Have to disagree on Paris here, it’s very expensive around the tourist traps and not without the problems of all large cities but it’s stunning in parts and lots to see.
Ditto Florence and Venice, absolutely magnificent places, I loved them.
I thought that Altstad in Düsseldorf was cheesy as fuck and Dubai isn’t my cup of tea at all.
Stuttgart was boring and Frankfurt seems like a city where everyone fucks off from their finance jobs somewhere else on a Friday evening.
As for Barcelona, it’s the best city I’ve been to, if you were to rate cities by a few different metrics such as culture, nightlife, weather and architecture. Only Buenos Aires and New York come close.
I’m from Dublin and will happily admit it’s overpriced, especially the tourist areas but wages are high so that’s why you’re paying so much for a pint.
I find most big UK cities expensive for going out now though, even Belfast up the road isn’t cheap. There’s a gang of us going for a night out in Birmingham before we head to Cheltenham for the gold cup in March and I’ll be interested to see how that place has come on since I was last there 15 years ago and if it’s heavy on the wallet.