> 3. I am looking for a new place that I have not visited previously, so
> I'd tend to exclude London, Frankfurt, Rome, Copenhagen. (Istanbul as
> well as nearby non-European Muslim cities like Cairo are out because my
> family would be worried and fight against it, making it impossible to
> enjoy with peace of mind.)
>
> 3. My concept of fun- While I could enjoy devoting one day to old
> ruins, it is mostly about present and day to day life: good food,
> markets, music, natural or man-made beauty. Ruins of castles alone are
> not going to do it for me.

> 4. Social possibilities- Being a single guy, I wouldn't mind a place
> where it is easy to hook up with women...cities that only have local
> men looking for female tourists are way down in priority!

> Iceman yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> : Given all of the above, I'd recommend Barcelona or Paris. Beautiful
> : cities with great food, interesting markets, and plenty of music...
> : As an American male tourist in a European city for 5 days, unless you
> : are unusually attractive, your chance of hooking up with a quality
> : local woman is extremely low...
>
> Darn. :( But you are right. Sometimes I have had good luck with locals,
> but more often it is with other travelers.

> : Since you are only going for five days, the difference in the cost of
> : flights would probably more than make up in the difference in the cost
> : of accomodations, food, etc...
>
> I would be returning from a business trip and can add a free stop (for
> some bureaucratic reason, it has to be within Europe). The price for
> different cities will differ only by local airport taxes.

> : Even if it was Odessa or Tallinn?
>
> Are these your favorites?

> I had explicitly checked on Moscow, St Pete,
> but I'll check on these if you think they are the "best".