Miscellaneous Ideas Please for Great European Cities to Visit - In Alphabetical Order

[Jimmymack]

Bath and Bristol but if it has to be abroad I recommend Bologna, easy to get to, lots to see and do and, of course, parmesan and Parma ham.

 

[Targa]

Balham - Gateway to the south.

 

[Woodpad]

Visit the jazz festival in Breda.

 

[iantaylor2uk]

Some of the suggestions below are not cities, but still well worth visiting (in my opinion):

San Sebastien (Spain)
La Rochelle (France)
Hamburg (Germany)
Budapest (Hungary)
Tallinn (Estonia)
York (UK)
Chester (UK)
London (UK)
Rotterdam (Netherlands)
Copenhagen (Denmark)

 

[Pete Effamy]

Nice is very nice, and if you hire a car you have quick access to the Maritime Alps which have some spectacular villages. Crowded beyond belief at peak summer, but empty at the quieter times.

Nice itself is French riviera culture, and within close proximity to the Cap Ferrat (Rothschild Villa Ephrussi) and Monaco. Nice is pretty close to the airport, so fast in and out when not peak times.

Sun Riviera Hôtel

Villa et Jardins Ephrussi de Rothschild

 

[Pete Effamy]

What is it that you both like?

 

[Ghr9204]

Congrats on becoming pensioners, @rhysonsax . I have little to contribute, only visiting Kitzingen, Germany back in 1995

Kitzingen - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

and nearby Wurzburg.

Würzburg - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Jeanette]

Should you wish to backtrack to "A" and feel that it would spice up your travels to indulge in a little international smuggling...

How about Athens?

Misc instruments - kaval style clarinet mouthpieces?

Thanks for the positive vibes. Then one day, say you are playing for a Greek / Turk / etc. To be fair, as I'm not actually learning Greek or Turkish style, even being able to play the right instrument, I wouldn't sound idiomatic. But I've always been clear, my motivation in music is...

cafesaxophone.com

I'm going in May 😁

 

[rhysonsax]

Some great suggestions. It would be helpful if any recommendation came complete with thoughts on highlights (e.g. food, museums, music festival, friendly locals) and ideas about the best time of year to go.

Some of the things we both enjoy doing are:

• Guided walking tours (often with some humour included)
• Historical sights and buildings
• Art galleries and museums, including quirky ones
• Plays and live music
• Eating and drinking (but one of us is a Coeliac, so properly gluten free food is required)
• Saxophone shops (one of us pretends not to enjoy these)

Less keen on crowds of tourists, heavy traffic, late night clubbing, mugging, very high prices.

Rhys

 

[Pete Thomas]

Art galleries and museums, including quirky ones

You need the door museum in Pézenas then, while visiting the historic city of Béziers.

 

[Ghr9204]

Some of the things we both enjoy doing are:

• Eating and drinking (but one of us is a Coeliac, so properly gluten free food is required)

This I understand. For years, had a severe sinus allergy to various pollens to include grasses. Then I found wheat to be a grass. If I stay off the stuff, my pollen allergy reaction is less severe (wheat acts as a stress amplifier). Prior would have severe migraine headaches in Winter (pine pollen allergy). Stay off, no more migraines. (If you have a grass pollen allergy, may be a solution for you too as well.)

• Saxophone shops (one of us pretends not to enjoy these)

Less keen on crowds of tourists, heavy traffic, late night clubbing, mugging, very high prices. Rhys

This I also understand, wife plays the radio. 😉 So I take it, some pleasant place a little off the "beaten path" but with enough to visit and enjoy, spend time together would be as we say in US, "hunky dory". 🙂 Or?

Hunky Dory - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mizmar]

museums, including quirky ones

Easily the most quirky museum that sticks in my mind - several decades layer - was The Museum of Dulcinea in El Toboso and the village itself. It's in the middle of nowhere and no one went there - that probably hasn't changed. They opened up and switched the lights on for me... So I could see the actual bed she slept in.
There was a (wine pickers?) kid sitting by the Don Quixote and Dulcinea statue in the square (the only person there!) who explained about the "Senior"....

All the best places are in middle of nowhere

 

[ESJohn]

If you have room in your suitcase, I'd love to someday see Vienna (not the one in West Virginia). Athens (not the one in Ohio) would be amazing! Hey, I can dream, can't I?

 

[Woodpad]

The hanze city Deventer has the saxofoonwinkel with an imense collection of mouthpieces. In august there is a large book market. In december a Dickens festival. It is a quirky city known for its Deventer koek. There is a gluten and dairy free bakery named petit four.

 

[FraRa]

Prague!
Berlin!
Vienna!
Lisbon!
Madrid!
Amsterdam!

 

[mizmar]

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[FraRa]

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[Jimmymack]

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[Woodpad]

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[ESJohn]

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