I am planning a trip to Europe next year. I thought renting an apartment in Central Europe for 4-6 would be ideal. I could make day trips and for farther destinations, stay in hotels. My plan is to travel Europe, and when I’m ready to go home then hit Paris, London then fly home. Has anyone tried this?
Yep, it's a great idea. I prefer Europe to Paris or London, but that's just me.
Frankly, it sounds like you have very little idea of what you want to do. "Central Europe" covers thousands of square miles and depending upon your home base, your day trips may be either easy or fraught with difficulty. While the various cities are well connected by rail, roads, and air, starting like his without a plan will almost guarantee a disappointing trip.
Europe is composed of more than a dozen large countries with many smaller ones. It consists of thousands of square miles and is home to Italians, Spaniards, Frenchmen, Germans, Dutch citizens, Belgians, Swiss people, and many other cultures and traditions. Europeans are not fungible; the languages are not the same.
Suggest you arm yourself with a good guide. The Rick Steves guidebook The Best of Europe is available for purchase on this website: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/best-europe-guidebook
Additionally, this website has all of Rick Steves' videos which will give you an overview of what Europe contains in the way of interesting sights, sounds, and flavors. Go to this link and kick back as you watch videos: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show
Figure out where YOU want to go, what YOU want to see and experience. Lace making bores me stiff; checking out catacombs filled with millions of dead bodies is really interesting to me. Once you get the idea about where you want to go, come back and ask specific questions and you will be well rewarded. Good luck!
Are you saying you want a base location for 4 to 6 weeks or 4 to 6 people?
Warning: in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin 80-90% of offered tourist apartments are illegally (not permitted by cities and not officially registered) - not valid for co-living such as bed or room only.
City administrations started chasing greedy and illegal landlords with 5-digit EUR fines. Therefore hundreds to thousands of apartments disappear between booking and arival. In a few cases the travelers get visit from the city administration inspectors who want to check the status of the apartment and get in severe hazzle, minimum loss of time.
AirBnB and booking.com are long informed about the situation but neither collaborate with city administrations nor warn travelers.
Protect yourself and choose hotels in these cities.