Quote: (05-02-2017 06:54 AM)NextStop100 Wrote:
Thoughts on rolling solo there? Milan or Barcelona
Been to both cities for 5 days each. It's an absolute no-brainer, definitely choose Barcelona.
The city itself is a gem, I'd rate it among the 5 most beautiful cities out of more than 200 that I visited within Europe. You have the sea with sand beaches right in the city, you have the mountains and hillside starting right in the city, architecture is marvelous (from medevial-feel small alleys in the Gothic quarter to wide, tree-lined boulevards with representative buildings, lush parks blossoming as early as March, beautiful fountains, almost subtropical vegetation (including palm trees with little parrots living in them), the famous Gaudi architecture, a great market hall along the main walking street Las Ramblas, an interesting seaport, great squares such as the Placa Real, and a never-ending stream of girl group tourists.
All that being said, choose wisely when to go there. I was there in March, with nice temperatures in the daytime but definitely chilly evenings, but on the other hands with less tourists in off-season, crowds were not worse than in any other city in Europe and hotel prices reasonable. In summer crowds (and hotel prices) are supposedly really bad, plus the heat might be unbearable.
As for Milan, I didn't vibe with that city in any way. It completely lacks the lively feel and southern atmosphere of Barcelona, feels more like a German city awkwardly misplaced to Italy, also it's a very flat city without any hills, mountains, sea or large river. Architecture is mediocre at best (by Italian as well as by European standards), even the Cathedral square is nothing special. City center is full of ugly streets with fashion stores, which is great when you are a mid-20 or mid-30 girl spending cash that your sugardaddy left on the hotel room nightstand the night before, but nothing a guy would enjoy in any way. Best about Milan was the really good and affordable ice-cream, but you can get that anywhere else as well. Milan was the ugliest and most boring city of all that I saw in Italy.
So much for the cities themselves.
As for the girls, I think both Spanish and Italian girls are tough nuts to crack, and while both cities attract large number of girl tourists from all over the world rolling with their girl groups, I would rather game the tourist girls in the beautiful setting of Barcelona with its better weather (sea climate, mild winters) than in the bland and boring center streets of Milan.