1 week anniversary trip...help us narrow it down!

I will suggest the Dolomites, for beautiful scenery, hiking, biking (including e-bikes), and wonderful Tyrolian cuisine. Fly into Venice, Verona, or Milan, and travel by train to Bolzano for the bus or taxi to the Val Gardena or Alpe di Siusi.

Take a look at the scenery and activities, and spa hotel on Alpe di Siusi:

https://www.saltria.com/en/Default.asp

https://www.saltria.com/en/summer.asp

We spent 4 nights on Alpe di Siusi at the end of September last year and enjoyed perfect weather the whole time. With a week, you could divide your time between Alpe di Siusi and a Val Gardena village such as Ortisei or Santa Cristina. Or fly into Milan and spend 2 nights at one of the lakes before heading to the Dolomites. Lago Maggiore is directly connected to MXP by bus or Baveno; or choose Lago di Como, an hour from Milan by train, or Lago di Garda which is right on the way to Bolzano.

jordafen,
Vienna is a good option for romance. Lots of variety....culture, dining, music, nearby Alpine scenery....I remember Vienna fondly as full of things to do yet very relaxing at the same time. A good strolling town (around the ringstrasse area), with inviting places to stop for coffee, or a glass of wine. The Schonbrunn Palace is beautiful and you can stroll through the Vienna Woods there. Concerts and one of my favorite art museums if you want some cultural activities.
I would check it out if I were you for someplace new.

And yes, Provence never gets old!

Have fun!

If you haven't been already, San Sebastián is a beautiful city with great food. Nearby Bilbao has a Guggenheim museum. In between, the coastline is a Unesco Heritage site. For a one-week stay, it's very doable. I spent 7 months in Europe in 2018, and one of my favorite moments was the end of a tapas crawl (with my 12yoa son, of all people), sitting on the back steps of a church with my wine (and his ice cream), watching two little girls with new skateboards trying to impress their dads with their moves.
Happy Anniversary!

I like the idea of Austria for you, too. Salzburg, St. Wolfgang (on the lake), taking the boat from Melk down the river and biking partway along the river, too. Finish with taking the train to Vienna for your finale.

This is a little dated now, but gives you an idea:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/germany/thanks-to-travel-forum-input-for-our-germany-austria-trip

It is hard to “create” special moments. They usually just happen. It has happened many times already to you. You seem to be able to appreciate them, and I am sure wherever you go, you will find them. I would not try to recreate any place time things that delighted you in the past. You risk the inverse and that would taint the original.
You have many suggestions and probably any one of them will yield what you are seeking. It is not always the specific destination but the state of mind and travel attitude that gives you these things. You have it and it will be there serendipitously.

Having just returned from our 5-week trip that was mostly in France, we discovered a new place for us, still in southern France, but a different cultural feel than Provence, and not as excruciatingly hot. Farther to the west, in the Pyrenees, we stayed for a week in Cauterets. It’s a small downhill and cross-country ski town in the winter, and a hiking and bicycling location in warmer times of the year. The Tour de France had a finish there last year, and passed nearby this year. We drove to a roadside viewpoint to see the Peloton pass by on Stage 14, en route to the iconic Tourmolet climb. Lots of cyclists came by our spot, riding higher. Roads are narrow and twisty, and many are quite steep, and there are many mountain bike trails, too. Some trails are hiking only.

We saw lots of cows and calves, mostly butter-colored, on several hikes, and the terrain and plant life is very different from what we have in Colorado. Spikey peaks, an abundance of thundering waterfalls, and stream banks marked exclusively for fishing are among tge outdoor features.

Food is fantastic (the indoor market has quite good items), but we mostly had dinner at the family-run hotel (4th generation), at the Lion d’Or. Grandma and Aunt run the kitchen, and Thomas manages the hotel (and the bar), with lots of advice on things to do and see.

There’s a national park center with indoor programs, and many signs along trails and in town with historical information, but no real museum in town. The next town over has a birds of prey center, and you’re not far from the pilgrimmage town of Lourdes. There are a couple of long-running thermal spas in town (the hotel can get you a discount), but men have to wear Speedos (which they sell), not board shorts.

We saw a just-born lamb on Crete one year; the proud shepherd held it up for us to see, bloody umbilical cord dangling. Unexpected moments do make a trip special, and Cauterets and the Pyrenees had several.

I wonder, jordafen, are these responses helping you narrow down a decision, or widening your options, making a decision harder? :-)

Well...this helps and makes it more difficult both :) As much as we always dream of exploring along the coast, one cannot deny the beauty of the alps or exploring along the Pyrenees (and we'd like the food down there better I think). Much to think about...thanks!

You've done Western Europe pretty well. Would you consider a new experience? I would suggest looking at Montenegro. The coast has beautiful old cities reminiscent of Dubrovnik with kayaking, paragliding, scuba diving and fishing in the sea. The mountains have hiking trails, zip lines over tge deepest canyon in Europe, river rafting and pretty darn good fly fishing. In between, vineyards and olive oil and prosciutto houses.

The tourist density will be a fraction of Western Europe and the chance to interact at a more local level will be greater.

More economical than Western Europe giving you the opportunity to kick up the class for no more money.

But for a week, I think it will work best with professional help in the planning. For that I've used and a few other RS types have used:

Dijana Krkotic
Executive director
DOCELA TRAVEL
Address:Balabani II Ulica br 29
81 304 Golubovci, Podgorica
Phone: +38268 456 630
Mob: +39389 765 5935
E-mail:[email protected]
www.docleatravel.com.

Right now I have a thread about fly fishing in the General Europe category that has a few videos of Montenegro linked to it. (I am returning, again, in October for fly fishing).