Making the most of one week in Europe!

I would choose Barcelona and the Pyrenees.

Take Eurostar to Brussels, then travel to Bruges for 2 nights. There's a Canadian cemetery in nearby Adagem. Then head over to the Ardennes Mountains and/or the Mosel River in Germany; nice walks to castles and around the attractive towns there:

Eltz Castle: www.burg-eltz.de
walk: http://www.bensbauernhof.com/burgeltzfrommoselkern.html

Marienburg hike from Alf: http://www.puenderich.de/media/images/urlaubsort/freizeit/kulturelles_historisches/marienburg.jpg?PHPSESSID=abdfda873455945c03682a218172cfef

Cochem: http://www.cochemer-sesselbahn.de/en/index.htm
Bernkastel: http://www.bernkastel.de/english/

Here's another different idea: Sweden! Lots of open countryside, and Stockholm is a beautiful city with lots of open water and islands. In fact there are a whole lot of islands on the east coast to Sweden. Or beaches in the south.

www.zermatt.ch and www.illagomaggiore.com/4074,Poi.html
Isla Bella beautiful country hiking close together.
skyscanner.net for euro econo flights then seat61.com/switzerland train like a local around.
booking.com for nice hotel Grand Hotel Dino Baveno
amazing great Isola Bella views.Have had many wonderful
treks there.

Happy Hiking!

Hi,

For something a bit different, maybe the Italian Dolomites. Spectacular scenery, walks in the beautiful Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi and include the old towns of Brixen/Bressanone, Bozen/Bolzano and Sterzing/Vipiteno.

www.val-gardena.com

www.alpedisiusi.info/en/summer-active.html

www.brixen.org

www.bolzano-bozen.it/index.php?lang=en

www.valleisarco.info/en/holiday-areas/vipiteno-sterzing-and-environs/vipiteno-sterzing.html


Paul

I would second the dolomites and maybe florence, but if you haven't been to spain at all then barcelona + pyrenees is a winning combo

Doesn't sound like you have checked Amsterdam and Brussels off your list yet. Salzburg and Vienna could also be considerations. Maybe Prague and Budapest.

Hi IM

A week in the Dordogne, Provence, Alsace, Burgundy, the Basque country of Spain/France, Scandinavia (a sauna by a lake in Finland would be nice).

Enjoy your visit.

A bit farther afield, perhaps Krakow for your city and then Zakopane in the nearby Tatra Mountains.

Thanks everyone for your responses! I'm excited to start planning! I've nailed down the timing - the first two weeks of June.

A lot of you have suggested off-the-beaten-track locations. I am usually a big fan of getting away from crowds, but are places like Barcelona and Florence skip-able? (Or maybe its better to see them when I can go in a less busy time of year. I’m stuck with June this year due to work constraints).

Another quick question – Do you know how cold/snowy will mountain locations will be in early June?