The best places to visit in Europe
Dresden
Saxony's capital, salvaged from the wreckage of 1945 bombing, is one of the jewels of Europe. The array of palaces, churches and associated buildings is a delight.
Venice
Venice, centre of the Mediterranean world for centuries, is beloved but fragile. It does not have the biggest canal network in Europe, but it's the one everyone wants to see.
Prague
Prague is a city with sad memories as well as happy ones, but it has come into its own as one of Europe's great attractions and won't change its character for anyone.
Potsdam
Potsdam is probably most famous for a conference but the real importance of the place lies in its palaces and garden, in an ideal lake setting.
Cologne
Cologne offers more to see than its mighty cathedral and its monuments cover almost 2000 years. The cathedral took only 630 years to take shape. The city owes its importance to its place on the Rhine but there are many places to walk.
Milan
The Gothic Duomo is the exquisite centre of Milan and shows that, for all the city's pace, wealth and excitement, refinement is its true essence.
Oxford
The city's pace and flavour have always been set by its university. Its eternal feel comes from the colleges and spires that are dotted around its streets.
Oslo
Oslo looks great in winter but summer really brings out the best in the city on the fjord. Most of today's prominent architecture is modern in a city that is almost 1000 years old.
Stockholm
Stockholm was built on water and the water remains the best place to view it from – unless you take a wander through Gamla Stan, one of the few fully preserved old-town city precincts.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Of all the places European travellers visit, Rothenburg sticks in the mind. Among the popular small-town destinations, nowhere else has the unchanged character of the 17th century, including its walls, 44 towers and medieval structures.
Vienna
Grace is the keynote of the great Habsburg capital. Vienna's imperial court became the home of music in the 18th century and attracted Baroque architecture that sets the tone to this day. It became the capital for many peoples and its coffee houses became forums for diverse ideas.
