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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am the poster who wrote the long post on the previous page about the changes to Europe.

I should elaborate further and say that most of my comments are mainly addressed at the big cities, particularly places like London and Paris and Venice, which is where most tourists go. But if you are willing to venture off the beaten path, Europe is still a richly rewarding destination. How many people jump straight from Florence to Venice without stopping at Bologna? Or make the efforts to go to Ravenna? And places like Naples and Sicily are still very "authentic" and full of old character.

In France, the most "French" parts are all outside Paris these days. Try Strasbourg or Lyons, and get further into the provinces. Places like Normandy and Brittany still get their full of tourists but those are mainly European tourists and it's still enjoyable. The Dordogne is also lovely.

And venture further east! We took a trip to Romania several years ago on a whim, nothing more than the praises of one of our friends. And we were blown away by how wonderful it was. Transylvania is filled with old Austro-Hungarian cities and the countryside is dotted with historic Saxon villages with their fortified churches and wildfowl still wander the unpaved muddy lanes of the villages, and horse drawn wagons are still seen in the fields and on the roads, and people still manually stack hay into haystacks. We were looking at scenes literally last seen in Western Europe 150 years ago. And the painted monasteries of the Bukovina region were spectacular. Bucharest is still a period piece for both pre war and Soviet reasons. Poland and Hungary and Czech Republic (outside Prague, but even Prague itself) still retain a strongly local flavor. I have not been to Slovenia yet but have heard many wonderful things about it as well. [/quote]

I think this is generally true- there was a sort of blandness to the "main" parts of London that turned me off.  Same way I feel going through the City Center development in downtown DC.   But the beauty of the really big cities like London, Paris, Rome is that they are vibrant living cities, not just tourist cities.  So you don't have to go very far outside of the tourist core to experience some of the interesting things that help make them great places.  Going to eat in Brixton in London, hanging out by the Canal St.-Martin or walking along the Promenade Plantee in Paris.  While these are popular places that draw a few tourists, they are not at all overrun by tourists.

Now Venice...amazingly beautiful, but it's all too much with too many people.[/quote]

The boutique hotels (non chain) can be a good deal even in the global capitals.  I recommend Tablet Hotels for nice, fresh independent places.[/quote]

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