TOP 10 cities of Europe

The most interesting cities for tourists in Europe are the capitals of former empires, where beautiful palaces and cathedrals were built for several centuries. Interesting museums were created there, which are visited by millions of tourists every year.

This review presents a list of the TOP 10 cities in Europe:

1.    Paris (France)
2.    London (United Kingdom)
3.    Rome (Italy)
4.    Saint Petersburg (Russia)
5.    Barcelona (Spain)
6.    Prague (Czech Republic)
7.    Venice (Italy)
8.    Copenhagen (Denmark)
9.    Berlin (Germany)
10.    Stockholm (Sweden)

Click on the hyperlinks to read in detail about each city and see a large number of photos

Paris (France)

Anyone dreams of visiting Paris. The city is filled with historical sights. Walking through its streets, you feel a special atmosphere of romance, and many people consider Paris to be one of the most, and perhaps the most, beautiful city on Earth.

Paris has a lot of sights, which takes you at least three or four days to see. You`d better start you acquaintance with the capital of the world from Cite where you can visit the famous Notre Dame de Paris and Saint Chapelle. Also, you may walk around the island itself, to stroll along its romantic embankments and cross the oldest Parisian bridge (Le Pont Neuf).

London (United Kingdom)

For several centuries London has been the capital of one of the most powerful world states – the Great Britain Empire. This imparted a peculiar appearance to the center of London where literally at every turn you can be faced with monuments of famous Britons, as well as magnificent structures demonstrating the power of empire. 

When you see the huge buildings of Foreign Office or Ministry of the Navy, you understand that there have been taken many important decisions, which influenced the events of world history. It takes at least 2-3 days to see the sights of London.

Rome (Italy)

Rome is the «Eternal City». No other city on the planet has such a glorious history as that of the capital of the greatest Roman Empire. In Rome, a huge number of attractions of different eras, which create a special aura to this city.

According to the legend Rome was founded in Romulus and Remus in VII B.C. The legendary brothers were supposedly nursed by the bitch wolf. Then one of the brothers killed the other one and founded the city, which was fated to play the key role in the development of what we now call «Western Civilization». Eventually, the boundaries of ancient Roman Empire were much extended, and at the beginning of our era it spread over most part of the ancient world. 

Saint Petersburg (Russia)

Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703 by Peter I, as a city on the coast of Baltic Sea having marine communication with Europe. Peter I himself called it the «window to Europe». The city has been built as the capital of quickly growing Russian Empire, which has been one of the most important political powers since the 16th century.

This predetermined the appearance of the city, having made it one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Here everything was subjected to only one purpose, to show the wealth of the empire, therefore, palaces, cathedrals and even regular houses were built in particular empire style.

Barcelona (Spain)

Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean coast. Gaudi's architecture distinguishes Barcelona from other European cities, making it an attractive center of tourism. Here you can spend a few days with pleasure enjoying not only the architecture of Gaudi, but also the resort atmosphere and the rhythm of life in Spain.

The primary tourist attractions of Barcelona are the Church of the Holy Family (Spanish: Sa-grada Familia), Ramblas Boulevard, and Catalonia Square, as well as Gothic Quarter, which is the center of Barcelona`s Old Town. You should find some time to have a stroll along the old winding alleys, as well as to visit the huge Cathedral.

Prague (Czech Republic)

Prague has always attracted millions of tourists, who went there to feel the peculiar atmosphere of beauty and harmony. The tour of the streets of old Prague, as well as a party at some Czech pub, could give you a kind of mental satisfaction.

The main sights are quite compactly located on both sides of Vltava. Old Town Square is on one side of the river. It features the most beautiful architectural ensemble of cathedrals and towers with characteristic awkward roofs.

Venice (Italy)

There is no other city in the world, which beauty and originality could be compared with those of Venice. There are many cities with but a dozen canals, which try to don on the glory of Venice calling themselves «Eastern Venice», «African Venice», or «Northern Venice», however, there will always be only one Venice, the city on the islands of the Adriatic with a glorious history and magnificent architecture.

Venice retained its original medieval beauty and peculiar romantic atmosphere. It is only there that sweethearts began to love each other even stronger, when they slide, cuddled together, in gondola on the canals of Venice, between palaces and bridges.

Copenhagen (Denmark)

The capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, is one of the most interesting cities in Scandinavia. It seems as if in the historical part of the city fairy-tales of Andersen are made real. It will be very interesting to walk in the city, or sit at a small street restaurant tasting fish dishes.

The main sights of Copenhagen are compactly located within the historical center of the city. A small canal called Newhaven might be rightly considered the spirit of the city. It is a deadlock branch of the main water canal of the city - Havnebaded. The length of Newhaven is about 300 meters. There are closely spaced authentic Scandinavian houses built along the canal, with numerous cafes and restaurants located on the side of the canal.

Berlin (Germany)

Berlin became the capital of Prussia in the reign of Frederich the Great, though Germany then was but a conglomerate of independent principalities. However, under Bismarck Germany became one of the most powerful European states and Berlin was made the capital of this great empire.

Tragic events of XX century didn’t spare the magnificence of this capital. In 1945 during the storm of Berlin Soviet artillery destroyed almost every house in the city. And after that for many decades the city was divided between East and West Germany, which slackened its further development. In 1990, Berlin once again became the capital of a united Germany and most of the historical sights were restored in all their grandeur.

Stockholm (Sweden)

Stockholm is located on a multitude of small islands interconnected by a ramified network of highways and tunnels. This gives the city a peculiar Scandinavian authenticity, and for this Stockholm is called the «city on water» or the «city between bridges».

As any city, Stockholm has attractive «Old Town», though in this case it is rather an «island», than a «city», - and it is called Gamla Stan. It is just on this island that Jarl Birger founded Stockholm in the middle of 13th century. The city had important strategic meaning, so it began to quickly develop and since that time it remained the capital of Sweden.