Help us decide???

Well, your choices are far ranging, Spain, to Italy, to Hungary/Austria, to Germany, to France. The problem is I have no idea what interests you. You have plenty of time for 3-5 locations in addition to your must two, so no problem there.

I would advise against something too far afield. You have some nice options in the Alsace, Switzerland, and Bavaria that are all close. You also have some options between Kandern and London (Paris, the Rhine and Mosel, Cologne, Amsterdam and the Netherlands, All of Belgium, and i suppose Normandy and Mont San Michel.

I guess you need to really think about if some of the other further places really appeal to you and are important to you, otherwise I would try to limit the extent of travel to the area you will already be in or in the path of your two must haves.

Thank you, as mentioned in my original post, we’ve been to most of the places you mentioned between Kandern and London, and as much as we loved them, want to visit someplace new 😊

FYI - don’t worry about what we might, or might not, like. We really have a wide variety of tastes from art museums to outdoor hiking, quant towns to historical places, etc. We’d love to hear what YOU would chose and why!! We’ll take all your wonderful comments and decide from there. Can’t wait to get your opinions 🤗

Exact date of arrival will play a role because special events make destinations expensive or very filled up, e.g. Berlin at two times in September.

We plan on taking that all into consideration when we decide our dates. What we were hoping to get is a general idea from people who have traveled these routes, how they liked them, why did they like them, what did they enjoy? Or maybe even why they didn’t like that route.

Please don’t overthink your response. Just a first impression of which you would choose and why, just taking into consideration that we’d like to travel by train and spend some time in Kandern and London 🤗🤗🤗

Version 1 shows promise. Two of the high points of Europe are Alsace and the Mosel River Valley. From Alsace, follow the Rhine to Koblenz to Trier (Mosel Valley), then across to Mont St. Michel

Hi,
For me, option 2 holds the most appeal. Why? Because it's the most varied. 5-7 days in Tuscany (Florence, Siena, Pisa, some countryside if you wish), 5-6 in Milan+Italian Lakes (Lake Como gets my vote, but Lake Maggiore is a solid choice too), about 8-10 days in Switzerland, then on to Kandern.

kn1942 and balso - thank you!! That’s exactly the kind of response I was hoping for. Will look further at those ideas!!

I like them all, but 1 and 2 seem to have less travel.

Geovagriffith- it seems you would have the same problem as we have. Too many good options!

Plan A
Fly into Prague
Shuttle or Train to Cesky Krumlov
Shuttle to Vienna
Then continue with Plan B below

Plan B
Fly to Vienna. Do a few days. Maybe an overnight in Salzburg. Day trip to Melk, etc.

Train to Budapest. Do a week. Maybe spend a night in Gyor/Pannonhalma on the way.
Fly Wizzair or EasyJet, nonstop for under $100 to Basel
Basel / Kandern
Basel to London

I may be a bit biased :) but I like option 3 best, the reason is if you can time your travels right and start in Barcelona in late September then you may be in time for our grand annual city festival of Barcelona, La Mercè (Sept. 21-24).

The festival itself is huge, there are 100s of events spread throughout Barcelona's squares, streets, museums, and parks. The best part - all the entertainment is free. This is something that we put on for ourselves, not just for tourists. If you want to experience Catalan culture like a local, at least for a few days, this is a great opportunity.

From Barcelona you can then work your way north to the ancient city of Girona a sort of "mini Florence", where a good portion of Game of Thrones was filmed. From there cross into France in the Languedoc region, a place steeped in ancient and medieval history, with many picturesque towns like Collioure.

After Languedoc, continue north east and meander through Provence before ending up in Lyon, in my opinion the foodie capital of France, and mostly off the international tourist radar. From Lyon continue north east into southern Alsace region and then cross into Germany to reach Kandern.

With this itinerary I feel you get a great diversity of places, local cultures, and history. Hope this helps :)

James E and Carlos - thanks for your thoughtful replies. I’m excited to look into these options, and Carlos, we might be able to work coming for the festival! Makes that option very attractive. 😊

From Mont St. Michel, "up the coast to London" is not a one-step procedure. You can train or drive to a ferry port like Cherbourg or St. Malo, cross the channel by ferry which may be overnight, then another train in England. Or take a bus/train combo to Paris and change stations in Paris to catch the Eurostar train to London.

Laura - thank you for the info. We knew it wouldn't be a straight shot. The lists of cities on each of our routes was to give the general idea of the direction we planned on heading. Your info will be very helpful 😊

Ok, you want to know what I would do. Lucky, you have so much time. On our vacations to Europe, I like to do a mix of countryside and cities, and some places that we've visited before, and along with new places (or simply all new places). Also, I prefer to visit places that are close together geographically, and because I like to actually speak a little of the language of countries I'll be visiting, I usually don't visit places with more than two different languages (other than my first language). Also, if it were me, I don't really like German food, so Germanic parts of Europe would be lower down on my "must-see" list (even though my heritage is half German).

So out of your options, I guess that would lead me to 2, where you would have great city time in Florence and Milan (I found Milan much more interesting than I expected, with some great smaller museums), then get to some part of Switzerland to enjoy the scenery and hiking (if it's not too cold already). Then Kandern, then London.

Barcelona and Southern France are great, I have visited both places several times, except that I visited the Bordeaux and Dordogne regions of southern France; I'm not sure which parts of southern France you have in mind. Barcelona has great good, tons of fabulous architecture and the Picassi museum, and more. If you're thinking of the Dordorne, there's great food there to, as well as beauty, incomparable cave art and lots of castles to visit. Check, though, to see how easy it would be to get from here to Kandern

Lexma, thank you!!!!

Budapest Events

Jewish Cultural Festival 1-8 September, multiple locations
I’ve done this a couple of times. Excellent. Concerts, theatre shows and cabaret performances highlight Jewish culture and traditions at this annual festival. Events organised by and for Budapest’s Jewish community take place across prominent locations, including the impressive Great Synagogue on Dohány utca.

Budapest Wine Festival 5-8 September, Buda Castle
Done this a couple of times, also excellent. Tour Hungary’s wine regions without leaving the city limits of Budapest, sampling excellent varieties from an impressive assortment of labels at this scenic wine festival at Buda Castle. Local culinary treats served on-site pair well with intoxicating reds, whites and rosés.

National Gallop 13-15 September, Heroes’ Square
Done this a couple of times. Really fun. Hungary’s young jockeys gallop around Heroes’ Square, transformed into a one-of-a-kind racecourse for the weekend. Horses and riders zoom around the iconic Budapest monument to compete for the grand prize and national glory.

Sweet Days Chocolate and Sweets Festival date to be announced, Szent István tér
Indulge in creamy chocolates, scrumptious cakes and refreshing ice creams at this high-carb outdoor gathering. Music, food and wine balance out the sugary treats.

Oktoberfest Budapest date to be announced, Kincsem Park
The world’s biggest beer festival comes to Budapest, where ale aficionados can get a taste of the atmosphere of Bavaria’s alcohol-fuelled fiesta.

Art Market Budapest 3-6 October, Millenáris Cultural Center
Done this. Also good. Set up across a maze of viewing spaces, a vast collection of contemporary paintings, sculptures, installations and photos entices art aficionados to browse, buy or just view pieces displayed by prominent local and international galleries.

Pig Slaughter and Sausage Festival 11-13 October, Hungarian Railway History Park
Havent yet, but on the bucket list. This peculiar Hungarian countryside tradition encourages a carnivorous urban crowd to make a pilgrimage to District XIV. While observing the tradition of pig-slaughtering, festival visitors can sample many varieties of pork-based dishes, including sausages and smoked hams. Varieties of Hungarian fruit spirit pálinka should help digest hefty meals.

Titanic International Film Festival 21-27 October, multiple location
Balancing arthouse and mainstream, this annual festival presents select motion pictures that are not distributed in Hungary or will not be available in the country for a fair while. The films screen with original audio and in most cases Hungarian subtitles.

Public Holiday – observance of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 23 October, honoured nationally
A great time to be in Hungary. Every October 23rd, historic Budapest sites welcome the public with events to honour the heroic insurrection by Hungarians against the oppressive Soviet regime in 1956. From a solemn flag-raising ceremony on Kossuth tér to free tours around Parliament, as well as complimentary entry to museums, diverse attractions evoke Hungarian history. See here for a chronicle of the revolution.