I’ve visited over 100 European cities: here are the 5 I’ll never go back to

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Like Emily Jane Cooper, I am one of the few lucky millennials who call Paris home. I may not exactly share the love of matcha drinks or the designer wardrobe, but like that Netflix heroine, I Doing go around like a pro.

Europe is my backyard, and exploring the Old Continent these days is a piece of cake compared to what it would be like in the Western Hemisphere.

A weekend away, sunbathing and eating in Barcelona? I’m sure I can find cheap return flights for €50 for that. Watching a musical in London? That’s only about 2h17, and not as exciting an underwater tunnel as you might think.

Christmas market hopping through Germany? Hey, that’s easy walk across the border in Strasbourg, France, straight into Germany, and it won’t take you more than an hour on foot.

I’ve been to (almost) every European country so far, except three (Andorra, Belarus, Moldova), and I’ve been counting more than 100 European cities under my belt-of which I have visited many several times – and what can I say?

100+ cities withinI definitely had to have my favorites, and least favorite, to say the least. I’ve had time to wander my heartbreaking cities, but it struck me that, aside from the odd snarky comment here and there, I’ve never been completely honest with you about the European places that rub me the wrong way.

Well, it’s high time I set the record straight once and for all:

5 European cities I won’t be rushing back to in the near future

Dublin, Ireland

The Temple Bar pub crawl, walks along the River Liffey, quirky Leprechaun museums and monumental university buildings with ancient Gospels: Dublin could be great material for a weekend away if it weren’t for the unjustifiably high prices and the astonishing lack of security.

I’m not sure, but nothing raises the blood pressure more than seeing your wallet empty by an average of €20 every time you step into an alehouse and order a few Guinness pints.

It’s certainly not the end of the world, but hey, walking around Show On the way to the pubs you shouldn’t be wishing you’d packed a stab vest in your hand luggage, you know what I mean?

Did I mention the gloomy weather and incessant rain? They may be overused, reheated clichés, but it only takes 2 consecutive days under the constant rain and heavy clouds of Dublin to question your life choices… and what on earth possessed you to fly there.

Try Edinburgh, Scotland, instead of Dublin

Looking for Celtic heritage and the Old World charm that old Dublin can only dream of?

Try it instead Edinburghthe picture-perfect medieval capital of Scotland, complete with a hilltop castle, cobbled streets lined with brick buildings and the kind of fairytale cityscape that actually worth spend a pretty penny on it.

Bratislava, Slovakia

Bratislava is one of those places to visit pass instead of your final destination. It’s a strangely compact national capital that sits on the border with neighboring Austria, and perhaps that’s why it feels secondary to, and a bit disappointing when mighty Vienna is 50 minutes away by train.

And listen, it’s not necessarily that anything has been done wrong: the walled Old Town, with its cobbled streets, church towers and Slovak restaurants serving hearty Slavic food, is worth a quick lookbut only if you’re already in the area, and I wouldn’t hang around for more than 4-5 hours.

Unless I’ve suddenly developed a new soft spot for communist-era apartment buildings, I don’t see myself going back to explore more of Bratislava beyond its medieval core – which, again, is cute enough, but not like it’s one of the most impressive I’ve ever seen.

Instead of Bratislava, try Ljubljana, Slovenia

Speaking of compact Slavic capitals that really pack a punch: Ljubljana has one monumental castle with red gable roofsa historic dragon-guarded bridge over the scenic Ljubljanica River, and a timeless old town dotted with ornate Austro-Hungarian buildings.

It is also the gateway to the Julian Alps iconic Lake Bled just a short 39 minute train ride to the northwest.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki is one of those cities that I have I never really understood the hype about it. It is perpetually gray, lacks the medieval charm that most European capitals flaunt, and only found its footing as a Baltic hub relatively late in history. His biggest claim to fame? About one public sauna for every few square kilometers.

When you immerse yourself in the Baltic Sea, feel your soul temporarily leave your body and then rush into a blazing hot sauna where your flesh threatens to melt from your bones – all while you pay a small fortune for the privilege – is your idea of ​​fun, then Helsinki is right up your alley.

Self-inflicted torture aside, it is the proud home of Temppeliaukio, a modernist church carved into massive rock, which looks more like a municipal auditorium than a house of God, although it do say something about the Finnish relationship with faith.

Suomenlinna is a 20-minute boat ride from Helsinki harbor and is perhaps the ideal destination one place that deserves all the praise. It is actually an impressive sea fortress, spread over eight islands, connected by pedestrian bridges. But to be fair, it was built by the Swedes, so it’s not like the Finns can brag about it either.

Try Tallinn, Estonia, instead of Helsinki

Across the Baltic Sea from Finland lies Tallinn, Helsinki’s more unusual and perhaps prettier sister.

It’s the kind UNESCO protected medieval gem you’d think they only existed in a Disney movie: cobblestone alleys, a 14th-century town hall overlooking a lively market square, and sturdy conical towers that seem purpose-built to imprison a cursed princess. Industrial looking Hell-sinki could never do that.

Zurich, Switzerland

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to correct people who confidently name Zurich as the capital of Switzerland, or fight the urge to argue with people who come to Europe for the first time, fresh from the American suburbs, and who are convinced that it is a divine revelation.

Switzerland, for starters not actually have a capital (and no, it’s not Bern either). And really, the only reason anyone adores Zurich is because they haven’t yet discovered the many other lakeside cities in Europe: more beautiful, quieter and They are much less likely to drain their savings.

Moreover, it is not the case that Zurich and ‘exciting’ ever belong in the same sentence.

Between quietly drinking ₣8 pints next to indifferent locals in one of those pretentious, flag-draped Kreis 1 bars that just try too hard to attract foreigners, and throwing the remains of the most expensive croissant you’ve ever bought at the lone swan that floats over Lake Zurich on a rare sunny day, it’s certainly not the kind of place that inspires much inspiration.

Try Lindau, Germany, instead of Zurich

Few tourists realize that just 1h25 east of Zurich lies Lindau, a small German town on a crystal-clear lake. Like that of Switzerland notcapital, it has an old town with colorful half-timbered facades, except that there are no crowds anywhere in sight and the pastries here are fresh from the oven, at a fraction of Zurich prices.

Bucharest, Romania

Coming from Paris myself, I had high expectations of the so-called “Paris of the East”. But as the plane descended, and all that unfolded below was a sprawl of brutalist housing blocks and colossal concrete towers stretching to the horizon, I knew something was wrong.

However, nothing could have prepared me for what was to come next.

I had picked the cutest little vintage Airbnb in Old Town, furnished a la 19th century, which, as I soon learned, in Bucharest usually just means dusty and in dire need of renovation. I might still have liked it if I didn’t have to step over people injecting themselves in the building’s open-to-all courtyard every time I went to my room.

The gong show that followed involved handing out flyers every five steps for sketchy strip shows along Strada Șelari, being chased by ruthless beggars around city parks, and realizing that the most exciting thing about Bucharest is watching the Soviet-style architectural beasts compete for the title of The tallest, colossal and ugliest concrete colossus.

The most ‘Parisian’ thing about Bucharest consists of a shabby little center, with only a handful of pedestrian streets and fin-de-siècle buildings spared by the communist regime, which still cannot hold a hammer (or sickle) to the splendor of Paris.

But hey, at least Bucharest is indeed dirt cheap? Emphasis on dirt.

Try Brașov, Romania, instead of Bucharest

The real fairytale Romania that you see in travel brochures is Brașov, one postcard-perfect medieval town in the heart of Transylvania. It features an intact 15th-century skyline, topped by a towering Gothic-style black church, and nestles against the densely forested slopes of Mount Tâmpa.

The central square is an obvious highlight and is one of the most atmospheric in Europe. The cafe scene is nothing short of fantastic, and if you ask me, the city’s access to nature is hard to beat.

What can I say? Sometimes capital letters are overrated.

Vinicius Costa

Vini, our senior head writer at Travel Off Path, has over 60 countries to his name (and is currently weaving stories from Paris!), and a knack for turning off-the-beaten-path experiences into informative stories that will have you packing your bags.