European breakfasts vary by region. Here's the honest sort.
Tier 1 — destination breakfast cities
- Vienna: Coffee-house breakfast tradition. Café Sacher, Café Sperl. Eggs, ham, cheese, pastries.
- Madrid + Barcelona: Tortilla + pa amb tomàquet + churros con chocolate.
- Lisbon: Pastel de nata at A Brasileira or Pastéis de Belém.
- Naples: Sfogliatella + caffè standing at the bar.
- Istanbul: Turkish breakfast (kahvaltı) is iconic — eggs, cheeses, olives, jams, simit.
Tier 2 — strong breakfast culture
- Berlin: Brunch tradition strong (Sunday).
- Munich: Weisswurst + pretzel + beer (real Bavarian tradition before 12pm).
- Stockholm: Cinnamon buns + open-faced sandwich.
- Copenhagen: Smørrebrød tradition.
- Paris: Croissant-and-coffee at any boulangerie.
Tier 3 — niche
- London: Full English Breakfast. Iconic at greasy spoons or hotel restaurants.
- Dublin: Irish breakfast (similar to English with extra black pudding).
- Glasgow / Edinburgh: Scottish breakfast.
What's overrated
- Continental hotel breakfasts: Generic; skip and find a bakery.
- "American breakfast" in European hotels: Inflated price for ordinary food.
- Anything with "American" in name: Usually below American standard.
Strategy
For breakfast culture, follow locals to neighborhood bakeries. Every European city has a bakery culture — Italian pasticceria, French boulangerie, Austrian Konditorei, Spanish panadería. The bar's standing-coffee + pastry is the local way.