We are making plans (this is third year attempt) of going to London and Scotland. We have been to London before and stayed in the Bloomsbury neighborhood (next to British Museum) but that was many years ago. Looking to leave in first part of Sept this year. Not including travel days, we plan a week in London and a week in Scotland. Our flights... Read More

Hi all, My son (age 9; third grade) and I went to Virginia (Charlottesville + Williamsburg) in April 2022 during school vacation week. We had a great time.Thank you to all of you who gave advice, and also to those who made this initial suggestion. I have never been to these areas so it was interesting and educational for me as well! Why Virgin... Read More

Hello! My husband and I will be staying in Sils Maria (at the Waldhaus) for four nights at the end of June, and we will have a car. One day will be dedicated to the Bernina Express route (maybe just St. Moritz to Tirano), but the other days are open. We mainly like to hike (strenuous is fine, but nothing super long), visit quaint villages and enjo... Read More

Hello, we will be in Sintra June 13 and we bought tickets for Pena Palace and castle of the Moors. We also want to see Quinta Regaleira and Monserrate(if possible). We will use the train to get to Sintra from Lisboa. I didn’t book a private guide because I felt that with the information I had collected in this forum and the Rick Steves guide I had... Read More

Hello everyone, I am interested in people's thoughts about Palladio's Vicenza. Do you recommend for only a day trip from either Padua or Venice? Or do you recommend staying there and using it as a base to visit the surrounding areas for a few days? If so, what restaurants do you recommend? What other museums--houses do you recommend visiting... Read More

First, sincerest thanks to so many Fodorites who gave such great advice, including Maribel, Helen Fatima, mlgb - I hope that I haven’t forgotten anyone. I know that several people are leaving soon, so hope that I can share something that will be helpful for your own trip. My husband and I (mid-70s) and our son (40s) went to Sintra (2 nights) and... Read More

I have a question for those of you in the Netherlands or folks who know the Netherlands well. We will be leaving from AMS in mid-November and will probably be driving from France with a car since we will have a leased car using the Open Europe program with Peugeot. Since it will be late fall we don't expect great weather of course, so probably woul... Read More

I just returned from 9 days in Scotland - 4 on the Isle of Bute and 5 in Glasgow. Since I always find trip reports very helpful when I'm planning a trip (or just entertaining for armchair traveling), I've posted this trip report. As background, I'm a solo traveler, early 60's, who has traveled extensively, particularly in the UK. I enjoy stately... Read More

Hi there all, I was looking for some advice on a trip I was planning for this summer starting August 4th. I thought it would a fun idea to drive from Cardiff, Wales into France and onwards to Italy, via some roads in Switzerland. There will be 4 of us in a bmw 3 series saloon (Me, Wife and 12yr old and 7yr old). I will most likely add a roof... Read More

Had planned to take my brother and SiL for 4 days in Paris in early June.. Due to family health issues, they cancelled. My wife and I will arrive in France on Eurostar from London about noon on a Monday and fly out of CDG Friday morning. Having been to Paris and Versailles before, we'd like to drive/train places around... Read More

Has anyone been to Barcelona or the French Riviera? I'm trying to book flights in Europe right now. Staying 3 days in Southern France (Nice, Eze, a day trip to Monoco) and 3 days in Barcelona. Have one extra day and can't decide whether to spend it in Barcelona or France. Have never been to either. I speak Spanish, not French, so I thought I wou... Read More

Well, the last time we visited Europe was in ... 2018. So when I looked up my planning document, it occurred to me that technology or some of my assumptions may have changed by now. Just a few things: 1) Credit card - I need to tell them I'll be away, right? I also need to check that they don't have extra fees, things could have changed in 4 years... Read More

Hi all, We are coming to Europe for the first time from Australia from 17 Dec to 14 Jan and our kids will be 6,5 and 9 months when we arrive but we are pretty used to making fun times for wherever we are, regardless of whether it's "kid" specific. Anyway I know we might be crazy but it's happening! So I'd love your feedback and ideas as I ha... Read More

This is Phase II of my trip to Scotland (covered 4 days on the Isle of Bute in a separate thread). Lodging: I prefer to stay in an apartment so I can eat dinner at home and relax after a day of sightseeing. Once I figured what sights I'd be seeing, I looked for a VRBO or AirbnB in that general area (which was City... Read More

Hello, I truly apologize in advance for the length of this! After a long wait our family is formally planning for a trip next May 2023 to Italy. This has been a dream for a couple of years now, but life situations (Covid, aging parents, children moving and changing jobs, etc.) have kept it from coming to fruition. We’re finally at a place whe... Read More

Hi Guys, So here's our long-delayed Aix photo essay, a tribute to that sympa town. These shots were supposed to be part of our original 2018 TR here 'Provencal Echo' but got side-tracked instead. A couple of them appeared in Coquelicot's 'Photos of France' thread. No music this time, sorry. Further down the road, we'll also post pictures tak... Read More

Fall trip with a Dublin short layover. I have been to Dublin briefly but my partner has not. - 2 part question....1. Location: St Stephens Green, Grafton St or Temple Bar? 2nd question: Cost: What is happening in the time frame of 9/28 to 9/30 in Dublin that would make the Shelbourne 3k + for 2 nights? much higher than their usual. T... Read More

Okay, the wedding is over, it was fabulous, and I have a wonderful new daughter-in-law! Now, back to trip planning. My list of things to get feedback on here is: 1) Rough 4 day itinerary for Lisbon. 2) Just checking on practicalities, my get ready to go to Europe travel checklist may have better options since the last time we were there in….... Read More

Can you help me figure something out? The French government website says: “People aged 18 or over who wish to enter French territory must have received a booster dose of an mrna vaccine no later than 9 months after the last required dose to be c... Read More

We’ll be going to Evora for 3 nights after Lisbon and will be going to Marvao for one night after that. We will have a car. I’m now seeing so many places I want to visit that I already wish we had more time! So I’m trying to figure out what would be the best places to see to make good use of our time. We will arrive sometime on a... Read More

Hello Everyone, Thank you in advance for any help you can give. A friend and I are visiting Scotland in September with 10-11 nights planned. We are currently flying in and out of Edinburg but that is still open so if it makes sense to fly in and out somewhere else that's fine. We will rent a car once we leave Edinburgh and we have experience dr... Read More

We are traveling to DC for the first time in November. We are staying in Georgetown, so when we go out for the day, we want to make the most of our time. I would like to hit these spots below, but I need help planning which makes the most sense on the same day. We have 5 full days. Saturday-Day 1 White house tour-(I already put my request i... Read More

Am planning on flying into Turkey and out of Paris. Want to travel to Croatia , Slovenia , Vienna and Salzburg ,Prague and spend time lastly in the Netherlands and then onto Paris . I have 7-8 weeks . I am up for 1-2 internal flights but mostly want to train travel and have no idea of a sensible route. Can you make some suggestions please. Read More

Hello everyone! My husband and I are planning a winter trip to Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands & Austria for 6 weeks from mid December to late January. We fly into Frankfurt and out of Vienna (these flights cannot be changed) We are in our 30s and huge foodies. It’s our first winter trip to Europe and our first time in these countri... Read More

I'm posting this because prior to my recent trip I looked for this type of information so in case anyone else is too, here's my experience. I wanted to buy a French-brand luxury watch. I knew I was going to Paris. It ended up being less expensive for me to buy it in Paris than it would have been for me to buy it in the U.S., even though the US p... Read More