Before I start this, I just want to say that all of these rankings are based on my experiences in these cities. All of these cities are amazing in their own way and I am blessed to have been able to travel as much as I have.

All of these opinions are my own. I won’t be using any specific criteria to rank them, I’m just winging it honestly. If you have been to any of these countries and have your own ranking, let me know!

Ranking the European Cities I’ve Visited

#8 Helsinki, Finland

This one is kinda unfair because I didn’t really visit Helsinki if I’m being honest. The northern European cruise I was on was very port intensive and I really needed a day to relax so I did so on our Helsinki day.

I got off of the ship to go to the gift shop and that was it. My dad showed me pictures and told me what they did that day which made me regret staying behind, but I really needed that day to just chill and do nothing.

If I had actually explored Helsinki, maybe it would be higher on this list, but we’ll never know.

#7 St. Petersburg, Russia

Don’t get me wrong. I loved St. Petersburg. I just loved other cities more.

Similar to Helsinki, I did not have the entire time we were in port to explore this city. We were docked in St. Petersburg for 2 days. The first day I stayed on the ship for a ballet master class with a Russian ballerina. This was an AMAZING experience that was a once in a lifetime opportunity, so I had to take it.

The second day, I joined my family and our friends for the second part of a tour around the city. We explored St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Winter Palace, and several other cathedrals and churches.

This city and the next on the list are close to a tie, but the next city simply has more history that is personal to me, so it is ranked higher.

#6 Berlin, Germany

There is so so much history in Berlin, and we tried to fit in as much as we possibly could. We were in port for a LONG time, I want to say upwards for 12 hours, because Berlin was a 2-3 hour drive from the port.

The drive was not enjoyable, as our driver did not speak English and we couldn’t communicate that we wanted to A/C turned on (it was almost 90 degrees that day, the hottest of our entire vacation). The drive back to port was the opposite, as he had the A/C way too cold, to the point I was shaking I was so cold.

While in Berlin, though, we had an awesome time seeing all of the historical monuments and learning about the history of the city. My favorite places we went in Berlin were the Holocaust Memorial and the Berlin Wall Memorial. Coming from a German background with Jewish descendants, seeing all of these things was very moving.

The lunch that we had in Berlin was one of the best meals I had while in Europe. I wasn’t vegan at the time, so I had a schnitzel and it was DELICIOUS. I had never had schnitzel before, so I’m glad my first was authentic.

#5 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is a gorgeous city, easy to get around, and holds lots of culture. I distinctly remember the port being kind of a nightmare, but other than that, we had a grand ole time in Amsterdam.

The Van Gogh Museum was really cool. We saw one of his Sunflower paintings after having seen another in London a few days prior. We also learned more about his life before and after his time as a painter.

My favorite thing we did in Amsterdam was visit the Anne Frank House. I had to read the Diary of Ann Frank in school, so it was interesting to be there where she had lived and see everything first hand.

#4 London, England

I wish we had had more time to explore London. There is SO much to do here and we only had 2 days.

The first day, we did a self-guided walking tour around the city. We visited the British Library, Buckingham Palace, Tower of London, the National Gallery, and more. We even saw a showing of Hamlet at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

The second day, we did a bus tour to the City of Bath, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle.

Both days were very long and exhausting. Because of how much we tried to cram into these 2 days, I would love to go back and explore more over a longer period of time.

#3 Stockholm, Sweden

Okay. These next 3 all have special places in my heart. I love these cities so much.

First Stockholm. This is the home to the ABBA Museum and the Mama Mia Experience. Sadly, I was unable to experience the latter because of the times we were in port, but the ABBA Museum was AMAZING. I grew up listening to ABBA, so it was really really cool to go to this museum and learn so much about the band and see all of their memorabilia.

Stockholm was also the first city I tried European ice cream, and let me tell y’all. Europe knows what their doing when it comes to soft-serve. If you ever go to Europe, you HAVE to get soft-serve at least once.

The food in Stockholm was also really good. We went to a little mom and pop diner off the beaten path. I got Swedish meatballs and mashed potatoes and it was SO good. One of my friends had been getting Fanta in every country and said that Sweden’s was the best.

If given the chance, I would LOVE to go back to Stockholm and explore some more!

#2 Tallinn, Estonia

Saying Tallinn is a beautiful city is an understatement. While walking around the city center, my dad and I discussed how we could see ourselves going back to Tallinn for an entire vacation.

The city is old, like 12th century old. The buildings are beautiful, the scenery is beautiful, the people are so nice.

Other than simply walking around and exploring the city on a walking tour, we also ventured to the TV tower. This tower is 1,030 ft tall and offers the best views we got in all of Europe. From the viewing platform on the 21st floor, you can see across the Gulf of Finland to spot Helsinki.

#1 Copenhagen, Denmark

There is so much I could say about Copenhagen. We were here for 5 days after debarking the Disney Magic. That being said, I feel a little bias putting it at #1 because we were here much longer than any of the other cities.

Our family friends who cruised with us were also staying a few days as well, so my friend John and I were able to explore the city on our own which was really nice.

We walked almost everywhere for the 5 days we were in Copenhagen, which helped us learn our way around. Knowing where things were made it feel more homey.

During our time in Copenhagen, we took a day to go to Tivoli, the amusement park that inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland. It was really neat to be somewhere not related to Disney but still has Disney history. The rides are kinda mediocre, but the park is old so it makes sense. There were some that were pretty intense though, so don’t underestimate it.

On the last day of our entire vacation, we visited Hamlet’s castle. This was really cool because on our first day we saw the play, and we were ending with the castle where it was based off of.

In retrospect, all of these cities are amazing and I was blessed to be able to travel to each and every one of them. This ranking is solely for fun and not in any way meant to discourage you from visiting one city over another.

If you happen to have questions about my experiences in any of these cities, don’t be afraid to ask! I’d love to help.

I hope you enjoyed reading, check out my other travel posts. Thank you!