I have gotten a chance to visit many places during my PhD. Some of them were for work, some of them were just because I wanted to travel around a bit, and some were because there was a concert there that I really wanted to attend. So here is a ranking of places I have been to. I will continue to update this list with cities I have gone to until I submit my thesis. Then this article will just be kept as is.

Now, of course, I visited some cities more than others. So it is already a big reason to not take my list so seriously. Regardless, for transparency, I will note roughly how long I was in each of those cities. After each city name, I will include some indicator to show roughly how long I was there for.

Also, I will not include Singapore or any cities/provinces from Thailand in this list. I would of course put Chiang Mai first, which would be unfair for the other cities here.



Cities I technically stepped foot in but not long enough to judge properly

  • Bad Ischl (Austria)

  • Bratislava (Slovakia)

  • Battle (UK, in East Sussex)

  • Bicester (UK, very close to Oxford)

  • Bath (UK, near Bristol)

  • Bristol (UK, near Bath)

  • Birmingham (UK, midlands?)

  • Johor Bahru (Malaysia, stone throw away from Singapore)

The fact that most of them begin with a B is a coincidence. Trust me.

Cities that aren’t worth it for tourists

Okay, let’s start off with some of the cities that weren’t that great for tourists. These places are probably okay cities in their own rights, but as a tourist touring around, is probably okay being left out of your plan.

25. Linz [3 hours]

Yeah, sorry, but someone had to finish bottom. Out of all the towns that I visited, Linz felt the least touristy of the bunch, and I can’t really recommend it much. To be fair to it, I did go there in the evening (when almost everything seems to be closed already), and I did get to do some city viewing and had pizza at a really friendly restaurant. But it doesn’t look like a place that tourists would go to. It’s just a nice, peaceful yet boring city (for a tourist) in Austria for me.

24. Cologne [1 day]

Cologne was quite a normal German town. There is a big cathedral (probably one of the bigger ones I saw in Europe to be fair), and the river walk was nice (though it was super hot on the day I went), but that was about it. Cologne didn’t really strike me as a place with many interesting things in the short time I was there.

Ones that are slightly underwhelming

Next, I name some cities that I think had their bits but I also didn’t find too interesting that I want to go back again or anything. It could also just be me not exploring the right places here, but I would have wanted more from these places.

23. Jakarta [2 days]

Indonesia is great, and people here were great. I had a great memory here (since I got to watch Birdy live), so it was itself a good trip. However, I felt the city itself was just okay. I visited a large monument, saw a mosque, saw Chinatown, visited a big square, and all of them were kind of alright. Wasn’t the nicest city to walk around and go places (unless on Grab, or if you understand Bahasa Indonesia), so I did feel that was a bit eh.

I feel Indonesia has quite a bit to offer in terms of their nature, like the volcanoes or the beach areas (like Bali). I do want to go to those bits of the country more, so Jakarta not being that great for a visit isn’t too much of a negative thing for me.

22. Kuala Lumpur [2 days]

This one might be more of a personal opinion, but I feel KL was very Bangkok-like but with less vibes and nightlife, and it definitely was one of the reasons I have KL a bit lower in my list. Ares in the city centre was very concrete jungle, and it was just malls after malls. Going to the attractions were alright, but still wasn’t anything too impressive. Apart from the city centre there weren’t much else to do unless you went out much further from the city. I also got a bit fustrated at the public transport that wasn’t that well-connected within the central area, so I ended up walking in the heat quite a bit. It was okay though, I felt there were still a bit to do, but probably not too much that I’d recommend the place strongly. I’d just try to visit Penang or something that wouldn’t feel too much like a generic big city for me.

21. Budapest [6 hours]

I feel this rating might be a bit unfair to Budapest since I spent such a short time there. I do find that it is one of the more unique cities that I had the chance of going to, since it feels more east European vibe than the majority of the places on the list. The architecture there was interesting (I did enjoy visiting the fort that was on the hill) but not mindblowing. The food was cheaper than the cities I went to (and was quite unique compared to other places) but similarly it wasn’t something that was that impressive. So it explains why I rated it a bit lower. But maybe if I spent more time there I would have enjoyed the city more.

20. Zurich [1 day]

Zurich is nice, but I also felt it could have been more. It’s a city by the lake, which I am generally a big fan of anyway. But I am putting it a bit lower in the list as compared to the other lakeside cities. Taking away the nice lakeside vibes and the European building achitecture, the city itself seemed like a standard large European city. There are some interesting attractions but on the overall I did find it a bit disappointing as a visit compared to what I was expecting. I was talking to a friend who had been to Zurich a few times in the past, who said that the city does seem to have nicer vibes in the past. And although I have never been there prior to this, I could kind of see what they were saying. I felt other Swiss cities may have been able to provide some of the vibes that you may get in Zurich (spoilers for later), so I was more neural about the city. Would have to say though that the FIFA Museum was an interesting one.

Cities that were alright

These cities were alright. Some of the places ranked here I feel could be because I spent so little time here, so can consider these ones as the cities that this list perhaps underrate a bit.

19. Hastings and Bexhill [4 hours]

I’ll group these two cities together, since they are both seaside towns and are only about 10 minutes apart on the train. British seaside has a vibe to it that isn’t like going to the beach. It’s a bit more calm, and more about just looking out into the sea enjoying the view, rather than about playing in the sea. It’s a great example of a city that I would have probably rated higher if I was there for longer, since the attractions on the boardwalk was great, and walking along it or on the pebbled shore was very serene.

It’s hard to desribe the vibes here, but if you put on Sovereign Light Cafe by Keane, it’s really pretty much like that. They really did capture the vibe of the city well, and in a way I do love it.

18. Lindau [4 hours]

Lindau is another city that I feel could be placed higher if I spent more time at. It is a small town by Lake Constance (which itself is quite an interesting place), and it seems like a place that you can just hang around at and just relax for a bit while not doing much. I did see a number of people walking along the lake and even swimming in the lake, which looked like good fun to be honest. The town area also had quite a nice vibe as well, and I’m sure there were quite a bit to do around there if I was willing to take a train to other nearby places. I think it was a town that wasn’t suited the Europe trip where everything was all in a rush like we were trying to accomplish, but it would be a good choice if one wanted to just wind down and look at the lakes and walk around some older European city buildings.

17. Salzburg [1 day]

This is a weird one, but I feel while Salzburg has a nice vibe, it still was a bit overhyped. The town itself is nice (it is Mozart’s birthplace after all), and there are some nice museums and gardens you can go to. However, apart from some of the area in the middle of town, I didn’t find too much else going on there. The city itself was kind of a moderate-sized town vibe but not really one that I felt had a lot to see or worth staying too long (although if you go to the neighbouring towns then it’s a different point – a bit of a spoiler for later in the list).

16. Paris [1 day]

With all of the tourists flocking to Paris every year, I felt like it was a good city but not amazing. The attractions there were amazing – the Louvre somehow ending up one of my favourite places there, and the main landmarks were also very impressive architecture. But the city itself didn’t feel as nice as some of the others higher up on this list. it might be the vibe that it gives off (not as clean compared to some other places, or the people being a bit more unfriendly), or maybe it was too touristy. But regardless, I didn’t go there with much expectations (I have read about Paris synrdrome before) and so I was quite neutral about the town.

15. Istanbul [1 day]

Out of all the European cities in the list, Istanbul is probably the most unique of the bunch. Being the only Islamic city that I went to, I found the architecture and the attractions to be different from the others I have been to. There were a few large mosques which were very nice to visit. Not to mention that the food there is also very nice. We shared a big plate of kebab for relatively cheap price compared to other places on this list, and had nice tea and dessert (balkava) at random shops as well. I wasn’t able to explore the city much at nighttime (since we arrived the hotel close to midnight already), but I can definitely see how lively the city is even at night. Unlike other European cities, I could probably have gotten some Turkish food even at the late hours if I wanted to.

Now, the two things that I weren’t a big fan of in Istanbul. First, I felt like the city was a bit of a pain to navigate around, especially for us to go from the airport to the centre of town and back. It took almost two hours to travel out of and into the airport by public transport, which is quite inconvenient especially if you have a lot of luggage (which fortunately I did not). The second was the extra charges on the tourists that we faced. The taxis (as we were told, and as experienced by another friend) were quite unfriendly to tourists. Furthermore, many of the attractions (like the Hagia Sophia) were charging quite high fees to enter when compared to some of the other tourist attractions in other cities (this seems to be a more recent thing though according to a friend who have been to Istanbul in the past and not have this occurring to them). So it did leave some bad impressions of the city at times. However it was not all bad – we had staffs helping us at the subway station, and very friendly locals who introduced us to their culture when we visited the mosque.

Even with all of these negative points (which let’s be honest aren’t even that bad), I do find Istanbul a place that’s definitely worth visiting. Would definitely go back if had the chance, especially since I haven’t even had the chance to visit a Turkish hammam.

Cities that are unique and I enjoyed

I feel these cities were those that were unique in some way, and I almost think they should somehow be much higher on the list because of it. I am trying to think why I place these places a bit lower on the list, and I am thinking if it is more about how they aren’t too varied, in that these were cities that were nice for one aspect but not too varied, so to speak. Maybe it’s just because I wasn’t there long enough though – I would go back to any of these cities if chance arises.

14. Berlin [1 day]

I found Berlin to be quite interesting. Anyone remotely aware of German history would know that the city used to be divided into two halves, which makes the city a great destination for history geeks (which I am not), or anyone who is just interested in a city that has some interesting stories behind it. Visiting Berlin allows you to see the relics of a once divided past – remains of the Berlin wall scattered throughout the town, the famous cold war mural/outdoor art installation, the checkpoints used to control the movement of people on both sides of the city, and so on. Not to mention that Berlin is the capital of Germany, and so many government buildings (with modern architecture) can also be found. I so happened to also be there right after the EURO final (as in I was on the plane when the England-Spain final was going on), and so getting to see some residual celebration was quite interesting. There were definitely exhibits that I missed out on seeing (like the Lego museum), and I have heard the nightlife here is great, but I will have to say that what I saw was definitely very impressive.

13. St Wolfgang [2 days]

Wolfgangsee is a lake about an hour on the bus from Salzburg. It was probably one of the more difficult areas to get to via public trainsport, since there were no train lines that passes through there. But if you manage to go through that hurdle, oh man, it was a nice place. It is a small town, and so gave somewhat more of an authentic vibe. One of my favourite memory there was walking from our hotel to a small cafe at 10pm almost in the dark. Once the sun set the streets were quiet (which being from large cities where everything was open all the time) and was certainly an experience.

But the main attraction there was definitely the nature around. Wolfgangsee is a very nice and peaceful lake, and there were nearby mountains which you could go up (on steam trains) and look at the lake area from far away. The mountain also seemed like a nice hike upwards as well (although I didn’t hike up due to time constraints) and had some very cool views. I remember a cliff that you could walk along. The short walk I took along that cliff edge was very peaceful (very off the usual tourist paths) and it was probably the most danger I felt during the entire trip. The little town was surrounded with such nice nature and impressive views. So I had to rate it high up.

Although to be fair, I suspect that if I had this much time in Lindau, I may also have had put it nearby number 7 in this list as well. And now that I think about it, I didn’t visit Halstatt this trip. I do wonder where I would have put that place on this list.

12. Amsterdam [1 day]

I surprisingly liked Amsterdam. I mostly went there because I had a long layover there, but even in that short period I did find the city quite nice. One of the nicest aspect of the city were the people – they were quite friendly, and (a bit biased point but) were also very easy to communicate with in English. The city itself is also interesting place to walk around and have plenty of things to explore. In the brief time in Amsterdam, we were able to visit a flower garden, saw tulips and a windmill (truly a Dutch classic), walked along the canals (although not my favourite canals in Europe, spoilers for later) and some unique buildings and architectures. It was a busy city that seemed to have a lot to do, and I did really wish I had more time to explore there.

11. Innsbruck [2 days]

In my Austria leg of the EU trip, Innsbruck was probably the city I was most exicted to visit. And oh boy, it didn’t disappoint. Even though it sounds like another city, the vibe there is amazing. Innsbruck is in a valley, which means (1) whichever way you look you will see beautiful, snow-capped mountain tops, and (2) you can go up those mountains and see the view of the city or see the snow. We were fortunate enough to go up Nordkette (the mountain in Innsbruck) when there were still snow, so being able to slide around in the snow getting our butts wet and throw snowballs at your unsuspecting friends did definitely make a difference. The attractions themselves in the town were also quite nice though – the street near the central square, the zoo where you could also see the city view and some of the cold-climate animals, and so on. I even just spent a few hours of the morning just walking around the town, walking at random markets and still had a good time. It felt like a medium-sied city with friendly vibes and definitely has enough to keep you occupied for a short visit.

10. Lucerne [1 day]

I felt Lucerne is a city that is small enough to not be overly busy, but also large enough to be easy to get to and have things to do. It felt like a larger and busier version of St Wolfgang (which people may not appreciate depending on what you enjoy). Even though the city is smaller than Zurich and argubaly has less going on than there, I do find it more plesant than Zurich. Even a walk along the river and to the lake was very peaceful, and I probably saw the most European beautiful sunset here.

The highlight of Lucerne is probably all the mountains nearby the place. There were at least two mountain tops that were about an hour away from the Lucerne city centre, and the one we went to (Mount Rigi) was definitely worth the view. Similar to St Wolfgang, the view from up top was definitely something to go for. From up there, you can spot other lakeside towns and many other mountain ranges across the horizon. Even the journey to the mountain involved going across a massive lake and going up a train, allowing us to absorb the natural features the town had to offer.

I mean it might not be quite Interlaken or whatever (I have not been to those places so cannot comment), but I feel it does give me a good impression as to why people like going to Switzerland so much. If I had to mention some negatives, I would have to say that (1) it can be a bit boring since the town is quite small and doesn’t have much to do, and (2) it is a bit pricey (although it is true for most of Switzerland anyway).

9. Oxford [1 month]

Oxford is the city on this list that I spent the most time in. I feel that gives it a slightly unfair advantage since it means the things I got to do there weren’t just the touristy visiting-old-buildings-that-appeared-on-Harry-Potter-type things, but also got to look around the colleges in Oxford, bike around the area, walk around the large open fields and through small footpaths, and much more.

I feel Oxford is a city that has to be enjoyed at a slower pace. If I were just touring around and had a night or two stop at Oxford, I would probably just see it not much beyond just a medium-sized town that people visit for older architectures. It does seem like an okay place to live also, but I also feel unless you have stuff to do with the university (and have the college events that goes on that you can visit), it can get a bit boring compared to just hopping on a train to London for more stuff to do.

Cities that were some of my favourites

These are getting close to the kind of city I enjoy being in.

8. Munich [3 days]

Munich is very different from the other German cities I visited – it felt less like the other German cities and more like Austria or Switzerland (or maybe I should be saying it the other way round). The architecture felt more traditional than some of the other German cities that I went to, and we were even fortunate enough to visit the city during the Kocherlball event. It might just be me being lucky, but I did feel there were more traditional German/Bavarian vibes we were able to see and definitely did make me enjoy the cities more. Aside from the cultural aspect, the city centre area has some nice buildings, and had a lot of places to visit. I was able to spend a few hours in the Technology museum, and that was definitely a place I could spend more time in. I also did visit the Allianz Arena, but I wasn’t a big Bayern fan so I was quite neutral about the place. But overall, still felt you can get more traditional vibes from the city as compared to some of the other German towns I visited, but also modern enough that you could find interesting stuff to do.

7. Nottingham [2 days]

Is the city rated highly on my list because it is where my favourite European football club is at? Maybe. Do I really care? No.

But aside from whether I have rated it a bit highly because of that, I do see quite a few things that does on there. A lot of sports going on throughout the year, the city centre being quite a busy place with good nightlife, everything reasonably well-connected, and more. They seem to have a “rebel” vibe going on, and the story of the city is one that I do enjoy. It’s not the megacity some of the next few names may be so it does lack in certain aspects, but it is definitely a city that can keep you company. I would certainly give it another visit (and unless Forest relocates to another town or something, I probably will try very hard to visit again too).

6. Tokyo [2 days]

This one needs no explanation, being one of the very popular tourist destination especially for those in east Asia. The Japanese cuisine is certainly in the upper echelons, the amount of things you can do and visit are endless, the people are friendly and polite, and I can go on. Not to mention that out of the cities on this list it is definitely on the cheaper end, meaning you can enjoy a decent sushi meal for not too wallet-breaking prices. It’s not a surprise why people enjoy it so much, and will still go back to it even they have been there before.

5. Honolulu [1 week]

The first new city I went to during my PhD was Honolulu, when I attended ICML 2023. Compared to the mainland US, it seems like a tropical paradise. The small island offers a chill vibe that was different from many of the other places I went to. The island offered parks with beautiful craters, and there were many beach activities that we were able to enjoy. The people were quite friendly, and walking around on the beach gave a nice comforting vibe to it all. I would admit though that I didn’t get to explore as much nature as I would have liked (after all, I was there for work), so I didn’t get to fully enjoy the beauties of the island. Nonetheless, it was still a great destination if want a more chill holiday.

4. Vienna [2 weeks]

Compared to the other cities on this list, Vienna was a place that I spent a fair bit of time in (partially because both conferences I attended were in Vienna). But even taking this bias into account, I find Vienna a very impressive city that deserves this spot. There are many attractions with nice architecture that you can visit during the day. You can go to random record stores in town, take a walk by the river, go to random football games (my first European football experience was with Austria Wien where they lost 4-0) or visit the countless museums in town. You can even just take the public transport to the centre of town and just wander around looking at some of the old buildings. When night falls, you can go watch one of the many musical acts (orchestra at the Musikverenin or just en ensemble playing at the church), or hang around at the Prater for a bit. It’s a very lively city, and also one that is convenient to get around with good public transport. Not to mention that it is quite safe and with quite friendly people. It’s not somewhere that I would be trying to go back to again (I was there for two weeks already after all), but I would definitely recommend anyone else to go, since it seems to have plenty of things to do here.

Cities that ticks almost my whole checklist

My ideal city has a few characters – a large variety of food (especially whatever things seafood), good public transport and is walkable, a lot of attractions around and things to do (that are not just touristy things), lots of parks or chill-out spots, interesting geographies in the city (e.g., some bodies of water nearby or in the city), unique vibes, and neighbouring some places that gives you a change of feeling from the city itself. These characteristics are not necessarily what I think all cities should be judged on (e.g., fully understand the nature-lovers who will disagree with my top three), and it’s more of a reflection of my own preferences or anything. Alas, I have three cities in this list, and they seem to all fit these characteristics for me.

3. Hamburg [2 days]

Really. Hanburg ticks all the boxes for things I like – good seafood (it’s by the coast), good bodies of water (loads of canals, a big river and a pond), good public transport to go places, and a good list of interesting attractions. The Miniatur Wunderland for me is the single best attraction I went to this entire trip. It is a place where they have built miniature models (dioramas) inspired by real-life cities, but at such great details that you can keep finding little things they have done and go, “oh wow, they were bothered to put that in”. The airport had actual planes taking off and landing, the model trains were all travelling along the tiny tracks, and the people would move around and looking lively. Even after already being there for 3 hours, I feel I could easily have been there for much longer just admiring the details of everything.

But aside from the Miniatur Wunderland, I could see so many other things that one could do there – walking or even taking a boat ride along the river or by their various canals, chilling by the pier having seafood (did I mention that I love having seafood), visiting the churches, seeing the opera house or the Lion King show (really), watching the German Bundesliga at St Pauli stadium with a giant fort as a backdrop. It feels like one of those cities that you can just hang around at for a while and just find random stuff to do, and I always rate cities that has that. It does have some very unique vibe to it that I didn’t really see in the other cities, and it is probably why I put it at the top EU city on this list.

2. Melbourne [4 days]

In my limited experiences in the three cities at the top, I feel Melbourne would be the one I am the most willing to live in. Partially because the people are friendly (and speak English which is a big plus), and the city doesn’t seem too hustling or dangerous or anything. I was there for an Oasis concert (different story), but the city itself is still a good visit. Everywhere in town was reasonably easy to walk to, and coffee shops were at every corner and they were quite nice too. The city centre is filled with things to do and explore, and not too far out are beaches and parks that I can somewhat reach by public transport. The St Kilda penguins were cute, because who doesn’t like penguins? I am a bit gutted though I didn’t get a chance on the Great Ocean Road (yet), but hopefully that will come also.

The city does feel a bit western, but at the same time with its own twist. They do have their own culture, but at the same time it’s really a place where you can experience everything. I can walk around and hear people speaking all the languages, which I find cool. I am still unsure what is considered Aussie food, but the amount of other cuisine you get here is amazing. The multicultural part is also always a big plus, since you’ll feel like you’re welcome here. Highly recommended city.

1. London [4 days]

I think I can make a case for any of the three top cities to be at the top. Even if they are all somewhat similar in many aspects I like, their culture and vibes are still quite different.

However, London probably matches my vibes the most. There are a lot of things that I enjoy about the city in terms of interests (which comes down to what kind of culture I was probably exposed to). I enjoy all levels of football, the music and gigs, the museums, the parks and more – things that are essentially commonplace in London. There are tonnes of things I can also explore, which may partially be down to how massive it is (I spent one day just walking along the Thames and visiting any attractions that caught my attention). I could go from being very touristy and seeing the main places, to exploring some of my very niches interests. I can see myself doing more if I planned out when I’d be there – would still love to catch a Championship match, or catch a live TV show taping, or attend a gig of some upcoming band. It’s certainly a more personal thing, but since this is my personal list, I think it is fine to have it high up for me.

As mentioned previously I don’t think London is not my first option I would live in, but I do think it’s a place that I can probably visit and find stuff to do and not get too bored of.



That’s the end of the list. If you’re interested in seeing any of the photos from these cities, they are all scattered throughout my photo gallery on my personal website (you’ll have to scroll a bit to find the photos from each cities though).

Any cities you felt were too low on the list? Any other cities that I should have visited that could probably have been high on my list? There are no comment sections here so you are probably going to have to email me about it or keep those opinions to yourself (sorry).