East to West, what's the best?!
 

My friend and I are planning a trip East to West in Europe this summer (Turkey -> Greece -> Italy -> France -> Spain). If you had to pick the the top highlights of each country what would you choose?
We love getting outside, being active etc. so we'd love to see some beautiful views, do a hike or two etc. The trip will be about a month consisting of 3-4 day stays in the top 10 cities we choose to explore.
Any advice and experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Happy traveling!

This guidebook might give you some ideas: http://www.fodors.com/guidebooks/978...ential-europe/

I would consider a week in each country you are interested in. And then you can visit some of the smaller nearby towns and get to know a culture.

Hot air balloon flight and hiking in Cappadocia, Turkey!

Would it be reasonable to suppose that you would just be sticking to southern France on this trip?

I second Michael's suggestion. And I'll raise it to include The Rough Guide or Lonely Planet.

Roman cities in Turkey
Beach in Greece preferably on an island
France, the Jura, not the Alps but fine views and no one about
Italy, Basilicata, Po valley especially any little hills about and any walled cities so The Euganian Hills, the ridge to the west, Padua, Mandova, Ferrara, etc etc
Spain, Picos d'Europa, Barcelona and the hills around.

Thank you so much for the wonderful suggestions!
Yes Southern France only is the idea.
Does anyone have specific suggestions for Southern Italy? (I've been to the North before so have a general idea)

I'm afraid you've miscalculated. Ten stops of 4 days each is 40 days. If you have 30 days you have about 2 days each in 10 cities plus time to travel from one place to another.

As for the best places - I know what mine are - but only you can figure out what yours are. It seems that you want mostly outdoor/adventure pursuits - so I suggest that you check out appropriate guide books for the best options. (I can help only if you want to see every museum, cathedral and castle/palace in europe - along with some fine dining, opera and ballet.)

Go to Let's Go Student guides and the Thorn Tree section of the Lonely Planet website.

The Samarian Gorge in Crete. The white villages in Spain. The Cinque Terra in Italy. The Highlands in Scottland. The Swiss Alps!!

The big national park in Basilicata is wonderful

In southern Italy, Sicily is exceptional for the sights, landscape and food.

If you leave Greece by ferry and land at Brindisi, you can pic up a car and cut across southern Italy and visit Matera and the greatly scenic park of the southern Dolomiti, then drive up the Amalfi coast, cut over to Pompei, then drop the car at the airport in Napoli and fly to France. If you want to spend more time in Italy, drop off the car in Napoli and take the train to Rome. Fly from there to France.

Are you going by train or car or bike or thumb? Makes a difference in how much turf you can cover. I usually take the train and you can get to all the places you'd want to by train - you are talking about the highlights that is - the Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Capri and Ischia make a wonderful group that is very close together - base in say Sorrento and easily explore this wonderful area. If going by train check out these IMO superb info-laden sites to help plan such a journey: www.seat61.com; www.budgeturopetravel.com (downlaod their free online European Planning & Rail Guide for lots of suggested rail itineraries in each country; www.ricksteves.com.

Sicily I also second as a fascinating place in far southern Italy - again trains are good to ther and once there.

Yes, but neither the AC nor Sicily can be seen in 2 days.

The OP is going to have to do a lot of choosing.

The OP says ten stops of 3-4 days each - perfect for the Amalfi if not bigger Sicily.

Thank you for such wonderful suggestions. We'll be traveling by train or flying from one country to another. Total of 30 days, average of 3-4 days per place assuming some might just be day trips. I've been to Barcelona and would like to explore some new areas in Spain - preferably ones that are somewhat easy to travel to from southern France. Is Madrid a must-see? I've heard mixed things from friends

If you like to be outdoors, then 3-4 days on the AC could be great - hiking the Path of the Gods, walking through Paestum, relaxing on the beach, kayaking, taking the ferry, etc. Then fly from Naples to your next destination.

. Is Madrid a must-see? I've heard mixed things from friends>

IMO No but it has some of the very finest and easiest day trips anywhere - Toledo tops them all, then Segovia or Avila or Aranjuez (Spanish Versailles) or El Escorial - great base and the city does have some nice areas and of course world-famous museums.

Have you been to the Basque region of Spain - Donostia (San Sebastian in Spanish) is a wonderful place for a few days and nice low-key day trips - easy to get there by train from Hendaye, French mainline border train station or v.v. Just inside the Spanish border.