Anatomy of an Historic European City

How to Find Your Way Around a Typical City in Europe

Our map shows a typical European city. It's not a big city. A big city would have several train stations. It has an airport, so it's medium big, a technical term.

Our city is imaginary, like the city you're imagining going to on your European vacation. Let's visualize it.

The Map. You see a thick, gray dashed line. Inside that line is the city center, sometimes called the historic center, the centro storico in Italian. How can we define it so precisely in modern times? You see, back in the medieval period, folks put up walls to protect themselves. Those walls, built of massive stones, held up a long time. Even if the wall was removed to make way for the city to expand, the boundaries of the older wall are still likely to be seen in the fabric of the city. It may now be a ring road, or simply mark the place where the cute, squished-together houses end and the big, ugly buildings start. The historic center is very likely where you want to be as a tourist.

In towns like Lucca in Italy, the 16th century intact walls can be cycled around and have kept ugly urban blight completely out of the core. That's what you've come to see, usually.

At the edge of the older city center, there is very likely to be a train station. It may be one of many, but there is likely one that is called the "main" or "central" station--for example Bologna Centrale, Bologna's main station--or Munchen Hauptbahnhof, Munich's main station. Often, these have been designed by famous architects, and some are interesting tourist destinations in themselves.

Today's train stations will contain at least a bar if not a restaurant, and many are being expanded into huge shopping complexes. (Remember that a bar doesn't just serve alcohol--you can get a bite to eat and a soft drink or coffee, too.) You'll likely find restrooms, but you may have to pay with the coin of the realm (usually Euro coins). Be prepared.

If this imaginary town was a hill town, the train station might be found at the very bottom of the hill. Trains are bad at climbing. You might need a taxi or bus (there's usually a bus) to avoid having to schlep your bags up hills steep enough to deter invading hordes and other ne're-do-wells.

You might also find a Tourist Information Office in a city's central station.

If you walked out the main entrance of the train station, you are very likely to be heading directly toward the city center. In any case, you'll find signs and taxis out front to guide you or take you to where you want to go. If you're on foot and a sign points to a pedestrian zone, take it--that's usually where the most pleasant and oldest part of the city lies. If you are staying the night and need a hotel, there will be quite a selection around most central stations. I usually take a hotel near the train station so I can drop my bags fast and explore.

When you find the pedestrian zone, you'll also come upon a large public square with city administration buildings (the red building with a flag). A Tourist Information Office is likely to be nearby. Remember to pick up a city map at the first tourist office you come upon--it will be a huge help. In medieval times the streets weren't in a grid pattern, you see, they just went helter-skelter. It gets confusing. It's somewhat less confusing with a map.

If you need a guide--the tourist information office is the place to ask for one! Often, tourist offices have lists of local guides who can give you private tours of just what you want to see--or offer public tours at certain times of the day.

The tourist office can also help you with hotels if you are having trouble finding one. It's better to let them call various hotels than you running around the cramped medieval streets with your luggage.

Inside the pedestrian zone is likely to be a market square where weekly or even daily markets are held. Do not park in the market square on days when markets are held, even if the square is normally used as a parking lot.

A river runs through our imaginary town, as it did most medieval towns. It is likely to have some bridges built over it. The medieval ones are often recognized by their humpback configuration. Some cities, like Chaves in northern Portugal, still use ancient Roman Bridges to get modern vehicles from one side of the river to the other.

A walk along the river or canal is a must. Most cities had a tanner's quarter here, often the most picturesque part of the old city. This is where the river turned nasty with all the stuff they used to tan hides with in the medieval period. In northern cities like those in Belgium, water was so full of poison and disease that drinking water was made a crime--which led to the production and consumption of beer.

In Strasbourg, the most evocative part of the city is the Quartier des Tanneurs, the tanner's quarter in the area of Petite France.

The airport is located out of town. Often there will be a rail or bus connection to the central station--and a taxi is always an option.

Parking is most often found just outside the old city. Be aware that many city centers do not allow car traffic and you can draw a huge fine for driving in the pedestrian zones, even if your hotel is located there. Generally only taxis are allowed to drive in pedestrian zones to deliver passengers to hotels. In general, as you drive toward the center city, parking signs will start to appear, often with indication of how many spaces are still left in the parking lots.

I hope this little travelogue around our imaginary city helps you imagine how historic cities are usually laid out in Europe. If you are planning your first trip to Europe, you may also wish to know the cultural differences between the US and Europe: European Customs and Culture: Tips for Your First Trip to Europe

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