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Prague (never been but heard so much about it). The Czechs consume the most alcohol in the world. They live for it, and the beer in Prague is virtually free. It's also got a lot of history as one of the few European metropolises that escaped the majority of the bombing in WW2. Warning: don't try to drink anyone under the table here!
Berlin. Home of probably the best underground techno scene in the world, as well as the biggest rave ever: the Love Parade. Compared to the UK or the US, it is very tolerant as well. Possibly the most fought over city in the history of the world: tens of millions of men died fighting for this. No other city - ever, has been divided down the middle by a huge wall, it's people divided for half a century as the world's two mightiest military systems stood face to face. A battered city with a rich history of tremendous courage in the face of chaos. Well worth visitting. Check out Tresor, one of Europe's most respected techno clubs. Rumuors are this legendary venue might be closing at the end of this year 
Munich. Home of the biggest festival of any kind in the world ever! (Oktoberfest). 6 million people drinking beer for 2 weeks. Simple as that. It's (apparently) a lot cleaner than Berlin, if you care about that sort of thing (I don't). The beer here is served in Stein's, about two and a half times the size of a pint. Germany has 40% of the world's breweries, most of them are in Bavaria. Warning: don't try to drink anyone under the table here.
Also: Newcastle, if you like beer. Home of Newcastle Brown Ale, we consume twice the British average of alcohol and have a unique language all of our own hehe (here is a geordie - english dictionary, people round here are known as 'geordies', the stereotypical geordie is a rough alcoholic who wears a t-shirt in the freezing cold, but we're not all like that.). Beer here is as cheap as anywhere. If you want I can name clubs that do 20p a pint, 10p a bottle, all-you-can-drink for £10, and so on. These are every week and not happy hour prices. The police tried to ban some of these nights, but failed. The outskirts of the city have a few definite no-go areas, and the city has a pretty rough image, but there is all sorts worth seeing (historically speaking). The city was amazingly rated as the 6th best city in the world for nightlife. Believe me it isn't! The one downside of the city is it's early closing time of clubs (4am) but hopefully that is changing quite soon. Most geordies start their serious drinking around 6pm on a night out anyway. The area also has the highest unemployment in Britain. Warning: don't try to drink anyone under the table here, and don't mention football too overtly (Newcastle and it's nearby city, Sunderland, have a brutal and notorious rivalry which claims lives every year. You do not want to experience the English football hooligan, it is one of our nation's biggest shames!).
Athens: Haven't been but my brother has. He says there isn't really an age limit for drinking here; it is up to the morals of the bar owner. Very liberal and tolerant. And absolutely everywhere sells beer, no matter how unusual the place might seem. I needn't explain the wealth of history this city has either.
Venice: the world's only city with streets of water. Hey it's gotta be interesting (but probably damned expensive!).
Apparently the South of Italy has a couple of ancient roman towns which were once completely covered by erupting volcanoes thousands of years ago. Only in recent centuries was this discovered, and the towns have been buried out, intact. The gaps found in the ground made by human remains were filled in with mould and models show the positions these peoples from ancient civilisations died in. Very fascinating. I'll get back to you if I find the name of these towns.
Unfortunately you've missed Ibiza season, most people include that on their list.
Oh and jploveparade is right, a lot of Brits go to Amsterdam and never come back! I know a couple of people who keep getting the ferry over whenever they get the chance.
There is a coffee shop in England which sells weed, too, if you get a little impatient before going to Holland  It's called "The Dutch Experience" in Stockport, Manchester. Last September, the owner was arrested, but his followers (we have a strong pro-cannabis movement in the UK) kept creating hassle for the Stockport police, and it re-opened on 28th Jan this year. I'm not entirely sure what's going on there today. Anyone? Check out www.dutchexperience.org We have recently introduced a half-way approach to weed though, so that technically it is still illegal, but you're unlikely to be arrested unless in posession of large amounts. Quite a few people smoke it in the streets of Brixton now, so we're very gradually moving in the European direction 
Last edited by evil_bastard on Sep-25-2002 at 00:05
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Europe Bound...
