My husband and I are thinking of going to Europe next June for our 10th anniversary. Our only international travel was on a cruise...so we are clueless on where to go. We are more of a go to one spot and hang than a " tour 5 cities in 5 days" couple. I was kind of toying with the idea of Spain since I can speak enough Spanish to navigate around, don't want to be the dumb tourists that can't even ask for directions. We are in our early 30s and just want to go someplace to wander around, check out the sights, and relax. Wherever we go, it has to be budget friendly and it doesn't have to be big city...or even city at all. We will likely have about 5-7 days on the trip. I like museums, architecture, and am a foodie. DH loves fishing, beer, and music. Going to stop since it feels like I am starting to write a dating profile here...

Madrid, Madrid, Madrid.

So laid back, but plenty to do without much hassle.

I'm not a world traveler, but I can tell you it's much cheaper than London and, IMO, much nicer than Lisbon. If you're so inclined, plenty to do on a day trip or overnight from there. And excellent museums, where you could spend a day or make a quick strike.

Not sure about fishing options, but it sounds to me like you're not pretentious people, which makes me think you would really enjoy Madrid.

We're about to go back for the third time. We know there are a lot of other places to see, but we feel so comfortable in Madrid, we keep going back!

Since it's an anniversary you might consider the beautiful and romantic Venice. Or maybe Barcelona.

Five days limits you to pretty much one place or small area. Seven days makes it easier to do two. It is good you do not want to race all over, a rare traveler on a first trip. Bravo!

You thought of Spain right off, you have a very short time considering the length of the flight, you are interested in museums and architecture, so for a first trip, Spain would be great.

Spain is a fantastic country, beautiful architecture (both traditional and modern), gorgeous cathedrals, fabulous museums, walled cities, beautiful beaches, lovely people. Evenings are fun with people walking everywhere, eating, music, etc.

Both cities, but either Barcelona or Madrid with a day trip or two would fit the bill.
You could also do both, book multi-city, into one out of the other, fast train in between.

Being a foodie, you might enjoy San Sebastian. Google images and look at reviews. Cooler too than S. Spain in Summer.

Your major cost will be flights, so if you could possibly get more time, it would be good, more bang for the buck.

Other options in Spain:
Madrid and Seville
Seville, Cordoba and Granada, but might not be able to get decent flights.
One of the coastal areas and just hang out.
Seville and Andalusia

France:
Paris would do everything you want.
If you want to avoid cities, but have beautiful, interesting landscape with walled cities, Roman ruins and fabulous food, five to seven days in Provence is heaven. Google images of Les Beaux, Pont du Gard, Provence. Crowded in June though.

Do not worry much about language in any major cities through out Europe. You will have no problem.

London makes a great first trip also. Squeeze out a couple more days and you could fly into London, train to Paris and home from Paris.

Lots of other options, but your first instinct is good.

How about the UK? The Cotswolds? Lake District? Go a bit north to Scotland - Edinburgh and the surrounding area meets your criteria. We found the UK to be surprisingly affordable staying at B&Bs (a fine way to go) and eating most meals at pubs. Yes, even a foodie can be happy with pub grub - we had two or our best meals at pubs.

Or, how about Prague. The architecture is pure eye candy, also affordable, IMO the best beer anywhere, good food for every budget and lots of museums and places to tour. We spent seven packed days there. From Prague there are also some fine available day trips. English is spoken everywhere, so no problem on that front. In Prague we loved staying on Kampa Island.

Go to a library and look through travel guides with lots of high quality pictures, like the National Geographic Traveler, Eyewitness, or Insight Guide series. I'm sure something will capture your hearts.

With only 5-7 days, you might want to look for at most one major city with a day trip or two, or at most two cities -- nothing more than that.

Happy anniversary!

Fishing, beer, and music. Key West!!!

<< just want to go someplace to wander around, check out the sights, and relax. Wherever we go, it has to be budget friendly and it doesn't have to be big city >>

Krakow, Prague, and Lisbon are the only places I can think of that fits this criteria. There is plenty to do in each of those cities for 5 days.

Portugal is very, very inexpensive.

Barcelona would also be a great choice but the sightseeing and food are expensive.

<< don't want to be the dumb tourists that can't even ask for directions >>

Then don't be...just ask.

Thank you so much for the suggestions!

I just left Prague yesterday. Spent 4 days there. What a great city. The architecture is beautiful and yes, they do have great beer! I am going to Barcelona for the first time in June.

I would suggest staying in Toledo or Segovia, and make a day trip to Madrid to visit a few museums. Both are more relaxed than Madrid, and both are cities that can be appreciated better with a stay of multiple days. There are lots of very nice walks just outside the walls of Segovia. In June, Madrid can be very hot. Segovia was one of the places people used to go to escape the heat.

Well, London ticks all the boxes apart from fishing but I'm willing to bet that somewhere does it.
If you consider that most art galleries and museums are free and that you can get two for one offers, London is less expensive than many people think. You can ask about that if you decide to go.

I was right! http://www.fishinglondon.co.uk

What means "budget friendly"? This is not a universal term. State your per night lodging budget. If it's too low, you'll need to re-think.

And for chrissakes, why do you care if you're viewed as a clueless tourist? You'll never see those folks again. So don't limit yourself to Spain just because you have some high school or college Spanish. English is the second language in every country in Western and Central Europe other than the countries that claim to speak it natively (UK, Ireland).