I’m sure everyone is familiar with the concept of superlatives. Whether it’s from a high school yearbook or an awards show, superlatives are given out to the best dressed and best motion picture.

Last summer, while I spent more than eleven hours on a train heading from Bar, Montenegro to Belgrade, Serbia I decided to make my own superlatives of my travels. I realized this was going to be a difficult task, choosing between 13 different European countries and 27 cities. The other travelers I befriended in the train car became fascinated with how I compiled my information.

I explained to the two girls from Bulgaria, I wanted to both recount my experiences and give advice to future travelers. The following list includes my opinions on cities in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Greece. There are a few different sections, ranging from the best to worst and most to least; I compiled the list of factors that drew my attention and interest.

Along with my superlative winners, I also included notes in parenthesis that can be necessary to the selections.

Best Large City: Budapest, Hungary (With a population over 1.5 million this constitutes as a large city)

Best Small City: Trebinje, Bosnia & Hercegovina (With a Population of over 30 Thousand, Trebinje was by far the smallest city I visited.)

Most Overrated: Milan, Italy (I only spent a day in Milan, however with over-crowding of tourism, high prices and an over emphasis on high end fashion, the city didn’t appeal to my interests. The Duomo is marvelous however.)

Most Underrated: Trebinje, Bosnia & Hercegovina (This lone coastal B&H city is a treasure, about a bus train ride from Dubrovnik).

Most Clean: Ljubljana, Slovenia (This small capital city, roughly the size of Richmond, VA is remarkably clean. Tivoli City Park, located in the middle of the city, includes numerous trails, fountains, statues, a castle, pond and a mansion.)

Most Expensive: Barcelona, Spain (Expectedly the capital of Catalonia is very expensive. The many sights, great nightlife and beaches help make Barcelona a high-volume tourist destination.)

Least Expensive: Prague, Czech Republic (Shockingly, the beautiful bohemian city has inexpensive food, housing, and beer!)

Most Touristy: Dubrovnik, Croatia (The site of Game of Thrones sits off the coast of the Adriatic Sea and hosts the old city walls, many beaches, and beautiful weather.)

Least Touristy: Turin, Italy (The fourth largest city in Italy does not seem to be a high-volume destination for tourists, proudly holding true to its local culture.)

Most Commonly English-Speaking: Berlin, Germany (The German capital city hosts many English speakers. This is understandable after its post WWII occupation by England, Russia, France, and the U.S.A.

Least Commonly English-Speaking: Ulcinj, Montenegro (After heeding the advice of my hostel owners in Trebinje I headed to the southern coastal city of Ulcinj, which is as much Albanian as Montenegrin.)

Most Eventful: Barcelona, Spain (Gaudi architecture, a bustling nightlife, and beautiful beaches; enough said.)

Least Eventful: Kotor, Montenegro (Looking over photos preparing for my trip, few places excited me as much as Kotor. The old town, beautiful bay, and castle made this a day trip I had to take. Despite my advice to not stay nights here, the hike up the ladder of Cattaro makes it well worth a day trip.)

Most Active: Berlin, Germany (The whole country seems to have more of an emphasis on exercise than other European countries. I fit in well biking around the city while business professionals biked in suits to work.)

Least Active: Dubrovnik, Croatia (I’m not sure If it’s the scorching weather or the high volume of tourists but the people remained stagnant.)

Most Safe: Heidelberg, Germany (The city of 150,000 provides a traveler with a perfect mix of big city attractions and small-town peace.)

Least Safe: Barcelona, Spain (With the large volume of tourists and a population of 1.6 million, Barcelona is riskier to travel about then my other stays. A large European city despite its tourism is safer than its American equivalent; no gun violence!)

Most Friendly: Lisbon, Portugal (The Portuguese people are extremely friendly and very welcoming to Americans.)

Least Friendly: Barcelona, Spain (I found the language barrier with the Catalonians to be difficult. My elementary Spanish was no use in the proud Catalonian capital, the Catalonians are like the French with the language arrogance.)

Most Attractive People: Turin, Italy (This is just my personal preference, Italian women speaking a beautiful language, with good coloring and long dark hair.)

Best Food Market: Valencia, Spain (The Mercado Central is one of my fondness memories in Valencia.)

Best Food: Budapest, Hungary (This gem of a city has a great variety of food. Although half of the cities qualify for this spot, I remember the Hungarian meals fondly.)

Best Food Dish: Heidelberg, Germany (Atop the mountain the Philosopher’s walk which provided a wonderful view of the castle, sat the quaintest restaurant. Seemingly serving mostly to the local crowd, I received great service and a wonderful meal consisting of boar sausage, mashed potatoes, and red cabbage.)

Best Wine: Torino, Italy (This could easily be Trebinje, Santorini or Lisbon. Most importantly for a backpacker, the wine was very affordable.)

Best Beer: Munich, Germany (Prague could also take this award, however German beer and the openness to drink any time made the home of Oktoberfest an easy choice.)

Best Nightlife: Hamburg, Germany (I’m aware cities such as Barcelona, Berlin, Prague, and Athens all boast great nightlife. I did not put much an emphasis on going out during my two months, since I planned to be up early every morning exploring. I did not initially plan to visit Hamburg, however I decided to visit after making a friend in Lisbon. The city is a small-scale Amsterdam, boasting a red-light district and many lively clubs.)

Best Sunset: Santorini, Greece (The honeymoon island is perfect for sunset pictures, my phone is evidence for that.)

Best Beach: Santorini, Greece (Travelers will be pleased whether it’s Perissa beach, Red beach, or Akrotiri beach.)

Best Lake: Lake Bled/Bohinj, Slovenia (Like Kotor, the pictures of Lake Bled made me salivate thinking about looking at the church. Paddling to the island was wonderful but difficult. I enjoyed Lake Bled, however the larger Bohinj is more eventful!)

Best River: Budapest, Hungary (The river that crosses ten different countries, ranging from the Black Forest all the way to the Black Sea. The Danube River, the second largest river in Europe crosses through both Budapest and Belgrade. Although the Danube helps beautify Belgrade, Budapest is unparalleled.

Best Bridge: Ljubljana, Slovenia (Despite the many beautiful bridges of Budapest along with all of Europe, Ljubljana is home to a dragon bridge and a unique glass see through bridge.)

Best Hostel: Lisbon, Portugal (Credit to my first hostel, Good Morning Hostel. Easy choice with a warm fun staff, great location, and great breakfast and dinner.)

Best University: Heidelberg, Germany (I visited six different universities, however the allure of Heidelberg University dating back to 1386 is undoubtable.)

Best Air BnB: Ljubljana, Slovenia (I only stayed in Air BnBs in Budapest, Ljubljana, Dubrovnik, and Athens. Every experience was unique and favorable but this Air BnB went above and beyond, even picking us up at the train station.)

Best Old Town: Budapest, Hungary (Whether it be Dresden, Prague, Budapest, Dubrovnik, Ulcinj, or Kotor, Europe is rich with old towns. The Buda side provides travelers with history, sights and great restaurants.)

Best Day Trip: Sintra, Portugal (In close competition with Toledo and Dachau. The day trip stood alone due to a fun group of fellow travelers and a great tour guide from the Good Morning Hostel.)

Best Representation of History: Berlin, Germany (Germany as everyone should very familiar with has a dark past. Germany blatantly displays its horrid history through museums, monuments, and golden stars; something the U.S.A. could learn from.

Most Bike Friendly: Berlin, Germany (See Most Active)

Most Navigable: Madrid, Spain (Whether it’s on a train, bus, metro or walking the Spanish capital is very walkable.)

Least Navigable: Valencia, Spain (Google Maps couldn’t even help me navigate throughout all the pointless narrow streets.)

Most Walkable: Prague, Czech Republic (I walked from one side to the other, old town with ease. Mostly flat and plenty of sidewalks.)

Least Walkable: Lisbon. Portugal (Very hilly city, especially in the Alfama district.)

Most Impressive Religious Building: La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain (See pictures and the view looking across Barcelona is unparalleled.)

Most Impressive Infrastructure: Gaudi Architecture, Barcelona, Spain (Research Antoni Gaudi)

Most Effective Transportation: Munich, Germany (The train system both above and below ground is incredibly reliable and extensive.)

Most Impressive Train Station: Berlin, Germany (The Hauptbahnhof, which opened in 2006 is a site to behold, is the hub to the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, and the Tram.)

These superlatives were originally made a year ago, I compiled the list mostly on memory and pictures off my phone. I did not include my trip to Reggio Calabria, Pompeii, and Naples two weeks ago but as I travel more I will update my superlatives. Again, this list is unique to my experiences and perspective of what I encountered.