My husband and I are in our mid-50s, planning a trip to Rome in May of '09. We've seen a few of the 'big' cities, such as London, Paris, Florence, etc., and would like to see someplace different.

What do you all suggest? Prague, Lisbon, Berlin? or ???

Thanks so much for your help!

How about Madrid?

Well, I guess I should add and 'why do you suggest what you suggest'?

Madrid is rich in history and culture. Many museums--El Prado, to begin with...
You can take short day trips to El Escorial, Toledo,etc.
The food and nightlife are fantastic.
It is a very walkable city.

Prague, Lisbon, Berlin - all three are perfect, each with lots to see, with interesting daytrips while based there - look no further, draw straws and pick one of these three.

I thought you were going to Rome. Why leave Italy? In May I often suggest the Amalfi coast or even Sicily. Get out of the big cities and see Italy.

Ditto bobthenavigator. Stay in Italy. If you haven't been to Venice, it's a must-see. Otherwise maybe rent a car, base yourself in Tuscany, and do daytrips to little Tuscan towns. That would be the opposite of all the big cities. Or stay in Sorrento and daytrip (by bus or boat) to Pompeii, Capri, and the Amalfi Coast.

There's so much to see just in Italy.

I too am confussed. Are you looking for a place to go in combination with, or in place of, Rome? The previouse recs for "in combo with Rome" are great. As for "in place of Rome" I would make a loop in eastern (some call it central) europe and see Prague, Krakow and Budapest.

What are you interested in?

Last year my DH and I picked 5 cities and started planning. We ended up going to London, Prague, Berlin, Budapest and Paris and used Easyjet and trains to commute between the cities. We had 3 or 4 days in each place and the trip was one we will never forget. We are now in early stages of planning our next trip and are looking at Rome, Brussels, Amsterdam, Krakow, Lisbon as being some of our choices (we were on a tour of Italy and spent time in Rome , Florence and Venice before). Our previous trip fell into place when we started looking at transportation and where we could fly cheaply from point A to B, train connections, and how we could make the most of the days we would be in each place.

This request is open-ended. Stick a pin in a map and go where it lands. As has been asked, what do you like?

If you've had enough of cities, go to the Alps, the Black Forest, the Pennines, the Appenines! The internet is awash with information about anywhere and everywhere.

Just stay in Italy, like others have suggested. If you haven't visited venice, by all means do that. It's probably the most different/unique city in Europe. Visit the prtty Tuscan countryside in between.

Snowflake. Visit some countryside & small villages between the big cities. You may enjoy it as much (if not more) than the large cities. Tuscany, Provence, Dordogne, Alsace, Cotswolds, Scotland, etc.

Stu Dudley

Another vote for Madrid. Not only Madrid is a great city but also with all the rapid trains they have you can do a lot of day trips to very interesting destinations like Segovia, Toledo, etc.

"Snowflake. Visit some countryside & small villages between the big cities. You may enjoy it as much (if not more) than the large cities. Tuscany, Provence, Dordogne, Alsace, Cotswolds, Scotland, etc."

Good suggestion but not for everyone.
We adore big cities ; one day in a small town ( no matter if it is Sienna, Toledo or Stirling ) is enough for me.

Thanks everyone! I was looking for impressions and joys others had had on their trips because we don't know what we want to do! Kind of ambiguous, I realize, but it's part of the narrowing down and planning phase for us. My husband actually wants to stay in Italy and go to Sicily so maybe that's what we'll do! Thanks again -

Actually we did some side trips (Cesky Krumlov was one of them) and got to see the countryside as well as the cities, but we live in rural Canada and therefore enjoy big cities, maybe more than people who deal with the crowds, traffic etc on a day to day basis.