As one of said foreigners (an American) I’d say “all of them.” International travel is for people not living below the poverty line.
Helpful. Im glad you had something meaningful to contribute to the discussion.
You should avoid France.
Paris is a hard no-no. The rest is fine.
París was ok when I went, but I do really remember there being loads of dogshit everywhere.
Yeah. Paris is a nice city, but it is still a city. I feel like people who judge Paris harshly don’t like any major urban area.
Paris is lovely, as long as you avoid the worst tourist areas. Seeing people queue in the middle of Champs-Élysées, between lanes of traffic, just to get that one pretend shot of the Arc de Triumphe is a special circle of hell.
Disagree. Central Paris is something special. Like any European capital there’s tons of stuff to see and do.
It falls off off a cliff once you’ve done the centre though.
I just went on a trip to France last month and while I wouldn’t say Paris was the highlight, the Louvre and Musée D’Orsay were unforgettable experiences. The Versailles gardens were pretty great too but that’s not really in Paris I don’t think.
I mean I’ll probably never get over there, but I’d love to visit Carentan (because WWII…well COD2…I loved that map lol) and Suave (because a cartoonist I like lives there.)
France is beautiful, i’m always coming back.
That’s actually a good rule of thumb for every scenario in life.
Just make sure to avoid Brussels. Belgian myself and I hate the place.
Kinda enjoyed my 2 day trip…
Was recommended the same by someone from Brussels.
(He was not 6 foot and full of muscles, to be clear)
Did he speaka your language?
The vegemite sandwiches are enough to keep me away.
Back when Australia was still remote and exotic, before Crocodile Dundee even, a lot of people back in the day thought he sang:
“He just smiled and gave me a bit of my sandwich”,
which would have also made for a fantastic lyric in a very silly way.
Just got back from a 3 day trip to Brussels, we loved it. Plus, Smurfs (Les Schtroumpfs) everywhere. We did take a day trip to Bruges though, that was even better than Brussels IMHO. Especially since I could walk around saying to my wife “If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me but I didn’t, so it doesn’t.”.
Does this mean you love it and want to keep it all to yourself? Also how does it smell?
No, I would tell you to avoid Ghent at all costs then!
Na Ghent and Brugges are lovely. Brussels is kinda meh but not superbad.
I visited Brussels this a month ago, I loved it.
I went to Charleroi once and it was awful. Brussels is fine.
Almost every reason given sounds like a description of my home of Florida.
Feel free to cross post to !yurop@lemm.ee , a laid back discussion community for Europeans
is there a good or suggested community for people looking to move to europe who are looking for advice? or is that place welcome for such discussion? dont want to intrude.
This is definitely a discussion that can take place over there!
If you go to Naples and the Amalfi coast, everything is expensive. That’s expected, but do not for any reason use the trains. Gangs will rob you, possibly worse.
But do go. Sorrento is lovely but very commercial. Find the small towns where the Italians go.
And visit Pompeii, it’s extraordinary.
Really? I took the circumvesuvian railway a couple of years ago and it was just a regular commuter train.
I was warned off by locals and they did look very dodgy. It’s entirely possible they were referring to a different, more specific line, but I didn’t get that impression and I wasn’t about to find out for myself.
Apologies if I’m wrong, I’ll edit my comment.
Those trains sure look dodgy, in a post-apocalyptic kind of way. Sometimes people jump to conclusions that it must be full of crime
Bullshit
Public transit seemed relatively safe to me, when I was there 2 years ago. The Amalfi coast is no that great though. Rather go to Naples, use a day for small boat trip to either Capri or Ischia, one day to take the commuter train to Herculaneum. After that take the train from Naples to Salerno, which is a good bit less touristy and ceaper than the real Amalfi coast. Perhaps take a boat from Salerno to look at the Amalfi coast from the sea (more beautiful that way anyway) or enjoye some of the beaches that are reachable with public transit nearby. In Salerno you can also take a train or Bus to Paestum, which is a UNESCO world heritage site has some greek temples from 600 BC.
CDG airport. I hate that place so much.
Heathrow, Schiphol and Frankfurt are all so much easier to navigate.On a serious note though: I’ve never bern anywhere in Europe that I straight up disliked. Sanremo was probably the «least friendly» with locals all pushing us towards the casino at every oportunity. The city was also surprisingly worn down.
The local market was awesome though.
avoid Malta at all costs.
Why?
aside from the weather (which is nicer in Sicily), it’s an archipelago that pretends at all costs to have a relevant European history while offering no way of exploring that history whatsoever. The rampant touristisation of La Valletta has turned it into what’s basically an all-ecompassing sprawl of luxury hotels and discos where prices are inflated. I did not have a nice time there and would not go back even if I had the chance.
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They have a “no go” zone in the city where I live. I went there. It is nice. The people are poor by Swedish standards but if you’re not from here you would not bat an eye. The only way you believe this is if you have never been to Sweden, or at least not a “no go” zone and/or you get all your news from racist right wing fuckwits who desperately try to convince you that Arabs are destroying European society.
OP Sweden is nice, even Stockholm and Gothenburg, just a bit expensive
Swedes told me that Malmö is a rough and ugly city before I went there. And honestly it was a fairly average coastal city that did not seem rough at all. Also had some beautiful spots.
Ah yes, the famously war torn Sweden.
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Ah yes, the famous “no go” zones of Sweden.
Sweden is actually pretty nice, if you stay away from bigger cities
I wouldn’t say at all cost, but Montenegro isn’t fun. Russians have built massive hotel resorts on the beaches there, the locals are unhappy that they’re there so they don’t like tourists. They’ll try to fight you on the beach because you’re not local. Get hassled by the cops because you’re not local, but you’ll be able to buy your way out of your problem if you’re lucky. People don’t want to talk to you, everyone is pretty cold and borderline rude. Go to a bar for a drink and you get a glass nominally washed/rinsed in tubs of soapy water behind the bar that the previous 100 glasses went through and hasn’t been changed out. The landscape is beautiful in a hostile sort of way, but there’s just not much reason to visit. It’s not even particularly inexpensive. The hotels will try to charge you for everything, including a scuff on the wall that you didn’t do, a chip on a planter on the balcony, etc. ridiculous money grabs.
idk about the process in montenegro, but it’s pretty normal in america for bars to use a three compartment sink with a christmas tree scrub brush stuck to the bottom of the first sink, which is filled about half full with soapy water, a rinse water mixture in the next one and a sanitizer water mixture in the last one.
it’s a fast and safe way to do dishes by hand, especially glassware if you always inspect for chips afterward (which you should be doing anyway!).
I understand there’s a right way to do it, but allow me to assure that the two murky trays behind this bar were not acceptable by any means. I didn’t want to get too graphic, but glasses went from the customer hand, a quick slosh and a rub in liquids that would make any civilized health department shriek, wiped “dry” with a filthy rag that had just wiped the bar top, filled with the next drink and handed to the next customer.
This is the kind of stuff where you see it in a movie like so: the scoundrel hero walks into a dive bar in the spaceport, orders a drink, the camera makes sure you see the pustulent, greasy alien clean the vessel using the above process. The alien pours a questionable liquid into it, and slides it to the observing hero who has been keeping a stone-faced expression but for a hint of discomposure as he receives the drink. After the briefest pause in frame to let you know he questions what he is about to do, he downs the beverage. You can’t help but cringe along with the hero and think licking the alien might have been safer.
(Am not comparing or suggesting Montenegrins are in any way shape or form like the hypothetical alien)
Outside of the obvious war, Kaliningrad in certain conditions. If you have local friends there you trust, or you are fluent in Russian, you’ll have a great time. Its got a lot of nice history, some nice views, and its cheap. But if you’re an obvious tourist, they do not treat you kindly. I wore a tank top and shorts in the city on my way from Svetlagorst beach and got side eyes for my tattoos and attire. If you’re used to stereotypically polite service, it’s not as prevalent there in Russia. And if you try to be nice, you’re seen as a weirdo.
Lithuania is also hit or miss. Vilnius and Klaipeda are nice, but are NOT tourist friendly. I used to live there, but when I went back as a kid, my mom and I spoke English and Russian. They tried to overcharge our meal significantly but my mom knowing Lithuanian caught it. The people at the corner store also questioned why I only speak Russian, and hesitantly spoke with me. Plus people on the street would call out appearances if you look different. Really good fuckin pizza though
Can’t exactly blame the Lithuanians for distrusting Russians, tbh. They have been not exactly kind to the country in the recent past, with their russification and whatnot.
Yes, but you can give grace to a 12 year old child who speaks Russian with an American accent minding his own business buying an inch cream cone. Prejudices exist, but so does a brain cell. Still, I have to give grace, this was ~2009
It’s been rough for both due to the tensions. I was supposed to be Lithuanian but ended up born in Russia. My brother is Lithuanian. He would fail classes just because he was Lithuanian in a Russian school (90s). My mom had to pretend to be best friends with the teacher so he could pass. He used to also get into a lot of fights to and from school.
We immigrated to the United States when I was 5, so luckily I didn’t get that treatment in Lithuania. Fortunately, I have good memories from my Lithuanian pre-school
Gelsenkirchen and Duisburg are kinda famous atm.
The capital cities. If you want authentic Europe, find the weird local festivals where people chase cheese down a hill or celebrate local culture or something. That’s real Europe. Fuck the big cities and their galleries and museums.
https://www.egremontcrabfair.com/
https://airguitarworldchampionships.com/en/home/
https://www.latomatinatours.com/
https://www.theshed.co.uk/independent
https://cipc.pipeclubs.com/events/british-pipe-smoking-championship-2/
https://www.visitvoss.no/en/smalahovetunet
https://www.sbf.se/sportgrenar/folkrace
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinkensport
https://eukonkanto.fi/en/front-page/
https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/cheltenham-news/man-shatters-toes-winning-world-8977482
These are a few things off the top of my head mostly northern and western Europe because it’s what I’m familiar with. Also if you want to see something bizarre, go to Finland on free bucket day. But seriously Europe is full of unusual things to do. Or you could go to yet another gallery and pretend to be interested in paintings.
Belgorod.
I was disappointed with Paris in my last visit. It’s filthy, dirty and disgusting.
Aah, Paris 🥰
Compared to NYC, Paris is downright spotless.
