10th Anniversary trip to Europe - 1 city, 3 days - best bang for buck?

Paris is always a good idea! Romantic, lots to see & do, beautiful city. We went to Venice this year and loved it too. A different vibe, you walk everywhere, not as much to see but its very beautiful. Good luck planning & Happy Anniversary!!

With a short visit and a desire to engage the locals, and English-speaking country or one where most people speak English would be a good bet. If you don't want to revisit cities you've been to, how about Edinburgh or Galway – although I don't know how tolerable the weather would be in late March (or how important weather is to you). Another possibility might be Belgium, picking one city and doing day trips from there. I think Venice is wonderful anytime of year, and would be a great city for an anniversary celebration. Or Sicily might be a choice with better weather at that time of year.

I also recommend Paris or Venice. Perhaps Nice, France as well.

Happy Anniversary, in advance! Lots of places are well-worth a 3-day visit (or longer), but London packs a huge bang-for-your-pounds punch. We did a Valentine's Weekend getaway there a few years ago.

Unless she would feel she's already "been there, done that," although London has lots of new things that maybe weren't there when she last visited, that's my first suggestion.

Istanbul. Inexpensive flights on Turkish Air and a whole new world to explore and experience. Second choice is Budapest of course.

That's Easter weekend, right? Not sure if any of the cities would be affected by that, but I would go for Paris assuming you've got some direct flight from Atlanta. That would be my number 1 criterion.

I would pick Venice. We were there 2.5 days this summer and I longed to be there without the kids, just wandering around, sitting in the campos with a drink.... Beautiful.

You are planning on visiting over the Easter weekend, so most places will be busier and more expensive than the weekends either side of this. In addition, many countries use the long weekend to undertake engineering work on their rail services, which may impact on what you can see, so you would be best placed to stay in one place rather than try to travel widely.

I would suggest Berlin or Lisbon as places that can be covered in your timescale rather than just scratching the surface of somewhere larger. Easter in Rome would be fantastic too. For different scenery, why not go to Iceland? A shorter flight too.

Happy anniversary in advance! For such a trip I'd suggest Paris or Venice as romantic destinations, and the tiebreaker would be the availability of nonstops from Atlanta to Paris but not to Venice. Maximize your time on the ground. That's if you don't mind revisiting Paris so your wife can see it. I know I wouldn't. :-)

Paris or Venice. Paris because all men should take their lady to Paris at least once. Venice because neither of you have been, it is romantic, and it's very unique. You can't go wrong with either choice. Broach both possibilities and defer to her preference. Either should be a memorable trip.

I don't think Istanbul would be adversely affected by Easter :-)

Thank you, all, so much - awesome traveling friends and experts!! I've got a short list to do some research on now - lots of planning to do, but that's half the fun!!

If I had to say now, I'd lean to Venice. But I, personally, have always wanted to go to Turkey, and I know she has mentioned that too - and it would truly surprise her! Istanbul as the dark horse candidate, as it were.

Thanks also for reminder that it is Easter weekend!

Thanks again!!

Dave

No guarantees on weather anywhere, but I'd bet that if Easter doesn't get in the way the weather and romance of Sorrento and the Amalfi coast would likely win for me.

I prefer Sorrento in April but the end of March is pretty good.

Rome would be my favourite - just spent a week in March there very happily - but the Pope may have a few fans in because of Easter.

I would be reluctant to suggest London or Paris because of the unreliable weather. This year was a relatively warm summer and an early first part of spring, but a couple of years ago we had snow, and the couple of years prior to that floods. You just don't know.

Amsterdam may be fine for the bulbs but you are right at the beginning and the weather may not work so no bulbs during your trip.

I think the further south the better.

I would have suggested Venice, one of my favourite cities anywhere, and one which I have visited in March this year and February last year (and many other times later in the year) but Venice in March and February can be quite wet and when it is wet and cold it feels really cold.

I am surprised no one has mentioned Barcelona. "Best bang for the buck" works here as Spain is lower in price than other Western European countries. The food and wine are wonderful; the people are energetic and friendly; the city is beautiful and very walkable; a number of museums and music venues call to the art lover; and the beach makes for a romantic setting even if it is too cold for beach-going.

Venice is our favorite city in the world but so many people have already mentioned it I thought I should suggest something else. We really enjoyed Spain a couple of years ago, Barcelona in particular.

Do a lot of research on the Eastern angle. You may find some special celebrations and you may find yourself sitting in a hotel because everything is closed. Depends on the location. Another way to skirt the Easter issue would be to go to an orthodox country that will be celebrating Easter on May 1 in 2016. Bulgaria (among my favorite places that I return to every couple of years), Belarus, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece (think Santorini) , Montenegro, Romania (think Transylvania - Beautiful), Russia (naaaaaa), Serbia, and Ukraine (good fishing).

If you are set on Europe, then by all means go. I would choose the shortest and easiest flight to a destination I wanted to go. You don't want any delays on such a short trip.

Now... if you are interested in a unique trip that is inexpensive and has an Easter celebration like no other, then you should go to Antigua Guatemala. It is a spectacular place to be during the Holy Week, with a beautiful culture and fantastic weather. I have been a number of times and can give you details if you are interested. I went a few times during Holy Week and had a fantastic brunch at a hotel that is built into the ruins of an old convent. The celebrations and parades are just unforgettable. Plus, it is an easy place for you to fly to.

I would suggest skipping the usual western europe and head straight to eastern europe. Eastern europe is definitely an underrated place and the cost of travelling there is not as high as compared to western europe. I would recommend Budapest. It is a gorgeous city with amazing infrastructure, great food, friendly people and superb thermal baths. It is definitely a great place for your wedding anniversary. suggested itinerary for budapest:
Day 1:
- Trek up to the Buda castle. You get to see the Fishermen's Station. Explore the castle area, there are plenty of museums in this area.You can check our the Hungarian National Art Museum, Museum of Applied arts, history museum. These are the more typical museums. There also very unique ones like Hospital in the Rock, which is an underground tunnel during WW2 that was a hospital for wounded soldiers. It is really unique and you can see features like the surgery room, wards and equipments they used during the war. I strongly recommend this one.
- Citadella. It is a citadel.You can watch the sunset there. It is super pretty as you can see the entire Budapest from there
- At night, stroll along the Danube river and see all the amazing lights and view( this is a must)

Day2:
- spend half a day at the Szechenyi thermal bath
- after your bath, go to Hero's square, which is very near to Szechenyi
-The area around Hero's square has a castle and normally there will be some fairs during the summer
- end of your day with some shopping at Andrassy ucta or dinner at octogon,kaszincy ucta or deak

Day 3:
-Rise early to get breakfast at central market. remember to check the timings for central market because from what i remember they dont open on sundays.
-you can get a boat ride along the danube river
- or you can try to find locals whom you can dine with. the hungarians are very friendly people!

I agree with those that suggest Venice, it is beautiful and romantic, but can be expensive.

Prague, on the other hand, is gorgeous and cheap!

Hello dgcesq. If you will fly from the Atlanta airport on March 24, and return to the Atlanta airport on March 28, assuming your flight across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe is at night, you will arrive at a city in Europe on March 25. Thus, you will be at Europe two whole days. I would not travel to Europe if I could be there only two whole days. But if you insist on going to Europe, I suggest going to a hotel that you will like being in. A hotel that has a beautiful room for you, and places for eating food in or very near the hotel (so you do not use much of your time for travelling to a restaurant), and a patio with a wonderful view. Such a place is Taormina at the east side of the island Sicily. The weather at Sicily should be pleasant March 26 and 27. I think : if I were at a good hotel located at Taormina, on top of a cliff very high above the blue Mediterranean Sea, and if I will not have time to do much sightseeing in that city, I would not care. A cable gondola (or lift) goes down to a beach from a spot that is near Hotel Villa Belvedere. That is a wonderful hotel (it has a swimming pool and lunch buffet on the big patio), but if it is too expensive for you, a pleasant but less expensive hotel is located near it. For transportation to Sicily (the airport is near Catania, south of Taormina), fly from Atlanta to Rome FCO (Delta Airlines), and a flight from Rome FCO to Catania (Alitalia airlines). For your flights from Sicily to Atlanta, the Alitalia airlines flight departs from Catania at 7:20 A.M., flying to Rome FCO. Alitalia Airlines is a Sky Team partner with Delta Airlines.

My choice would be Paris. She will love it!

I also vote for Istanbul-exotic but accessible. We stayed at Ottoman Imperial and loved it!

Venice is the one place in Europe I have no desire to return to. Maybe it's cleaner now, but when we went in 1985, it was dirty and smelled like sewage. Athough I was very careful and didn't even use the water to brush my teeth, I got sick and did not enjoy the beautiful train trip through the Alps. I've been to Europe, also Guatemala and Ecuador, and Venice and Russia are the only places I've ever gotten sick.

Hi Dave! Fellow city dweller here. You sound a lot like my husband. His highlight of a trip is hanging out in a pub and talking to the locals. We have also done a long weekend trip to Europe and it was London. We have been several times but this was a last minute surprise anniversary trip and we had a blast. It's a relatively short flight from ATL and an easier place to spend Easter than Latin countries (been to Italy, Spain, France at Easter). We actually spent most of the trip dining and hanging in pubs making friends we followed around town. All the suggestions above are great, just keep in mind the logistics and how much it eats into your time. If you are interested in something outside of Europe, PM me and I'll share some closer places with French culture that would make you Husband of the Year at a less cost/time :)

Lyndlamb--I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience in Venice but that was 30 years ago. It does not reflect what it is like there now. One can get sick anywhere when traveling. The only place I have ever gotten a food- related sickness ( in some 15 trips) was in Norway,of all places. A very clean and modern country. Who would have thought?

That said, I would discourage anyone and everyone from visiting Venice. There are too many visitors there. Please stay away, and maybe it will not be so crowded the next time we visit.

My impression was different from the poster up-thread in Vienna. In the '70s, '90s, 00's and this decade I have always found it very clean, and I didn't get sick there. I had trouble fitting my original backpack into locker there at the train station once but didn't get sick.

I'm sorry they ate the wrong thing and it happened to them.

I went to Istanbul last year and absolutely loved it. BUT would not recommend it in March, it will likely be very cold. Also it is even more of a trek than most of Europe, like 16 hours on a plane. Venice in March would be lovely I bet. Love, Venice. I think with a short trip like that you need to figure out where you can fly directly into from Atlanta. That is really going to save you time and wear and tear. I would pick a Europe city based on direct flights. It sounds like you are both a lot of fun and couldn't go wrong wherever you land.

I went to Istanbul last year and absolutely loved it. BUT would not recommend it in March, it will likely be very cold. Also it is even more of a trek than most of Europe, like 16 hours on a plane. Venice in March would be lovely I bet. Love, Venice. I think with a short trip like that you need to figure out where you can fly directly into from Atlanta. That is really going to save you time and wear and tear. I would pick a Europe city based on direct flights. It sounds like you are both a lot of fun and couldn't go wrong wherever you land.

For lots of museums (most of them free), good arts - concerts, street artists, etc., and great pubs and other places to meet locals, you really can't beat London! Plenty to do- even if you've been before. Kew Gardens are beautiful (and in my opinion, romantic) any time of year. Theatre at night... wonderful. Easy to get around (walk, tube, bus, trains...). Plenty of nearby places to visit, too- Windsor, Greenwich, Brighton, Canterbury, Winchester, Dover, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, just to mention a few. London Walks does some great in-city walks and some out-of-city tours (Bath for one). There are lots of 'city break' special packages for longish weekends- hotels, airfare, etc.

My second choice would be either Oslo, Amsterdam, Salzburg or Vienna, but weather would be more of a factor in those cities so early in spring. Still great choices, though.

The best bang for your buck would be a country that doesn't use the Euro as its currency (Turkey and Eastern European countries mentioned previously)...but, given that you're going in March and assuming weather is a factor for you, I'll have to say go as far south as you can (Portugal, Spain, Sicily, Malta) because it's too cold everywhere else. Istanbul has lovely tulips at end of March and early April as part of their tulip festival - not to be missed. I agree with all the thumbs (way) up for Istanbul.

For such a short trip, you absolutely need to pick somewhere you can get to with a direct flight, and stay there. The less time you spend on transportation, the more time you'll have to enjoy yourselves. Fortunately, I think you have a lot of choices in Atlanta.