Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

My husband and I are planning a week away to Europe and we do not know which city to choose from to spend a romantic time away.

We have travelled with our children to Europe 4 out of the last 5 summers, visiting, France, including Paris for 4 days, Spain, the south of Germany and most of Italy, including Rome. We just got back from Southern California a week ago where we were visiting family.

We have thought of a few cities where we would like to go:

1. Paris (even though we were there for a few days, we do not think we really "saw" Paris)
2. Berlin
3. Prague
4. London

We were even thinking about spending 4 days in Paris then taking a train to London for 3 days and flying home from there.

Any other ideas would be welcome and we are not totally committed to a large city.

We appreciate all of your help.

Andrea

joannyc

Prague is my favorite city. Would love to retire there if I could.

luademochila

I believe capitals aren't the most romantique options. Maybe Paris and Prague are a good call, but the true gems usually are towns and villages, IMO. So, maybe combining Paris with Loire Valley, or Prague with Cesky Krumlov.

Jean

What time of year?

How about a little Prague and a little Vienna?

FWIW, although I think Berlin is very interesting, I don't consider it very romantic.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi,

I agree with both of you. I have heard that Prague is a gorgeous city.

As well, most of our most memorable moments have been outside the large cities and we did not think of splitting the time between a large city and a more romantic smaller town/village.

Keep the ideas coming.

Thanks again.

Andrea

joannyc

Also love C. Krumlov!

So, Prague and C. Krumlov?

Andrealovestotravel

Hi,


We are planning to go in late September or early/mid October for 7 or 8 days.


Andrea

StCirq

Venice is the most romantic city in Europe. Followed by Paris.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi,

We have been to Venice twice (so romantic) and that is why we did not include it in our short list.


Andrea

jamikins

Do you like wine? What about Paris and burgundy?

Andrealovestotravel

Good morning everyone,


What about Budapest?


Andrea

annhig

Andrea - I propose Berlin. spend a few days there then get the train to Dresden and use it as a base for touring the Elbe valley.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

We have decided to split our time between Paris and the Loire Valley and we will be spending 4 full days in each. We will be renting a car at CDG airport and returning it after our time in the Loire Valley.

We have been to Paris before, so if you can suggest any other worthwhile things to do other than the major sites, that would be great, including any restaurants (not necessarily expensive) and nightclubs. Any reasonably priced and well located hotels that you can recommend? We stayed in St. Germain des Pres last time we were there.

As well, where should we spend our time in the Loire Valley? We have heard that the whole area is simply gorgeous but we do not know whether to spend all of our time in one hotel or split our time between two or three areas in the valley. We would like to do some wine tasting as well, which is something we have not done in Europe as we have always been travelling with our children. Any hotel, chateaux or relais recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks so much.

Andrea

matera2019

@Andrea,

I like your choice of Paris because it is a truly romantic European city. It was built by the Romans ! Venice is a fun place to kiss, but if you know the history of words and the history of Italy, Venice is the only city in Italy that isn't "romantic" in the Roman manner, because the Romans didn't make it. It comes from the east. Venice is byzantine and mysterious like a fiction, so in that way it is "romantic" but what makes it special for people to visit is that it is exotic, even for Italians.

If you would be interested to do something very Romantic in Paris, it is possible to take a walk in the center of Paris to see what remains of the real Roman Paris. This link has the virtual tour to show you where to walk:

http://www.paris.culture.fr/en/

There are beautiful chateaux in the Loire Valley where you can taste wine and ride bicycles and have spa treatments with dried flowers from the gardens. There are also b&bs that cost much less. The same is true in Paris and for its restaurants. How much you want to spend makes it easier to decide where to go.

matera2019

@StCirq,

Paris is the most romantic city in Europe, followed by Rome! Paris is classically the romance, because of the romanz language. But there are many more romantic places in Europe, and many different kinds of people. It is honestly not possible to say which is first or second.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi everyone,

We have narrowed our hotel choices in Paris to the following:

Hotel Verneuil
Grand Hotel St. Michel
Hotel Fontaines du Luxembourg

... and are considering these as well:

Hotel des Academies et des Arts
Hotel du Petit Moulin
Hotel Chaplain Paris Rive Gauche

As we will be spending 4 nights in the Loire Valley, which town wold be most desirable to base ourselves? We are looking for a medieval feel and a place where we can walk around in the evening to restaurants and be among others enjoying the town as well. Any Chateaux/hotels in the recommended towns would be really appreciated.

Thanks so much...

StCirq

<< We have heard that the whole area is simply gorgeous but we do not know whether to spend all of our time in one hotel or split our time between two or three areas in the valley.>>

I disagree that the Loire is gorgeous. The castles may be, but the countryside and architecture are, IMO, inferior to many, many places in France in terms of general attractiveness. I can think of half a dozen areas of France that are far more scenic. But be that as it may, there is certainly a wealth of things to do in the Loire, even apart from the castles. I usually split my time there between a base in the east (usually Amboise, mostly for the local attractions and the convenience), and one in the west (usually Angers or Saumur). There are troglodyte caves (even a troglodyte restaurant), Chinon, cheese festivals, and wine everywhere (just look for dégustation signs). The château at Angers is a good one, and after seeing the tapestries there you can move on to the Jean-Lurçat museum and see his interpretation of the Apocalypse in his own modern tapestries. Saumur's château is lovely.

In Amboise you might enjoy staying at Le Choiseul. Near Saumur you might like the Château/Hôtel Le Prieuré.

Andrealovestotravel

Hi St Cirq,

We are ending our 9 nights in France with 4 days in Paris and we are looking to spend a romantic 4/5 days before. We are landing in Paris and renting a car and we had heard that the Loire Valley is beautiful and not too far.We are interested in medieval towns and art, wine tasting, architecture, chateaux and castles. If you can suggest other areas that you enjoyed more that would be doable on our trip, we would really welcome your suggestions. By the way, Le Choiseul was the first hotel I enquired about, but they are completely full...

Andrea

StCirq

Other areas that have everything you are looking for and that aren't far away include Alsace, Burgundy, and Provence (not so many castles there, but everything else is). All much prettier than the Loire. I wouldn't set it in stone that you're going to land in Paris and rent a car. Why not land in Paris and hop on a train for a 2- to 3-hour ride to some beautiful area and THEN pick up a car? Even Provence, which is at the opposite end of the country, is only a 3-hour train ride from CDG.

nytraveler

Um, romance languages are used in all of France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and parts of Switzerland. In fact, Romansch may be the closest to Latin. Fail to see how this makes an area "romantic".

And there are lots of places with Germanic languages, or Slavic languages - or even languages that aren;t part of the Indo-European group.

IMHO "romance" is in the eye of the beholder. Many people think it's a beach. I would prefer being snowed in at a gorgeous ski lodge.