if you only had 14 days in europe where would you go?

I would go where I wanted to go, not where a bunch of strangers on a website suggested. :) Seriously, though, how can we suggest where you should go if we don't know what you want to do or what you are interested in seeing? If you want to go to Croatia and Italy, do it!

Wise to stick to a confined geographical area. Personally I'd do Italy only: after 3 weeks there last year and an upcoming 4 weeks, I can't get enough of it. There's so much to Italy I can't see moving on until I've experienced more.

@Nancy, I'm not asking you to tell me where to go I want to know what other's would do. @Laurel, I love Italy too, my wife also really loves Italy. I think if my wife had 14 days she might spend the entire time in Sorrento/Amalfi Coast.

Interesting question. Since all of my ventures in Europe so far have been with my family in tow, I'll say that this 14 day trip will be on my own, doing what I want to do instead of what works for everyone else. With that in mind, I would land in Amsterdam, spend a day there, then ride a bicycle to Paris, seeing some of the non-touristy areas of Netherlands and Belgium along the way. Hopefully I'll have a day or two left over in Paris to allow feeling to return to my backside. That's my 14 days to myself in Europe.

If it was up to me, would go someplace I have not been. You said your wife loves Italy so why not try something else. I think it also depends on the time of year you are planning for this trip. Let us know what you like, where have you been and maybe can give you more informed ideas.

Roughly quoting the Dahli Lama "Each Year You Should Go Somewhere You Have Never Been Before'
That gives you plenty of choice.

Since I beleive you are asking where I would go, not asking for suggestions on where you should go,, I would go to Paris, with possibly a few days in either London, Rome, or Switzerland,, now, if I had more time, I would go to the Greek Islands, Portugal, and possibly Austria and Germany.
I find two weeks the bare minimum I want to spend on a trip to Europe,, the flights are long and expensive(doesn't help I have to get off my island first) so for me three weeks in a minmum normally, but I have been lucky enough to go for up to 3 months. My shortest trip was 9 days, and we spent that all in Paris since that was such a short visit. As |I get older I envision being able to take longer visits,, in which case I would see almost everywhere ,, theres no where that doesn't interest me ,, at least a bit.

I would go someplace dramatic and totally different, like Iceland. Then go cruise the fjords of Norway, perhaps see the Northern Lights. Maybe visit Finland while I am up north.

Iceland (Reykjavik) for 3 days; London for 6 days; England for the rest of the time (Bristol, York, not sure where else yet).

i would do either austria and czech republic or BENELUX. just because those are next on my list and i have not yet been to them. that or germany for a week and the emmental staying with my friends for a week. or southern france and barcelona staying with my catalan friend. man i love europe.

Fly into Heathrow early, stay in London for 2 nights, enjoying theatre each evening. Fly to Ireland, cruise on a narrowboat, enjoy some trad and oysters in Cork, fly from there to Lisbon and end my stay in Portugal.

I would go to Iceland (friend there...looks amazing) Sweden (my heritage) and also Skagen which is a small fishing village in Denmark where a number of famous paintings have been done... I think I used up more than my 14 days!

Russia

My friend did an interesting tour this summer that I would love to do: bike along the Danube from Vienna to Budapest. Takes about a week. And then add a week to relax, thinking of a beach in Croatia. Haven't been there, yet.

Russia or Azerbaijan - both places I haven't gotten to yet.

fun question, and you can't go wrong! figure out what you like - outdoors, old towns, food,...then go. However, I'm a veteran of about 15 trips to Europe and New Zealand, and I have to say that I've been to Bruges in Belgium 4 times and it is on my absolute must list. You can then throw in a zillion other options, but that is mine. Having said that, despite my enthusiasm for Spain, France, germany, the UK, Ireland....my trip to Croatia in 2008 just absolutely blew me away. I would also put Dubrovnik on the short list. But I'll tell you one thing...in a travel brochure I get called Classic Journeys they have tours to every hot place you can imagine - AMalfi, Tuscany, Provence, Cotswolds, you name it. They say, and I quote "on this earth we have never seen any place more beautiful than the Dalmatian coast of Croatia." Other places? Toledo. Burgundy. Cotswolds. Anywhere in Ireland. Most people who "know" would put Italy and France - virtually anywhere - on the list. And I personally think you cannot die without having seen Venice.
So: Bruges, Toledo, Venice, and Croatia. Have fun!

I would fly in to Amsterdam and travel down to Self, Leiden, maybe explore some places.in the Netherlands I haven't been and then spend time in Ghent, Belgium and explore Antwerp. Maybe from there go to Paris.

i'm with laurel. i'll be visiting italy 3 or 4 more times before i move on to another european country. just so many places to go & so many i want to go back to!

I know almost everyone talks about how much they LOVE Italy but it's waaay down there on my travel list. And when I do go, I want to do Northern Italy first. I can't seem to get enough of Central and Eastern Europe. I could spent weeks in Vienna and Austria. 2012 is Austria and Russia. 2013 - Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
I'm starting to question what is wrong with me that I don't feel any special pull towards Rome, Venice or Italy in general (except Milan and Lake Como)???

Elaine, I felt the same way about Rome until I went there. I was blown away by it. My next 2 week trip will hopefully be southern Spain and Morocco. I also am thinking of going east to Budapest, Cesky Krumlov and Croatia.

I asked myself that same question a year ago, and I couldn't decide so I took a RickSteves Best of Europe 14 day tour back in May. It was perfect for me, since I didn't have any specific area I wanted to see, or a specific itinerary. The tour was a bit hectic and we were moving a lot, but we saw a lot, lots of highlights and lots of things and places I'd never seen. Now after having done the BestOfEurope-14 days., If I "had" to go back to Europe for 14 days, I'd start in Paris and end in the Swiss Alps. 1/3 Paris, 1/3 eastern France, 1/3 Switzerland. That was my "Best of the Best". Although in reality, my next trip to Europe will probably be to somewhere I've never been before.

Paris and Venice.

Elaine, If you feel drawn to Central and Eastern Europe, then the pull towards Vienna is a natural matter of course. Even I thought I myself have not, as yet, been to Rome, I doubt it holds the same level of interest for me as does Vienna, which is depressing, haunting, and charming all at same time. That I find the city depressing doesn't preclude at all future visits. Maybe it's that the reason going too. Be sure to go to Berlin and Potsdam for another direction of the pull.

I like Judy's answer of going someplace you've never been, but I would modify it slightly: go TWO places, one to which you've never been, and one that you have visited and loved. That's what we're doing next year.