I’ve been playing a lot of Battlefield V and noticed that some of the maps that take place in cities capitalize on huge levels of destruction to make the maps interesting. This makes me wonder, was this destruction realistic in the war? Were entire blocks and neighborhoods of European cities completely trashed? What was the extent of the damage in an average city that saw combat?
Edit: a word
I can answer for France. Many cities were destroyed in Normandy and Brittany. There is no answer for the 'average' city. Some small cities were 'completely trashed' while others were spared.
Cities in Normandy that saw extensive damage included Saint Lo, Caen and Cherbourg, while Bayeaux was spared as the Germans did not want to fight for it. If you visit Normandy and wish to stay in a city I highly recommend you stay in Bayeaux, although Caen has much better nightlife and the castle of William the Conqueror, which was spared. Also there are some houses in Caen which were spared and are very pretty. The reconstruction of the cathédrale of Saint Lo is very interesting to me personally.
In Brittany the port cities on the coast were mostly destroyed. Rennes, in the interior, was bombed to disable the railways but when the American 3rd Army moved in the Germans left without serious resistance. Cities such as Brest and Saint Malo were destroyed.
I believe that the images of Saint Malo [just after the war] (https://www.google.com/search?q=saint+malo+apres+la+guerre&rlz=1C1GGRV_enFR751FR751&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjS0rfx57_fAhVJJBoKHZu-CAwQ_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=626&dpr=1) and today speak for themselves.
The reason for the destruction of the port cities was to slow down the logistical buildup which was key to winning the war.
Most of the French cities were not rebuilt in a pretty manner, Saint Malo is very much the exception, no one visits Brest because it is a beautiful city.
References:
L'agonie de Saint-Malo 6 août 14 août 1944 by Paul Aubry
The Canadian Battlefields in Normandy by Terry Copp
Mémorial 39-45 - Musée (Museum) - Saint-Malo
Note the below is unsourced and based on my experience.
Most French are not salty about the destruction but some are, if you visit Normandy or Brittany try to avoid making statements about the necessary of the bombings etc and rather ask the French, Normands and Bretons for their opinions. There are still some people, of all ages, who are unhappy about what happened.
If you have any more specific questions let me know. I suggest for images one can search of google.fr images for the name of the city and "après guerre" which means after the war.