Resolves to my opinion 1 week after my trip. Suggestions are welcome. Will not bet besides setting initial odds based on my pre trip guesses
Update 2026-08-12 (PST) (AI summary of creator comment): - The trip starts next week and will last for 3 weeks.
Only cities the creator definitely visits are eligible for resolution.
New suggestions must be geographically close to cities already on the list (e.g., in the same countries).
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First of all, thank you everyone for participating in this market! Reading everyone’s predictions, recommendations, and arguments genuinely made the trip more fun for me, especially when I was actually walking around these cities and thinking about where they would end up in my ranking. Also, apologies for taking a little longer than expected to resolve this. Work got pretty busy immediately after I came back, but I finally had some time to collect my thoughts.
🇳🇱 Amsterdam — S tier
Amsterdam was just incredibly cool and cozy. It’s one of those cities where I could walk around without any particular destination and still constantly think, “wow, this is nice.” The canals, narrow houses, bridges, bikes, little streets, and neighborhoods give the city so much character, and even outside the most famous areas it felt like there was always something interesting or beautiful around the corner. There’s also a ridiculous amount to do for a city of its size, and the museums were excellent. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
🇫🇷 Paris — S tier
Paris was probably my favorite place for an extended stay. Some cities completely amaze you for a day or two, but Paris felt like somewhere I could actually spend weeks. I loved the relaxed café culture, the food, the architecture, the museums, the parks, and simply walking around different neighborhoods. There was constantly something else I wanted to see, and even after spending quite a bit of time there, I still felt like I had barely scratched the surface. I also think Paris gets judged disproportionately by its busiest tourist areas; once I got away from those, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city itself.
🇬🇧 Edinburgh — High A tier
Edinburgh made an amazing first impression. I was enchanted by the architecture almost immediately after arriving. The old stone buildings, hills, closes, churches, castle, and the way the city is layered vertically all make it feel extremely distinctive. There are little pieces of history everywhere, and some of the older buildings and castles almost feel like they’re whispering stories from centuries ago. I also found the people really friendly. The main negatives were mostly timing-related: I visited during the Fringe, so there were a lot of people, and one of the days was basically nonstop pouring rain. I suspect I might have liked Edinburgh even more during a quieter period.
🇧🇪 Bruges / Ghent — S tier
Despite only being a day trip, these two places probably gave me the strongest emotional reaction of the entire journey. Ghent felt almost like discovering some secluded city hidden far away from the rest of the world. Between the canals, greenery, medieval buildings, towers, and quieter streets, it had this incredibly peaceful and slightly mysterious atmosphere, almost like walking into a secret garden that happened to contain an entire medieval city.
Bruges, meanwhile, felt like stepping straight into a fairy tale. The canals, colorful old buildings, small bridges, squares, churches, and preserved medieval streets made the city feel almost unreal. There were multiple moments in both cities where I would turn a corner and genuinely stop because I couldn’t believe how beautiful the view was. The combination of architecture, water, greenery, history, and atmosphere made these places feel the most unlike my normal everyday world.
🇬🇧 York — A tier
York was a really pleasant surprise. The old city walls are awesome, the historic center is very walkable, and there are tons of neat little streets and alleyways. York Minster is absolutely massive and dominates the surrounding area in a way that makes the whole old city feel more dramatic. Walking along the walls and through the old center gave it a strong medieval character without the city feeling like it exists solely for tourists. And surprisingly, I actually had some pretty decent food there too.
🇬🇧 London — B tier
London is the city on this list I had visited the most before the trip, so there was less novelty for me. It’s obviously an enormous city with endless things to do, and there are still individual places I really like, but overall I enjoyed it much less than most of the other cities on this trip. It feels crowded almost everywhere, and I still don’t think the average food experience is particularly great outside of specific restaurants or cuisines. What surprised me most this time was how many American chains and brands seem to have taken over parts of central London. Combined with the huge crowds, some areas increasingly feel like they could belong to any major international city. For me personally, London has lost some of the distinct charm I remember from earlier visits.
🇫🇷 Bordeaux — Not visited
Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit Bordeaux into the schedule in the end. Since I had previously said only places I actually visited would be eligible, I’m not going to rank it. Instead, I’ll send 50 mana to every Bordeaux YES holder as compensation.
🇫🇷 Colmar — S tier
Colmar gave me a very similar feeling to Bruges. The colorful half-timbered houses, canals, flowers, tiny streets, and surrounding scenery made the center feel almost absurdly picturesque. It really does feel like walking into a fairy-tale village. Compared with some of the larger destinations, I also enjoyed how cozy and relaxed it felt. You don’t need a huge checklist of attractions there because the town itself is the attraction. I loved simply wandering around.
🇬🇧 Oxford — B tier
I had been to Oxford before, and unfortunately I liked it noticeably less this time. One thing that bothered me was how commercialized visiting the university seems to have become. On my previous trip I don’t remember needing to buy tickets for seemingly every college I wanted to enter, while this time it felt like there was a fee everywhere. Obviously the architecture and history are still impressive, but between the ticketing, crowds, tourist infrastructure, and increasing number of generic international and American brands, the city felt less magical to me than I remembered. Still a historically fascinating place, but personally I think it has lost some charm.
🇧🇪 Brussels — Low B tier
Brussels was one of my least favorite stops. The Grand-Place is genuinely beautiful and probably one of the most impressive city squares I saw on the entire trip, and the food was also pretty decent. But once I got outside that area, the city didn’t really click with me. There seemed to be construction everywhere, parts of the city felt less pleasant to walk around, and compared with Bruges or Ghent I didn’t feel nearly as relaxed or immersed in the surroundings. It also didn’t feel as safe or cozy to me as most of the other cities I visited.
🇳🇱 The Hague — A tier
The Hague was really nice. It had a much calmer and more relaxed atmosphere than Amsterdam, and I liked the combination of elegant city streets with the nearby coast and beach. The Mauritshuis was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit because I really wanted to see Girl with a Pearl Earring. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on display during my visit, which definitely made the trip feel like it was missing the thing I had been looking forward to most. Still, I enjoyed the city itself quite a bit.
Other cities
🇬🇧 Cambridge — A tier: Beautiful city, amazing university architecture, lovely river and green spaces, and generally a really pleasant place to wander around. I personally found Cambridge noticeably more charming than Oxford this time around. It felt less commercialized and had more of the university-town atmosphere I was hoping for.
🇳🇱 Zaandam / Zaandijk — A tier: Both were really cool side trips and had very distinct personalities. Zaandam has some wonderfully weird and colorful architecture, while Zaandijk and the surrounding Zaanse Schans area had a completely different, much more peaceful traditional Dutch atmosphere with windmills, water, wooden houses, and open scenery. They were a great contrast to Amsterdam and made me appreciate the Netherlands even more.
Final resolution
Amsterdam was the coolest city I visited, and probably the place that impressed me most as a city overall. Paris is the place I most want to go back to and stay longer, because it felt like somewhere I could happily spend weeks rather than just visit for a few days. But if I have to choose the place I enjoyed the most overall, it was Ghent/Bruges. Those two places gave me the strongest feeling of having stepped into a completely different world, and that ended up being the most memorable experience of the entire trip. So I’ll be resolving the market to Ghent/Bruges YES.
Thanks again everyone for participating, trading, making recommendations, and making the trip more fun!
First of all, thank you everyone for participating in this market! Reading everyone’s predictions, recommendations, and arguments genuinely made the trip more fun for me, especially when I was actually walking around these cities and thinking about where they would end up in my ranking. Also, apologies for taking a little longer than expected to resolve this. Work got pretty busy immediately after I came back, but I finally had some time to collect my thoughts.
🇳🇱 Amsterdam — S tier
Amsterdam was just incredibly cool and cozy. It’s one of those cities where I could walk around without any particular destination and still constantly think, “wow, this is nice.” The canals, narrow houses, bridges, bikes, little streets, and neighborhoods give the city so much character, and even outside the most famous areas it felt like there was always something interesting or beautiful around the corner. There’s also a ridiculous amount to do for a city of its size, and the museums were excellent. Definitely one of the highlights of the trip.
🇫🇷 Paris — S tier
Paris was probably my favorite place for an extended stay. Some cities completely amaze you for a day or two, but Paris felt like somewhere I could actually spend weeks. I loved the relaxed café culture, the food, the architecture, the museums, the parks, and simply walking around different neighborhoods. There was constantly something else I wanted to see, and even after spending quite a bit of time there, I still felt like I had barely scratched the surface. I also think Paris gets judged disproportionately by its busiest tourist areas; once I got away from those, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the city itself.
🇬🇧 Edinburgh — High A tier
Edinburgh made an amazing first impression. I was enchanted by the architecture almost immediately after arriving. The old stone buildings, hills, closes, churches, castle, and the way the city is layered vertically all make it feel extremely distinctive. There are little pieces of history everywhere, and some of the older buildings and castles almost feel like they’re whispering stories from centuries ago. I also found the people really friendly. The main negatives were mostly timing-related: I visited during the Fringe, so there were a lot of people, and one of the days was basically nonstop pouring rain. I suspect I might have liked Edinburgh even more during a quieter period.
🇧🇪 Bruges / Ghent — S tier
Despite only being a day trip, these two places probably gave me the strongest emotional reaction of the entire journey. Ghent felt almost like discovering some secluded city hidden far away from the rest of the world. Between the canals, greenery, medieval buildings, towers, and quieter streets, it had this incredibly peaceful and slightly mysterious atmosphere, almost like walking into a secret garden that happened to contain an entire medieval city.
Bruges, meanwhile, felt like stepping straight into a fairy tale. The canals, colorful old buildings, small bridges, squares, churches, and preserved medieval streets made the city feel almost unreal. There were multiple moments in both cities where I would turn a corner and genuinely stop because I couldn’t believe how beautiful the view was. The combination of architecture, water, greenery, history, and atmosphere made these places feel the most unlike my normal everyday world.
🇬🇧 York — A tier
York was a really pleasant surprise. The old city walls are awesome, the historic center is very walkable, and there are tons of neat little streets and alleyways. York Minster is absolutely massive and dominates the surrounding area in a way that makes the whole old city feel more dramatic. Walking along the walls and through the old center gave it a strong medieval character without the city feeling like it exists solely for tourists. And surprisingly, I actually had some pretty decent food there too.
🇬🇧 London — B tier
London is the city on this list I had visited the most before the trip, so there was less novelty for me. It’s obviously an enormous city with endless things to do, and there are still individual places I really like, but overall I enjoyed it much less than most of the other cities on this trip. It feels crowded almost everywhere, and I still don’t think the average food experience is particularly great outside of specific restaurants or cuisines. What surprised me most this time was how many American chains and brands seem to have taken over parts of central London. Combined with the huge crowds, some areas increasingly feel like they could belong to any major international city. For me personally, London has lost some of the distinct charm I remember from earlier visits.
🇫🇷 Bordeaux — Not visited
Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit Bordeaux into the schedule in the end. Since I had previously said only places I actually visited would be eligible, I’m not going to rank it. Instead, I’ll send 50 mana to every Bordeaux YES holder as compensation.
🇫🇷 Colmar — S tier
Colmar gave me a very similar feeling to Bruges. The colorful half-timbered houses, canals, flowers, tiny streets, and surrounding scenery made the center feel almost absurdly picturesque. It really does feel like walking into a fairy-tale village. Compared with some of the larger destinations, I also enjoyed how cozy and relaxed it felt. You don’t need a huge checklist of attractions there because the town itself is the attraction. I loved simply wandering around.
🇬🇧 Oxford — B tier
I had been to Oxford before, and unfortunately I liked it noticeably less this time. One thing that bothered me was how commercialized visiting the university seems to have become. On my previous trip I don’t remember needing to buy tickets for seemingly every college I wanted to enter, while this time it felt like there was a fee everywhere. Obviously the architecture and history are still impressive, but between the ticketing, crowds, tourist infrastructure, and increasing number of generic international and American brands, the city felt less magical to me than I remembered. Still a historically fascinating place, but personally I think it has lost some charm.
🇧🇪 Brussels — Low B tier
Brussels was one of my least favorite stops. The Grand-Place is genuinely beautiful and probably one of the most impressive city squares I saw on the entire trip, and the food was also pretty decent. But once I got outside that area, the city didn’t really click with me. There seemed to be construction everywhere, parts of the city felt less pleasant to walk around, and compared with Bruges or Ghent I didn’t feel nearly as relaxed or immersed in the surroundings. It also didn’t feel as safe or cozy to me as most of the other cities I visited.
🇳🇱 The Hague — A tier
The Hague was really nice. It had a much calmer and more relaxed atmosphere than Amsterdam, and I liked the combination of elegant city streets with the nearby coast and beach. The Mauritshuis was one of the main reasons I wanted to visit because I really wanted to see Girl with a Pearl Earring. Unfortunately, it wasn’t on display during my visit, which definitely made the trip feel like it was missing the thing I had been looking forward to most. Still, I enjoyed the city itself quite a bit.
Other cities
🇬🇧 Cambridge — A tier: Beautiful city, amazing university architecture, lovely river and green spaces, and generally a really pleasant place to wander around. I personally found Cambridge noticeably more charming than Oxford this time around. It felt less commercialized and had more of the university-town atmosphere I was hoping for.
🇳🇱 Zaandam / Zaandijk — A tier: Both were really cool side trips and had very distinct personalities. Zaandam has some wonderfully weird and colorful architecture, while Zaandijk and the surrounding Zaanse Schans area had a completely different, much more peaceful traditional Dutch atmosphere with windmills, water, wooden houses, and open scenery. They were a great contrast to Amsterdam and made me appreciate the Netherlands even more.
Final resolution
Amsterdam was the coolest city I visited, and probably the place that impressed me most as a city overall. Paris is the place I most want to go back to and stay longer, because it felt like somewhere I could happily spend weeks rather than just visit for a few days. But if I have to choose the place I enjoyed the most overall, it was Ghent/Bruges. Those two places gave me the strongest feeling of having stepped into a completely different world, and that ended up being the most memorable experience of the entire trip. So I’ll be resolving the market to Ghent/Bruges YES.
Thanks again everyone for participating, trading, making recommendations, and making the trip more fun!
@EvanWang11j3 are there places outside the canal area one should visit. I visited two years ago and thought it was alright but didn't explore much outsider the canal area
@Vergissfunktor if I put it here I ll very likely visit. If I don't though I will refund all YES shares holders for the city
@Mochi went there this January. Ghent was cool but we left Bruges after less than three hours because there were just way too many tourists for a place that size