The article puts forth the thesis that European cities are increasingly influenced by recreation, changing the essential quality of the urban space. I begin by setting out a theoretical framework in which cities are seen as specific places used as a resource by mobile individuals in a specific “dwelling regime.” The concepts of city, tourism and recreational turn are explained. The paper goes on to give a brief description of the context of tourism in Europe, with reference to data problems for a European-wide study of tourism on the local level of urban settings. Finally, specific processes of the recreational turn are reconstructed, leading to differentiated urban qualities of contemporary European cities: festivalization, investing in industrial agglomerations, “heritageing,” experiencing the modernity of cities, and the urbanization of tourist resorts. The conclusion reflects upon the consequences of recreation and mobility for the European city as a place for geographically plural individuals, where cohabitation becomes a crucial political issue.