Early July Destinations?

Lots of places! In France, Normandy and Brittney. In Spain, the Basque area. Berner Oberland area in Switzerland. Iceland! I haven't been, but I think that'd be peak for Scandinavia, also for northern Germany, Hamburg, etc.

Jules is suggesting places that--one hopes--won't be deathly hot in July. I'd add the Dolomites in Italy, or any other place at altitude.

Poland.

Generally decent weather (not too hot in early July), low prices compared to much of western Europe, lots of cool things to see and do.

In the middle of the Summer, I suggest going north.
Take a cruise out of Copenhagan that stops at Warnemunde, Tallin, St. Petersburg, Oslo, Stockholm and ends back in Copenhagen. They are fantastic trips for a very fair price.

One issue is expense, and Iceland and Switzerland are at the upper end. Croatia, N. Spain...

This is still partly a budget travelers' forum . What does "on a teachers' salary" mean?

Since you are getting a variety of suggestions I would look at the airfares first and based the decision on that by putting in Google Flights with your dates
for example
From: Chicago
To: Europe and look at your options

Sibelius,
I am also a teacher and understand the need to travel the first two weeks of July - which I think is perfect for places like Switzerland and the Italian Lakes or countries further North. Switzerland can be expensive, but we did B&B's and survived on packing lunches from the local coop and eating an evening meal out (and buying our own wine!). It depends on what you are looking for. Hiking in Switzerland can be wonderful at that time of year. We are in our 50's and did some short, manageable hikes with no problems. Just buy a Swiss train pass from the airport in Zurich and hop on the train to Lucerne then onto the Lauterbrunnen Valley. You will not regret going to Switzerland. It is beautiful. We also included a week on Lake Como - which was also easy to reach by train. English is widely spoken in Switzerland. Remember around July 20th the European school break begins.

Have a great trip where ever you decide to go.
Margaret

You haven’t said what your interests are. Do you want cities, coast or hills? Stay in one place or tour round?

If you want stunning mountains without the very hefty Swiss price tag, then head to the Picos de Europa in northern Spain, where you can avoid the crowds. The coastline here is fantastic too.

Croatia has much to offer from picturesque walled towns, stunning beaches, good food and wine plus many activities from walking to kayaking to cycling.

Early July is peak season in France, but it’s a huge country! The area around the Dordogne has plenty of interest - meandering rivers, old stone villages perched above, great food markets, chateau, vineyards, gardens etc. Oleron, Royan and La Rochelle could be combined in a mini tour of the south west coast.

Scotland would fit nicely into your timeframe. Or Wales. Castles, hills, lakes. You haven’t seen much of England if you have only visited London.

Without more information from you as to what you are seeking, the list of possible locations is endless.

Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia.

As you see from the varied answers above, there are several parts to your question.

Are you looking for places that aren't too expensive? Are you looking for places that don't have big crowds in July? Are you looking for places that aren't too hot in July? Of course, you probably want a place that fits all of these!

I want to stick up for Switzerland. While it has a totally deserved reputation for being expensive, it's also not hard to economize there. Apartment rentals are much cheaper than hotels, and while restaurants are about one and half times New York City prices, grocery stores prices are very good. So, if you rent apartments (via Airbnb, HomeAway, etc) and get much of your food from supermarkets (which can be prepared salads and sandwiches, and need not involved "cooking" unless you want to), Switzerland can be quite affordable. It's also fabulous, and well worth the money.

I also like the idea of the UK. Outside of London, it can be very affordable.

In addition to Poland, the Baltics should have nice weather and low prices in July.

If you are interested in Nordic countries, David's idea of a cruise can save money, and Rick's book has many money-saving tips. If you are drawn to Sweden, Denmark, or Finland, these again aren't cheap, but need not be budget-busting. Norway and Iceland, on the other hand...I haven't been to Iceland, but even the supermarkets in Norway were expensive.

Iceland's grocery stores are reasonable. There are ways to make Iceland more affordable, but generally speaking, it is more expensive than many countries, but like Switzerland, quite worth it.

I say "go where you really want to go". Most of my trips to Europe have been between mid-June and mid-Sept. If that's when you can travel don't let the crowds and/or heat stop you from going to your 'wish list' places. Go to that place you've always dreamed of; it's likely worth braving the peak season crowds. If you need A/C to survive, then splurge on a hotel or apt with A/C. If you abhor crowds, there are ways to avoid the worst of them and you need to research to find out what those ways are for your chosen destination/s. As for traveling on teachers' salaries, even in the more expensive places like Switzerland and Scandinavia you can find ways to economize. Again, do your research on your chosen destination.

Anywhere where is not hot like hell. It did not use to be in the Czech Rep., Austria, Germany but with global warming everything is changing. Most central European destination did not need AC, now they do but in many cases still don't have it. So I would go to places like Ireland, Scotland, Iceland, Scandinavia, Baltic Republics. Every July is worse than the previous was and I am not a masochist.

Hi All,
So many great ideas here which is a huge help!

I probably wasn't specific enough in my original post, so a few clarifications:
Heat isn't necessarily a problem for us, being from New Orleans. I was planning to use Condor airlines from here, which seems to offer reasonable fares to pretty much any major airport, connecting through FRA. It's easy to do an open jaw with them, so we could very well fly to one country for a few days and then fly to another.

I wouldn't necessarily say that we are budget travelers, but do want to avoid places that become significantly more expensive in the summer (e.g. beach resorts). We can sometimes travel in the winter, so I'd like to eliminate places that are better to see that time of year.

We have varied interests and enjoy everything from mountains to museums, cities and villages. We'd probably like to see 2-4 areas or areas in the 10-14 days, spending a few days in each. However I hadn't considered a cruise, so I will look into that as well.

Being from N.O. you should be used to humid heat. But remember, in Europe in most cases they don't have such efficient AC like in N.O.

Switzerland was heaven in July.

Second vote for Poland. Very inexpensive, lots to see and do, small towns can be mixed in. We loved krakow and Gdańsk. Weather is nice in the summer, we were there last July, cool, no shorts necessary, but not cold.

Weather-wise chances are you will encounter in July very warm to hot weather, 24 to 33C A good number of my trips were in July or stretched into July, the last one being in 2017, which stretched into July.

Do you want to stay in one country for the 14 days or two countries? I would suggest France and Germany, France and Austria, Germany and Poland, Germany and Austria, Hungary with Austria or Germany.

Depending on your priorities, you could just choose France to spend the entire time....no problem for me given the 14 days, likewise with Germany or Poland.

I have yet to go to New Orleans in the summer. The one time there was in mid-Nov in 2016, spent six nights....enlightening, interesting, historically fascinating if you want to learn of the French role in the US. If New Orleans is like Austin or San Antonio in the summer, then it won't be a problem since the Mrs wants to go to N.O. in the summer.

The humidity in New Orleans has to be felt to be believed. I don't think there's anywhere in the US worse than the Gulf Coast for summer humidity. Houston's bad, but San Antonio's not in the same league. Haven't been to Austin.

Day one, Leave NOLA
Day two, arrive Istanbul (Turkish Air out of IAH)
Day three, Istanbul
Day four, Istanbul
Day five Istanbul to Budapest
Day six, Budapest
Day seven, Budapest
Day eight, Budapest
Day nine, Budapest
Day ten, Budapest to Istanbul to IAH to NOLA.

Why?
Generally Turkish Air is among the cheaper ways to get to Europe.
You've done the ordinary, so maybe its time to do the extraordinary.
Neither Istanbul no Budapest are crushed with tourists in the high season, but leave as early after you finish work as possible. June would be a bit better.

Other costs associated with the trip are also very low. These are two inexpensive, but fascinating countries.

Then we shall go New Orleans in the summer, may even be this summer, although not likely but next summer is a very good possibility as the Mrs. prefers the summer.

If the weather is not like that in San Antonio, it's probably closer to Montgomery, AL where I was in the summer, ie Aug. 1991...another broiler.

I'm going to Copenhagen in time for the incredible Jazz festival in early July. I was in Copenhagen and Stockholm last year in July. Stayed in 2 wonderful Airbnb which was affordable. Retired teacher so not a lot of income! This time in July will also spend a week in Gothenburg taking the train from Copenhagen. Wonderful July weather!