1. Berlin, Germany
My favorite neighborhood in Berlin was Kreuzberg. This multi-cultural, vibrant, and offbeat area was dominated by unique shops, restaurants, and bars. Adjacent to this was Neukoln. Although a bit rough around the edges, the night life is the best in this part of the city, with bars and clubs filled even on weeknights. One way to find new restaurants, bars, and neighborhoods, is to take the U-Bahn to random stops in different directions, and usually not too far from each stop there are new places to explore. During the day, Berlin has many beautiful parks to roam such as Tempelhof, an abandoned WWII airport, Tiergarten, the city’s version of Central Park, and Viktoriapark, which even has a waterfall. Another day activity is to visit the graffiti park to see street art. Also in the graffiti park are numerous famous clubs. Other activities include thrift shopping, exploring the museums, and visiting all of the historic sites. I would say the best time to go is in late summer, and to stay in either a boutique hotel, Airbnb, or hostel.
2. Budapest, Hungary
I only spent three days in this amazing city, but it has been my favorite short trip to date. There are two sides of the city, Buda and Pest. During the day, I spent my time in the Pest side exploring sites during a walking tour, visiting museums, and hiked up Gellert hill to watch the sun set over the river dividing the two sides. At night, the Buda side comes alive, as the Jewish district houses many ruin pubs, which are abandoned buildings repurposed with clubs, bars, and lounges taking up the rooms. Another fun night activity was going to the Turkish baths, however visiting in the day would be just as nice. One must do is to find a traditional Hungarian restaurant which serves goulash, a hearty stew you can’t visit Budapest without trying. We stayed in an affordable, large Airbnb in a good location, and mostly got around the city on foot. I would recommend going in fall.
3. Dubrovnik, Croatia
I spent my fall break of 8 days traveling around Croatia, and Dubrovnik was our first and best destination. We went in late fall; however, I would recommend going late summer because more would be open, yet it wouldn’t be in the height of tourist season. During the day, we walked along the castle walls, explored the interior old kingdom, found hidden beaches, hiked up a mountain overlooking the ocean and town below, and bought groceries from local markets to cook for dinner. Although we didn’t experience much nightlife due to it being the end of the tourist season, we cooked fresh food each night, and made our own cocktails at our Airbnb. I recommend staying outside of the castle’s town center, and instead to get a cheaper Airbnb outside in the surrounding town area. I suggest also taking day trips to the numerous islands off the coast of this area, we went to the island of Kolocep and spent the day eating and exploring.
4. Cinque Terre, Italy
From what I remember of my family trip to Italy in 7th grade, this was my favorite place we went. There are five small towns that make up this region, connected by tram or hiking routes. We spent our days hiking between the towns, laying on the beaches, walking through the colorful town centers, eating delicious seafood, and taking boat trips around the coastlines. Although more pricy than the other listed locations, Cinque Terre could definitely be done on a budget, and I recommend staying either in a neighboring town, or finding an Airbnb in one of the smaller of the five towns. To save money, I would also recommend going either in spring or late summer to avoid the tourist season, yet you would still be able to enjoy the sunny weather. I was not old enough to join in the nightlife, but along the beach there were always parties, bars, and people out and about young and old.
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Although only there for two winter days, I packed many activities into the 48 hours. By day we visited the numerous museums, hung out in multiple cute cafes, walked the 9 streets, and shopped in multiple thrift stores. Although we stayed in a hostel in the downtown area, I would recommend staying elsewhere a bit outside the town center, because we didn’t spend any time there (too touristy). I would also suggest going in spring or summer to go to farmers markets, flower festivals, and tulip farms, as they were not there in the winter time. Although we were too worn out to go out at night, there are a lot of cute bars, and young clubs thought the city, and in the summer, many music festivals.
