First Trip to Europe - Second Country Suggestions
 

My husband and I are in the early stages of planning our first trip to Europe. We are planning to go June 2012 for about 15 days. We are planning to spend one day at the All England Club for Wimbledon during the first week of the Championship, so we will definitely be spending 5/6 days in London. We would like suggestions for a second country/city to visit. We are planning to return to Europe at some point so we will not be doing major country hopping on this trip. Our list includes France (Paris), Italy (Rome), and Germany (not sure which city at this time). Our very basic travel schedule would be as follows: Day One - arrive in City 1 from US; Day Two through Day 14 - experience Europe; Day 15 - depart City 2 for US. Any and all suggestions are appreciated!

Congratulations on having the sense to NOT try and see all of Europe on a first trip.

Can you tell us about your other interests, aside from tennis? What attracts you to paris, Rome, and Germany? What would you hope to do and see there? Knowing your interests will help us make the best suggestions for you.

Well, Paris is an easy trip on the Eurostar from central London, so that's a logical second stop. But you can get to just about any major (or not-so-major) city in Europe from London with a flight or train, so really you're not limited at all. I think it just depends on your interests and priorities. You could do London and southwest or northern Ireland, or spend the whole two weeks in the UK (visiting the Lake District, Scotland, Wales...), if you wanted a mix of big city and something less crowded.

And if you went to Paris, you could visit the Roland Garros stadium (site of the French Open) and its tennis museum. Not to speak of the many other sights of Paris.

Do the biggies! There is a reason Paris and Rome are such big tourist draws- they're the best! Spend several days in Paris, see Versailles, then go to Rome for a few days. Or spend more time in England (York is fabulous for two days and overlooked) and then do Paris.

Personally I like to visit Berlin, and there are a million interesting things in Germany, but I wouldn't do it on a short first trip. Plus, I live in Europe.

Also, choose a nice hotel for your first few days. Once you are accustomed to thongs here, you can stRt trying cheaper places, but for your firstnnight or two, it can be too much of a shock. that said, hotel prices in London are astronomical..

bellamain, how is it "too much of a shock" to stay somewhere that's not "nice" (or perhaps a better question would be, what are you considering to be "nice")? I'm genuinely curious.

Hi B,

London and Paris make a good combination.

Have you considered visiting Wales, Scotland and, perhaps, Ireland?

((I))

I would stay in the UK--save Europe for another trip.

If you spend 5/6 days in London, you will have seen nothing of the UK, so take the chance whilst you're here. That leaves you 9/10 days to see the rest-not long enough obviously, but if you don't mind hotel hopping a bit, you can see some of it.

What about:

5/6 days London
2 days Bath
2 days Chester
3 days Lake District
3 days Edinburgh and fly home from here

I've deliberately avoided the Cotswolds because of lack of easy train links. You can go by rail from one to the next above with comparative ease.

You will now get bombarded with lots of people telling you to go to York etc. but you don't have long enough to add it on and I've always thought it was over-rated anyway. Sorry Morgana.

Thanks all! While I would love to do Wales, Scotland, Ireland, I'm not sure my husband is really drawn to them at this point in time. We have always talked about visiting Germany, but the list of things we would like to do is enough to make it's own trip! I'm not really sure Paris has a huge attraction for us at this point either, but the proximity to London makes it an appealing close option. My husband has always wanted to visit Rome, and he has a list of things he would like to do. I don't currently have any Rome "must-dos" on my list, but I know I would love being there. So I guess what I'm asking is really: Paris or Rome?

If you want to visit Rome, there's no reason you shouldn't. Plenty of flight options, and London's airports are easy to get to. You mentioned Paris specifically in your first post, but the latest one sounds like Paris would maybe be appealing just because of the easy logistics.

"Paris or Rome?" Pick one.

Paris is the easier destination to visit, ie, no flight from London needed. However, for your husband's sake choose Rome. My first preference would have been Prague.

All will be quite different than London, although Lifeman's suggestion of getting out of London to visit some of the rest of the country is terribly appealing to me and will also give you a view of England that more tourists could take the time to enjoy.

if your DH wants Rome, go for Rome!

but be aware that it may be very hot - yes, even hotter than it was yesterday at wimbledon!

you could add the italian lakes or the amalfi coast into your trip, given you've got 15 days.

A/C is a must, IMHO.