What are the best cities in Europe to visit ?

Copenhagen is lovely but it’s not in Europe. If you’re including Scandinavia in your list I’d also recommend Stockholm and Bergen.

Edinburgh
Dubrovnik
Wells

My favourites in order of preference: Rome, Lisbon, Venice, Galway, Berlin.

Muse
You mentioned Matlock and Bakewell. A favourite place of mine to visit would be Ilam very pretty and part of the National Trust.

Castimellon Dubrovnik is beautiful but sadly it is so full of cruise ships ( normal times) that it is unpleasant.
We chose to go on the quietest day we could just 2 ships.
It was terrible, the tourists who were mostly Asian couldn’t grasp the one way system around the walls and they blocked entrances and alleys everywhere taking selfies!

We found a beautiful church and went in for some cool, calm and reflection.
After just a few seconds a party of Chinese came in, the women draped themselves over the pews provocatively whilst the men took photographs?.

We gave up and went to Montenegro, it was as bad but swarms of Russians.

My husband found peace in Mostar.

I can’t believe anyone could be disappointed with Rome but you do need to take your time there to soak it up and feel out the moods of the city.

Florence is beautiful with fabulous museums and galleries. Worth visiting just for the art... but it’s super-touristy so you need to go back three or four streets from tourist places to find the real life there.

Small places, less on the radar, are, to me, more genuine. But I’m not a quick weekend in a city person, I need time to chat to locals and feel the pulse of a place.

Some towns, such as Rieti, are warm and welcoming. Not “marvels” of any kind but still attractive. They aren’t so special as Florence but the relationships we formed there in just a few weeks felt genuine. We were invited into people’s homes, saw how they lived, took their advice about restaurants, found our own truffles with them, and shopped and ate in places we would never have discovered in the big cities.

We all have very different ideas as to what draws us to a place. For me, I love the architecture and the sense of a place well trodden. I love warm-hearted people and simple pleasures. Don’t misunderstand me, I still like some warm sun and a good pool but other things bring so much satisfaction.

Good luck on your hunt for the perfect (for you) places.

Best to check if cruise ships are in port as it can get very crowded which takes away from the experience,

No-one has mentioned Dubrovnik - although I haven't been back since it was rebuilt after the war I think it has been rebuilt sympathetically.

It's beautiful and a walk round the walls is well worth it for the views.

I am not well travelled in that I have been out of Europe once.
However we have visited so many of the places mentioned.
Two places that have been a great surprise were Lisbon and Porto.
The most disappointing was Rome.

Lots of my favourites have been mentioned. Mapleleaf has already mentioned it but I'll give Bruges a thumbs up.

Edinburgh is a beautiful city. Just spotted flora has listed it.

What about a town here in UK. There are many, like two in my birth county, Derbyshire. Matlock and Bakewell are close to lots of site seeing places.

Oh yes and Vienna. Spanish Riding school and the Vienna Boys choir - bliss!

Florence, so much nicer than Venice

Amsterdam

Tallin I was surprised how beautiful it was

St Petersburg (if that can be classed as Europe!)

I will never forget Hero's Square in Budapest .
Florence
Assisi
Rome
Vienna going to the opera there
and by far the best UK city is Edinburgh .

Some of our favourites: Lucca - a beautiful walled city in Tuscany; Bologna, Turin, Venice, Rome (of course!), Dubrovnik, Split - the Diocletian's Palace is amazing; Baden Baden, Granada, Palma, Madrid, Lisbon, Carcassonne - another walled city; Rouen, Amsterdam, Bruges, Ghent; the list is endless. We love city breaks and are looking forward to visiting some more when Covid is a distant memory!

Tallinn was wonderful; so much to see and excellent value for money

I love Florence, OH booked a our of the Vasari corridor in the Uffizi which was really special. Venice is also beautiful, we stayed outside the main tourist area as it's lovely to wander about and avoid the crowds. I have friends who always go in Winter and say it's magical. I had a great stay in Barcelona with my younger daughter, fab food and wine and lots to see. My daughter also recommends Lisbon.

We really enjoyed Krakow. Small city, easy to walk around.

So many lovely places already mentioned. I'd also recommend Bruges and Stockholm.

Another tick for Florence for me. Such a wonderful place to visit and the most amazing ice cream ?
We weren’t too fussed on Naples either.
Also loved Barcelona. Only been once but so much to see another visit is long overdue.
We like Palma in Majorca had a couple of city breaks there which I would recommend

We used to go to Dublin regularly as we have family there. We went back about five years ago and couldn't believe the cost of food and drink. Astronomical.

Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, Vienna, Reykjavik, Prague, Dublin, Berlin, Florence, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Krakow, Athens and of course - Glasgow!

Loved Amsterdam! Easier to get around on foot than a lot of the larger cities. Also liked Prague and Barcelona.

Oh. I've drifted to America! Sorry.

Also, I love Naples! How did I miss that one off!

Does it need to be a city?

ITALY
Paestum (Capaccio), Campania
Herculaneum , Campania
Lecce, Puglia
Otranto, Puglia
Manduria, Puglia
Galatina, Puglia
Matera, Basilicata
Assisi, Perugia
Santa Maria Capua Vetere, Campania

BELGIUM
Antwerp

IRELAND
Galway
Cork
Clonakilty
Unionhall
Castletown-Bearhaven
Spiddal

USA
Bisbee, Arizona
Sedona, Arizona
White Bear Lake, Minnesota

Vienna (haven't been for many years) for the cafes and the Jugendstil architecture (Hoffman, Loos, Wager) and the galleries - something to suit all tastes.

Turin and Bologna - both university cities and not crowded with tourists. For Bologna - Rick Stein's weekend programme shows some lovely food. It was on last night again but you'll find it on IPlayer. Turin has a wonderful cinema museum and also the Fiat factory as in The Italian Job. Part of it is now an hotel.