phieaglefan

Hi all! It's been quite a while as Mr. Fan and I have been busy with the 'farm'. We will be returning to Germany to see my Aunt and Cousins - most likely over New Year's or perhaps Mid-January.

The itinerary will go something like:

Thu: Leave Home
Fri: Fly in to MUC, rent car & arrive in Kallmünz to visit family (likely around noon)
Sat: Family
Sun: Family
Mon: Depart noon to afternoon (not specific - just not 8AM) to ????????
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri perhaps head toward an airport to leave from
Sat: Fly home. Could be stretched to Sunday if necessary, but we like a day to recover when we get home.

So, here's the catch. We're not really big city people. We like smaller, quaint, walkable places. That said, some larger cities have appealed to us if they had a fairly old, pedestrian, and compact center. For instance, we loved Rome, Venice, Salzburg, Strasbourg, Munich. We've also been to Paris and London.

Prague and Amsterdam would be two of the most obvious choices, but I was hoping for some slightly better walking around weather and hopefully a bit more daylight.

I hate flying in the middle of a vacation, BUT, if I can take one flight from Munich, Stuttgart, or Nuremberg, to somewhere close to a 'fly home' airport, that would be ideal.

Here is my rambling list of possibilities. Granted some are more time consuming travel wise, than others. Please feel free to comment on these or suggest another destination.

Lisbon
Palermo
Florence or Siena
Madrid/Toledo
Naples


These are off the list because we can't seem to get there or return quickly or cheaply:
-South of France (unless anyone has any hints on how to get there quick & cheap!)
-Crete (same as above)

So, where would you go and WHY!
Any and all responses are welcomed. I know everyone is busy and to take time out to type a comment is appreciated.

H

nytraveler

If you want better weather I would fly to the south of Spain (Madrid is on a high plateau and has a real winter). the south - Seville, etc - has a lot to see and will be better walking around weather.

Florence may be pleasant - or not. Last year it had substantial snow - although that is rare.

Lifeman

Everywhere in N Europe will be cold and or wet and Southern Spain is the better option. Southern Italy is mostly closed to tourist destinations at the time of your trip and flights there are curtailed in the winter. Portugal gets its weather directly from the Atlantic and can be decidely non weather friendly in January.

As nytraveler says, Seville is a good option or maybe try a break in Malaga. Malaga would give you the chance to see Granada and the Alhambra if you've not been.

mamcalice

I would try Florence and/or Siena. Palermo would be great but I would suggest going there when you have time to see more of Sicily. If you haven't been to Seville, it is lovely, too.

phieaglefan

Thanks for your responses. First of all, sorry about the scary smileys in my post. They were not intended. That's what happens when you don't look at the preview.

I looked at Seville, but it's kinda tough to get in and out. I'll give the transportation another look.

We enjoyed Italy immensely during our 2007 trip. Love the food (which scares me a bit about Spain). If nothing else, we can wander around from cafe to cafe sampling wine.

Any additional input is appreciated!!
H