5 cities I’d revisit any day

If you could return to five places, what would they be? That is the question being asked by booked.net in their blogging competition.

After being nominated by both Richard at a bit of culture and Neil of Backpacks and Bunkbeds, I finally managed to pull my finger out and got to work on my own list.

Now, I’m not usually one for blogging competitions but something about the idea of returning to past destinations appealed to me – probably because it’s something I don’t do often, but am increasingly thinking I should. But that’s a whole other post.

Now, before the ‘big reveal’, I have to say it was a lot more difficult to pick just five places than I thought. I could have easily written this list three times over, but I courageously managed to whittle it down to the five.

So, here we are: five cities I would go back to any day.

5. Liverpool

Now, this is a controversial choice for me because I chose not to include my beloved Manchester. The reason being that Manchester will always feel like a second home for me, whereas its sworn rival Liverpool is a place I love but don’t know well.

Having said that, Liverpool deserves better than to be defined by Manchester. A lot of people might not realise it, but Liverpool is brilliant. The beautiful Albert Docks are home to a collection of amazing museums, including the Museum of Liverpool and the International Slavery Museum, as well as the Tate Liverpool. On top of which, you have the Three Graces around the corner.

On top of which, the city centre is compact and easy to walk around. But most importantly, the city has a unique feel to it, which is hard to describe. I’ll have to try again after my next visit…

Read more about a day in Liverpool here.

4. Copenhagen

Copenhagen is a city I just fell in love with. Maybe it was the unexpectedly good weather. Maybe it was the unexpectedly reasonable prices. Maybe it was the unexpected private bike tour. Whatever the reason, visiting Copenhagen remains one of the highlights of the year for me.

Though we didn’t spend a huge amount of time there, the Danish capital is another city that gave me ‘that feeling’. The city has a great relaxed air to it – it isn’t a sprawling metropolis of sky scrapers, but more of a stress-free large town with parks, canals and bikes aplenty.

Definitely one to revisit soon.

Read what you need to know before visiting Copenhagen here.

3. Edinburgh

I’ll be honest here – my reasons for picking Edinburgh are fairly shallow. The simple fact is: the city is beautiful. And every time I revisit my photos, I’m annoyed I didn’t manage to do the place justice.

But there are other reasons I am keen to revisit the Scottish capital: Hogmanay, the Fringe Festival, to try and see the city on a sunny day – and of course, to climb Arthur’s Seat. This is something we gave up on doing during my first – and so far only – visit due to dull weather and low visibility.

Oh – and a bit more Haggis wouldn’t go amiss.

Check out some shots from Edinburgh here.

2. Dresden

Pipped to the post is glorious Dresden. Though I absolutely love being back in Germany, I often wonder if I’m living on the wrong side of the country. Dresden has it all: incredible architecture, beautifully restored historic buildings, buzzing bohemian neighbourhoods and a tragic history. Not an easy mix to fit into one city, and unfortunately, this one is at least 7 hours away by train.

Nevertheless, Dresden (and wider Saxony) is somewhere I am keen to revisit soon. It’s an area that seems to be missed by a lot of tourists to Germany, and I am determined to drag a few people along for the ride to help spread the word.

1. Berlin

It was always going to be Berlin. In every version of this list I tried to write, Berlin was number 1. Easily.

Now I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Berlin is my outright favourite city (it has at least two very strong contenders for that title), but it is a lot of things that are important to me: it is the capital of Germany – a country I bloody love; it is a bastion of 20^th Century history – from the swinging Berlin of the 1920s, to the capital of the Third Reich; it is two cities in one – shaped by both the GDR and Western Germany, and finally: it is really cool.

While my main reason to love Berlin will always be its place in history, it’s hard to think of a city that has more going on in the present.

Never change, Berlin.

Read more on the history of Berlin here.

Now, to continue spreading the love, I hereby nominate 4 more bloggers to post about the cities they would revisit any day.

1. Justyna of One Penny Trip

2. Saana over at Live Now – Dream Later

3. Anna from Home & Away

4. Josh at Engineer on the Road

Looking forward to hearing your choices, guys!