There are lots of cities that appeal to varying tastes, but my five have epic imperialist architecture or lay on civilisational boundaries.

The most beautiful city in Europe is Madrid.

Without a doubt, there are few metropolises which compare to its imperial architecture. The city is mostly warm throughout the year with a lot of independent cafes, lovely restaurants and there are massive parklands in the middle of the city.

When standing near the royal palace, you can see the great mountains of Spain’s mighty interior over the horizon. I also happened to have the best steak tartar in Madrid which was served on a cow bone with all of its juicy marrow.

Another great Spanish city is Granada with its famous Alhambra Palace.

This city is genuinely beautiful and when standing on the walls of the legendary Alhambra Palace which was built during the Islamic era, I imagine horsemen galloping across the surrounding plains and over the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

The centre of Granada is historic and the Royal Chapel of Granada is one of its major highlights. Here in this monumental church are buried Isabella I and Ferdinand II who liberated Granada and completed the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula. Isabella was responsible for funding Christopher Columbus’ expedition to the New World.

The third city on my list is Istanbul which was formally Constantinople.

This city was once the epicentre of the Roman Empire and continued to be the largest city in Europe for a thousand years. It is once again the largest city in Europe after undergoing a significant population rise in the twentieth century. The city is ancient and filled with all sorts of ruins, cultural artifacts and sits at the crossroads of civilisations. It is a beautiful city, albeit crowded and increasingly congested.

Istanbul is home of the famous Hagia Sofia Cathedral which was turned into a mosque and then a museum before now being refashioned into a mosque again. This cathedral was the largest church in Christendom when it was built in 537 AD. The minarets around its sides are later editions, but the basic church structure remains from the ancient world. European history cannot be understood without a comprehension of Constantinople.

The fourth city on my list is Budapest.

This is the beautiful capital of Hungary with immense quantities of incredible architecture. The city centre can be viewed from a hilltop which allows you to observe the surrounding area. Some of Budapest’s architecture is well renowned across the world for its gothic stateliness, especially its parliament which is one of the best examples of modern gothic architecture.

The city is also situated along the vast Danube River which can be navigated by boat. This city was once at the fault-line of civilisation as the Ottoman’s advanced into Europe. It has a interesting feeling of Western and Eastern Europe combined and lots of unique food. Another highlight includes the Dohány Street Synagogue which is the largest synagogue in Europe.

The last city is Tbilisi.

The capital of Georgia is certainly a curveball to include on a list of European cities. Arguably, it’s not even in Europe but rests on another civilisational fault-line. It is a city influenced by European, Russian, Armenian, Iranian and Ottoman culture. This shows up in its people, culture and food. I think that basic Georgian bread is the tastiest in the world.

Parts of Tbilisi are rundown, but it’s a genuinely fascinating place to visit with a glorious history. Where there is beauty in this city, there are some very remarkable locations. I really enjoyed the Botanical Gardens and the incredible Holy Trinity Cathedral which was finished in 2004 and is one of the largest religious buildings by total space in the whole world.

Outside of this list, most cities in Europe seem the same because of globalisation.

These cities have similar shops, similar skyscrapers, similar restaurants, similar trips and similar worries. The cities on this list try to buck some of that globalising trend to give a different flavour of a continent that is actually extremely diverse.

The five cities on this list preserve a lot of their authenticity and cultural identity. They haven’t been radically transformed by forces of globalisation and retain a local or regional feel. I think this is what people look for when exploring European cities.

I highly recommend visiting Georgia as a country because it’s extremely unique. This is a country that sits between so many vastly different cultures and is blessed with immense natural beauty. Tbilisi is the gateway to that beauty and if you are prepared to have your comforts challenged, you will find a genuinely ancient culture that still exists in this modern world.

Some of this mysterious culture can be experienced in Tbilisi, but the rest of it echoes over Georgia’s soaring mountains and roams across its untamed hinterlands.