There are pleasant cities in Europe. Others are documents — places where you can read the two thousand years of shifting power in the stonework of a single street. These ten are arranged chronologically for the best time they represent, thus allowing you to plan a trip around an era instead of a country.
The Ancient World
Athens
The Acropolis Museum is a great addition to the Parthenon and still serves as the best source of information about the hilltop. Below, the Ancient Agora indicates the site of democratic practice actually debated.
Split, Croatia
Diocletian’s retirement palace was constructed around 300 AD, and a whole city sprang up within its walls. Today, Roman structures serve as cafés and shops, while the people live in apartments cut from imperial stones.
Medieval and Gothic
Bruges, Belgium
A preserved city of canals, stepped belfry houses and a belfry dating to the 13th century. It was a city of a lot of wealth, but the harbour has clogged up so little was rebuilt.
Kraków, Poland
The Gothic St Mary’s Basilica and Wawel Castle overlooking the Vistula in Europe’s biggest medieval market square. The city was spared destruction during the war, and a nearby place of history—like Auschwitz-Birkenau—makes for a sobering day trip.
Edinburgh
The two halves of the city, UNESCO-listed, in conversation: a complex medieval Old Town, along the Royal Mile and a meticulously planned Georgian New Town, which sought to answer it.
Renaissance and Baroque
Florence
Brunelleschi’s dome was the answer to a 100-year-old engineering conundrum. Then there’s the Uffizi, the Accademia and Santa Croce and the city turns into one unified discourse on the Renaissance.
Naples
Baroque churches, above Greek and Roman streets, and Herculaneum and Pompeii an hour away. Chaotic, relatively under-visited and the best food in Italy!
Moorish and Islamic Legacy
Granada, Spain
Carved stucco and water channels bring engineering to decor, as is best seen in the Alhambra, the finest remaining Islamic palace complex in Europe. Tickets go on sale weeks in advance and sell out fast.
Istanbul
In 1500 years, Hagia Sophia has been a cathedral, mosque and, once again, a mosque. In addition to the Blue Mosque, Topkapı Palace, and the Basilica Cistern, no other city has intertwined its Byzantine and Ottoman history to such a degree.
The Modern Century
Berlin
The neoclassical style of the Prussians, the Bauhaus modernism, monumentalism under the Nazis, socialist housing blocks and the memorial landscape that followed. In no other place is 20th century Europe so readable on foot.
Take advantage of these cities.Make these cities work for you.
Make sure to book the headline sites first.
The Alhambra, the Uffizi and the Acropolis are all timed and same-day tickets are very rarely available in season. Book early to reserve.
City Museum Passes are to be used with care.
You will save money if you visit 3 or more sites a day, but more than most people want to. Calculate based on your actual plans.
Spend an hour with a specialist for a tour of the town.
Two hours of guided tours with architectural or historical themes convert a facade into a chronology. This goes a long way in cities such as Berlin and Kraków.
Travel in Shoulder Season
April through early June and September through October are open with mild weather and crowds you can move through. August has high temperatures and high populations.
Look up, and then look behind you.Look up and then look behind.
The finest features of these cities are on the upper floors or somewhat removed from the main square. The tourist route is typically the path with the least interest between two remarkable things.
Let’s choose a time and create a path around it and the continent begins to make sense.