City to visit in Europe for a weekend?

[ed8383]

If you do go to Barcelona don't forget to visit the mountain of Montjuic (as seen in this Camilo Sesto video). It includes many tourist spots including the nice park, the towers, and a huge but great fountain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dus6uRujzA

[DarthIgnurnt]

Amsterdam is a great weekend-visit city. It's small, walkable, everyone speaks english, etc. Plenty of opportunities to get f'ed up, or just watch people who are.

Paris is a fantastic city, but jamming it into a weekend isn't doing it justice.

I've lived in both for extended periods of time. I would personally prefer Amsterdam for a weekend visit.

Barcelona is a great city, but it wouldn't be my first choice ... I think it's better as a 2-3 day stop as part of a longer visit to Spain.

Ditto for some of the Italian cities mentioned.

[StevieG]

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do not waste any time or money going into the anne frank house. its just an old house. i wasnt overly impressed with the van gogh museum. i thought the Rijksmuseum was much better.

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I think the Rijks is undergoing renovation right now. I'm sure that the major pieces are still on display, but the better value might be the van Gogh museum right now.

For that matter, the Stedelijk museum right down the street is worth a look if you like modern art.

[_Tank_]

Wow...thanks all for the suggestions. Looks like I have a pretty tough decision....albeit a fun one [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Here are some thoughts.

Amsterdam:I have never smoked weed before. I was a pretty straight shooter in college and any job I've ever had has had drug testing so I didnt even bother taking a chance. Now I own my own business so I can experiment a bit should I choose. I kinda wouldnt mind trying some of the "special" baked goods. Thoughts, experiences?

So Amsterdam would be more of a get drunk and party type of thing. Plus canals sound cool.

Pros: Getting drunk and possibly high. Cool scenery. Not terribly touristy.
Cons: Too boring if I dont get drunk or high?

Paris:
Obviously a pretty popular city and with good reason. Thats also what I dont like about it. I hate the idea of doing something too touristy. I'd also like to visit Paris with a woman (the whole city of romance thing), which my friend who is coming with me is not.
Pros: Good food and wine. Cool train ride.
Cons: Cliche, not with a woman, french people.

Some of the other cities mentioned sound cool but are a little too far. Im gonna investigage Bruges a little more. Pros and cons of that city?

I will be in london for 5 of the 7 days and my friend is local, so Im sure he can give me a proper tour around there. Would rather not rent a car.

Any more thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Oh also, once the trip is completed there will be a full trip report of course

[PartyGirlUK]

Places like Cambridge, Ediburgh shouldnt be discounted either. Also Ireland is great, altho not Dublin. Stockholm is beautiful.