Where do you love to be?
 

What places in France, Spain, Switzerland, and especially Italy did you fall in love with? Or others in Europe...Please tell where you love to be and what shouldn't be missed while there...
I am working on a month's itinerary this may/june and want to use the eurail pass I got as a gift. I speak good Italian, understand Spanish and can be polite in French.

There are hundreds of threads on this kind of request - - for "favorite places" and the list are as different as there are people - - especially for the different mix of city versus countryside and the enormous range of geographies avaialble in these three countries.

Short answers: in Spain - - Seu d'Urgell, Sevilla, Granada, Barcelona (and a lot more I would like to see); in France - - all of it, but especially, Paris, Giverny/Vernon, Paimpol, Riquewehr, Montauroux, Arles, the Queyras; in Switzerland (a country I don't like as much because it's expensive) - - Lucerne/Weggis, Altdorf, Gstaad.

And you didn't even mention Italy!

It might be worth your while to see if you can get your money back on the eurailpass, since frequently, train travel costs less than the pass costs, when tickets are purchased individually - - but put together a sample itinerary and check it on www.railsaver.com (don't forget to check the box "only if it saves me money").

Remember this very time-trusted adage: travel around less, see where you are more.

Best wishes,

Rex

I love to be chez moi, but you can't stay there.

We fell in love with St. Peter's in Rome. We went twice during our 4-day stay in Rome in 2003 and will go back in April to drink it in again. I have seen many wonderful cathedrals and basilicas, but St. Peter's took my breath away.

Oh, geez... bad reading! You DID say Italy!Even with a month, you need to strike one or preferably two countries off this list (maybe you can keep Switzerland for just a few days to familiarize yourself, for a future trip - - as you travel between France and Italy).

Anyhow - - the Italy list is long and will be long for veryone here: Venice, Florence, Rome, Verona, Bassano del Grappa, Trento, all of Lake Garda, Bellagio/Menaggio and all of Lake Como, Florence, San Gimignano, Assisi, Rome and all of the Amalfi Coast/Sorrento peninsula - - and so much of Italy I still want to see.

Rex, I believe if you re-read the very first sentence of this thread, you will find the poster did indeed mention Italy.

As for my preference, the top of Castel Sant'Angelo, just as the sun is about to set. The view is pretty good any time of day, but as the lights of the city come up, it is utterly spectacular.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Yes! that;s why I said "Bad reading!" - - on MY part, I meant!

And I noted that Annika DID say Italy (in my second post).

Oh, but now I see that you and I were posting almost simultaneously.

My favorite spot? Lauterbrunnen and the heights on either side of the valley up above Mürren and Wengen.
Also several other places reached via Grindelwald: First, Bachalpsee, Faulhorn, Stieregg, Grosse Scheidegg, ...

Agordo Italy is one of my very favorite places to be. Another is Reggello. And also Cantolupo (S). All small towns or villages in Italy

Thank you, thank you,
Did I mention that I am already IN Italy? I'm in Toscana I want to see more of it... I'm from California and this is more beautiful than I had imagined. I have a chance to go to the Carnevale in Varregio next weekend. It's the last of the parades... yes I know Lent has already begun, but that's no good reason to miss a famous party! I saw the parade in Firenze, lovely and lots of family fun. Anyway, had anyone been to Carnevale in Varregio? (how tacky... did I misspell that?) What kind of countryside locations did you enjoy?

Provence, village of St. Remy, and visiting neary Lormarin and Sault in the mountains when the lavender is in bloom (July)

Paris at Berthillon, near the Bridge Phillipe, watching the passing scene.

Paris at St. Chappelle listening to classical music

Siena, watching the Pallio (In July or August)

Thanks Powell,
That's the idea, places that you can just BE in.
Have discovered that Ponte Carraria in Firenze has the best view of the sunset in winter. Also Piazza Michelangelo on a cold day is breath taking. Deserted and quiet.(rare for a tourist spot in Firenze)

An answer to this one takes a lot of deep thought. After not enough time to review everything I have really enjoyed, my conclusion is that I always get a wonderfully comfortable, homey feeling when I sit down in the tiny old town square of Hallstatt with the morning paper and a fresh pastry.