We love Europe. Maybe because we grew up there (Russia). Maybe because we lived in the UK for 2 years and used that time to explore nearby countries on the short weekend trips. Maybe because we swear by Rick Steves’ travel guides, which taught us so much about traveling.

There are many “best destinations in Europe” lists online, and every one of them is different. The “best” depends on what you are looking for, what gets you excited, what makes you go “wow”. For us, it is finding places where history, nature and good food don’t come with crowds and super-high credit card bills. The rankings below are based on our own experiences, so your mileage, as they say, may vary. If you have similar tastes, however then read on.

10. Paris, France

Paris was the first city, which we visited in Europe. In fact, it was our first trip abroad. We had come back there many times after (the picture above is from the second trip, this time with our kids). So much has been written about Paris. Most likely, we have nothing to add. Our memories are more personal, like our son playing chess with an old man in Luxembourg Gardens, eating a fresh baguette near Champ de Mars or listening to an evening concert at La Madeleine church. Once you’ve seen all the top TripAdvisor attractions, slow down and just walk away from Champs-Élysées in any direction until you find that one place, which becomes your memory of Paris.

9. Amsterdam, Netherlands

If you want to get a good feel for Amsterdam, take one of the free walking tours led by a passionate local, who want to share with you their intimate knowledge of the city, its history and present. We’ve learned about complicated relationship between the church and The Red District, about the Dutch approach to war on drugs and about many other surprising facts while walking down grim canals and trying not to get run over by bicyclists, who act like the own the roads. At night, Amsterdam turns into a giant romantic promenade, where you can’t help by feeling like you are on a first date, even if you’ve been married forever. The canals reflect window lights (nobody seems to close their curtains), and the air is quiet, disturbed only by the warning bells of passing bikes.

8. Vernazza, Italy

Vernazza was the highlight of our first trip to Italy in 2005. We found out about Cinque Terre, the small region in northwest of Italy from Rick Steves’ Italy book. He was raving about small fishing villages with houses running down the mountains and atmosphere untouched by the modern day progress. Without a doubt, Rick Steves is to blame for the huge uptick in tourism in this and other parts of the world, which he happens to like. We still caught Vernazza when it was a sleepy town with a harbor full of small fishing boats. Our train from Venice arrived early in the morning when most restaurants were closed, and our host was still getting the room ready. We sat on a beach eating fresh strawberries, which we bought from a fruit stand near by and watched old ladies dressed in black slowly walking uphill on their way to the market. That morning sun, the waves and the smell of fresh berries are still with us, after more than decade and hundreds of other places we’ve been to.

7. Barcelona, Spain

Tapas. We tried them for the first time in Barcelona, and we didn’t want to eat anything else for the entire trip. Walking around and visiting every tapas place we could find had become our little game and a borderline obsession. Of course, we visited every significant Guadi landmark and stood with our mouths open in front of La Sagrada Familia. We were also unexpectedly treated to an outdoor opera concert behind Barcelona Cathedral by a professional singer performing for a small crowd of passers-by. Barcelona was everything and more than we could hope for, yet, if we ever come back it will be for the tapas.

6. Lisbon, Portugal

We love the cities where you can walk everywhere. Lisbon is one of these cities. ON our trip, we were guilty of taking a taxi to get to the São Jorge Castle because we were tried from walking and because it was on a high hill. However, when we went to the castle for the second time at night, we made it all the way on foot – very happy to find it deserted and even more mysterious.

It was in Lisbon where were tried Dorado fish, and now it’s our favorite seafood, especially when it is simply grilled and served with some lemon, potatoes and steamed vegetables. One day, Tanya was walking around the city on her own while I was finishing my business meetings, and she had coffee at a small restaurant where the owner talked to her for the longest time about his life. We came back for dinner, and he brought me a vodka shot after finding out that I don’t drink an obligatory wine. He also insisted that we drink vodka together and never charged us for it. When we were leaving, he gave us his business card and insisted that we should call him if we need anything while in Lisbon.

5. Aran Islands, Ireland

Aran Islands was our last stop in Ireland. We came there after visiting Dingle Peninsula, made famous by many rom-com movies which were shot on its moody shores. We thought we would never see anything more raw and breathtaking, until we hiked through the barren fields to Dún Dúchathair (The Black Fort) and stood on the edge of the cliff behind 3,000 year old stone walls of Dun Aonghasa (pictured above). The winds were strong, and it was easy to imagine Vikings setting sails from the rocks below many centuries ago. We know that there are more impressive castles in Ireland, but there is something about sense of remoteness and total calm, which descends upon you in this magical place.

4. Murren, Switzerland

When I think about Murren, the car-free village in Swiss Alps I remember our first morning there. I stepped out on the hotel balcony and saw the snowcapped mountains across Lauterbrunnen Valley. We didn’t notice this view when we checked in because we were too tired after traveling for more than 24 hours on the planes, trains and gondolas to get there. On that first night, we opened the window and fell asleep instantly under the warm dawn blanket. We woke up refreshed, full of cool mountain air and ready to explore.

Every morning while in Murren, I tried to photograph the sunrise, which colored the mountains in a bright arrangement of red. Unfortunately, my camera skills were very poor at the time, and automatic settings didn’t work as well as they do now. I did get lucky when Tanya sat down during one of our walks to catch some sun (above). Why did I have to ruin this picture by including the date in the corner. Who does this anymore?

3. Azores Islands, Portugal

Azores Islands rank high on our list because of the variety of experiences, which we were able to pack into the short five days there. Hiking? Check. Natural thermal baths? Check. Tea plantation? Check. Exotic flower gardens? Check. Seafood restaurants with fresh catch of the day (for real, not just a gimmick on the menu)? Check.

With direct flights from Boston and NYC, Azores have been discovered and soon will turn into the playground for organized tours and endless photoshoots. But If you hurry, you can still catch the islands in their natural, beautiful innocence.

2. Villefranche, France

When we lived in the UK, we took many budget weekend trips with our kids. In less than two years, we visited almost every country in Western Europe. French Riviera was a destination for just two of us, and it had nothing to do with topless beaches. We needed a bit of romance in our lives, and our chance came when my parents took the kids on a cruise with them.

Tanya was the one who found Villefranche, I had no idea of its existence. You always hear about Nice, Cannes, Monaco, but Villefranche was the right choice as a home base. Only the short bus ride from Nice, it felt a world away. We stayed at the apartment overlooking the harbor (a bit expensive, but we decided to splurge) and cooked simple meals, which we ate on the balcony while looking at the boats below us. One day we hiked around Cap Ferrat Peninsula along the limestone cliffs and millionaires’ villas. We ate apples with a baguette and thought that nothing ever tasted better.

We loved our time in Villefranche so much, that we even considered buying a small apartment there so we could come over and over again (of course, we couldn’t afford it). This thought only occurred to us one other time in all our travels .

1. Naxos, Greece

If we took time to design the perfect place to cater to all our interests, tastes, preferences and fantasies, we would end up re-creating Naxos. On the way from Santorini, we both caught a bad cold, so we had to take it easy on the island.

We spent time relaxing on our “personal” beach (above) and paced ourselves while hiking. We did make it all the way up to Mount Zeus, but only managed to see one of two Kouros statues (2,500 year old stone dudes laying down in the mountains like it’s no big deal). Our villa had an amazing view (see the image on top of this post), and we could probably just spend the entire time chilling on the porch and sipping Ouzo (okay, I was the only one who liked Ouzo, Tanya found it to be disgusting).

Naxos has 60 villages and 300 churches, according to our all-knowing host Maki. Each village is different, some nested up in the mountains, others run their stone streets right into the ocean. We visited less than ten. We didn’t even hike the most popular trail – Trail of Seven Churches. With no international hotels and resorts, with the strong local government’s focus on not becoming another Santorini, we hope that Naxos will stay as we found it forever.

When we flew back to Athens and then eventually home, we knew we would be coming back to Naxos.