Can anyone offer any suggestions on where I should go on vacation this year? I was in Italy last year, which was incredible, and for me, hard to top. I've already been to London, and Paris (my second favourite place after Florence!)

I realize this is a broad question and Europe is a big place, I'm just trying to top Italy!

Germany!!!

I would do a German speaking country like Germany or Austria.

If you liked Florence over Paris, I'm thinking you'd love Amsterdam for the canals and the museums. Or maybe Vienna, Prague, and Budapest.

We had a great time in Germany (mostly Bavaria) in June 2002.

Hi truffles,

How about Venice and Florence?

When are you going? For how long?

If you want a totally different experience, try Athens and Istanbul, but like some of the other posters, imho, if you loved Florence, there is lots more to see in Italy. Venice is incomparable. We loved Sicily and the Aeolian islands. I'm sure you will have fun whereverr you go.

How about another region of Ialy that you haven't seen yet. Have you been to Sicily? Or what about France, but just not Paris again? Or parts of Greece? Or Andalucia region of Spain?

Why try to top it? Just go back to Italy. I have gone to Italy the past 5 years and each time we have a different itinerary. Aside from starting or ending in Rome each trip is unique and wonderful....Or how about Croatia? You can start in Venice and take a boat to Croatia.

Truffles, my parents have the same opinion as you in regards to Italy, so that's where they go. Year after year, decade after decade. And you know what? They still haven't covered the entire country, and they're still in love with it! So I'd say if Italy is your first love, add in some old favorites AND explore new territories.

Thank you all for the suggestions...I hadn't considered Germany, although I have been giving some thought to Vienna and Budapest. Amsterdam is a new thought too!

May be a silly question, but it is a sincere one - for those who suggested it, why Germany?

I've already been to Venice, Sienna Rome and Bergamo in Italy. As for France, my first trip to Europe was kind of a driving tour, so I've been from Paris to Carcassone, Lourdes, Nice and points in between.

Ira - I'll probably travel in April or May, and since I'm going solo, probably a week or 10 days

Thank you again for all your suggestions! Keep 'em coming!

Hi truffles,

Have you considered a motor trip through the Lot, Tarn and Dordogne region of France?

See "Three Rivers of France".

do you like hiking and outdoors kinda stuff? April/May would still be kinda snowy, but the Italian lakes (and up into Switzerland) would be really pretty. How much time did you spend in Nice, might be a good starting point, and go from there?

If you liked Italy and France, I think you would like Andalucia and April or May would be a lovely time to be there.

Flygirl - nope, not the outdoors type. Love to walk and wander (which is part of why I love Florence), but in a perfect world I'd be staying at a four star hotel...Unfortunately, that's not my reality, but a girl can dream!

I've got a lot of research to do, I've never even heard of Andalucia!

PORTUGAL, PORTUGAL PORTUGAL. My husband and I are avid travelers and love the cities you've been to. We ended up in Portugal by accident, spent 4 weeks there and loved it so much that we went back for an additional 3 weeks several months later.A typical day would involve the morning on the beach with our children, a fabulous lunch, the afternoon at a hilltown for some culture, a great seafood dinner, and then a nice stroll through town. Also, prices are quite resonable compared to the rest of europe.

GREEK ISLANDS!!!

Andalucia is the southernmost province of Spain; included are Seville, Granada and the lovely perched "pueblos blancos" or white villages. Andalucia also includes the Costa del Sol. You can't top Italy, but Spain is wonderful, too, if you are looking for something new.

So many choices, so little time. My wife and I would highly recommend Turkey -- it was our first trip together (May, 2001; 14 days; I was 31, the Mrs. 29), its still at the top of our list, and we've yet to meet anyone who didn't love Turkey who saw beyond Istanbul (not that Istanbul isn't tremendous, but you can't judge a country by one city). Turkey oozes history (lots of Greek & Roman ruins), and you really feel the push-and-pull between East & West. We started in Antalya and made our way up along the coast to Istanbul, and the weather and scenery were fantastic (again, we were there in May). The people were warm and hospitable -- DON'T be intimidated by the language barrier (some of our best experiences were the pidgin Turkish/English conversations we had with locals). We did the trip half on our own, half on a tour, and we quickly realized we could have easily done it all on our own (still, Pacha tours was excellent). The bus system is extensive and efficient, with clean, comfortable buses at dirt cheap prices. Indeed, Turkey itself is extremely inexpensive compared to Western Europe (you almost feel a bit guilty at times). So for something a little bit exotic, with much to offer, we recommend Turkey.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: We drove ourselves through southern Spain(May, 2004: Madrid, Seville, the Pueblos Blancos, Ronda, the Alhambra, Toledo, Avila, Segovia) and Ireland (May, 2002: Rock of Cashel, Ring of Kerry, Dingle, Listowel, Galway, Doolin & Cliffs of Moher, Aran Islands, family in Leitrim, Westmeath, Dublin, Glendalough). Both trips were simply awesome. Another trip was Prague, Budapest, and Vienna -- all beautiful, but I recommend getting out of the cities for a bit.

Thank you all for your responses. Since I'm likely travelling alone, I don't think Turkey is such a good idea (I could be wrong).

I definitely have some ideas to research now, so that I can make a final decision.