Paris: Top 10 Attractions

10. Hotel de Ville

9. Place de la Concorde

8. Pompidou Center

7. Arc de Triomphe

6. Seine Cruise

5. Versailles Palace

4. Notre Dame

3. Sacre Coeur

2. Louvre Museum

1. Eiffel Tower

Lyon

"In Lyon the walls tell stories, mostly very tall tales."

"The residents of the city are called Lyonnais."

"Lyon was historically known as an important area for the production and weaving of silk and in modern times has developed a reputation as the capital of gastronomy in France."

FC Barca

Barcelona: Top 10 Attractions

10. Parc Guell

9. Plaza de Espana

8. La Boquena

7. Casa Battlo

6. Gothic Quarter

5. Barcelona Cathedral

4. Beaches

3. La Rambla

2. Casa Mila

1. Sagrada de Familia

Madrid: Top 10 Attractions

10. Plaza de Cibeles





9. Almudena Cathedral / Catedral de la Almudena



8. Puerta Del Sol



7. Temple of Debod / Templo de Debod



6. Rastro Market / El Rastro

5. Retiro Park / Parque de Retiro

4. Reina Sofia Museum / Museo Reina Sofia

3. Plaza Mayor





2. Royal Palace / Palacio Real



1. Prado Museum / Museo del Prado

 

The Madrid Ruta/Route 1 passes by all of the above places. The tour starts at Paseo del Prado (boulevards) where the Prado Museum (1) is closely located, passes by Plaza  de Cibeles (10), Temple de Debod (7), Royal Palace (2) and Almudena Cathedral (9) which is next to the palace. Then proceed to Rastro Market (6) along Calle Toledo which is a market that open only on Sundays and public holidays. Thereafter followed by Plaza Mayor (3), Puerta del Sol (8),  Reina Sofia Museum (4) and ends at Real Jardin Botanico. The Retiro Park (5) is just beyond the garden.


Alternatively there's Madrid to the river tours from Plaza Mayor which are walking tour that you can take on your own. A map on the routes can be obtained from the info centre in Plaza Mayor. 

List is in English followed by Spanish and a summary of a youtube video on the subject.

London: Camden Lock

Capri Island

Rome: Top 10 Attractions

10. Trastsevere

9. Mausoleum of Hadrian / Castel Sant'Angelo / Castel Sant'Angelo

8. Roman Forum

7. Spanish Steps

6. Piazza Navona

5. Piazza del Popolo (People's Square)

4. Trevi Fountain

3. Pantheon

2. Vatican

1. Colosseum

Pisa

 

Note for self: When I was in Pisa I stayed for a night at Walking Street Hostel which is next to Zara. My travel mate Amelia found this hostel through hostelbookers.com.

Cinque Terre

Villages

• Riomaggiore
• Manarola — includes Groppo and Volastra
• Corniglia — includes San Bernardino
• Vernazza
• Monterosso

    The tunnel that links Riomaggiore and Manarola

Venice

I visited Venice, La Spezia, Cinque Terre, Florence, Pisa, Rome, Naple and Capri in Italy. If you were to asked me to chose just a single place to visit I would have to say Venice. Venice has famously appears in countless pictures, painting and movies. 

Take a boat taxi along the curve of the grand canal and be amazed and stunned with the view. Simply breathtaking. I think everyone would agree that this place is lovely. So it's a must to visit  Venice.

Of course in summer it can be really hot and after exploring and wandering for a whole day my body became sticky from sweat.

I wonder though where's the party at at night? Well, Piazza San Marco seemed lively at night with restaurants and abundant of tourists still clicking away. 

Me and Melia stayed for 2 nights at Corte Canal which Melia found through hostelbooker for Euro 35 a night. We can't complain as we had a room to ourselves. Simple breakfast was included. We remember the place because we still have the map the hostel distributed which was handy and informative.

If you have time you can venture to Burano, Murano and Torcello.

I love all these masked!

The famous Rialto Bridge

Picture taken from the bridge

Bell tower of Saint Mark

Saint Mark's Basilica

The beach in Torcello