May-June 2026 European Trip Ideas 7-10 days

Interest - history, culture, food you mentioned.

This points to my favorite European country, Italy. Loaded with history ancient, medieval and Renaissance. Culture, Italy is rich in that.
Art is hard to beat in Italy and Italian food is great.

Rome, Florence and Venice are top targets, but if you only have 7 days, pick two.

Great Britain is my second favorite country to visit, but big cities like London are expensive. Consider places like Bath, Stratford Upon Avon, Salisbury, Canterbury, Bath and York.

Paige,
No matter where you decide, Europe has so many must-see places that, of course, you will miss some. But must-see is different for different people. As an 81 year-old, with an older husband, I have been to and want to visit many places that will appeal to everyone in your group. In 2023 seven of us spent 10 days in the Dordogne region of France (ages 9-80 at the time). It was wonderful for all of us. For your trip, Italy will offer everything. Do some research of a few places in Italy and pick no more than two cities, or one city with 2 or 3 day trips. Rome is magnificent; Florence is the art "jewel box"; Sicily has history from the Greeks to WW II; Tuscany has the quintessential aura of Italy as we see it in movies (yes, that is real!); Venice is unique and romantic. Try getting a travel book from the library or buy one.

I like Frommer and Rick Steves books. Poll the family members for more input. What does each person see when they imagine themselves in Europe? What are they doing in their daydreams? That will give you clues about which of the many choices you will need to make, either in Italy or another country. What a delicious task you have a head of you!
Bonne chance!

Paige, with only 7 to 10 days, I would stick with one country. Since your son has mentioned Italy, I would probably go with that. Italy is a wonderful country, with not only many beautiful and historic sites, but great food, interesting culture, and is a wonderful country to start in.

The farther you get into June, the hotter it will be in most of Italy. I'd check out the actual, historical, day-by-day weather statistics available on timeanddate.com for places you're interested in. It can be really brutal.

Florence weather June 2024

If you're thinking "that's not so bad", take a look at 2023:

Florence weather June 2023

I like to look at the most recent five years, because weather can vary a lot. Use the pull-down box to display other months and years. You can use the Search box at the upper right to find statistics for other places you're interested in all over the world.

You will receive a lot of valuable information from this website. I would also encourage you to purchase a Rick Steves guidebook(s) or check one (or more) out from a local library.
We did something similar in 2022 when our daughter, then 22, graduated from college. Not accounting for grandparents, we had a similar age spread; 66, 54, 22 and 20. At the time, none of us had travelled to Europe except for our 20 year old son who went to Italy on a school trip in early 2020 (just prior to COVID).
After our trip, our kids said they would have preferred fewer cities with more nights in less cities. - Keep in mind; it wasn't just the parents saying this. My husband and I have returned to Italy and we have additional trips booked to Europe. Our "rule" for ourselves, unless it cannot be avoided, stay at least 3 nights in one place.
While it may initially appear to be more expensive you should look at "multi-city" / open jaw flights. Yes, it may be cheaper to fly into and out of Milan or Rome, but you will be paying for additional logistics both financially and in terms of time (also $$$) to get back to said city. Use google flights / google explore to research.
Regarding where to go / what to see, have each person give three sites that are important to them to help guide an itinerary.
Our first trip to Italy included Rome, Florence and Venice. I am not sure about the mobility of your party members, but mobility can be challenging, especially in Venice.
Once you have decided the "where and when," in terms of accommodations, I suggest looking at booking.com. They have hotel and private listings, including vacation apartments and homes; the reviews are posted by people that have stayed there. We do not always use booking.com to book our accommodations; if available, we book directly with the hotel. However, we have used the booking.com platform to book rooms, so far, without issue.
Be sure and check the amenities no matter where and how you book - if your son graduates in May and you travel shortly thereafter, you will want aircon. And again, depending on mobility issues, you may need an elevator.

Paige, I think it would be hard to go wrong. I would go either Italy or France based on your needs. Both have cities overflowing with history and culture that offer plenty to do for a whole week as well as nearby cities that would be good for a day trip or two day trip ie a day in Tours from Paris. I would definitely stick to one general area and not try to go to multiple countries in that time frame. I would feel rushed. What kind of history are you interested in? Italy offers ancient and Renaissance, France has eighteenth and nineteenth century, and in Germany there are of course a lot of memorials to WWII. England has a little of a lot of stuff.

Are there people in your group who have never been out of the country before? IMO the British Isles, the Low Countries, Germany, and Scandinavia are most comfortable for people who don't have experience in other cultures, but those places can be quite expensive and don't necessarily have the best reputation for food (although that doesn't mean the food there is bad!).

I'm sure your son and everyone else will have a great time no matter where you choose to go! Keep us updated!

He has mentioned Italy because of the history.

Then I think it would be a good decision. By adding South Tyrol to your trip you will get Austrian and South German influences as well while it is still Italy. A lot of inhabitants there speak German as second mother tongue.

For the next trip after 2026 I recommend the mid and northern part of Germany where Romans were never able to establish themselves. But this is a different story.

Enjoyment is the goal. Let the ambience of the destination into your thoughts and dreams, and onto your plates. To travel is to choose. That is as it should be, and always has been. Italy is a fine destination rich with treasure. Carefully calculate how flight fatigue will affect you during the first two days, and, as has already been mentioned, take care to stay at least 3 nights in every place.

Are we better off to focus on an area and enjoy our time?

Absolutely.

I automatically think London and Paris for the sights.

With a group this size, I would avoid this approach completely. Visit smaller places that are near one another and that do not require time-consuming transit time. You're thinking Paris and London? These cities constitute a massive undertaking. How about biting off something that is actually chewable... Consider instead Strasbourg, not far from the Swiss and German borders, and do a little border hopping into Germany's Black Forest and into Switzerland for variety. There is something for everyone in this area - do some research on these places and you'll find this to be true. Mountain scenery, wine country, museums, historic old-world towns:

http://www.fewo-suedterrasse.de/images/la_Karteweb_Anfahrt.jpg

With 7 days I would pick one city.
With 10 days two cities ... maybe.

With no other guidance and it being a first trip for many I would first research London and Paris and Rome: These are the classics of American tourism in Europe and for a good reason.

Research? The DK Eyewitness Travel book for each. The RS book is great for planning once you decide but too clinical at this stage. Then visit YouTube and start watching tourist videos like this Paris video https://youtu.be/EEeu7-xJX_c?si=5Mzj8ISSrLIrY7xe Nothing works better for me. I only do the short ones and that enough. Collect up three favorites from each city and share them and ask for a vote.

The budget. There is this website. I don’t know how up to date in accurate it is, but maybe to develop an initial understanding of what this might cost you … maybe it will be useful. https://www.budgetyourtrip.com/italy/rome I often help travelers coming here budget their trip and I presume that if you were to post in the Italy, France and England forums someone there will help as well. That website says for a mid-range week in Rome costs $3,108 for two people. This includes accommodation, food, local transportation, and sightseeing but not airfare; and that sounds about right for the summer. For the airfare have $1200 in the back of your mind until you narrow down the destination and can check prices. The same site shows about $1500 in Budapest for a week and about $4000 for London; just to show you that there is no "how much does it cost to go to Europe" answer.

If you can’t afford London or Paris or Rome, dont try. There are magnificent but less expensive destinations where you can have wonderful holiday ... but thats only good if the location interests you. If you get down into checking out those three cities and the budget gets busted, then look a bit further east. A 7-day trip, maybe Prague https://youtu.be/ffxGB2j9ADo?si=MVfXBRhkFlbWhz5l or Budapest https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared AND https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkXor Krakow https://youtu.be/FAdEdA1-l6M?si=tvNQXw4nUIc9ptT9 . A 10-day trip, two of those. Or while Vienna isn’t cheap, if you combine it with Prague or Budapest and it balances out a bit.

The last thing I will say is dont compromise. This is a big deal, and you want it to have the full impact. If, because of cost, to do 10 days you have to stay in a 2-star hotel a 45-minute tram ride from the center, dont. Its not always about quantity, sometime you gotta put quality first. Instead do 7 days and stay in the heart of the experience. You might be told that for a short trip, first look for direct flights. No, not really. Sure that’s best if its to a place that you will remember for life and its affordable. But I guarantee that if you have a great time on holiday you won’t remember the change of planes and the extra 3 hours to get there.

Oh, and the above imagines a "typical American tourist to Europe" holiday. If you wanted to think out of the box, there are places where you can see things, architecture, culture, food, lives that you never knew existed and go river rafting or paragliding or kyaking in the ocean for about the same cost as a nice dinner in Rome.

Also look at package tours. Gate1 Travel comes to mind. Might make your life easier. I would prefer a local company to do it, but I dont know any in the UK, France or Italy. Eastern Europe yes.

I would stick to one country with possible interesting day trips. Paris and London would be good but since some have already been to London, I’d do Paris. I’m making my fifth trip later this year and find more and more things to see/do each time. And that’s not including day trips.

How about a D-Day tour ? Chateau in the Loire Valley? Chartres Cathedral ? Many other choices. Russ mentioned Strasbourg. You could do it as a day trip, but spending a night or two there is another choice. And ‘get a second country’ by dashing across to Germany.

Remember that everyone doesn’t need to do everything with everyone. Split up where interests differ

Cost per person per day varies considerably. My wife and I easily stay on the Rhine for less than 150€ per day for the 2 of us. It’s probably twice that in Paris and the major Italian cities. And that’s because we’re thrifty. Of course there is almost no upper limit. For fun I looked up what a room now costs from my first trip to Paris in 1970. It’s over $1000 per night. No way dad would be paying that now !!

Rome and Florence. Omit Venice not only because of mobility, but I think I've read that accommodations are expensive there. With regard to weather, the fact that you're from the southern USA may affect your view of what constitutes unpleasantly hot. We are still laughing about our first trip there in Aug 1985 when our British tour director complained about how hot it was in Rome-it was 89. However acraven who mentioned this is from DC so she definitely is accustomed to unpleasantly hot and humid weather.
Taking a Gate 1 tour might really be helpful with costs and logistics, but I would recommend that you make your own plane reservations. As convenient as Delta from Atlanta is, that is often the most expensive choice and you may want to check out other options.