France, Ireland or Germany

I suggest France to give you a new country to explore. The weather in Ireland may not be ideal. Save that for the warmer months. You can find all the things you seek in France. Your biggest problem would be to narrow it down to fit into your two week schedule. Is that 14 nights in Europe and not counting your arrival and departure days? Remember that two nights in a location give you one full day, three nights equals two days, etc. Public transportation is good in the cities. If you want to explore smaller towns a car might enhance your experience. It is easy to drive in France. If you do drive be sure to get an International Drivers Permit (IDP). It translates your U.S. drivers license into multiple languages. You can get it at a small cost from AAA.

I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I agree with Andrea......France, definitely. There is so much to see that the first thing you need to decide is how many days in Paris & then do you concentrate on one area of France or try to get a small taste of several areas. I'd suggest looking at the tour scrapbooks and tour itineraries in the Our Tours section of this website and buying a France travel guide to get you started. Another good resource here on Rick's website is this travel Forum, specifically the France section under destination drop down and the 'trip reports' section. I've taken trains in France and enjoyed the experience, especially the TGV or fast trains. The train system was very efficient. In Oct or Nov the southern part of France has sunny days and warm temperatures.

I love Ireland, but that would not be my preferred time of year to go- it starts to get very wet and dark. I think you could have a wonderful time in France or Germany. I might lean towards France.

Any one of those would be great and I could not pick one over the others based on anything in your post. I’d sketch out a rough plan for each country and see what looks most appealing. I found that Ireland really required a car to see what I wanted to see, but of course with two whole weeks, you could take it leisurely and book smaller tours or drivers if you do not wish to drive yourself. Ireland is the smallest so maybe the easiest to wrap your mind around.
October v November may make some difference, so I’d poke around on some weather websites also. I visited Ireland in October and of course it was a little rainy, but that was expected and I’d frankly have been a bit disappointed if it was not!

possibly my mother if she is up to traveling

If your mother is traveling with you, ask her what she would like to see and do. Having lost my mom a year ago, I am so grateful that we traveled together to fulfill several of her bucket list trips before travel became too difficult.

You, hopefully, have more travel years ahead of you than your mother.

That said, for the time of year and using public transportation, I agree that France would be a good option.

Agree that Ireland in October and November is not the best time of the year.
France or Germany are great.

They are both large countries and neither can be covered in 2 weeks.

You can spend a week in just Paris. If you pick France, you could do Paris and the Alsace region of France (Strasbourg is wonderful) as well as the Black Forest of Germany across the border.

If you want to do the South of France, you could the area of Provence down the Rhone River to Arles and Aix. Then visit Cannes, Monaco, etc.
Other areas of France are great:
The Loire Valley to see the many huge Chateux
Normandy loaded with history.
Bprdeaux in the SW, the best wine area of France.

loumetoyer,
For that time of year I would choose France. France is big and has many areas different from each other, so you have lots of choices. My choice would be to pick an area south of Paris, such as parts of Provence or Burgundy or Bouche du Rhone, maybe even the Riviera, with two bases of 4-5 nights each. Go there first after arrival in France. Rent a car here as there would be some very fine villages and sights to visit as day trips. Then take the train back to Paris for 4-6 days before flying home from there.
I won't list the many places to see and things to do here, but if it sounds interesting to you, come back to the forum for suggestions. There are many!

geovagriffith has made some excellent suggestions. France is loaded with wonderful options!

Like everyone here, I'd say eliminate Ireland. We love Ireland, will be there in 3 weeks. It has lots of nice small towns, full of very friendly people who speak English. But it may well be colder and rain-ier. More importantly, the train system is nowhere as good as Germany. We took more busses in Ireland. We did not want to drive in Ireland.

Of France and Germany, we like Germany better. We love the food, And there are lots of beautiful mountains and lakes, especially in Bavaria. We particularly like Mittenwald, down south close to Austria. Lots to see and do. We base in Mittenwald and take lots of daytrips by train. The Rhine River valley is also very popular here on the forum, lots of nice small towns and castles to see.

For Bavaria, I'd suggest fly into and out of Munich, then trains. For the Rhine, in/out of Frankfurt.
If you fly in/out of Munich, you could visit Munich for a few days, there are so many things to do and see there, but it doesn't fit your small-town wishes. And a hotel in Munich would probaby be much more costly. And if if your trip overlapped with the Oktoberfest in Munich, you would find Munich hotel rooms (if you could get one), to be amazingly expensive.

Another plus for Germany is the Deutscheban train pass. A little tricky to buy (you have to buy it online and then cancel), but it's only 58 Euros per person, unlimited train travel for a month.

Whatever you choose, it'll be a great trip!

Either France or Germany would be my choice. You could combine both by visiting SW Germany and then across the border to Strasburg/Colmar or the Rhine/Mosel and Metz

I would strongly favor October over November, because I am not fond of chilly, wet weather or short days. I'm even bothered about what happens between early/mid-September and October. YMMV.

For the same reason, I'd tend to favor France at the time of year you plan to travel.

Wow thank you everyone!!!!!!! I still can't decide between Germany and France, but have set aside Ireland for another time.

I've spent way more time in Germany than France. Looking back, I wish it was more evenly balanced.

Fly into Frankfurt, or Basel if you can get a cheap flight. Combine Alsace with the Black Forest for a mix of France and Germany. Lots to do between the two for a couple of weeks. Public transportation is possible for the whole trip, depending on where you base.

Culturally, similary in some ways, miles apart in other ways. I love my swcheinhaxe but, penny for penny, the cuisine in Alsace is superior.

With ireland ruled out, it depends how you wish to travel. As others have mentioned, two weeks is insufficient to really see either france or germany but you can still see a lot with a hectic schedule, or more of a few towns/cities at a more relaxed pace. That can of course be focusing on one country or a mix of both. Train travel is easy between the two.

Given your choice of either October or November, and of the 3 new countries in your travel experience , I would suggest France, with October the first choice.

Having a mixed itinerary is my way too, from famous urban centers to smaller cities to towns , and out of the way places and villages no one goes to except locals.

Time-wise: Neither of these two months is my choice, much more preferable are the summer months in France and Germany, Paris and Berlin included.

I still can't decide between Germany and France

Then I recommend the Netherlands and Belgium. Beautiful smaller countries with interesting cultures, worth-seeing towns and unique sights.

I still can't decide between Germany and France

As Gundersen and BigTyke point out, deciding isn't necessary.

October is a fine month.

Do some research within this relatively compact area where France, Germany and Luxembourg, and even Belgium meet up:

https://de-academic.com/pictures/dewiki/71/Gro%C3%9Fregion_Karte.jpg

Fly into FRANKFURT airport and you'll be just a few miles from MAINZ.

Or fly into LUXEMBOURG instead.

Thank you all soooo much, I'm loving all of the ideas!!

Since you enjoy landscapes, architecture, and experiencing local culture, I’d lean towards Germany. Scenic areas like Bavaria and the Black Forest offer beautiful countryside. You could also spend some time in Munich to see impressive churches and traditional architecture.
Your idea of staying in B&Bs is honestly perfect, especially in Germany. Instead of big hotels, B&Bs let you experience local life more closely, often with homemade breakfasts, friendly hosts, and a more authentic feel of the region and trying regional favourites like Bratwurst, Schnitzel, and Black Forest cake adds to the cultural feel. It also works well for a mix of train travel and scenic drives through villages and countryside.