Greece
Athens
Plaka sits at the foot of the Acropolis and stretches towards Monastiraki. Get to know this neighbourhood if you want to stay around the historic heart of Athens.
Where to stayHotels by destination: where to stay in each city
Each city with its areas to stay in, the way in from the airport and practical tips — then a hotel search for your dates and guests.
Italy
Rome
The Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo de’ Fiori are part of the historic centre. Mark the places you want to visit and compare hotel locations with your walking route.
Where to stay
Spain
Barcelona
Barceloneta is Barcelona’s seaside neighbourhood, with a beach and places for seafood and tapas. When choosing a hotel, weigh up being near the beach or the city sights.
Where to stay
Portugal
Lisbon
Baixa and Chiado are the flat, connected centre; Alfama is the old quarter up the hill. The difference between them is how many steps you take with a suitcase every time you go out.
Where to stay
Hungary
Budapest
Pest is the flat, busy side; Buda is the hilly, quieter one. Check which side a hotel is on before comparing prices — it is not the same holiday.
Where to stay
France
Paris
Paris is twenty arrondissements spiralling out from the Seine, and each has its own pace. Decide whether you want museums on the doorstep or a neighbourhood to come home to.
Where to stay
United Kingdom
London
London is a city of villages joined by the Underground. A hotel near the right line can matter more than one near the right landmark.
Where to stay
Netherlands
Amsterdam
Amsterdam’s centre is a ring of canals you can cross on foot in half an hour. Staying inside it or just beyond it is the first choice to make.
Where to stay
Czech Republic
Prague
Prague’s old centre sits on both banks of the Vltava, joined by the Charles Bridge. Much of it is best seen on foot, and much of it is cobbled.
Where to stay
Austria
Vienna
Vienna is built in rings: the old centre, the grand boulevard around it, and the districts beyond. Its public transport makes almost anywhere a good base.
Where to stay
Germany
Berlin
Berlin has no single centre: it is a collection of districts, each with its own character. Which one you stay in changes the trip more than in most cities.
Where to stay
Spain
Madrid
Madrid lives late, and its centre is compact enough to walk between the great museums, the plazas and the tapas bars.
Where to stay
Türkiye
Istanbul
Istanbul spans Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus. The historic peninsula, the streets around Galata and the Asian shore are three different stays.
Where to stay
United Arab Emirates
Dubai
Dubai stretches for kilometres along the coast. Whether you want the beach, the towers of Downtown or the souks by the Creek decides where to stay.
Where to stay
Georgia
Tbilisi
Tbilisi climbs the hills on both sides of the Mtkvari river. The old town, with its carved balconies and sulphur baths, is where most first visits begin.
Where to stay
Georgia
Batumi
Batumi is Georgia’s city on the Black Sea, with a long seafront boulevard and the mountains close behind. Most stays are about the sea and the evening walk.
Where to stay
Italy
Milan
Milan is compact at its heart, around the Duomo, and well served by metro everywhere else. It is a city of neighbourhoods as much as of sights.
Where to stay
Thailand
Bangkok
Bangkok is huge, and its traffic decides the trip. A hotel near the river or a Skytrain station is worth more than one that looks close on the map.
Where to stay
Italy
Florence
Florence’s historic centre is small enough to cross on foot in half an hour. The question is which side of the Arno you want to wake up on.
Where to stay
Italy
Venice
Venice has no roads: you arrive by boat or on foot, over bridges, with your suitcase. Where you sleep decides how far you carry it.
Where to stay
Germany
Munich
Munich is a big city with a small, walkable centre around Marienplatz. Its S-Bahn and U-Bahn make almost any district a good base.
Where to stay
Poland
Kraków
Kraków’s old town, one of Europe’s largest medieval squares at its heart, is ringed by a park. Most of what visitors come for is a walk from there.
Where to stay
Azerbaijan
Baku
Baku joins a walled old city to a long seafront boulevard and a skyline of new towers. Most visitors stay within a walk of the old walls.
Where to stay
Türkiye
Antalya
Antalya is a city with an old walled harbour at its heart and long beaches on either side. Whether you want the old town or the sand decides where to stay.
Where to stay
Japan
Tokyo
Tokyo is a cluster of neighbourhoods joined by some of the world’s busiest railways. The one you choose decides whether your evenings are neon, shrines or a quiet side street.
Where to stay
United States
New York
New York is five boroughs and countless neighbourhoods, but most visitors stay in Manhattan or just across the river. The area decides whether you wake to Broadway, Central Park or a brownstone street.
Where to stay
Morocco
Marrakech
Marrakech is a walled medina of souks and courtyard riads beside wide modern avenues. Whether you sleep inside the walls or outside them is the first choice to make.
Where to stay
Egypt
Cairo
Cairo spreads along the Nile from the Pyramids of Giza to the medieval lanes of Islamic Cairo. Choose between the river, the Pyramids and the city centre, then plan around the traffic.
Where to stay
Cyprus
Limassol
Limassol runs for kilometres along the sea, from the old town and the marina to a long strip of beach hotels. Whether you want the town or the beach decides where to stay.
Where to stay