February-August (Torn between where to travel to!)

The easy one is Scandinavia. The best time to go is summer (June through mid-August), as this is when the days are longest, the weather is best, and the atmosphere is most festive. Furthermore, most travel in this region is business travel, so during the summer when the business travelers are away, the better hotels actually lower their prices, and you can get deals not possible during the rest of the year.

Rick Steves Scandinavia has details of lots of deals for this very expensive region; be particularly cautious in Norway, which even people from other Scandinavian countries find expensive.

Other than that, you'll have lots of local advice, and you'll be constrained by you school schedule (you won't want to travel when you need to study for exams, no matter what the weather is). You're also likely to be meeting new friends and traveling with them, on their schedule. For example, if friends from your school are going to Spain, you're probably going to want to go with them, whenever that may be.

Also remember that weather cannot be predicted, so trying to go only when the weather is "best" is a crap shoot. And there's some controversy on this topic; some feel that the best places to go in winter are the coldest ones, as they "do cold weather" better than warmer places. Many places don't have a clear "best" time to visit, or the best time depends on what you want out of the trip. For instance, Switzerland is great in the winter for skiing, and the summer and early fall for hiking/walking; it's not great in between those two seasons (mud, lifts closed for repairs, low visibility of the famous Alpine peaks, etc).

If you have three-day weekends, you will typically only go to one destination for each weekend. Within Denmark, train service is extensive and easy to use, so you can really explore the country you came to live in. For most other weekend destinations, you'll probably fly; see www.skyscanner.com. That tends to focus you on larger cities with more air service. Occasionally, you can take an overnight train (to Stockholm) or an overnight ferry (to Oslo) to start the weekend.

If you have a spring break period of 2 weeks or so, you may again start with a flight, and then see perhaps 4-5 destinations in a new area, and do try to fit in some smaller towns. If you have a longer travel window, you might be able to use a rail pass, but the cheapest versions require selecting 1-4 specific countries and not all are readily sold in Europe.

You want to go everywhere, but the next step is to read more, or watch some of Rick's TV shows online, to help narrow down your top priorities.

The Guardian newspaper tends to publish interesting lists of festivals: http://www.theguardian.com/travel/festivals. Since you will be in Europe during Carnevale/Mardi Gras and Easter, look for events related to those holidays. North of Torino, Italy, I highly recommend Carnevale in Ivrea. Tourist offices are another source of event info, and Scandinavia is especially good at giving out free info. See also Time Out and this Stockholm list.

joelle,

just a comment.

......because I am trying to travel on as tight a budget as possible!

sometimes you cant be a chooser.

If $$ is tights, think about using ANY reduced/fare sales that happens to come your way.

but doing your homework upfront as to where to go/do/see things will help. Also have a "bug out bag" so you can leave at a moments notice would help.

happy trails.

Your school is likely to offer some options for weekend travel, too. When I was a student in Austria, the school often had weekend trips that they arranged. We spent our Spring Break week on a trip to Vienna and Budapest, and spent another long weekend in Prague, for example. Other students that you become acquainted with will have ideas and plans, too, and you might find yourself going along. Don't try to plan too much, and stay open to options.