, there is a fine selection of Art Nouveau buildings. But other cities are better at modern architecture. And I would never call Munich famous for its architecture.

Rotterdam comes to mind. It's incredible how much modern architecture there is worth seeing. Copenhagen also has a lot to offer.

Many cities have individual architectural gems, such as the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Kunsthaus Graz, the Liège-Guillemins train station, or Calatrava's masterpiece in Valencia. Fore sure many more ....

Your plan is good, but you should not miss Venice. It is a rather unique city loaded with history. If you can plan a couple of days there, that would be good.

Vienna is special. Regarding Oktoberfest, you need hotel reservations ASAP, since the city fills up easily.
I lived in nearby Augsburg for four years and did the Oktoberfest three times. Loved it. Go around 11am and have a traditional roasted chicken meal and don't overdo the beer. It is stronger than American beer and comes liter sized. Recommend no more than four in one day.

All,

Thank you very much for these very thoughtful recommendations! I am now milling over two potential itineraries:

Option 1: Rome, Budapest, Vienna, Hallstatt, Munich

Option 2: Rome, Split/ Havr, Vienna, Hallstatt, Munich

Budapest is certainly intriguing, but a chill beach vibe in Croatia may be a nice place to recharge between Rome and Vienna.

I'm thinking of leaving Florence and Venice for another trip when I plan to dig deeper into Italy.

What do you think?

Thanks again!

Option 2 is also very good. Define "chill" cause Split might be a bit full. Also check connections. I think it will work, but not sure. If chill involves leaving the tourist hoards behind, look further south to the coast of Montengro. If it works with flight connections. Malta has a lot to offer as well.

Since Cleveland Ohio is out, I agree with Nick that option 1 seems more practical.

I'm sure you'll have a great time either way!

Happy travels!

If it is to be a "must see" place and one is new to European travel regarding capitals, then I say London, Paris (obviously) , Berlin, and Vienna. I went to all 4 on my first two trips, knew then and there that repeat visits would be in order.

With only 3 weeks, pick 2 out of the 4.

I am in for Option 1 too. Everything else was just an insincere and shallow attempt to hide my bias.

I’ve stayed in all of your locations in Options 1&2, including Hvar & Split. If you’re going to Croatia another year, then save Split & Hvar for that trip. But, look up details of Budapest & Vienna. If they feel too similar (in general), then don’t go to both of them. I guess it comes down to how much architecture is a priority vs. some beach/island time.

And I agree with Nick that two days are more than enough for Split. I was at Split for two nights, Hvar for one night, Korcula for two nights, and Dubrovnik for two.

SEPTEMBER EVENTS IN BUDAPEST

Every month MAV Railtours has Steam or Nostolgia or luxury trains to various destinations from Budapest. 20th. Kadarka Express, 27th Semmering Express, 27th Steam trip to the Danube Bend https://www.mavrailtours.hu/hu/travels/2025.

1 thru 7 September (last years date, 2025 date not published yet) Jazz Festival https://mupa.hu/en/events/jazztime-2024.

8 thru 17 (last years date, 2025 date not published yet) Jewish Cultural Festival This is good, very good https://www.zsidokulturalisfesztival.hu/programok-2024.

14 (last years date, 2025 date not published yet) Wine Lovers Top 100 Wine tasting event at the Corninthia Hotel (always good) https://wineloversrendezvenyek.hu.

27 – 29, OktoberFest Budapest https://www.budapestbylocals.com/oktoberfest-budapest/ (thank youCWsocial)

11 – 14 Budapest Wine Festival at the Castle (really, really good) https://aborfesztival.hu/en.

18 through 21 (last years date) Corvin Beer Festival.

places with great architecture, friendly locals and vibrant nightlife

Berlin seems to be a must have for you - minimum once in a lifetime.

With architecture I do not where to start:

• Palaces of Potsdam
• Architecture war in Cold War times - each with own styles
• Bauhaus in Berlin
• the new Berlin palace
• Red-brick Gothic
• Brutalism
• Multiple domes
• and so much more

My father was an architect and my grandfather a leading city planner engineer of Berlin.

What are your specific interests about architecture? Roman, Gothic, Art Nouveau, Eclectic, Modernism? Please tell us more.

We visited Italy, Greece, Switzerland, and France during 2018, and Switzerland was our absolute favorite, specifically Lauterbrunnen, Murren, and Wengen in the Berner Oberland. None of these Swiss villages meet your criteria of great architecture and vibrant nightlife. But the natural scenery is amazing!

I'm an architect, single and traveling solo. With that said, I'm looking for places with great architecture, friendly locals and vibrant nightlife.

Michelangelo’s many talents included architecture and he designed or was a major contributor to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Piazza del Campodoglio in Rome and the Medici Chapel in Florence’s San Lorenzo, among other architectural works in both Rome and Florence - in addition to his statuary, frescoes and paintings.

With those cornerstones plus Brunelleschi s Dome, I’d think those two cities would be a great start to a great trip. Each deserves an absolute minimum of 4 nights (3 full days). We’ve been to both TWICE for about that long on each visit. The second visits were largely devoted to what we missed the first time.

Three weeks is not as long as it sounds. Each day of moving is at least a half day loss of visiting and ‘being there.’ A 2 or 4 hour train journey is bracketed by another hour and a half or more at each end, getting to and from the station and in and out of hotels. Great cities deserve three days at a minimum - which means four nights. To really enjoy sights and neighborhoods and get a feel of the place, 4 nights may well be too little. Smaller towns do not require as much time to experience, but 24 hours is rarely adequate.

I certainly agree with others that Croatia is best saved for another time. I’ve also come to learn that smaller cities and towns - away from Must See destinations - offer more to enjoy and opportunities to meet friendly locals and exchange stories that you will be less likely to experience in the Must See destinations.

You could easily spend three weeks in Italy, alone. Austria would be a sensible addition, since it is just over Italy’s northern border across the Alps. Mr E knows and loves Budapest and, as he points out, not too far from Vienna. Ditto for Munich, but you really can’t do it all, enjoyably

A completely different place to go, if architecture is high on your wish list, might be Rotterdam. Never been there, but our Seattle Public Library is designed by Rem Koolhaas, so I wonder if Rotterdam might be a fun busman’s holiday location for you.

As you add any third country to whatever plans you make, you are pushing the envelope. I suggest you limit your travels to no more than two countries, whatever you ultimately decide. Be more of a visitor and less of a tourist. Enjoy being there more - rather than merely going there.

All, thanks again for these fantastic thoughts. The good news is, I have booked my flights from LA to Rome and Munich back to LA, I will continue to keep this forum posted as I move forward with my plans, taking all these suggestions into account of course.
Happy travels everyone!

I have never subscribed to others telling me what I “must see”. To me that is sheer nonsense.

Sounds fine except I wouldn’t spend so much time in Hallstatt. One full day - 2 nights - is plenty. Maybe stay on one of the other lakes for a couple days of relaxation.