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European cities
Places like London, Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam are so densely packed with goodies that one walking tour can tick off great history, culture, creativity and gastronomy, all in the space of a couple of hours.
Tat’s why Europe remains the top choice of U.S.
travelers overseas (discounting Mexico and Canada), and why the last two years have seen steady increases in U.S. visitor numbers, particularly with 2015’s whopping 17 percent jump to a total of 12.5 million. Tat dropped to seven percent in 2016, but it still represents a healthy increase, and comes in the face of unsettling terrorist activity across Europe. Looking across a range of travel agent offers, it’s clear
that culture and history are increasingly the focus of interest. People want to see the famous cathedrals and the royal palaces and to visit the big-name museums — but they also want to eat in the finest restaurants and sleep in the most interesting hotels. Te greatest cities, especially those detailed below, make this travel dream come true.
Clockwise from left: Reichstag
Building; View of Berlin Dom and Spree River; the Wall, East Side Gallery
BERLIN
Te German capital is the city-break success story of the last decade. It may not be architecturally beautiful, but it has a tremendous story to tell, of being divided in half by history and stitched back together again. Much of the original dividing line has been papered over with brand-new developments and upmarket shopping malls, but there are still sections of the Wall to see, particularly at the open-air East Side Gallery with its famous imagery, and Checkpoint Charlie, with adjacent museums and exhibitions. Elsewhere, there’s an unparalleled vibrancy across town, particularly thanks to a large and creative
expatriate population (with substantial numbers from the U.S.) who have adopted the city as their home. Be sure to ride the S-bahn urban trains that snake right across the city at rooftop level and stop off at Museum Island, with its storehouses of world culture, and at the Brandenburg Gate to see the Reichstag parliament building and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel’s offices.
Be y ond North of Berlin lies the lake district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, with cabin cruiser rental available. And south is Leipzig, touted as the new Berlin, one of the spots on the Martin Luther trail. ▶
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