afaul

My brother and I are traveling to Europe this summer. We will already have hit Ireland and London with our family then are going to venture on our own for 10-15 days. We are taking the train London to Paris and out from there. Our initial ideas are Switzerland, Italy, Spain, possibly somewhere in Croatia or maybe Amsterdam. I need help with cities/countries/activities/must-see type of ideas! Open to anything, prefer to not just see 20 museums and churches (although open to suggestions on the best ones out there)

bobthenavigator

Come back after you decide if it is 10 or 15---how can we advise when you have a 50% variable?

Sassafrass

There are no best countries. It is personal.

I love Italy and Spain in summer because I like hot weather, spicy foods, sitting outside and lots of flowers, churches, cathedrals and museums. I especially love people in Andalusia and southern Italy, so expressive and involved when they speak with you, a joy of life that spills out.

Not into hiking and mountains, so much of Switzerland holds little appeal, do love the breads and cheeses.

Love Art and Artsy places, so love Amsterdam.

Do not drink usually, so not into pub or bar scene or party places. Nothing against them, just not for me.
Etc. etc.

What do you like?
That should determine your choices.

nochblad

Can you be more precise about dates as there are many summer events which could fit in with your trip.

afaul

After I posted originally we decided that we will be leaving from Paris on May 27th and be in the rest of Europe until June 11th. So it's about 15 days depending on travel times.

We are interested in activities like hiking/skydiving/cliff jumping, beaches, breathtaking views, cool history.

We definitely love diverse foods, drinking, and getting to know the cultures of different places. Stuff the locals love!

If there are major events like festivals and stuff that would be awesome to know as well.

afaul

We also plan on taking the trains a lot

Christina

It's kind of hard to pick, but since you are already spending time in London, then taking the train to Paris, I would not then go to Italy given how far away it is. Presuming you plan to go by train. Switzerland is doable, of course, as is Amsterdam. You can hike all over Switzerland, I think that's a good idea.

I guess Spain is as far away as Italy by train, although I love it and you can take a train now from Paris to Barcelona (I would NOT go on to southern Spain, too far and not in summer). I wouldn't even go to Madrid if you can fly home from Barcelona. YOu could find some great outdoors activities along the way in southern France between Marseille, for example, and Barcelona. Not to mention the Pyrenees. But there are gorges and lots of outdoor things in that part of France.

You could go to Millau in the French midi-Pyrenees area with
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau It has the tallest bridge in the world or something like that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millau_Viaduct

lots of outdoors stuff around there http://www.ot-montpellier.fr/en/annu...et-canyon.html

I think you can bungee jump, one of the highest in the world. I personally think bungee jumping is insane, and you don't mention it but do say cliff jumping, but these companies do some other things http://www.antipodes-millau.com/FR/A...re_Accueil.awp

You'd need a car to get around there, I'd say. It's a lot to plan, you could take the train south, then rent a car (Marseilles or Montpellier perhaps, that's a fun city) and drive to that area, maybe dropping it off at the border (Perpignan) where you can get the train to Barcelona.

kerouac

If Switzerland turns out to be a main destination, look into buying a Swiss Pass for a few days. They cover all rail, bus, tram, boat, cable car, bus travel in the country (including all municipal transportation systems) and include entry to all of the museums in the country.

afaul

All great advice thank you! If you had to make a decision between Barcelona and Munich..which would you suggest? What are the highlights of each city?

Sassafrass

Do you have any guide books? Look up each city under destinations here on Fodors, or google each city. It is easy to do this research yourself. Perhaps google highlights for each city your are thinking about, top things to do or see, etc.

Christina

It's just personal taste between Spain or Germany, that's all. I can't think of any factual reason you should choose one over the other. Family heritage might be a reason, or some particular interest (modernist architecture for Barcelona, for example), or knowledge of or interest in one of those languages (Barcelona is Catalan, but you can speak Spanish there). Munich is known for Octoberfest beer festival, but has many fine museums and of course, a different architectural style being in Barvaria. A lot of the town was destroyed in WWII and they rebuilt some things but they aren't the original. Barcelona has a beach, though.

Personally, I think Barcelona would be more fun, but that's just me.