Best recommendation for a week in Europe in early March

If 7 days include travel and you’re coming from USA, you’re down to 4 full days which means you want ONE spot. A major city would be best wherever you can get a direct flight in to so you waste no time with excess travel. They all have extensive busses and trains no reason for a car.

London, Paris, Rome, perhaps somewhere in Spain- pick the one you like most, have one central hotel/apt and then explore during your week.

Much depends on where you are flying from, so I would look at your nearest airport and where you can fly direct. For example, I agree Spain is likely to be convenient from the east coast at least. You can fly to Madrid and spend half the time there, half in a nearby city and train travel is a snap.
Ireland could work--another easy flight. You could spend time in Dublin and one other place.
Amsterdam would be another one to consider.
Also, Italian cities make for convenient train travel. I'd also limit it to two cities max depending on how many days you have on the ground.
Let us know your flight options and how many actual days you have.

Which ever city you choose try and make the most of your week. Maybe fly out Friday if able to & return the following Sunday instead of Saturday. Get that extra day in where you are at & just deal with the jet lag when you head back to work and or school on Monday/Tuesday.

Enjoy.

For that amount of time, maybe consider flying into London and out of Paris. Both of those cities are easy to navigate and have so much to do. You can take the train between them; you don’t need a car.

If you would rather have a smaller town for part of it, maybe fly to Paris and go directly to a nearby town by train - Rouen, as an example. Then finish with days in Paris and fly back home.

For that amount of time, be very stingy with your total transportation time. You don’t want to be on trains for multiple days eating up your valuable time that you could have been enjoying the sites.

By a week I am guessing 7 nights available? March is a great time to visit Southern Spain, I'd fly in to Madrid and stay for a few nights to recover from jet lag, then take the AVE high speed train down to Sevilla for the rest of the time, maybe with a daytrip to Cordoba, before flying back to wherever you are from via a connection in Madrid.

Thanks all - we will be flying from DTW, so can get to most major cities on a direct flight. Probably arriving on Saturday, and departing the following Saturday. My sons have expressed an interest in Switzerland (yes, the entire country) or Athens, but I don't think we have the time to see enough to make that worthwhile (flight time is 12+ hours to Athens/no directs). I love the idea of Spain or London/Paris and taking the train to a nearby city for a day or 2. Again, thanks so much for the advice and suggestions. Almost anything will be a delight for them, just need relatively easy logistics and you've provided great suggestions.

I'd want to save Athens for a longer trip when it's warmer and you can enjoy some of Greece's natural beauty.
Since I just came off a trip to Switzerland, that would be a remarkably easy place to travel if you get good flights. More expensive of course (Spain is the bargain in the mix). I skipped Zurich but I loved Lucerne--the city itself has a castle and enough to occupy teens but the day trips to mountains are quite easy. I'd suss out what would be doable in March and keep that in the running.
The mountains were the real draw to me, but I hear nice things about Bern if you wanted two cities.

Absolute precision about the number of nights you'll be able to spend in Europe (not counting the night on the plane) would be very, very helpful here, since you've asked to see "a number of sites/towns". As others have mentioned, it takes time to travel from town to town. The easiest thing to do, and the way to waste the least time sitting on trains and buses, is to spend all the time in Rome, Paris, London, Madrid, Barcelona--some city you can reach easily from your origin airport. Since you want more variety than that, we really need to know exactly how much time you're going to have available.

How do you feel about chilly, wet weather? You could run into fairly unpleasant conditions in much of Europe in March. Or you could get lucky, of course.

We love Switzerland, but I would not go there in March, especially not to the mountains—unless you want to spend a fortune on skiing. It will be cold and snowy, and lodging in the mountain areas can be expensive even by Swiss standards. And the lower elevation cities will be gray, cold, and possibly rainy, with no flower boxes to brighten the scene. Good for museums and that is about it.

I think London and Paris would be your best choice—-so much to see and do in both cities. We took our girls on a London-Paris trip over spring break when they were teens, and we all had a great time. They actually preferred London, so in retrospect we should have divided our time 60/40 instead of 50/50.

Or London and another city in the UK—-Bath has some Roman ruins; York has the Vikings. . . . It’s all good.

I would take train from London to York( or Bath Spa-there is another Bath that is not the one you want) upon arrival. Stay there Sat, Sun, Mon night, take train back to London on Tuesday and spend 4 nights in London. You want to be in the city of your departure the day before you leave.

Since this is your first time in Europe I would choose an English speaking country. Perhaps fly open jaw into Edinburgh and take train to London and home from there. Or Dublin to Belfast and home. Look at what cities have to offer then make your plans with input from the kids. Once you decide, come back here for further advice. Definitely get Rick Steves book about traveling to Europe. It has great advice. Once you do decide get the country or city specific book. Wonderful for you to enjoy this time with your kids!!!!

If you leave on Saturday, you won’t arrive in Europe until Sunday. That will be a partial day and you are likely to be jet lagged. If you leave the following Saturday, that gives you five full days in Europe plus the partial day. I would stay in one place and not spend precious time moving somewhere else. You could take a day trip or two if they were close.

If you want to stay on two places, make sure they are close. It takes time to pack up, get to the train station (or airport), and find your new hotel. It almost always eats up half a day.

Be sure to consider the weather. Southern Europe is going to be warmer than Northern Europe. I enjoy traveling on cooler weather, but not everyone does.

Another vote for London.
This is your first trip to Europe, so you are better going somewhere that has English as their language.
SO much to do there, and so easy to navigate.

London as a base, with some day trips to places of interest will more than fill your time. Public transport easy to navigate.

I would argue for Italy. I am biased as that was our first trip with our kids and we loved it. Could do Rome with a couple of days in Sorrento to see Pompeii. Or fly in to one site ( Rome or Milan) and out of another ( Venice). Almost everyone in the tourist areas speaks english ( as well as multiple other languages).

I would vote for Spain. Fly into/out of Madrid. Split the time between Madrid and Granada. It’s only 3 hrs by train between these cities. Assuming you are departing the US on a Saturday and departing Madrid on Sunday:

Sunday: arrive Madrid. Taxi to hotel (we liked Hotel Europa at Puerta del Sol). Dinner near the hotel, maybe Mercado San Miguel

Monday: train to Granada
Tues & Wed: Alhambra, explore Granada
Thursday: train back to Madrid
Fri & Sat: explore Madrid
Sunday: fly home

First trip to Europe and one week; i vote for Rome. The density of the things to see and do is about the highest any where, the culture and way of life is classical European and the possibility exists for an easy overnight to Florence and a day trip to Pompeii.

Re Spain: English was not as commonly spoken as in many other European countries we've visited. As much as I love Italy, you will spend more time on the plane getting there and it's a large city and its subway is not as easy and efficient as the Tube in London.

For a first timer to Europe-I'd always recommend London.Different enough to give that feel that you aren't in North America but easiest cultural immersion and you speak the same language. March will have the flowers just starting to bloom and while it could be cold, it's also not as crowded and the hotel rates are cheaper.

I don't know if teens are still into Harry Potter but you could go to the Harry Potter experience or even a day trip to Oxford for a change of pace and a look at a UK college town.

OK you want to visit Europe for a week. Personally, I would never spend the expensive airfare for only a week.

If you do go to Europe for a week, I recommend going to a warm place, preferably in Portugal, Spain, France or Italy. Europe will be short of gas for heat due to the Ukrainian war.

For a week, you can't visit many places. If you go to a major city like Rome, Paris, Madrid or Barcelona, then spend the entire week there.

If you try to do more cities, you will waste a lot of time of travel.

However, you could do Southern Spain: Seville and Cordoba.

I'd argue for Italy. I'm biased as that was our first trip to Europe with our kids and we all loved it. I'd suggest either flying in and out of Rome and doing Rome plus a few days in Sorrento ( and go see Pompeii) or try to fly into one city and leave another ( maybe Venice?). Most people in the tourist areas speak english, the trains are fairly easy to use and it will feel different from your own home.

Thanks, everyone - you are all an incredible source of info and great ideas. Will talk to the boys and make our plan. I do appreciate how short the time, is, but, it's what I have to work with right now and I don't want to miss another opportunity to travel with them out of the country. Sounds like there are multiple great ideas for a one city trip, and I'm sold. We won't try to do anything more than soaking up the few days we have in one of the cities you mentioned (London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, etc). I'm working on flights/airfare, and that will help the decision.

Again, thank you so much for your generosity and advice.

Hi & welcome to the Forum! Let's get this out of the way first, Rome is fantastic & it would be my first choice for a week, except you said,

I am a little nervous about navigating the trip so am looking for something relatively easy. What would you recommend for a first time trip to Europe with only a week available.

Rome is chaotic, though most of the famous sites are in a small enough area, so if it's within your budget, stay in the center, just grab taxis, and have fun. But if you're looking for easy, London would be the easiest, though still cold & rainy in March. Somewhere between the two in terms of 'relatively easy' but you would still have to deal with a foreign culture and language, would be Paris. It would have better weather in March & has plenty to do, with far fewer people than London for a first time visitor. Let us know what you decide!

Thoughts..........
A quick check of Detroit flights to London, Paris, Rome or Barcelona are currently shown in the same price range for RT direct flights.
Task your sons with doing their own research into prioritization of a preferred destination. Provide a "due date" of seven days to learn how much time they are willing to invest in defining the journey.
Wherever you go, stay in an apartment (more space, separate bedrooms and a kitchen to help with reducing food expense - easy to create a breakfast and have snacks).
Wherever you go, stay on the edge of main tourist zone to obtain better pricing for accommodations, restaurants and local experiences. All these cities offer great public transport which is easy to use and relatively inexpensive. All are wonderful walking experiences.
Don't be luggage mules! A carry on for each and large personal bag. Shoes should be comfortable and water resistant. Sweaters plus a raincoat plus a hat.
Stay in one place. Reduces expense, stress and maximizes time. Each city offers a HUGE menu of opportunities to explore.
In the city of your choice wisely choose the attractions you highly value and desire to visit. Even during off season it is best to book online and reserve entrance times to insure not wasting time standing in line (or rain).
Dark comes early so plan your days accordingly.
My recommendation for the first journey is London. Indoor/Outdoor, walking/riding, in city/short day trip, diverse experiences and people............. a wonderful starter course for first trip to Europe.
You are wisely investing into expanding the lives of your boys and yourself.
Regardless of your destination, slow down and take the time to "be there".
Enjoy a great journey and create wonderful memories.

As a weather-focused traveler I'd choose Rome or Barcelona at that time of year, but some folks don't mind dealing with (probably) chilly, rainy weather. The Wikipedia entries for the suggested cities include climate-summary charts where you can get comparison info on temperatures and rainfall. I just took a look at Barcelona and London. The average March high and low temperatures in Barcelona are both at least 10 degrees warmer than London's. Barcelona also gets a bit less rain, though March is actually London's least rainy month.

If you're OK with less-than-warm conditions, I agree that London is a simpler first destination. If you choose to go that way, I highly recommend exploring the walking tours offered by London Walks (walks.com). The cost is a very reasonable £15 for adults and £5 for accompanying children 8-15. The guides are licensed and personable (some being actors between gigs); you'll get accurate information delivered in an engaging manner. There are dozens and dozens of different tours offered at different times on different days of the week.

Rome is the classic American tourist destination. Easy to get around, structured for tourism. Taxi, nada. Walk. It was the means by which the creation of everything that would become the West evolved; culturally, politically and religiously. The ideal place to begin.

Easy answer. London, England.

Always changing, always the same.

Free Museums, street markets, theatre, food, pubs, diversity, cathedrals, history. Use the tube or sit upstairs in the front of a double decker bus.

Dress in layer with a water proof coat.

Quirky things to see and do:

Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities
Crossness Pumping Station
Have coffee in a former public toilet
Tour Highgate Cemetery to see Karl Marx Tomb
Climb the O2
Croydon and Shoreditch art murals
Tower Bridge Experience
Little Venice
See a play or musical ( Hamilton is excellent, The Play That Goes Wrong funny)
Sunday Roasts

And have lunch in a pub. Teen aged sons will find that option interesting.

Pubs:
Ye Old Mitre
The White Cross in Richmond
The Blackfriars
The Drapers Arms
The Seven Stars
The Hollybush

Great advice you are receiving. My first trip to Europe was with my sons and one of the biggest mistakes I made was to over pack. Some one said small suitcase and personal bag, right on. I suggest you do a trial "pack" and see what is not necessary. Guarantee you will want to take too much. Staying in apartment is great but if that doesn't work for you at least try to be in hotel with breakfast included and a room for three. Also perhaps some attractions where you decide might give student discounts.