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Europe’s Magical Cities

As much as we love them, let the first-timers have Paris, Barcelona, and Rome. The real pleasures of getting to know Europe lie in the second and third cities. Sometimes they’re in a friendly rivalry with the capital—riding a wave of creativity, whether in fashion, music, or gastronomy. Sometimes they’re just calmly doing their own thing, going about functioning as liveable, maybe walkable cities. Either way, their greatest charm may be that they don’t revolve around tourism. Sure, you’ll see other visitors, but you’ll also get a greater dose of local life.

Porto, Portugal

Lisbon’s little sister of Porto is known for its colorful, cobblestoned neighborhoods (especially the riverside Ribeira district, a UNESCO World Heritage Site), tile-festooned São Bento train station, and the picturesque Douro River that runs through the middle of the city. The south side of the river is full of warehouses and tasting rooms from the world’s top Port wine houses, while the urban center is to the north. It’s compact and walkable—if you don’t mind hills and sometimes slippery cobblestone sidewalks.

Stay

Image Courtesy of Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments

Built 1884 as its name suggests, Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments occupies a palace in a prime spot on Rua das Flores, the main shopping street in the old city. The 12 rooms and suites in the main building, along with 11 suites in another building a couple of hundred meters away, are all individually decorated to pay homage to the Portuguese “discoveries” (the preferred term for colonies) and are full of “exotic” elements like porcelain, chinoiserie, tea, and (faux) exotic birds. 

Eat

A pioneer in Portugal’s fire kitchen trend, Ricardo Dias Ferreira opened his restaurant Elemento without a traditional kitchen. Rather, everything is cooked over live fires, from a wood-burning oven to glowing embers for smoking, and guests at the “chef’s table” bar get a front-row seat. For something more casual, head to the taproom Musa das Virtudes, where craft beers are paired with way-better-than-average pub fare (everything from fried pig’s ears to vegetarian paratha). 

Do

The newly opened World of Wine (WOW for short, and not a coincidence) is an entire district.  Here you will find seven museums—the signature Wine Experience museum is out to demystify the beverage—devoted to everything from cork to Porto’s history of fashion and fabrics, 12 restaurants and bars, and a Wine School for those who want to take a deeper dive. If you’d rather get closer to the source, or just admire the city’s architecture, Invictus Cruises offers a variety of trips along the Douro River, from a two-hour city cruise to a full-day tour deep into the heart of the vineyard-covered Douro Valley. And don’t miss Serralves, one of the finest contemporary art museums anywhere, surrounded by beautiful gardens.

Hamburg, Germany

There was a time, a few years ago, when seemingly every European city with a hint of cool was billing itself as the new Berlin. Germany’s second city, the northern port of Hamburg, was no exception. The largest second city in Europe, it has a thriving music scene—its four-day Reeperbahn festival is one of the continent’s most important—an artsy warehouse district, a town hall with more rooms than Buckingham Palace, and more bridges than London, Venice, and Amsterdam combined. As a tour guide put it so eloquently a few years ago, you go to Berlin to party, you go to Munich to work, and you go to Hamburg to do both. 

Stay

Image Courtesy of The Fontenay

Opened in 2018, the Fontenay was the city’s first contemporary five-star hotel. The lakeside property is an architectural marvel, composed of three intertwining circles, meaning just about every wall is curved. Most of the 130 rooms have balconies, and other highlights include a fine-dining restaurant and rooftop bar with panoramic views. 

Eat

An institution for over 40 years, the family-run Fischereihafen Restaurant has been Hamburg’s address for excellent fish, both in traditional styles (smoked eel filet on scrambled eggs, turbot with Pommery mustard sauce) and international ones like sushi and sashimi. There’s also an “American style” oyster bar, where creative cocktails are served alongside the bivalves. For late-night cravings, the corner pub Erika’s Eck is the place to go for huge schnitzels and chilled beer, minus the frills. 

Do

The century-old Speicherstadt is the world’s largest contiguous warehouse district, a redbrick warren of narrow streets, Gothic gables and turrets, canals, and quite a few of those many bridges. Along with the architectural interest, it’s worth a visit for the co-work spaces, indie boutiques, and specialty coffee bars. For high culture, there’s the new Elbphilharmonie concert hall, an architectural wonder by Herzog & de Meuron, with excellent acoustics and a programming line up that ranges from string quartets and philharmonic orchestras to Hans Zimmer and Angélique Kidjo (not together). And it’s worth getting up early (or staying up late) for the Sunday Fish Market, where in addition to fresh caught fish you can also pick up fruit, flowers, clothes, and souvenirs—and yep, fish sandwiches for breakfast.

Valencia, Spain

On Spain’s east coast, the country’s third-largest city quietly charms with its 2,000 years of history.  Along with golden beaches, a diverse mix of architectural styles (Romanesque, Gothic, flamboyant Rococo, Art Nouveau, and Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava’s gorgeous City of Arts and Sciences complex), a lively gastronomic scene, and UNESCO-designated historic areas. The main attractions are centered around the colorful, compact old town center, meaning it’s largely walkable. 

Stay

Image Courtesy of Caro Hotel

Each of the 26 rooms in the stylish Caro Hotel is unlike any of the others. What they share is comfort, attention to detail, and an intriguing mix of historic architectural elements and contemporary furnishings. The rooms tucked up under the wooden eaves are particularly romantic. 

Eat

Hometown hero Ricard Camarena has five restaurants around Valencia, but the chef’s talent is best appreciated at his namesake restaurant, where he holds two regular Michelin stars plus a green one for sustainability. He recently added a fully plant-based version of his signature tasting menu, still a rarity in Spain. And while every local has a favorite paella place—the rice dish was born here—a reliable choice is La Pepica. Just know that paella is strictly a lunch dish here, and it is always served in large portions.

Do

If you visit just one neighborhood, it should be El Carmen, which takes its name from the Carmen Calzado convent, church, and adjacent square. It’s also home to two medieval gates, remnants of the old city walls, and narrow streets lined with cafés, tapas bars, boutiques, and late-night watering holes. For cultural appreciation, there’s the La Lonja (silk exchange), a UNESCO site and one of the most famous civil (non-religious) Gothic monuments in Europe. It’s across the street from the Central Market, the largest market with fresh produce on the continent, in its own gorgeous piece of modernist architecture, full of iron columns and stained glass. 

Gothenburg, Sweden

This is a place that takes its cold-water, North Atlantic seafood so seriously that the main fish market has cathedral-style architecture and is known as the Fish Church. But there’s more to Gothenburg than food: It’s a compact city of Dutch-style canals and leafy boulevards, and about 100 murals commissioned by street artists during several festivals designed to challenge the dominance of advertising boards in cities. 

Stay

Image Courtesy of Dorsia

Fabulously flamboyant, the 37-room Dorsia hotel is decked out in purple velvet, mulberry silk, Egyptian cotton linen, and a whole lot of sex appeal. Behind the heavy curtains of the dining room, the kitchen brigade is led by Oskar Samuelsson, who spent time in the kitchen of Kadeau in Copenhagen and the famed Fäviken Magasinet in Sweden, each of which holds Michelin stars. 

Eat

New York’s most famous Swedish chef, Marcus Samuelsson (no relation) returned to his adopted hometown as the creative director of Norda, a snazzy place that takes inspiration from both sides of the Atlantic. It also uses vegetables from its own rooftop garden and gets its seafood from suppliers along the nearby Bohuslän coast. Or for vegetarian fare, head to Hagabions Café, the city’s most popular and ambitious plant-based spot. 

Do

Sweden is world-renowned for good design, and the Röhsska Museum of design, fashion, craft, and applied arts is an excellent place to appreciate that, with a collection of more than 50,000 objects from Sweden, Europe, and farther afield. For a less formal approach to design, visit the Haga district, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, where the pedestrian main street is lined with independent boutiques and cozy cafés. While in Haga be sure to climb up the Skansen Kronan fortress for the views over the city. 

Naples, Italy

No longer just the jumping-off point for Capri or Istria, Naples has become a worthy destination in its own right. The city is full of beautiful decay, Baroque architecture, a thriving cultural and social scene, and of course—this being Italy—excellent food. It’s still gloriously chaotic, but it’s considerably safer than it used to be. Naples is watched over by the still-active Mount Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed the Roman town of Pompeii, whose ruins are still visitable, but the modern city is anything but a time capsule. 

Stay

Image Courtesy of Atelier Inès

Just opened this spring, the new Atelier Inès combines an art laboratory with jewelry workshops and showrooms with a six-bespoke-suite hotel. It’s all inspired by the philosophy of its famous former resident, the international artist, and sculptor Annibale Oste, and the design incorporates many of her interior design pieces and home accessories.   

Eat

An institution since 1943, the fine dining restaurant Mimì alla Ferrovia has its walls lined with photos of its many famous patrons over the years. In the capable hands of chef Salvatore Giugliano, the menu has kept its classic Neapolitan pasta while adding updated tweaks like the kimchi sauce on the octopus and the wasabi mayo with the fried calamari. And of course, Neapolitan-style pizza is a must: Pizzeria Gino Sorbillo has been serving some of the finest versions since 1935.  

Do

For people-watching and a bit of kitsch, it’s hard to top Via San Gregorio Armeno, a picturesque alleyway in the heart of the city that’s lined with artisan shops selling nativity scenes and other, more modern and secular figurines, such as butchers, dancers, and famous footballers. The antidote to all that bustle is the hushed calm of the Santa Chiara cloister, which is remarkable for its beautiful tile work. Farther afield, Procida island (40 minutes by ferry) is far less famous than the other islands in the Bay of Naples but no less lovely. It was named Italy’s Capital of Culture for 2022. 

Antwerp, Belgium

This port city has a history that dates back to the Middle Ages, but it’s best known for its Flemish Renaissance architecture. Well, that and its trendsetting fashion scene—the fashion department at the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts is internationally renowned, and the city gave rise to designers such as Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester. Its MoMu fashion museum is a must-see for those who are interested in style, while there’s plenty of interesting architecture and gastronomy to please everyone else. 

Stay

Image Courtesy of Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp

Hidden behind the ancient walls of the city’s botanical garden, the new Botanic Sanctuary Antwerp is one of Europe’s most exciting hotel openings this year. It’s the city’s first five-star luxury hotel and the first member of Leading Hotels of the World. It has 108 rooms and four restaurants from name-brand chefs and front-of-house men like Gert De Mangeleer and Joachim Boudens, who held three Michelin stars at previous ventures. 

Eat

Book well in advance for a table at the cult foodie favorite the Jane, a repurposed military hospital chapel lit up by a massive starburst chandelier with the kitchen in the spot where the altar used to be. Chef Nick Bril says he’s “in love with the kitchen Rock & Roll,” meaning he works hard to blend culinary perfection in his modernist cuisine with an easygoing atmosphere. For a more casual experience, Chez Fred has been a classic neighborhood bistro since 1990, offering classic Belgian food like croquettes and stews, and bistro dishes like beef and tuna steaks. 

Do

Routinely listed among the world’s most beautiful train stations, Antwerp’s Central Station is a stone-clad masterpiece, built at the turn of the 20th century, with an iron-and-glass train shed that soars almost 150 feet high. For something more contemporary, the Antwerp Museum organizes tours of the city’s vibrant street art scene. The other can’t-miss museum is the eclectic MAS, with a collection of more than 500,000 pieces that tell the story of Antwerp, shipping and trade, Europe, and the history of the world—along with a rooftop with a killer view over the city.