Where in Europe
 

We are planing our first trip as a family to Europe. Any sugestions?

loads of questions but lets guess 2 adults, 2.4 children. Lanhuages English and Spanish or English and ?? Interests football match, beach holiday or city. Finally time of year. Vegitarian or meat eater. Loads-a-money 5* or get by on 3*.

If I was an English speaking family who wanted a bit of art and a bit of fun I would start with Holland, Visit Amsterdam, hire bikes, visit museums and eat apple pie like it should be made.

But.... you need to tell us a bit more

Thats like asking where should I visit in North America? Without giving you anything to go on!

What are your interests?
How many days do you have?
What kind of travelers are you?
What areas are you considering?

I would get a guide book and map and discuss as a family what your interests are and narrow down where you want to visit...and then come back with more directed questions.

LOT more information required. When? For how long? Budget? Drive? Ages of children? Interests? City or country?

Why Europe? What, in your mind, said ...Europe? THis will help us to plan for you.

Buy a guidebook for Europe...to get a swag on what country/countries might interest you.

Please help us to help you!

Ok. I am thinking in France, Italy and Spain.
We love culture, history and nature.
Just came back from a fascinating vacation in Panama, Central America.
We are a couple on our mid 50ths.

How long will your trip be - 14 nights or longer?

Have you been to Europe before or is this the first time for both of you?

Culture, history and nature make strange bedfellows so let me see if this makes any sense

You could visit

Puglia
Avignon/Arles
for instance these areas would allow you to see ancient Roman structures, see plenty of nature and visit art galleries without massive cities.

Alternatively you could do the Venice/Florence/Siena/Rome cities which would show plenty of culture and history but nature would need you to say hit the Tuscan hills

Spain, Barcelona comes to mind but so does Malaga as it offers access to the Alhambra, the Picasso Museum and some fine walking or riding

Easy. Sicily for all that, and more.

Culture: Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Norman, Byzantine, French, Spanish, and of course Italian.
History: Ancient ruins, Museums, castles, palaces, medieval towns, "godfather"towns, "ghost" towns, big cities, tiny villages, churches, mummies, WWII sites, and much more.
Nature: Mountain, deserts, grand canyon, waterfalls, hiking trails, rivers, gorgeous vistas, gardens, beaches, islands, and of course a few active volcanoes, and even a macalube.
Food: Fantastic
And there is even more. Something for everyone.

What did you find fascinating about Panama?

What time of year do you plan to take your trip?

In addition to your Panama trip, what are your vacations usually like? Do you visit big cities, and go to museums and eat out at expensive, fancy places? Or do you visit the mountains or the ocean, and spend lots of time just relaxing? Thinking about what you've enjoyed on your past trips will help you structure a trip to Europe.

Lastly, how do you want to get around. Some people prefer trains and other public transportation; others prefer to rent a car, and other combine some of each. That all will depend, of course, on what you want to do - if you visit only big cities, for example, you probably won't need anything but trains (or planes) between cities.

For a first trip to Europe, I'd probably pick a couple of the major cities, but that's just me. Amsterdam/London/Paris or Paris/Venice/Rome. I like trips I can do all by train or other public transportation, and have never rented a car.

For people that provide no facts, background, preferences, likes/dislikes, we usually suggest Molvania.

suze is on the right track here by suggesting popular cities.

Go to a website that specializes in tours and just follow one of their routes.