Help deciding where to travel two weeks two countries or cities.

If you're a first time European traveler, I'd suggest visiting London and then taking the Eurostar fast train down to Paris.

Scandinavia is nice, but the best time of the year is May to August. And everything there is extremely expensive. We found the region best seen by cruise ship.

If you want to maximize your prize, then picking a place where lodging is very expensive is a good idea, like Nordic/Scandinavian countries (just make sure that other expenses that you're on the hook for are doable). The choice is also influenced by time of year - do you have any timeframe constraints?

You need to decide what kinds of things you want to see/do and then our suggestions will be more helpful. If you like art museums and/or churches, Italy or France. London has everything including easy transit for day trips. Food, Paris and/or Italy. Castles-England or palaces-France and Loire. History-what time period interests you most?

If you are most interested in the Nordic countries, I would suggest Stockholm and either Copenhagen, Oslo, or Helsinki.

Paris and London would be another great choice. Both cities deserved on week each.

Great advice so far. Go with a large city, since you have a free hotel. London, Paris, Rome would be best. Scandinavia is nice, although expensive.

Italy.

I did a trip for my first time to Europe. We chose our countries based on monuments or museums, or other things we really wanted to do. We went to London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam. London was AMAZING. So was Amsterdam. So different and amazing!! I honestly was looking forward to Rome the most, and it was a bit of a let down!! However, Crotia seems to be the new hot spot for travellers!

For cities in Nordic countries, I would recommend Copenhagen & Stockholm. Otherwise, like others have mentioned, London & Paris.

I'd pick up a guide book to Europe and read about the major cities, make a list of the top 5 or 6 based on my interests, and seriously consider the spots on my list with the most expensive hotels. If there is some concern about the other costs that must be covered out of pocket, it may be helpful to know that airfare to London tends to be cheaper than to most other destinations from many US/Canadian origins. And London hotels are very expensive, as previously pointed out. But that matters only if you'd really like to go to London.

What a great prize - I am quite jealous!

I would pick out the top 2-3 things in Europe that you want to see more than anything else and build a trip around those choices. For me, it was the Sistine Chapel in Rome/Vatican, the Cinque Terre and the Swiss Alps. So we arrived in Rome and flew home from Zurich. With hindsight, I wish I had picked Florence instead of the CT.

Since the Scandinavian countries are so expensive, this could be a great opportunity to visit them, since you have two weeks worth of free hotels. I would love to do an Oslo - Stockholm - Helsinki trip with an overnight trip to St. Petersburg.

London, Paris, Rome....pick two. That was easy....next!

Hi,

For most first travelers I would suggest and advise splitting the time between London and Paris. For some I would suggest London and Berlin or Vienna. My first time over included London and Berlin. One long time friend asked me that so I told him Vienna and Berlin for his first trip over, at least, five nights, if not more, in each.

I haven't been to Nordic capitals, can't help you on that one.