My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon and are trying to decide where to go in Europe. We'll be there for the last two weeks in September and are tentatively thinking about France (Paris, Provence and/or the French Riviera), Portugal, Spain or Italy, or some combination of those places. We also are tentatively planning to fly in and out of London and to spend one or two days there.

We'd like to have some lazy beach time, as well as some general sightseeing and light outdoor activities (day hikes, bike rides, etc.)

We'd love to hear recommendations and opinions of people on this board. Also,
will it be warm enough to swim in any of the places we're thinking about? Are there "resort" type places we should consider for a few lazy days, or are general hotels close to the water the best option for that?

Thank you for any advice!

Are you talking about *this* Sept?

Yep. We're not great at planning in advance, as you can tell.

Honeymoon cities are Paris, Lisbon and Barcelona. All are very cosmopolitan and have more than enough things to do. Hotels are excellent and the food is great. The beaches in Spain will be nice in September since most of the European tourists are back at work.

A great place to stay in Paris on the Left Bank is Hotel de Buci. A small, beautifully restored romantic hotel just off of Saint Germain. A special dinner would be at the Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower.

A good hotel recommendation in Lisbon is the Metropole. Fodor's travellers recommended it to us and we agree. It is in the middle of everything.

Beaches in Spain are Sitges, Lloret de Mar, and Tossa de Mar. Nice beaches with access to day trips and civilization.

Enjoy!

We honeymooned in Europe 5 years ago last September and loved it! We went to Octoberfest in Munich (it's actually in September)and I would highly recommend that. We then went on to Rothenburg, Brussels and Paris. In Paris we stayed at Familia Hotel and liked it for its location-it's nothing posh but certainly fine.

We've also done southern France since, staying in Arles at Hotel d'arlatan and visiting Avignon, Lex Baux, Pont du Gard (aquaduct) and the towns around there. We stayed in Nice and visited Cannes, Antibes, Monaco and Eze which are all worthwhile.

If it at all interests you though, consider Octoberfest as it was great.

Hi gg,

What's your budget and where are you leaving from?

We're flying out of Boston and will be either returning to Boston or, if we can make the prices work, fly back to our home base of Chicago.

In terms of budget, we have some flexibility. We're thinking about moderate types of hotels (clean and quaint, but not all of the amenities of luxery hotels) for most of the trip, but are planning to splurge on one or two more high-end hotels in places that it might give us a great view, private patio, great pool, etc. We've also heard that renting a villa might be a good option for part of the trip.

We're definitely more into countryside and scenery than we are into cities, so we're thinking about just spending a day or two in each London and Paris, and then want to figure out which places would be the most beautiful, romantic, and relaxing, while still having things to do.

I spent my honeymoon at the exact same time of year(almost 12 yrs ago) in the South of France. There are cheap flights from London to Nice via easyjet.com and perhaps some other airlines (look at whichbudget.com) It's an ideal time of year there-still warm during the day but not real hot and not the crazy crowds of summer.

We stayed at La Colombe D'Or (famous, expensive, smallish, countrified) in St Paul de Vence which is up in the hills. They have a phenomenal pool. We drove down to the beach in Cagnes sur Mer but the beach there is pebbly. There are also plenty of places in the area (Cannes, Antibes, Juan les Pins, Beaulieu) with hotels right on the water. The area also provides great opportunity for hiking, biking and sightseeing. It really has everyhting you're looking for.

The website provencebeyond.com will provide more info.

How long do you have for this trip? What sort of budget?

Thanks for the ideas.

We've got 13 days for the trip.

Mclaurie: Was the water warm enough to swim in when you were there?

Be aware that September is high season in Paris; get hotel reservations ASAP.

GG - My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Europe two years ago. We also did two weeks. Our itinerary was as follows:

Paris - Four days. It was my first time there so we did a lot of tourist things.

Nice - Four days. We took a train from Paris and then rented a car in Nice. We stayed on the beach (Hotel La Perouse). Great location and a beautiful beach. The hotel is down on the old town side, full of winding streets and markets. Easy day trips to Monacco, Eze and Canne.

Cassis - Three days. Small fishing village. Quiet. We stayed in a family favorite hotel (Les Roches Blanches).

Barcelona - Four days. Fun town. Very cosmopolitan, and relatively inexpensive compared to our other stops.

The trip was a great mix of different towns, and a good pace for a honeymoon. Last year we celebrated our first anniversary in Italy w/ Rome, Positano and Capri. Both trips were done in late August and early September. The Italy itinerary is nice if you don't want to travel to far.

Oh yeah, the Mediterranean is still nice and warm in September.

I was in Spain last September/October and loved it! It is still very warm in the south that time of year. I'm thinking that you could spend some time in Granada, skip across Andalucia and spend some time in a few quaint white-washed hillside towns, head down to the beach on the Costa Azul, and maybe hit Sevilla as well. All the while, you can stay at the government owned "Paradors", a network of tastefully converted monasteries, fortresses and stately homes into top-notch hotels at reasonable prices.

Caution: the beach near the Hotel La Pérouse, along the Promanade des Anglais, is indeed beautiful, but instead of sand it has pebbles. Hard pebbles. Lot of them. Bring water shoes if you plan to swim.

Thank you everybody, this is great advice.

Since I notice this was your first post, just wanted to make sure you knew there's a search function here for getting more info. It's not perfect, but serviceable. For example type beach hotels in France in the box above and you'll find previous posts (including trip reports). Good luck!

Hi gg,

>... we're thinking about just spending a day or two in each London and Paris,..<

Highly not recommended. That's too much traveling for too little time in each city.

You might like to do a week in Florence and Venice and a week on the Amalfi Coast.

We were on the AC the 1st week in Oct, 2003 and the weather was warm and sunny (mostly).

See my trip report for details

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34451044

I would also suggest Cassis - near Marseilles. The tour books don't give it a whole lot of mention, but we were there in the last week of sept last year and loved it. It is a smaller town, but with a decent beach, great restaurants, and hiking in the calanques. the views are amazing. we liked it much better that nice and monaco. you can also do day trip to Aix, etc.. We are going to Crete/Santorini the first week in oct for our honeymoon.

I would definitely recommend you Lisbon: it is probably the only European capital city that offers you evrything: the cultural life of one of Europe's most scenic cities, beaches as Lisbon has both a nice coast to the south and to the west (Estoril, Cascais, Sintra) and the mountain/hills of sintra which is world heritage for both its nature and castles. all within a range of 10/15 miles.

..just a quick suggestion. given that you are going this month, you might be able to take advantage of some late minute rates on hotels..try ratestogo.com..in spain and portugal the paradors and pousadas are unique but should book ahead...i have always been disappointed in the beaches of the cote d'azur...but maybe just me....agree with the advice re not spending 2 days in paris or london..just too short!..you might, given your interests, split your trip to 2 cities each 3-4 days, the a week near a beach or int the countryside staying at one (or max 2 places) with a lot of great day trips....you will just have to decide where...but i think there are some great suggestions from others...