da leao： Everyone loves an away day; it's such a quintessential part of football culture, going away with your mates or family and following your team up and down the country, come rain or shine.
da realsbet： However, as great as they are, there is something better: a European away day.
Only some of us are lucky enough to support a club that we can follow onto the continent, but when we do, it can be the highlight of the entire season. As with these trips, It's not just about the football.
Read More: The top 10 away days in the Premier League
With that in mind, Football FanCast has created a list of the top ten European away days based on the football and the destination.
10 Benfica – Lisbon
Kicking off our list is an away day to Portugal's most successful clubs and one of its nicest cities, Lisbon's SL Benfica.
The Eagles have won 38 domestic titles – the most of any team in the country – and boasts a massive and very vocal support, who can create quite the atmosphere for European games.
The city is also one of the best places to spend a weekend away, with stunning architecture, lovely weather and plenty of history and culture to get stuck into.
Lisbon is actually the oldest city in Western Europe, being founded centuries before London.
Prices aren't too bad in the city either as it comes in at 36 on the list of most expensive European cities.
9 Galatasaray – Istanbul
From the most westerly club on our list, the one furthest east: Istanbul's Galatasaray.
Gala are one of the biggest clubs in world football, so it shouldn't be surprising to learn that they are Turkey's most successful side, winning 22 Turkish Super Ligs, the most of any team in the country.
One of the biggest pluses of an away day against Gala is witnessing the stadium's intense atmosphere. Many of the teams on this list will have impressive atmospheres, but none quite reach the level found in the Ali Sami Yen Stadium.
The other benefit to this away day is the chance to explore Istanbul. The city is one of the most historically important anywhere in the world, and you can't move for significant cultural and historical sights.
Interestingly, half the city is in Europe and the other half is in Asia and this is one of the pressure points that adds even more drama to the derby between Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, as the latter is in the European side and the former on the other.
The most famous sight in the city and one you can't leave without seeing, is the Hagia Sophia Mosque, which was completed in 537 AD.
8 Bayern Munich – Munich
Our first German club on the list, and if you're a beer aficionado, then this is the away day for you.
We're, of course, talking about Bayern Munich.
Now, from a purely footballing perspective, this is an obvious inclusion on the list as Bayern play some of the most entertaining football on the continent, they have the England captain up top, and their stadium is mightily impressive. There's nothing not to like.
However, Munich has quite a lot to offer away from the football.
If you're heading there from late September to early October, you can't miss Oktoberfest. The annual event sees one of the biggest beer festivals overtake the city, alongside a food and wine festival for those not keen on the wheaty stuff.
Aside from the food and drink, there is plenty of history to see in the city, and the surrounding mountains provide plenty of opportunities to explore nature.
Prices in Munich are relatively average, with the city coming in as the 21st most expensive in Europe.
7 Borussia Dortmund – Dortmund
There are some things that every football fan should see at one point in their life, and one of those things is Borussia Dortmund's world-famous Yellow Wall.
Dortmund are the second German club on this list, and while the attraction of Munich was partly the football and partly the destination, an away day to Dortmund is all about the football.
The club have always prided itself on playing attractive football regardless of the opposition, and while that hasn't always resulted in the best outcomes for the team, it has meant that fans are always entertained.
Pair the football with the genuinely fantastic tifos and fanfare from the almost 25,000 Yellow Wall, and you're guaranteed a great trip, regardless of how your team gets on.
Another plus to a trip here is that your money will go a little further than in Munich, with Dortmund coming in as the 46th most expensive city on the continent.
6 Paris Saint-Germain – Paris
One of the quintessential European capitals, no list of continental away days is truly complete without the addition of Paris.
Now say what you want about the City of Lights – and people have – it's undeniably the place to be for history and culture buffs.
You can hardly walk ten meters without finding another museum, so much so that Paris officially has the most museums out of any city in the world.
The football isn't bad, either.
Granted, the departure of Lionel Messi and Neymar Jr over the summer has somewhat reduced the appeal of watching Paris Saint-Germain play, but it's still a privilege to watch Kylian Mbappe do his thing live.
One of the only downsides of a trip to Paris is the cost, with it coming in as Europe's ninth most expensive city.
5 Ajax – Amsterdam
One of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Amsterdam more than delivers on both a footballing and sightseeing front.
Ajax might not be the powerhouse they were in your dad's day – and they're practically imploding at the moment – but in an average year, they still play some beautiful football, and hey, this is a game that a lot of English clubs would fancy themselves in, so there's that.
Away from the football, the city has something for everyone.
Love art and culture? Go to the Rijksmuseum and look at some fantastic works from Rembrandt.
Want to try some new food? Explore some of the 2,293 restaurants the city has to offer. And, of course, there's the nightlife as well.
Really, the only downside is that Amsterdam comes in as the tenth most expensive city in Europe.
4 AC Milan/Inter – Milan
When it comes to iconic football stadiums, there really aren't many better than Milan's San Siro, home to both AC Milan and Inter, so both clubs make it onto our list.
After a decade of mediocrity, the Rossoneri are back to playing exciting football and winning titles, as are the Nerazzuri.
Milan is a dream for architecture fans, with sights like the Duomo easily accessible on any given day. Similarly to Paris, the Italian city is chockfull of museums to get lost in.
That said, the main attraction of this trip has to be the San Siro, so it would be well worth booking a tour of the stunning ground and its iconic spiral walkways.
As the 20th most expensive city in Europe, prices are neither here nor there.
3 Union Berlin – Berlin
Our third and final German city to make the list – we promise – is the capital, Berlin.
Until fairly recently, the biggest club in the city was Hertha Berlin. However, with their relegation last season and Union Berlin's rapid ascension to Champions League football in recent years, it's hard not to describe the latter as the city's new 'biggest side.'
UEFA has forced the club to use the city's Olympiastadion for European games, and while that has understandably upset the fans, it did lead to an awe-inspiring spectacle when they hosted Braga earlier this season. The 74,000-strong crowd created an unbelievable atmosphere and made their European matches a must-attend for fans of the game.
Away from the football, though, Berlin also happens to be one of the best places to spend a weekend away. The sheer size of the place means that there really is something for everyone.
History buffs will find something interesting around every corner, given the last century of change that the place has experienced and for party animals, there might not be a better city in all of Europe.
The city is quite expensive, but at number 14 on the list, it's not too bad.
2 Real Madrid – Madrid
Real Madrid are the biggest football club in the world, the most successful Champions League side ever and are based in the capital city of Spain; we couldn't do an away days list without including Los Blancos.
The main attraction of this trip will undoubtedly be the match itself, as the opportunity to watch Real at the Santiago Bernabeu is truly a bucket list item. The view from inside the stadium is outstanding, while the less said about the new outside facade the better.
While Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale are all gone, the opportunity to see Jude Bellingham swanning about the pitch like a prime Zinedine Zidane is reason enough to get a ticket.
Besides the football, there is plenty to eat and drink with the city boasting over 6,000 individual restaurants, and with the weather, you'll likely be able to enjoy your meal al fresco.
Your pocket money will go further here than at home, with Madrid coming in as Europe's 39th most expensive city.
1 Roma – Rome
Here we are then, the number one European away day on our list, and while every trip on this list is fantastic, we happen to think that going to Rome to watch Roma is the best one of them all.
Now, Roma clearly aren't a bigger club than, say, Real Madrid or AC Milan, and they probably don't play better football than Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund, but that doesn't matter.
When you watch a Champions League, Europa League, or even a Conference League game at the Stadio Olimpico, very few places are quite like it.
The singing before the game starts, the drums that go for the full 90, and the sea of waving flags all make for a genuinely memorable experience and one that doesn't quite translate through the television for whatever reason.
However, even if the football was rubbish, the city of Rome adds so much more to this trip, and for lovers of history and culture, there probably isn't a better destination on this list.
The Colosseum, the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, the Vatican, the Forum, the Spanish Steps, and many other historical landmarks are all within the same city.
And to round it all off, the weather is usually beautiful, the food is fantastic, and it's all pretty affordable.
Honestly, what's not to love?