Hello! I'm vaccinated and working from home, so I'm planning a month in a European city. Because of COVID, I'm not necessarily going to be taking part in a lot of nightlife or anything, but do want to be in/near a city where there will be plenty to do for a month.

I love natural beauty, so a city with lots of potential day/side trips out of the city would be fantastic. I studied abroad in Vienna a few years ago and fell in love with the city and the fact that it had lots of cultural offerings within the metro area, but also easily-accessible trips into the country to see more natural beauty.

I considered Switzerland due to its natural beauty and proximity to the mountains, but saw many people say the cities of Switzerland are not what people go for, so I think I'll just do a week or so exploring the mountains before I settle somewhere else for the month.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

You've given us a very broad palette to choose from, just about every country on your list might have something for you. Do you speak any languages that you would like to maintain? For instance, German, as you say you studied in Vienna? Had you thought about a city in Austria again (say, Innsbruck)? I am thinking perhaps a city that is not too large so you can slip out into the countryside easily. Or perhaps somewhere in Germany? I was going to suggest somewhere like Göttingen so you could get out to the Harz easily; you have all the advantages of a mid-size city and the buzz of a student town with a nightlife you could participate in if you wanted to. And the towns in the Harz could keep you going for quite a few weekends. Plus the architecture in Göttingen is charming, and it is accessible from Frankfurt or Hannover airports.

What do you think?

Lavandula

Hi MaureenRL,

True, folks don't don't go to Swiss cities for hits of nature, but how about a smaller Swiss town? I think a place like Thun, on Lake Thun, would be fabulous, with the peaks just about a 3h train ride away. And quite a lot of central and western Switzerland is within a 2h train trip from Thun. The same is true of Bern.

Otherwise, how about a nice town in Germany, like Garmisch (where I live), Murnau, or even Starnberg, on Lake Starnberg, just south of Munich?

Anyway, hope you find just the right place, and have fun as you plan!

s