5 Weeks in Europe

There are several places that fit those criteria. Can you perhaps narrow it down a bit? Any particular climate you prefer?

English is widely spoken in Germany, the low countries, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia.
The other countries in Europe all have significant percentages of people that speak English.

The people in the Tourist industry are very likely to speak English.

If you pick a remote place in the Mediterranean or Eastern Europe, you will run into people that don't speak English, but there will be others that do.

As far as expense, Switzerland and Norway are by far the most expensive European countries. The other Scandinavian countries are also expensive, as are major cities like London, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich, Vienna and Rome.

The Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe tend to be cheaper than the ones that I specifically mentioned.

First, you need to list what your goals are in terms of touring. Are you interested in history, art, dining, or scenic places?
Second, you must have some idea on where you miss want to go? A warm place or cooler place? Do you want to rent a car or use public transport?

Five weeks is not really living there, but it is a good bit of time.
If you like history, art and culture as well as great food, Italy is great. Rome, Florence and Venice are loaded with all the above. Also, there is more to Italy. Rome and Venice are more expensive than Florence, but you can find affordable housing.

If you like scenic places, there is a great variety. Switzerland is loaded with that, as are Norway, Scotland, Croatia, heck, nearly everywhere is scenic. The Greek Islands are special.

Tools to use for research are TripAdvisor, Airb&b, kayak.com and booking.com

If you have an idea where you would like to go, post more details and we can assist further. Consider staying at 2 or 3 places on your five week trip.

The places where I'd consider spending 5 weeks would be major cities with lots of sights that also have good day trip options by public transportation--places like London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, etc. But I like smaller cities, too. It's just that a smaller city can leave you casting around for new experiences not too many days later. I agree that splitting the time up among several destinations should be considered. That way, you could have a mixture of some time in a big city or two and some time in smaller towns. Many countries have a lot of variation (in language, cuisine, scenery, etc.); you wouldn't necessarily have to go to more than one country to have several different kinds of experiences.

London might be your best choice. There are many great day trips that you could do from London:

Canterbury
Windsor Castle
Cambridge
Oxford
Stonehenge
The Cotswolds can be done on a one day tour from London, but it is better to rent a car (say at Oxford) and spend a couple of days in the Cotswolds. Also, you can do Blenheim Palace from Oxford.
Winchester is great, but you would be best to spend at least one night there.
Bath, again best done staying there.

As far as Paris, Rome or Barcelona, there are day trip options from there, but most of the interesting places are farther away.
Like Paris, you could visit Normandy or the Loire Valley. Of course, a visit to the Palace at Versailles is a must.

Rome, you could visit Astia Antica nearby, but then other places like Orvieto, Naples, Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi coast are some distance away and you would be better to stay there.

You need to talk to TexasTravelMom. She travels solo a lot in Europe. https://community.ricksteves.com/users/50966

For the time of year, I’ve found that generally May and September are optimal for the weather and because the crowds of summer are not there. Some of the most interesting countries are also not central. For example if you chose Spain or Portugal which are good for the budget, you will be limited in reaching other countries by ground transportation. On the other hand, Spain offers plenty to easily keep you occupied during your 5 weeks. Western European capital cities are substantially more expensive and the popular places such as London, Paris and Amsterdam are not known to be budget-friendly, although the daytrip possibilities are infinite. If you choose one location for all 5 weeks, a city close to a capital can be great for the budget and you still have access to the attractions and transit connections the capital offers. However, you will be able to expand your reach if you stay in two locations. For example, basing yourself in Antwerp, Belgium will give you fast access to the rest of Belgium , the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Paris. And basing in Dresden, Germany offers access to Berlin and Prague where you could take mini-vacations. VRBO ( Vacation Rentals By Owner) and apartment agencies are good resources for researching furnished apartments. The fast trains in Europe travel close to 190 miles-per-hour and tickets can be as low as €20 when they’re bought online 60/90/120 days in advance. That really expands the map for daytrip possibilities from a number of cities.

If one wants to see Paris, I think one needs to stay in Paris (to include well-connected suburbs), not Antwerp. It's over 2 hours one way by train from Antwerp to Paris on the expensive Thalys, and one would surely want to make multiple trips to Paris. This is the issue I have with long stays in one place with plans to take side trips over a wide area, especially if those side trips are to sight-rich cities that justify long stays themselves.

Traveling from Dresden to Berlin takes nearly 2 hours one way by train; Prague's over 2 hours away. Berlin and Prague are major capitals worthy of at least 4 nights (Prague) or longer (Berlin). Dresden itself is nice, but I wouldn't recommend using it as a base to visit the other two. Things may have changed since 2015, but at that point Berlin was surprisingly affordable. Leipzig is closer and smaller; I think it could work as a side trip from Dresden.

Yes, Acraven, I agree. However we don’t know if the OP wants to stay in just one location in which case Paris is quite expensive. Just wanted to make the point it’s not impossible to go there and perhaps stay over for a night or two even while basing somewhere else. With as much lead time as she has, getting a bargain apartment opens up a lot of possibilities.
Because this is a sabbatical, it’s entirely possible she may want to find a pleasant town to work on a thesis or a dissertation & won’t be prioritizing a bucket list of attractions as many of us might.

Love these kinds of questions because it’s fun to dream about a trip like this. My first thought was London, Canterbury, Windsor, Bath, Oxford, York and Lake District. Day trips, trains, bus, areas to walk. All depends on what the traveler has in mind, season and interests, etc.

So top of the list is looking for someplace that will be somewhat easy
to communicate in English, relatively safe, not too expensive, good
access to public transportation and a good place to do day trips from.

1 am trying to stop telling people to go to Budapest, but with it being the most beautiful destination in Europe and since it meets all your other requirements its hard not to mention it.
2 Again, talk to TexasTravelMom since she just spent two weeks there.
3 You will have no problem communicating in English, very safe city, cheaper than Western Europe, Outstanding public transportation and easy to use, many good day trips and overnight trips.
4 Pretty good advice and assistance for this destination on the forum.

Ok, ok…. 🤣

First, living somewhere for 5 weeks sounds almost like heaven, if you find the right spot. And asking for ideas so you can research them more is fine. But keep in mind that we all like different places for different reasons. I tend to not generally like big cities, but I am going to have to say Budapest does not feel like a big city to me. And 2 weeks here has been soooooo easy and nice. With another 2 weeks, I might even leave the city. 🤣

I am 100% with you on the language issue, though. I now know for absolute certain that for a long trip (I am finishing up 6 weeks) I require people to talk to in some form or fashion (not everyone does). It can be locals or other tourists, but since I don’t speak another language (in Europe) well enough, I would need a place where English speakers are easily accessible. Places other than Budapest I could hang my hat for a while would be Scotland or Ireland. Any of these locations would give you people friendly, willing to interact, and it be easy to do so, as well as safety if you are concerned. I know there are undoubtedly other places, as well - but these come from my experience.

As far as choosing 2 locations? Sure, if you want to travel. But if you want to settle in somewhere, one location with the ability to take short overnights or weekend-type trips is the way to go.

Hi eab! I'm excited for you for your sabbatical! Wherever you go, I hope your time is everything you need it to be.

I'm chiming in with a few notes about my experience doing a 4 week sabbatical holiday in May/June 2022, also as a solo woman traveler. I stuck to the U.K. because I have friends there and, despite my stint as a university student and 3 subsequent trips, I have not exhausted all the places I want to visit (I like to move slowly and get to know a place as well as I can). I stayed in 4 locations: 6 nights (5 days) with a friend in Edinburgh, 4 nights (3.5 days) on the Isle of Mull, 10 nights (8 days) with a friend in London, 7 nights in Hampshire. So, I alternated city & friend, countryside, city & friend, countryside (at a study/retreat center so I was staying in a big old manor house with people who became friends during the week). I liked the variety of location and activities, and the mix of company + solo was right for me. Walking and public transit were my primary means of moving about, and I got many lovely hillwalks (aka hikes) in.

I enjoyed the late spring weather, for me it was not too wet and it was warmer than I'd anticipated. For context, I'm from the southeast U.S. and to me the Scottish May felt like a southeastern April. English June was a bit wetter (in London, at least), but then it quickly got quite hot (~80 Farenheit). Layers kept me comfortable.

If I had five weeks I would stay for a week in London, doing lots of day trips.
Then I would would spend a week in Wales. (beautiful countryside. Hiking in Snowdonia, etc)
Then a week in Yorkshire. (York, Durham, the Dales)
Then a week in Scotland.
Then go to the Orkneys.

Or maybe, a week in Paris, with some daytrips.
Then a week in the Dordogne.
Then go to the South of France, Nice, etc
Maybe Switzerland for some hiking
Colmar and Strasbourg?

Or a week in Rome
Then Naples/Pompeii/Sicily
Venice
Florence

I think for any of these I'd go in the Spring. I like warmish weather but not too warm, with everything blooming.

If I had to stay in one place for the 5 weeks I'd pick London, and do several trips out during that time. To York and Wales and other places. Either way, it sounds like heaven!

I would absolute pick Ljubljana, Slovenia as my base. You have blue sea and gorgeous mountains nearby plus Ljubljana is stunning itself, as well as affordable. Everyone speaks English and public transportation is good.

First of all what a wonderful opportunity! Many great recommendations up thread. Looking at your list of “want's,” like Emily, I thought of Ljubljana. Have to say it’s my favorite city in Europe. It just clicked with me. We were there in 2018 for the RS Adriatic Tour. We enjoyed staying in an apartment on the River prior to our tour. We were there in the month of September. We enjoyed moderate temperatures. Prior to arriving to Ljubljana we spent a week in Venice and took GoOpti shuttle to Ljubljana. Hope this website is helpful: https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjM37jl6uf6AhV3C60GHRr1Ce0YABAAGgJwdg&ae=2&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASJeRoJeu_GoaFb3YMEvdV-7Hoz5diaMtlWUczXOMUyFhnOD_0ruk&sig=AOD64_0vCjCFZCLKRvuzaLhVyMGpOzQcYQ&q&adurl&ved=2ahUKEwjPz6_l6uf6AhVrDjQIHUdLAfA4ChDRDHoECAAQAQ