I have been to Europe 4 times and we are planning on taking our daughter next summer when she graduates from college. Two of the 4 times I went, was on an escorted tour, lastly with Globus. They have a number of different itineraries you can choose from and the prices are much better than you can book on your own. I liked the overview, going to several countries and that way you can decide which ones you liked the best and would like to go back to. Last year we did a trip on our own to London and Scotland to take our son to play golf. It ended up costing almost double what one of these tours cost. Save yourself some aggravation and let someone else make all of your arrangements. Have fun!

A definite vote for Italy, the culture, historic sites, food and great people. For the language barrier, in the cities English is spoken widely, in the countryside not so much but surprisingly the Italians, UNLIKE THE FRENCH, will communicate....in some manner, we've never had any problems with our limited Italian even in the smallest town.

I will second, third and fourth what Traveler863 has said from all points of view and, in particular, with respect to the language question.

Others have covered off suggestions for places so I'd just like to say that if you're going to be over here for a fortnight, bear in mind that you can access most cities with relatively short - and cheap - flights. You can get most places within a couple of hours - this way you can have a 'taster' of many cultures in one go and find out what you like best.

One of my bugbears is that there is a tendency on this site to refer to Europe as one place - what you'll find is that each country has a very, very distinct culture, ethos and personality. And a great big long history of fighting each other so no-one actually likes anyone else!

I hope that you have a fabulous time, wherever you choose to go.

I would encourage you to go for 10-14 days. 7 is too short, as you basically lose you first and last day to arriving/departing, not siteseeing. And I'd suggest only 1-2 countries maximum if you are going on your own, without a tour.

An organized tour may be good if you just want to see alot of places in a short period of time. If you pick say 3 different places in 1-2 countries, then I think you could easily plan it yourself instead.

I suggest buying a few travel magazines as a place to start- Conde Naste, Frommers Budget Travel, Nat Geo Traveler are all good, both for the articles but also the advertisements for tour companies. Or an overview book of Europe, like Rick Steves "Europe thru the Backdoor".

Consider Austria with the last few days in Venice. We did this a few years ago and it worked out great. Vienna, the Wachau Valley, Salzburg, Hallstadt,Carinthia, and then down to Venice. Austria is a great country for the first timer - lots of people speak English, and it's easy to get around and beautiful with lots of culture and outdoorsy activities. Venice Italy, of course is like no place else on Earth!

Personally, I would go to Germany. I was there a few summers ago visiting American relatives, and it was by far the most fun I've had in Europe. The people are friendly, it's not that expensive, and you can go most anywhere by train or bus. You do not need a car. I was mainly in the Frankfurt area, but did travel up through Munich. It was remarkable.