European City Break for 4-5 Days from US

I think the Netherlands would be a good choice--I'd also consider Madrid, London, Dublin, Lisbon.
I would rule out anything requiring elaborate travel.

Consider traveling to The Netherlands or if you decide on Scandinavia, focus on Stockholm, Oslo or Bergen or, if you really want to return to Copenhagen, then do that.

If it were me I would watch lots of videos and pick a place that really lights my fire. But just one place, one city. Do a day trip or 2 but stick to one city. How fast you get there really doesn't matter a lot. In general from where I lived in Texas the closest was 13 hours and the furthest 16 hours. Not worth tempering your dreams to save 3 hours. And don't put too much stock in weather fears. The summer would not be the busiest season in the warmest areas if people were dropping dead from heat.

I'd vote for the Netherlands as well. For one thing, you can probably get a non-stop flight there; it's an easy airport to fly to, and the public transportation is quick and easy, especially for taking you to a few day trips outside of the city (or a 2nd destination). I love Amsterdam and would go back in a heartbeat.

Time. Is. Everything.

I assume you are flying from Atlanta. Hope you have lots of Delta points to burn. Look at where you can get to on a nonstop from ATL: Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona. I would look no further east than those.

In summer, I'd stick to either Ireland or Scotland. Skip all the crowds and all the heat everywhere further east and/or south of there.

Note: If you're hoping to pay for your flight with points, it's late in the game to book for peak summer travel. Flying solo at least you have a chance at that. I'd jump on it yesterday and nail it down ASAP.

Oh, I also meant to ask: I've never been to Europe in August. Should that factor into my decision at all? I'm assuming that in the big cities, it's relatively business-as-usual.

I appreciate the advice so far. Re: transit time to Central / Eastern destinations, I would likely use points in that scenario, since those airports tend to be more expensive with $. And the award itineraries (that I can afford) can be quite long with multiple layovers, versus a nonstop to Amsterdam, London, Dublin, Reykjavík, etc.

I think I can absorb one short layover, so I don't squander the arrival day (or a full-day layover that allows for a bonus city). Because of where I'll be departing from--a small airport, not my usual ATL--I'll already need to make a connection in Denver or Dallas. So to David's point, Dublin and Reykjavík have relatively cheap nonstops, and then I would find my way back home via some convoluted award itinerary.

In the big cities "Business as usual" for August will be crowded with tourists. No worries about closures because all the locals have fled to the beach.

Where exactly are you planning to fly from?

I will be in Western Colorado at that time (MTJ). So my only options are DEN, DFW, and IAH. My full itinerary doesn't have to start in MTJ, as I could reposition myself on Southwest to DEN for the long flight on another airline, but that's obviously risky in case my first flight is delayed.

That can be "done" in 4-5 days and stand on their own (or are very close and could be paired open-jaw). No real agenda, other than to soak up the city and see some obvious sites.

In that case I would head north, as the further south you go, the hotter it will be in July. Not sure about direct flights out of Atlanta, but if you could fly into Stockholm & out of Copenhagen, there's a nice, 5 hour train ride between the two. Or just pick any of the cities, maybe do some research here on RS to see whether Oslo or Stockholm is more appealing.

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/sweden/stockholm

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/norway/oslo

Oh, I also meant to ask: I've never been to Europe in August. Should
that factor into my decision at all? I'm assuming that in the big
cities, it's relatively business-as-usual.

It’s the high tourist season. Tourists seem to prefer the time of year. It will be warm. Almost as warm as Atlanta.

I appreciate the advice so far. Re: transit time to Central / Eastern
destinations, I would likely use points in that scenario, since those
airports tend to be more expensive with $. And the award itineraries
(that I can afford) can be quite long with multiple layovers, versus a
nonstop to Amsterdam, London, Dublin, Reykjavík, etc. ….. I think
I can absorb one short layover, so I don't squander the arrival day
(or a full-day layover that allows for a bonus city).

From most of the US you can reach most every corner of Europe with one layover on this side and one layover in Europe …. or direct. First of all, like I said before I wouldn’t plan my dream trip around a 4 hour travel time difference. Naturally, where you can get to direct will be easier … any of those light your fire. After that its distance / travel time / departure and arrival time / cost. City A is closer but the lay over is 2 hours longer, so it takes as much time to reach as the further City B. But the flight to City A leaves earlier and arrives earlier in the day so that’s more time to ….. Its this kind of analysis that just become sort of silly in my book. I go where I want to go and where I will have a good time.

Go to GoogleFlights and start playing. Begin with the one place you want to see more than any other, regardless of where it is. See the options, then start looking at what should be closer, easier or faster and see if they really are much different.

With the limited time you have, I'd look at nonstop flights out of Atlanta and proceed from there. (Edited - I just saw that you won't be in Atlanta when you fly).

I don't think it is crazy to go on a short trip. I am a retired airline employee and have fantastic flight benefits. I've gone on several three - five night international trips through the years when plans didn't allow for a longer trip. My philosophy is that it is better to see and experience a location for a short time than not visit at all.

Let us know where you decide to go.

...Scandinavia, because (a) I've always wanted to go...

Then go and enjoy! Every now and then we all need to just "do it" because we want to. This might be one of those times.

For really short trips we stick to large cities easy to get to via direct flight, if possible. For where we live that would be London, Dublin, Edinburgh, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Iceland, Rome.

You can see a lot in 4-5 days in Iceland with a rental car. As you pointed out, the days are still quite long in August. It's not technically Scandinavia, but it sure feels like it. This gets my vote.
If you choose PNW, consider driving the Cascade Loop. Beautiful scenery, accessible hiking, you get to see both sides of the mountains, and it's easily done in your time frame. We have the best August weather in the US.

I do short Europe city breaks often. I'm paid by the hour so if I'm not working, I'm not getting paid. I know short trips like that aren't for everyone, but they are for me. I'm about to spend a long weekend in Dublin because I had an expiring flight credit. I pulled up Google Maps, looked at where I hadn't been and where I could go non-stop, and Dublin was the winner.

In August, I'd head as far north as I could. I did a solo six days in Copenhagen in late August 2022. It was quite warm actually, but not Atlanta warm. It was also not a non-stop, but it was fine.
I did a solo five days in Iceland in August 2021. The weather was chilly and sometimes overcast, but I didn't get rained on. The only thing about Iceland is really needing to rent a car to get the most out of it, if that's a consideration.
Start with wherever you can go non-stop, and unless you really love heat, look for something as far north as possible.

Jake,
Congrats on having the opportunity for a trip to Europe, even a short one. I would opt for Ireland. You can probably get a non-stop to Dublin, and if you have four or five nights, you could have a fulfilling visit.

e.g. Day 1...arrive Dublin, take half-day to wander around St. Stephen's Green, see the Molly Malone statue, and find a pub for dinner .
and some trad music. The HoHo bus is a good way to familliarize yourself with the city.
Day 2...the Guinness factory, the National Museum of Ireland, Trinity College (Book of Kells)...all doable in one day with 2-3 hours
apiece. The museum and college are a short 2 km walk. Temple Bar area is good for dinner this night.
Day3...Take a tour or bus or rent a car to see, over Day 3 and Day 4, among these: Glendalough, Cork, Blarney Castle, Killarney, t
the Dingle Peninsula, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, the Rock of Cashel, Newgrange. Pick and choose by location. Choose
judiciously. You won't be able to see everything.

With a car or a good tour, you could visit 2-4 places in a day, making a clockwise trip. Distances are relatively short in

Ireland. (It is about the size of Indiana.)
Day 4...see above...a surfeit of riches.
Day 5...Fly home from Dublin or Galway. That is 4 nights. If you have a late flight home you can spend the morning seeing what
you missed. (Also, there are hiking opportunities in the areas I mentioned outside of Dublin.)
Second choice, from me...London. TONS to fill your days, with lots of variety. If not there, then Amsterdam.

Judy, you demonstrate that the best trips are those where you have the support to plan them well. Right now Dublin leads.

As a person that does not thrive in a jet lagged state, I will suggest against the tide of suggestions for European destinations and suggest you limit your choice to a location with fewer than 3 time zone changes and a flight under 5 hours. Save your points and European adventure for when you can actually spend the time you want to spend. Late July/early August in the PNW is a fantastic time to visit - usually good weather, before fire season takes off big, abundant outdoor activities. You'll be spoiled for choice (just ask).

Thanks, Mr E.,
By the way, we haven't made it to Budapest yet. Closest we came is Vienna, which I loved! We are more judicious in our planning now. The long haul flights are hard on our backs and 80+ something bodies in general. Need to travel less often but with pricier plane seats (premium coach for sure). Last time in Europe was 2023. Maybe not this year. 2026! Still have Hungary, Poland, Sicily, New Zealand, Botswana and Scotland on our wish list. Guess we better live into our 90's!

Judy, it can become such a complex process. Age: what I can do now vs in 30 years (I am getting up in years too). Then there are flights. How long, when they arrive and cost can be such a complex matrix as to drive you nuts. Then there is the flight cost vs the whole cost and thats mostly a factor of travel style. For a 6 day trip if you fly Permium Economy and like 4 star hotels, you would have to save many, many, many hundreds of dollars on the flight to Vienna to compensate for the eqivelent hotel savings in Budapest for instance. (random cities because I know the prices).

After a while the weight of everything just drags me down. So, the questions finally become. 1) am i excited about the location. 2) can i afford it 3) am i physically up to it 4) is there enough support and information that I can plan a truly enjoyable trip. Yes, Yes, Yes & Yes means I dont care about one more connection or 4 more hours of travel time or if Prauge is a little cheaper than Vienna. I am going to enjoy and not to compromise.

And Judy, when you are ready for Hungary, let me know.

Okay, my two suggestions.

Plan A – The most beautiful and interesting capital city in Europe. Flight cost starting at $985,00
29 Turkish Air DFW to Istanbul nonstop 12 hours
30 Istanbul (the long layover shouldn’t cost you any more than going straight thru to the next stop)
31 Istanbul
1 Turkish Air Istanbul to Budapest (click on my name for information about Budapest) nonstop 2 hours
2 Budapest (half of Pest tour)
3 Budapest (second half of Pest tour)
4 Budapest (Buda tour & Szentendre)
5 Turkish Air Flight back to DFW (changes in Istanbul) 17 hours
Very well located 4 star hotels under $250 a night. 3 star under $150 or AirBnb under $100 (you are booking late for the high season so the prices reflect that) You don’t have a lot of time so location is important. But if you want to spend time on transportation you can cut the costs by 25%.

Plan B – The Little Discovered. Flight cost starting at $1.241,00
29 Turkish Air DFW to Istanbul nonstop 12 hours
30 Istanbul (the long layover shouldn’t cost you any more than going straight thru to the next stop)
31 Istanbul
1 Turkish Air Istanbul to Podgorica or Tivat (either work as well go for price and schedule) Nonstop, less than 2 hours. Go here for videos of Montenegro https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/montenegro/podgorica-to-dubrovnik-by-car
2 Perast (Bay of Kotor tour)
3 Budva (Southern coast tour including Stari Bar and Ulcinj, maybe a winery)
4 Danilovgrad – Hotel Sokoline (Tour of the high country and Ostrog monastery)
5 Turkish Air Flight home (from Podgorica or Tivat (changes in Istanbul) 17 hours
Very well located 4 star hotels under $150 a night. 3 star under $100 or AirBnb under $50. Added cost is transportation between towns. So it will end up costing about the same as a major European city. BUT, you get to see something amazing.

I'd suggest jut one city for 4-5 day trip. Jet lag is going to be a killer and having to pack up and move everyday or drive a car sounds like hell.

Plus you are going to Europe in August in the most crowded and hottest time of the year.

That said, I did a London jaunt around Labor Day weekend so I have some tips.

I'd suggest London but get a hotel on a bus route and make sure your room has A/C. Riding the Tube can be hot as heck so uses the buses or walk if possible.

I know you said London has huge taxes but for August/Sept I'd do London rather than Italy or Spain. Get tickets ahead of time for all the attractions you want to see and definitely use the water taxis to go to Greenwich. For me it was wonderful just to sit in Kesington Garden/Hyde Park, read my book and watch people enjoy the warm weather. But then I'm an Anglophile.

Wow, thank you so much for all the informed and creative opinions (and a special shout-out to Mr E)! I'm usually a go-go-go traveler, but the Istanbul options seem a little too hurried and expensive (also, I've been to Kotor and would like to save Budapest for a longer trip). Let me provide a bit more of my rationale ...

1. If I simply flew home to ATL with my wife and kids, it would cost $250, so that is my baseline.
2. For just a little more, I can fly open-jaw to the Pac NW and home to ATL. I'd arrive in the Pac NW late-night.
3. If I can find a good deal (<$500 or <40k points), I can take a redeye to Europe and begin my vacation at effectively the same time I would have in the Pac NW (saving one night of hotel en route) ...
4. ... but if I arrive in Europe after lunchtime, I've now lost a precious half-day.
5. So, add all that up, and I think I need a nonstop / short-layover. Or a one-day layover en route to another city that could be seen in ~3 days (same idea as Istanbul + Budapest). Oh, and I need to be where I can affordably return to ATL!
6. In a perfect world, somewhere I really want to visit and that is less important to my wife.

So ultimately, I think I'll either (a) prioritize logistics and do something "easy" like Iceland, Amsterdam, Dublin, or London, or (b) compromise a smidge and prioritize #6. The top of the (b) list would probably be Scandinavia, although no obvious deals jump out right now. Interestingly, I see a blend of (a) and (b) in Venice, which has an inexpensive nonstop. I've been to Venice, but the Dolomites and Slovenia are both right behind Scandinavia on my list (or the Veneto would be great).

Jake, its all about you being happy. Not much else matters. If cost ever becomes a determiing factor, do look beyond the cost of flight.

Iceland, Amsterdam, London, Scandinavia, Venice are not among the most economical places to visit. Check the hotel costs x 5 nights. Of course you can downgrade, move further from the center, etc. and save. But then you could do that in a less expensive location and save more. The number game, for me at least, always ended up cutting to deeply into the point of the trip.

Do let us know what you come up with and if you finallly choose that $250 flight to Europe.

If you do have the 6 nights, good. In Sept. 2025 I did a second adjunct trip for 7 nights, almost like yours. SFO to CDG

I see you have a few distinct advantages already, ie not being bothered by long flights nor jet lag, likewise with me after the 11 hour non-stop from SFO. I'm not interested in jet lag. Going solo with no set agenda, even better.

I suggest staying in one region, say Normandy, Alsace-Lorraine, or Northern France, etc or eastern Germany , Schleswig-Holstein, the Baltic coast, how about East Frisia?

Set your geographic priority so as not to waste time zipping back and forth on the train.

Your plan is not crazy, as long as you are determined to pull it off, otherwise when you think another opportunity will arise to revitalize your final itinerary.

If I could get flight for under $500 non-stop, I would know exactly where to carry out the six day itinerary.

Jake, here is the poop on the Turkish Air free layover, maybe for future plans. https://www.turkishairlines.com/en-int/flights/stopover/index.html?utm_campaign=&utm_campaign=TK_ILT_AKT_ALL_STOPOVER_FEB_2025&utm_medium=mail&utm_medium=email&utm_source=crm&utm_source=dengage&utm_content=en&utm_term=int&dn_channel=email&dn_send_id=3600

I am a huge fan of Iceland and we have been many times. The only drawback that I can see for you is that it is really late to the game for planning for this summer, so you may have trouble finding lodging that is not crazy expensive, and expect a rental car cost to make your eyes water. You can do it, but you would need to get on it asap. Since you like to hike, check out Thorsmark. There are many great hiking places in Iceland, but I love this area as there are not many people. Another option would be after arriving at KEF, get a domestic flight up to Akereyri and spend your time up there. Far fewer people than the south coast, golden circle etc and very scenic.

Here in the PNW, August is usually really nice. The one drawback though is that is our wildfire season, so if hiking is in your plans, you really need to keep an eye on any fires that may be burning. Also, with the Ranger cutbacks etc, who knows what our outdoor areas will be like for this summer.

If you've really "always wanted to visit Scandinavia," Copenhagen and Stockholm are great ideas. You can fly nonstop ATL-CPH.

Save your points and dollars for longer trips to Europe.

As an alternative, there are great places to visit in the Western Hemisphere.
If you don't wish to visit our National Parks or places in the USA, consider:

Canada- Vancouver, the Canadian Rockies, Nova Scotia, Montreal or Quebec City.
Mexico- Mexico City its relatively safe if you stick to the tourist sites and the nearby pyramids of Teotihuacan.
Peru- Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu

Thanks for the continued advice! I've been considering all of it, weeding out destinations that might be easy but don't stir me. My wife has made the same point as many of you: "Jake, where do you WANT to go?" Of course, budget and schedules are real factors, so some wishlist destinations simply aren't feasible. With all that in mind, here's my short list. I'm hoping to pull the trigger this weekend.

And for context, all of these flights would be marginally more expensive ( ~$300) than the Vancouver option, based on the value of cash and/or points. The "on the ground" time versus West Coast would be pretty even, and if I'm not picky about accommodation, I can't imagine incidentals for a few days by myself would move the needle. So, the real difference is jet lag upon arrival in Europe vs back home after a West Coast redeye.

A-List

Scandinavia: One or more of Copenhagen, Stockholm, or Helsinki (the overnight ferry sounds like an experience!). I envision Norway as a future trip with my wife.

Slovenia: Previous attempts to woo my wife were dashed when RS spent a whole segment in a family's attic apartment, so this seems like a good opportunity.

B-List

Netherlands: I've only seen AMS and would like to see more, but my wife doesn't.

Prague: High on my list and could be fun solo.

Vancouver: Love it and family has already been. Would like to see more, and experience summer there.

Wildcard

Budapest: Would be A-List, but I'd like to include it in a future Central Europe trip. I list it here because I found a reasonable flight that makes a full-day stop in Cairo, which would be an unexpected "bucket list" bonus.