DavidMGATL

Hello eveybody,

My wife and I are planning on traveling to Europe this fall. She has been to the UK and Ireland but I have never traveled anywhere in Europe... We'd like to travel anywhere from September-November. I am EXTREMELY indecisive mainly b/c every country looks amazing and I want to go to them all. We will be spending a week and a half. Definately want to bounce around a bit once we are there. Maybe 2-3 days in a city / area then move on to the next. Open to multiple countries if possible... Below is our "Top 4 list". I know we can't go wrong with any BUT would like to hear some recommendations for you "well traveled" folks!

- Portugal
- Spain
- Frace
- Germany

THANKS!

David from Atlanta

mamcalice

Of those you have listed, France. We love France, especially Paris. You could visit Paris for 4 days and one of the regions for about 6 days. Provence and the Cote d'Azur or, if you are visiting in September, Normandy.

You haven't listed Italy but that would be my first choice. October would be an ideal time to visit and, with 10/11 days you could go to Venice, Florence and Rome.

bilboburgler

David, welcome to Fodors, most of people here are going to talk about, jet lag, every move takes up min of 6 hrs, and your week and a half may only be 10 real days

The good things about Europe are the public transport systems which are efficient and clean and may be the most useful.

I guess one way to describe this holiday as if I'd asked you about a holiday of Boston, Florida, Texas and Seattle in a week in a half.

I think you need to focus on 2, or possibly 3 sites for the trip and probably look at an open jaw flight that lands in Atlanta. So you could do

London 4 days (train to)
Paris 3 days (train to)
Amsterdam (fly home)

bilboburgler

Alternatively
London 4 days (train to)
Paris 3 days (fly to)
Barcelona (fly home)

Pegontheroad

When you're planning this trip, assume that you'll be back--probably many times.

If I were you, I'd stick to one country, since your time is limited. I like Bilbo's itinerary.

msteacher

Any of those countries has wonderful things to enjoy. The key is, which of those things are important to YOU. Are you a lover of art, history, the outdoors, photography,architecture, fine dining, music, or any of a thousand other things? A wine lover might prefer France, while a beer lover might prefer Germany. Do you envision yourself spending a lot of time in museums, or churches, or shopping, or the great outdoors?

If it were my trip (and it is not), I'd choose France of the countries you've listed. But that because it has things I like. You may want to flip through some guidebooks to get a sense of what really floats your boat. Also, recognize you can't "see it all" in one trip (or ten trips). Also looking at some airline and train websites for their schedules may give you a sense of what combinations of places have easy and affordable connections. Sometimes that helps make the choice between which cities to keep or drop off the list much easier. Happy planning!

Gwendolynn

I'm with mamcalice..... I love France, but Italy would be my choice for a first trip. Are there any specific reasons for your first four choices... ancestors, interest in architecture, food, art, etc.?

Also... are you a younger person? ( Welll.... everyone is relative to me - If so, the issues of jet lag, and travel times aren't quite as important. When I remember our first few trips to Europe I almost collapse with exhaustion. But glad we did it!

DavidMGATL

We are young (28), just got married a year ago. No particular reason for the picks. More than anything, we would like some culture, adventure, history and off the beaten path destinations. Will likely hit up a few of the tourist type places but not spend all of our time on that.

We went to Bali on our honeymoon and it was a great choice but wanted something in Europe for this trip.

emily71

I'll pick Spain. Cheaper than some other European destinations like France, wonderful intercity transport of trains and buses, tapas, beaches, mountains and historical sites.

So much to do in Spain I'd just stay in one country the whole trip.

StCirq

Well, of course I'd pick France, but we each have our favorites for various reasons.

Just a note, though: Even if you pick only one of those places, you won't get "off the beaten path" in the short time you've got (unless, e.g., you decide you're going to visit the Corrèze in France or Extremadura in Spain). You'll barely have time to hit a handful of the well-trodden ones. It won't make any difference, though, as it will all be new and marvelous to you.

nytraveler

Agree that if you want to go off the beaten path you will have to make a big effort to do so.

If that is a real goal I would pick one county with a RT flight, spend 3/4 days in the city you land in - and then head out to a couple of "off the beaten track places" - by train or car. If you are going in November I would head further south - to get more decent weather (north of the Alps will probbly be chilly and quite possibly rainy as well).

Gwendolynn

Wow.... 28. Rent a car and "do" Italy. -
( Next year.....France.)
Get lots of MIchelin guides, green and red, Rick Steves, and whatever is the hot young thing and just go.

Gwendolynn

Whoops... guess I'm showing my age. I presume all those references I mentioned are now on line.

PalenQ

Well if taking the train as most do between far-removed countries then check out these IMO superb sites - www.ricksteves.com; www.seat61.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - download their free and superb IMO online European Planning & Rail Guide for many suggested itineraries in many countries (http://www.budgeteuropetravel.com/id2.html).