Favourite country I've visited in Europe?

It's been a few times now that I've been asked 'What is your favourite country you have visited in Europe?' This has to be one of the toughest questions anyone could possibly ask me as I'm yet to visit any which have not had appeal or something unique to offer me as a visitor. In an attempt to offer some sort of answer to anyone who might ask me the same question again in the future I embarked on at least coming up with a top ten as a starting point.

The big question is how do you compare across countries when each one in Europe, big to small, has its own redeeming features, intriguing culture and varied weather. Before starting to jot down what I thought my top ten countries were I felt it wise to come up with some criteria on how best to judge this, it goes something like this:

• How much does the country amaze or surprise me? This is an important question as whilst some countries might have more attractions, better climate or be more developed it can often be the places off the beaten track that have the capacity to win me over.
• What are the people like? This always leaves a lasting impression on me, in fact it leaves more of a lasting impression on me than I ever thought possible when I started travelling. On many occasions when I think back about places I've been I remember specific people who made my time there that little bit better.
• What are its cities like? In some cases it may be better to ask 'What is its city like?' because it is either so small or I've only yet to sample one location there. I think this is important as so often mine or any traveller's first taste of a country is one of its cities. Whilst it may be possible it's not very common to arrive in the middle of the countryside somewhere or stay there, don't ever rule it out happening with me in the future but it will always be the exception to the rule!

These are the three main points I considered whilst coming up with my top ten countries but there were other considerations such as transport, prices and hotels but for me I don't tend to remember the practicalities surrounding my travels nearly as much.

So, what was my verdict ultimately?

I thought it best to come up with some suspense so will reveal one a day on Instagram and give a little explanation on here as to why it made my top ten.

The great news is I did manage to decide on a top ten, the bad news is that I of course plan to do more travelling to Europe in the near future so it could be all change once more!