Does anywhere compare to Rome?

[sarahb083]

I loved the history, architecture, and sheer number of historical sites to visit. Plus the amazing food. Does anywhere compare? Ideally within a few hours' flight of London?

I agree, the weather makes a difference. I wasn't especially blown away by Rome, not especially bothered to go back, but we were there in July (for a wedding, not our choice of dates) and it was stiflingly hot, sweaty and uncomfortable 24 hours a day.

My favourite European cities have been Copenhagen, Berlin and Munich.

Athens is amazing but apparently very overrun with tourists since covid, we went in October 2019 and it was just a dream 🥰. The cradle of civilisation

I was conceived in Rome but grew up in Paris. Paris I wouldn't recommend, look up Paris syndrome to understand. Rome is a great city but recently had fascist marches with men in black shirts doing exactly what Mussolini and his supporters did. Obviously at this time of year, you might want somewhere warm. Northern Portugal I would recommend as it has public transport, train travelling between Lisboa, Oporto and Braga. In Spain or France: Bilbao, Barcelona etc; Bordeaux, Toulouse, etc, in the South West. Morroco like Casablanca? Greece, Athens, Peloponnese and Islands. All of the above based on weather, culture, food, transport.
Enjoy. Borrow a recent guide book, instead of buying as places keep evolving. Check Foreign office guidance for safety. Now the UK is out of the EU, Check for free medical insurance through the EIiC card and or shop for affordable travel and health insurance via a reputable comparison site like MSE, Martin Lewis.

"I loved Venice in off season but the people are some of the least friendly in Italy and food is not great."

where on earth did you eat ? I'll admit I put in a lot of research hours and we only ate local specialties but I found the food in Venice incredible. Although I went with DD and we are both big fish fans. I'm back in March for more !

Like you I love Rome.
I live in Portugal, equidistant between Lisbon and Seville and both are great places to visit but don't come close to Rome for me.
Round every corner there's something amazing to learn or see. How clever were those Romans!?
Do think with all city breaks the weather plays a big part in how much you enjoy it. If it's sweltering or pouring with rain it oftens impacts on your visit and therefore your opinion.

Seville, Cordoba, Ronda, Granada
Naples, Pompeii
Valletta - amazing historically

@StiffyByngsDogBartholomew Ah see I am vegetarian and my (now)husband (then boyfriend) is allergic to shellfish. I really only enjoyed the cicchetti!
But the art and the Christmas markets were magical.

I should add to Valletta the surrounding areas. We were blown away with the many layers of history - prehistoric temples such as Hagar Qim and the underground Hypogeum, knights of the Templar in 1500s, amazing WW11 history, the walled city of Mdina. There is loads to do and it is so easy to get around on the yellow buses or by boat

Budapest. I've been 3 times, and I'd go again in a heartbeat.

Same here. Also been twice and didn't enjoy it.

Surprised to see almost exclusively people loving it on here.

First time had young kids with us, and it was July so very hot and just a bit stressful, felt like we didn't get the best out of it.

Went back again a few years ago, early October, thought it would be quieter but it was still absolutely mobbed.

I just felt it was too busy to properly see or enjoy anything.

I wonder if my expectations were just so high that I was always bound to be disappointed. Paris Syndrome I think it's called.

Did you stay in Seville and visit the other towns by public transport ?

@ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea Yes we did. I could have easily spent a night or two in Cordoba though. Everywhere was very easy to get to by train, and the Rhonda bit we did on an organised coach trip.

Seconded

No, nowhere is as wonderful as Rome.

But for a weekend away, Antwerp is a lovely vibrant city, packed with amazing architecture, fascinating history with museums, great shopping especially diamonds, fashion and chocolate, river trip, spectacular restaurants and bars.

I preferred El Djem in Tunisia to the colosseum in Rome. Also more intact and less empty. You can climb all over it.

Ok I can deffo see why you struggled !

I love Rome, so beautiful. Valencia/Seville/Jerez are very nice too.
Berlin is a great place to visit but no,
I haven’t found anywhere (yet) that beats Rome .

Rome is amazing, one of my favourite cities. I grew up with a history-mad mother, with a particular interest in the Romans, so I've been brought up to seek out Roman sites here, there and everywhere. My DD has also now grown into a fascination with the Ancient world, so particularly over the last few years, we've ensured we get to see important sites when we travel (she now studies Archaeology and the Ancient World at University, so it's clearly her 'thing'!).

Athens is also amazing, and we travelled around Greece, seeing Olympia, Delphi, Mycenae a few years ago (I'd done similar on a school trip about 250 years ago).

We visited Turkey last summer, mainly to see Ephesus which is very impressive, but Istanbul and Turkey in general left me slightly cold I'm afraid.

There are a wealth of ancient sites across Europe, we're very lucky, I've yet to get to Herculaneum, but Pompeii blew me away. But then there are so many fascinating places dotted everywhere - Tarragona in Spain, Nimes/Arles in France, Bath in the UK, wonderful floor mosaics in the museum at Cirencester. I could go on and on.

However, beyond the ancient world, there are so so many wonderful cities in Europe: Amsterdam, Bruges, Lisbon, Barcelona, Budapest, Salzburg, Vienna, Munich, Berlin, Paris, Prague, Florence, Bologna....I've done a bit of interrailing which is a really easy and quick way to see lots of cities over a holiday.

Venice is astonishing. We last went during October half term and it wasn’t too crowded. Florence was chaos at October half term though - so many tourists.

Nothing as good as Rome though.

Rome is my favourite city, the food does not blow me away though. I find italian food pretty boring but the city itself is beautiful.

Athens … amazing !

I much prefer Lisbon to Rome. Especially if you spend some time in Sintra area. Easily done on train. Also can do day trip to cascais.