Where Would U Go With 2 Weeks To Travel?
 

Hello Fodor's travel experts! My husband has invited me to plan a 20th ann. trip for us for app. 14 days in either late Feb/early Mar or late Mar/early Apr. It is a weight on me, albeit a good one, as I have never been fortunate enough to travel in Europe-husband has many times but always on business & hasn't the time now to help me plan the trip. We are both in our early 50's, enjoy beautiful places, great food, music, friendly people, museums/culture/architecture. Would enjoy train travel but open to renting a car. We also both prefer cooler climates to warmer. I am hoping that some of you will be willing to share your favorite travel spots in Europe to help out a 1st-timer who has too many destinations to choose from. We have not booked our airline tickets so we are not yet tied to a certain area. Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts or suggestions!

I suggest Sicily in April.
Here are reasons why.

http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

Music is the most distinctive interest that you've mentioned, and if you combine that with an insistence on great food, it can help narrow down the list to something manageble.

You don't say what kind of music you like, and what kind of food you like. But most great music venues in Europe are in cool-ish places with fairly good train transportation. (Anyway, everywhere will be cool in Spring in Europe.)

So what kind of music do you like and what kind of food do you like? Are you beer or wine fanciers?

Sicily has terrible train travel.

Actually, it has fairly lousy driving too.

How stupid of me !
Of course, Sicily is a very bad idea.
Go to Pistoria instead.

Zeppole, sorry, I left myself wide open for that one. We love most kinds of food, husband loves wine, my choice is beer, lean towards classical music because we have 2 daughters who play in orchestras & appreciate the beauty of mountains, castles, etc. I have read so much info on here & other travel forums & am just looking for some favorite places that others have. Thanks!

<<I am hoping that some of you will be willing to share your favorite travel spots in Europe to help out a 1st-timer who has too many destinations to choose from.>>

With your interests and the time of year, I suggest 7-10 nights Paris and the balance in Venice, two of my favorite cities in Europe.

Fly into one city and out of the other (Multi-City). kayak.com is good for researching flights.

Fly between Paris and Venice.

In 2011, Venice Carnival is Feb 26 - March 8. Based on those dates, either plan to attend or not. I prefer the city immediately following carnival when it is more peaceful, but you may enjoy the festivities.

Why would a FIRST time visitor to Europe go to Sicily ?

You have to do a bit of reserach yourself. many here have their favorites.
Concentrate on 2 countries max.

I'd go to Germany - southern Germany to be specific. Maybe I am biased because that was MY first experience in Europe, but I think it fits what you are looking for:

Great food - while not gourmet, German food is very good
Friendly people - absolutely
Easily traveled by train - German trains are great. If you do decide to rent a car, driving in Germany is easy.
Mountains - Hello Bavarian Alps :)
Castles - Fairytale castles in the south, real castles further north along the Rhine and Mosel (in addition to other places)
Beer - YES!
Wine - Head to the Mosel Valley and Wurzburg
Music - I'm not sure about classical music in Germany, maybe someone else can chime in. Salzburg is an easy train ride from Munich though.
Museums/Culture/Architecture - Yep, got those too :)

Plus Germany is really easy to travel around - trains run on time, signage is top notch, people are gracious and helpful.

november_moon, thanks for responding! Germany actually sounds like fun. I appreciate your input-it was just the kind of post I was looking for.

danon-thanks to you for answering also. I have done lots of research already. Just wanted to see other people's favorite places.

Classical music to me suggests Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg... Beer and wine..lots more. You could use trains or a combination of train and car.

o.k.
My favorite country is Spain (not on your list) ..culture, music, palaces, wine, food, history, museums, diverse cultures and scenery. Spring weather would not be warm and is much nicer than in central Europe or Ireland.
From your list, I would go with Italy.

The first dates you mention are late winter and will be cold and possibly snowy (definitely both in the alps/mountains) in much of europe, your later dates are very early spring and will still be quite chilly.

For music I would focus on Prague and Vienna - with a host of options - the former at excellent prices.

As for food - you can get good food and wine or beer in alk thes places (beer in prague is incredible). Food in Belgium is the best in all europe IMHO - but you can eat well almost anywhere.

Forget Europe. Go to Japan.

hi bandmom,

based on your preferences, Berlin would be a great choice.

terrific museums, beer and wine, food is fine, transport vey easy. you could do day trips by train or go further afield - the train to Prague woudl be easy and provide a nice contrast. music in both cities is excellent.

From Prague you could carry on to Vienna, perhaps stopping off in Salzburg - more lovely museums, parks and of course the music.

that would make a super 14 days trip, IMO.

Forget Japan. Go to Canada.

You win Peter. Great idea.

in the spring I would either go to Greece for two weeks or spend a week in Barcelona and then a week in Mallorca.

The food in Germany is great if you like a piece of meat slathered in brown gravy. By the 8th day I started to gag just at the thought.

Germany does meet your other needs though. And every person needs to experience the autobahn at least once.

the food in Germany does not have to be German food ( at least in big cities). After several days of pork and more pork,
we ended up eating French or Italian for the rest of the trip.

So, does everyone in Sicily just stay in one place then?

For first (or 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc.) time travelers to Europe with a couple of weeks, I often recommend Paris-Bruges-London - all via rail. No one I have recommended that to has been disappointed.

How about Rome and Florence?

fyb - Not sure where you ate in Germany, but we had a heck of a lot more than meat slathered in brown gravy. Even thinking of the traditional German stuff we ate, there is a lot more going on than that.

Another vote for Germany! Our first trip to Europe included several countries and almost three weeks driving the countryside and small towns. We absolutely enjoyed Germany. What a wonderful country! Friendly people, plentiful and delicious food, and amazing beauty - we were partial to Bavaria. We had no trouble driving, good roads and signs, but were also able to navigate the train system to take us into Munich. There are so many wonderful small towns and excellent inns to enjoy! OH, and my husband really loved the beer!

Since this is your first trip, I suggest either London and Paris or Paris and Rome. And I would go in late March/early April when you are likely to have less wintry weather and longer days.

What about Venice-Bavaria-Prague?
3/4 days in Venice, 1 week in Bavaria, 3/4 in Prague
or
1 week in Italy and 1 week in Bavaria

Covers everything in your list.. Beautiful scenery, friendly people, good food and music, architecture in Prague, museums in Italy and culture in Germany, wine in Italy, beer in Prague and Germany, castles in either places.

You can't go wrong anywhere in Europe.

Certainly consider Vienna, Prague and Munich as well as other parts of Germany for music, scenery, castles - and in our experience - good food.

If you want fantastic and high quality classical music Vienna is a good place to start. Attending a Sunday morning concert by the Vienna Philharmonic followed by lunch at the Albertina was one of our very best days ever - and we are both trained classical musicians.

I like the jennlane suggestion - but you will need to get a selection of comments on weather at that time in Venice.
We have been there twice in April and it was good- some rain but not all day - and some beautiful blue sky days - cool - but lovely.

Bob, I get where you're coming from. I'd go to Sicily too but I've been to all the main spots. Many of my Swiss students have been to Sicily and all rave about it. It's on my list of field trips with my students.

I also have Dingle, Brugges, Salzburg and Istanbul on the list.

But, for a first timer, I'd recommend Rome, Venice and Paris, although I've never been bowled over by the latter. Almost got knocked over by the caretaker near Jim Morrison's grave though.

I second Paris and Rome. Although from the hints of what you are interested in, Vienna and Prague did come to mind first.

I would opt for two weeks spent in Germany and Austria, both wonderful to visit as well as good values.

I do not eat "meat slathered in brown gravy" here or abroad and found the options for food abundant. Saying that German food is limited to "meat slathered in brown gravy" is the equivalent of saying Italian cuisine is limited to spaghetti and meatballs. :(

We enjoy food, wine, gorgeous scenery, and like cities where there is a lot going on for us to choose from.

I would mix cities with day trips to the countryside, starting in Berlin (museums/culture/architecture)for 4 nights, then moving on to Dresden for 2 perhaps. Next would be Bavaria, with Munich as a base for 4 nights, then Salzburg followed by Vienna and home from there.

My other choice would be two weeks in Italy, taking advantage of the off season rates and lack of crowds. Since you have not been, the "Big 3" might be a good place to start. You could fly into Venice for a few days, then spend a week in Tuscany to indulge in food and wine and more culture and museums. There are so many possible day trips from Florence depending on the weather and your interests.

Continue to indulge your taste for "museums/culture/architecture'' in Rome for 5 nights and then home from there.

At your mention of castles and beer, Germany and Austria would go to the top of the list. Seeing castles set in the mountains in Germany was just stunning.

My ex mirrored follow_your_ bliss's comment about meat slathered in brown gravy until I told him to quit ordering it every time we sat down to eat and maybe he'd be pleasantly surprised. LOL. I had the best fish dinner in Vienna. I ate all kinds of things from pizza to fish to pork chops when I was in Germany and Austria. I can't think of the beer without drooling.

Maybe a week in Bavaria and a week in Italy. This would let you experience a little of two countries.

Sorry, would go with your husbands preference for wine, and add museum/culture/architecture to come up with Italy. I have been there in April and weather was delightful. Tuscany for wine and scenery and food, easy train travel. Have not been to Venice myself, but would love to. Ah, Roma!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to make suggestions! I have traveled in Canada extensively, been to the Hawaiian islands, the Caribbean & US travel but for some reason, when it comes to making a decision about Europe, I am overwhelmed-so many places that I would love to see & experience that it is hard to decide where to start. I think we have narrowed it finally to Italy(Florence & surrounding area, maybe Rome too) or Bavaria & possibly Salzburg/Salzkammergut region. The weather in late March/early April is my main concern wherever we end up going though. Thanks again for all of the different views!

Don't neglect Rome: the best of architecture/museums/history, and more southern climate for better weather choices in April.

For a two week first trip to Europe I think you are on the right track with Rome and the surrounding areas. You could easily spend two weeks in Italy. But having said that some of the other suggestions have been great too. The main trick is to just not try to see too much at once as that's when you'll become overwhelmed.

"My ex mirrored follow_your_ bliss's comment about meat slathered in brown gravy until I told him to quit ordering it every time."

I hope FYB sees this excellent advice.

Late March/early April is excellent weather in Italy, but will still be cold with potential snow in Bavaria or Salzburg. Personally, if I had free range to plan anywhere in Europe I wanted to visit, and had never been to Europe before, weather would be a lot lower on my checklist. Where have you always dreamed of visiting? What landmark do you really want to see? With due respect to the people who love Germany, Germany has never done anything for me - I'm not a big fan of the food, and I've never had a really memorable visit there. But if you have always dreamed of seeing the Alps, or if you want to walk in the footsteps of Mad Ludwig, then I can completely understand planning something that would include Germany, Austria, etc. For me, Italy and France are closer to my heart - but that's just me. I had been to Europe a few times before I met my SO, and for his first trip he was completely enchanted with the idea of visiting small hilltowns in Tuscany. So we planned 2 weeks in Italy that were spectacular - one week doing the classic Rome/Venice/Florence trek by train, and then a second week with a car just driving all over Tuscany and Umbria enjoying the small villages. My point is, do what speaks to you!

hi bandmom,

we went to Venice for easter about 3 years ago, leaving on April 1st, and we also went to Rome at about the same time the year before. Rome was noticeably warmer, and we managed to eat lunch outside most days, but rarely did that in venice. in fact the weather there changed on the day we left, which is why I remember it so well - it was 5 degrees warmer as we took the vaporetto back up the grand canal to the piazzale roma then it had been a week before as we took it down to the Rialto.

if you are tending towards Italy, for better weather, i would fly to Rome, and get the train straight to Naples and spend the first half of the trip there.

then train back to Rome and spend a week there, in the right place to go home.

if you fancy Venice, you could fly into Rome, spend a week there [where the weather is really not quite so crucial] then get the train to Venice, hoping that it will have warmed up! then fly home from venice.