7 days in February..........where?

I guess I should add that we are not considering London as it is the only place the three of us have been together........for the same daughter for her HS graduation MANY years ago. I am leaning towards Amsterdam, and appreciate any comments and suggestions.

I know there are non-stop flights from IAH to Paris, London and Amsterdam. Not sure about anyplace else in Europe, so your choice is limited. Any of those cities would be fine, though the weather will be cold with perhaps rain or snow. The days will be short, but that or the weather won't matter as you probably won't be outdoors much and there's plenty of things to see and do inside. Day trips will be easy on trains. I've spent a lot of time in London in winter through the years and never found the weather to be a factor in my enjoyment of the city.

I'd second London. We've been in late Nov/early Dec. The early sunset time didn't bother us. We just planned outdoor activities for 10:00-3:00 time. We like going to the theatre in the evenings and sometimes there were good concerts. Plan on layering- you might have cold, might not. Be prepared for wet- rain or snow. Good, comfortable, waterproof shoes are essential. There are some great day trips from London by train- check out his article I wrote http://www.aaacarolinas.com/Magazine/2008/Jan-Feb/britain.htm?zip=28105&stateprov=nc&city=matthews We've been to london ALOT, so feel free to private message me if I can be of assistance.

Well I am not interested in "killing a week". Museums for sure, and hopefully something at the Concertgebouw. We do not drink at all. Wondering about possible effect of winter weather on day tripping. Flights seem very reasonable..........RT NS from Houston for less than $700 including taxes.

Paris! (though Rome would be just a tad warmer). A premiere city with everything to offer...food, wine, history, art, modern art, walkable yet great metro, scenic and iconic. Side trips are plentiful with Normandy, Brittany, Loire Valley, Burgundy and if very ambious - a bullet train to Nice for some time seaside. Personally I am thinking of a day trip to Reims for some champagne tasting next time I go. Rome has great arguments too - warmer. Pizza, pasta, wine, Vatican, ancient Roman sites, the ambiance of the squares and foutains, gelato. Side trips could be Naples, Capri, Orvieto, Florence, Siena and more that I can't even think of right now.

I would love to spend a week in Rome in Feb. That is when I was there the last time and I thought it was perfect, except I only had 3 days then. The crowds aren't as bad, the weather will be a lot nicer than in Amsterdam. You could even do a few day or side trips.

I'd suggest considering Rome. It's further south than most of the cities mentioned, which I would see as a plus. I spent 10 days there in late Jan/early Feb a couple of years ago, and that was my favorite visit to Rome. No lines. Having antiquities, ancient churches, and museums almost to yourself. Restaurants and cafes seemed more relaxed. The weather that year was very much like San Francisco -- days in the 50's, mix of sun and overcast, with light rain one day. Day trips to sites like Ostia, Tivoli, or Pompeii are a possibility, although small towns might be largely closed. (I did a very pleasant day trip to Orvietto and had the cathedral and its frescos largely to myself, although lots of shops in the town were closed for the winter.) Enjoy!

Best time to visit Amsterdam is april/may when the tulips are in bloom at the Kerkenhof gardens. Feb is still very cold in Paris although there is a lot of indoor things to visit. I would to the Florence/Rome combination as the train ride between the 2 cities is not a long ride.

If this is your first trip to Europe, London would be a good introduction. There is plenty to do there to keep you busy for a week. On the other hand, I love Paris too. My suggestion is that you could to split your week between London (go there first) and Paris. It is an easy train ride on the Eurostar and it would give you a taste of both places. Both have many indoor activities and good public transportation, so weather should not be a factor. If you choose to go to two locations, fly into one and home from the other. You can go non-stop both ways from those cities. In my opinion, there is not enough to do in Amsterdam for a whole week.

Have you priced out airfare? I always have my wish list and then the airfare decides it. A few years back we had a great February break in France (Paris and Normandy). Weather was fine. I remember a beautiful day on Omaha Beach. One year we did Amsterdam/Delft/Leiden for February break (4 nights) and the weather was fine. I love the Netherlands. I have never been to Italy - but if the price is right - go there!

Gillie, you could also split your time between Paris and Amsterdam or even go to Brussels in between? You could probably fly open jaws (multi-city) for around the same price as flying round trip. That means fly into one city and out of another. I just checked Kayak for flights into Paris and out of Amsterdam for the next to last Saturday in February. The result was $715 per person. The high-speed trains from Paris to Amsterdam take about 3 hours and if you book early enough you can go as cheap as $50 per person. Try thalys.com or tgv-europe.com and make sure you don't click on anything that says "I'm from the United States." This will redirect you to RailEurope.com. Their prices are double of the other sites. If you pick-up your tickets at the train station in France (assuming you're going to France first) it costs a lot less. Good luck.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Family discussion coming up!

Count me in on Spain or Italy. The weather will be nice and the daylight hours in the South are significantly longer than in Amsterdam. Amsterdam rains on average every other day all year - more in the winter, less in the summer but still somewhat consistently year-round. With cloud cover, you can expect street lights to go on by 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon and not go off until at least 9 or 9:30 in the morning. Do yourself a favor and pick a place that will be a warm and welcome retreat from Colorado in the winter (at least you can ski in Colorado in the winter).

In Feb, I'd go south to Italy, too. Just a few degrees warmer, or sunshine/ lack of rain, makes a huge difference going from hotel to museums to restaurants to concerthalls. Plenty to do in either Amsterdam or Rome for a week. You can take KLM from IAH to Rome and change in Schipol, or take Continental and change planes in Newark..... although today's weather related flight cancellations is a bad day for predictions. Understand Amsterdam appeals for the ease of getting there from Houston, but it feels much colder than Italy. Please do pack longjohns and wear them; sometimes I'd have on 3 layers just in the hotel room. Add a heavy down coat, hat, muffler, gloves, boots and smartwool socks and travel well. You probably already have everything you need to stay warm.
Have a good time. How nice you can travel with your daughter.

February could be problematic with weather in some of the Northern locations, London, Amsterdam, etc. I suggest Rome or Greece. There's plenty to do for 6 days.