Items15The creator’s order
  1. 1AmsterdamAmsterdamThe easiest layover city in Europe to get right. Trains from Schiphol's own station reach the city in about 17 minutes, and Centraal puts you straight onto the canal ring, so even five hours on the ground can buy a proper walk. Head south through the Jordaan's narrow canals, cross to the Nine…0
  2. 2SingaporeSingaporeSingapore is the one city that will show you around for free. Changi's Free Singapore Tour takes transit passengers with a layover of 5.5 to 24 hours on a 2.5-hour guided route, with choices that include heritage districts, the Singapore River and Marina Bay Sands, or Sentosa. You report to the…0
  3. 3IstanbulIstanbulThe richest sightseeing on this list, with the longest trip in. Istanbul Airport sits far north of the old city: the M11 metro reaches Gayrettepe, but getting on to Sultanahmet by metro and tram can take more than an hour each way, and road traffic is no faster at busy times. Budget at least nine…0
  4. 4DohaDohaDoha rewards a short layover because the whole visit fits along one metro line. The Red Line has its own station at Hamad International, and the ride to Msheireb, the interchange beside Souq Waqif, takes around half an hour for a standard fare of 2 riyals. Spend the evening in the souq's lanes of…0
  5. 5DubaiDubaiDubai suits a layover that lands on the wrong side of the clock. The Red Line runs from Terminals 1 and 3 at DXB, and the ride from Terminal 3 to the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall stop takes around 25 minutes, so the tallest building on Earth and the fountain shows below it make an easy evening…0
  6. 6CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen Airport is so close to town that the city feels like an extension of the terminal. Both the metro and the train leave from Terminal 3 and reach central Copenhagen in around 15 minutes. Ride the metro to Kongens Nytorv and you are a few steps from Nyhavn's painted harbor houses, with the…0
  7. 7ZurichZurichZurich has the shortest ride on the list: direct trains from the station below the airport reach Zurich HB in roughly 10 to 12 minutes, and they run all day long. That makes even a four- or five-hour gap realistic. From the main station, walk up the Bahnhofstrasse toward the lake, then cut into…0
  8. 8ViennaViennaVienna's City Airport Train makes the trip non-stop to Wien Mitte in 21 minutes, and from there the cathedral and the old center are a short metro hop or a walk away. The cheaper S-Bahn covers the same line more slowly if time allows. The Ringstrasse wraps the best of the city into one loop: St.…0
  9. 9HelsinkiHelsinkiHelsinki is the natural stop on a Europe to Asia routing through Finland, and the commuter train makes it painless: the P and I trains reach Helsinki Central Station in about 30 minutes, on an ordinary regional ticket. The center is small enough to cover on foot. Walk from the station to Senate…0
  10. 10LondonLondonHeathrow is far from central London, but the Heathrow Express closes most of the gap: trains every 15 minutes take 15 minutes to Paddington. From there the Tube or a taxi puts you in Westminster or along the South Bank, where Big Ben, the abbey and the river walk to the London Eye can fill a few…0