Help with October Family Trip Destination

Just want to mention that travel dates are common with Berlin's Festival of Lights. Prague is in good reach by train.

To me, this sounds like a family project to review guidebooks, identify sights and immersive sites for each, and a family discussion rather than a forum discussion.

My only other comment is that there is some pretty good food in Vienna and Prague. And famous cakes and pastries. So I’m not sure why you say the food doesn’t stack up, even though I suspect my cardiologist would agree with you.

As an east coast person, I’d rule some of these out due to travel time. Andalusia in October seems perfect, and Madrid to Cordoba/Sevilla is a snap on the train, but you could check flights to Sevilla, Malaga, Jerez if you want to bypass MAD entirely.
Save Croatia for a better time of year with more time, ditto Greece. Naples and Amalfi I’d want more time as well.
I have not been to France yet, but I’d pair Nice with a car trip taking in Verdon gorge, no need to travel all the way to Cinque Terre.

Mark, thanks for that tip re: Berlin. I'm actually very interested in Berlin, but my wife less so. Perhaps this could make it more interesting for the family. My recent trip to Budapest and Prague really sparked my appreciation for visiting places with recent historical significance--feels more relatable.

Fred, oh trust me--I've bombarded the kids with inspiration, trying to get a feel. That's played a role in this list. My main feedback was: food, scenery, not a lot of museums, not cold, not a ton of driving. Pompeii was especially appealing.

Valadelphia, most of these are actually pretty similar in terms of travel time, due to nonstop vs layovers. For example, Athens is nonstop while Andalusia would involve a layover. (Again, we're constrained by award seat availability--we can't blue-sky it.)

Zaragoza's Fiestas del Pilar is in the 2nd week of October, beginning the weekend of or before Oct. 12.

https://eurotravelo.com/explore/pilar-festivals-zaragoza-spain/

I see these two specifications to be in conflict. Which is it?:

If possible, would like to stick to 2 home bases,

but don't want it to become a series of daily road trips

Without saying so, you seem to indicate that your travel style is a fully-booked calendar with lots of local transportation. I would never recommend two countries for a 7-night stay in Europe. You are not clear on whether you will give up the American freedom of the open road. Will you buy (as we did ... ) multi-town daytrips by 49-passenger bus from Madrid, for example. Efficient, no car worries, maybe costly for 4, but how much is a car and gas these days. We then rented a car to drive to Ronda and return in Granada, but we had almost 3 weeks.

Because it's October, I like the Andalusia idea, but it's ridiculous to plan for even a larger part of the region in 7 nights. Depending on whether you worship Barcelona (I mean, along with "Rick"), I would sleep in Seville or Madrid, and keep a car in a garage for two or three nights of longer trips (like Ronda, for instance.) Just way east, you have Seville, Carmona, Italica, Jerez, to fill out 7 nights.

A few ideas on your specific points:
1. Italy in October can be surprisingly stormy and rainy. It by no means has to, but it could rain horizontally for a couple of days, if you are at the coast. Not speaking for or against it, just so you can keep it in mind.
2. The same applies even more so to Nice/Liguria. Again, just that you do not expect sunshine and perhaps a little drizzle…
3. Madrid is about 5 hours by train or car from Sevilla or Cadiz. Doable in half a day. But as others have mentioned, the region is large so you need good planning.
4. Tbf I would assume the risk of a daily road trip is possibly lower than Andalusia, as it is smaller.
5. Croatia comes with the same caveat as Italy and Provence.
6. In what way do you feel Prague-Vienna is different? Because it is more inland? Or is there some other aspect I have missed? And as a stupid non-native speaker, what do you mean with that comment on food?

Addendum: Not that I want to add even more options, but technically October is the last month you can comfortably do outdoorsy stuff north of the alps up to Scandinavia. Depends on your weather preferences, of course.

Tim: I mean that I want to avoid packing up and moving every other night. Some of these options (e.g., Croatia, maybe Greece) seem to require that, which would knock them down the list. I realize the trade-offs that come with a circuital itinerary versus a hub-and-spoke. My cop-out answer would be a balance (1-2 bases, neither of which requires more than 1 long daytrip unless it's in transit). I'm comfortable driving in Europe, outside of the city cores.

l-b_m: Yes, we went to Italy two years ago in October and it was very rainy. I consider Vienna-Prague (or now maybe Berlin) different because I assume it would be colder, darker, and more urban ... a less "sunny," coastal option (even if it's not always sunny). Re: food, I simply mean that we LOVE the food in Italy and based on my experience, my kids wouldn't enjoy Central European cuisine as much. But obviously, great food can be found anywhere.