Songdoc

I'm lucky to attend a conference in Ireland every year—the first weekend in March. Afterwards, we (DH & me—60-ish men) add on some other European destination. We’ve been all over Ireland, England, and Norway. We loved our visits to Rome, Florence & Venice, Paris, Dubrovnik, Stockholm, and Amsterdam.

We enjoy walking through quaint areas, exploring old buildings (i.e., castles), museums, music, a bit of history… We love nature walks but due to the time of year we want someplace with lots of things to do indoors--in case we hit bad weather. Fine dining and wines are not our thing.

Where to next?? Somewhere in Germany? Barcelona? Vienna? Prague? Budapest?

It would be nice to go somewhere where we’ll get decent bang for our American bucks. But that won't be the main deciding factor.

Thanks!

Melnq8

You're lucky period Songdoc.

Switzerland would be my choice, but I'm an all season, all weather visitor/hiker. Many people aren't.

Plenty of groomed trails in the alpine areas. Most people would suggest the Berner Oberland, but the Engadine might also be worth considering.

I'm partial to Guarda and Scoul in the Engadine and Lauterbrunnen in the Berner Olberland, mostly because it's a transport hub of sorts and you can get to just about anywhere in the BO from there.

Melnq8

Just saw the part about decent bang for your American bucks...that might put the kibosh on Switzerland.

welltraveledbrit

Well, you have lots of options and let hope you get lots of varied response but I'm going to go for Lisbon, it covers the castles, history, quaint areas (Alfama) several decent museums (Gulbenkian etc) if it's raining as well as monasteries and palaces (Belem and elsewhere). You could also take the train out to Sintra for the day. Lisbon is a wonderful hilly city built on a Bay and physically it reminded up of San Francisco. It has an incredible history after all this is were so much of the wealth from the "New World" was spent.

It's a very charming place, with a great cafe culture, it's a little run down in parts but always interesting. For me Lisbon has such heart, its a city that hasn't been swamped by tourist and I highly recommend it.

It's also one of the best deals in Europe and one of your better chances for getting decent weather. I'd say the food is less exciting than in many other destinations, but it's decent and that's not a priority for you.

I have quite a few posts on Lisbon on my blog including one specifically about visiting in the winter. We were there for a month in January a few years ago.

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/search/label/Lisbon

You don't say how long you will be traveling for? You could combine Lisbon with Porto if you have time.

Hope this helps!

nytraveler

Prague seems perfect for you - including being quite budget friendly - and having an incredible history that intact (unique in central europe) since Chamberlain just handed it over to Hitler and so it wasn;t bombed out in WWII. We did an architectural walking tour of the Old Town with a university student that was incredible. That and many others can be picked up at the town hall and they're very inexpensive.

Songdoc

Hi Melnq8. Where are you these days?
We're VERY seriously looking into moving to Kauai.
But back to the task at hand ...

I've been to Switzerland and it WAS expensive! We will have already done a lot of hiking in Ireland (regardless of the weather), so I think we're looking to add a city where there will be more to do than nature.

Welltraveledbrit: I'll definitely research Portugal. That hasn't been as high on my list as some of the cities I mentioned. I want to do them all!!!

We'll probably only add 5 or 6 nights. (We'll also spend a week in N. Ireland prior to the festival.) But it will be a quick, easy flight from Ireland and no jet lag.

Keep this ideas coming!

Songdoc

nytraveler: We posted at the same time. I'll definitely research Prague.

KTtravel

How about Turkey? We loved our time there.

Songdoc

Turkey has always intrigued me and I checked--there are nonstop flights RT from Dublin for $177. It sounds fascinating and exotic. But ... I'm concerned about safety. Years ago, I was on a cruise that altered its itinerary because it was deemed that Turkey wasn't safe for Americans.

kja

In addition to the places you are already considering, I'd toss Sevilla and Naples into the mix.

If you are concerned about safety in Istanbul -- and that's really all you would have time for with 5 or 6 nights -- see this thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...estoration.cfm
FWIW, I spent a month in Turkey in 2012, solo female traveler, never worried AT ALL about my safety. YMMV.

kja

I should have sent you to otherchelebi's more recent thread:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-or-chaos.cfm

Melnq8

<Hi Melnq8. Where are you these days?>

Colorado

welltraveledbrit

I agree Prague is a good suggestion as it ticks the history, castles,museums, culture and music boxes too.

KTtravel

We felt very safe in Turkey and had a terrific time. You could always sign up for a tour there which might help make you feel safe.

Songdoc

In case you missed the morning news …
In response to Turkey agreeing to allow the U.S. to launch attacks on Isis from within Turkey, the U.S. consulate in Istanbul was attacked today and there were fatalities.

I definitely want to visit Turkey—but this is not going to be the time. Besides, I want to visit Ephesus and Kusadasi, and I probably need to do that on a longer trip.

I’ll be getting some books on Prague, but am still exploring other possibilities.

Thanks for all your help!

tripplanner001

Only you can determine your comfort level visiting a particular place, but I would not let something like this incident dissuade you. What are the chances you would need to access the U.S. embassy or consulate? In fact, most targets (e.g. government buildings, military installations) are not places we would visit as tourists. When I travel to the Middle East, I typically avoid staying at Western hotels and don't feel the need to frequent places I normally can go at home.

Songdoc

You're right that it depends on comfort level. I've been going to Northern Ireland almost every year for more than ten years. I have never felt the slightest bit of concern for my safety, yet fears of "the Troubles" keep many tourists away from this magnificent area. The Antrim Coast (including the Giant's Causeway) is one of the most gorgeous places I've ever seen.

But the presence of ISIS in Turkey scares me. It's too soon to know if these will be isolated incidents. If I needed to go there I probably would, but it won't be on top of my list right now. How sad that things like this even need to be a concern.

flpab

We get updates from certain military bases in Europe and already got the travel warning for Turkey. Slovenia, Germany or Prague would be my short list for bang for the buck.

flpab

I should say it is more about flaunting you are a US citizen. They have not been wearing uniforms off base in some locations for a while. I just think caution is a factor. I agree songdoc. Belfast was a great place. I felt very safe and the coastal road was amazing.

Songdoc

I've been looking through the books. Prague is seeming VERY appealing. FYI, it's $57 (one-way) to fly there nonstop from Dublin!