Parents & 2 Adult Sons Traveling to Europe Spring/Summer of 2025

If you eliminate the Vatican, I don't really see any reason to avoid Italy in the Jubilee year--interesting to see if others agree/disagree. I travel in late May every year, and some places are wall to wall, others are practically tourist-free. Just try to seek a balance and not do blockbuster sites every day.
With a week, I'd look at places with less travel time investment--London, Madrid, Dublin, Lisbon.
Since you initially thought Italy and mentioned cars--maybe something in the Emilia-Romagna area for the car factories? https://www.travelemiliaromagna.it/en/supercars-road-trip-motorvalley/

I have been to A LOT of car museums. The best is the Mercedes-Benz in Stuttgart. Across town is Porsche. BMW in Munich makes three in Germany.
If it's Italy you want, take a look at Turin. I don't know how much the Jubilee will affect visitors up north.
The car museum there is very good, and you can tour the old Fiat factory, including the rooftop test track. The original Eataly is nearby.
In town, there is an excellent cinema museum with a rooftop viewing platform, from which you can see the Alps (unless you go on a foggy day like I did).
The architecture is a mix of very old and relatively new and includes arcade shopping promenades (I don't know the official name for these), a couple of big squares. Public transport is easy to use and quite varied. We were there 6 years ago and rode on a couple of old streetcars, which may have been retired by now, as well as a modern underground (which we took out to the car museum).
If your sons would be willing to share a sofa bed, I can highly recommend this apartment:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/7251319?source_impression_id=p3_1731434043_P3uOJb5MLL9SQfb5
It was walking distance to the city center and very close to a large daily outdoor market that had incredible produce.

Also thinking “Italy + cars,” you might consider visiting Turin, a beautiful city whose tourist attractions include a car museum: https://www.museoauto.com/en/

It also has loads of good restaurants, cafes, and bars (it’s the birthplace of Italian vermouth!).

I had a trip there planned for spring 2020 but had to cancel it when the pandemic hit. I still hope to get there someday!

Validelphia - All good points and suggestions. I had concerns about how crowded Rome would be (approx 7-10 Million visitors annually), then with the Jubilee year it is x5... so upwards of 35 Million visitors. Our original itinerary was 3 days Rome and 4 in Sorrento to visit the surrounding area. As I went to book a specific driver I was also informed that its a National Holiday that weekend as well. I have AirBNB's booked, I'd like to keep them. I will be interested to hear what others say as well.

thank you - G3rryCee, I can't wait to look into these suggestions.

Nancy we were supposed to be in Rome/Sorrento in 2020. I am still trying to make it happen! Thanks for your suggestions. I will check it out.

College men looking for entertainment? And you only have one week?
Choose one city in europe and spend it there. You can’t visit every thing.
Culture and beauty? How about Paris?

Take them to see a show at the moulin rouge in montmarte. They’ll be remembering that activity for years.

Turin, like Milan, has a lot of Art Nouveau architecture.

I really want to have them exposed to culture and the beauty of Europe.

Show them two very different places because Europe is so manifold. I recommend flying into Bergen (Norway, BGO) on May 16, enjoy their national holiday with traditional clothing and celebrations on 17th. Train (Vy.no) or NiN via Flam to Oslo +1 day. Direct flight from OSL to Spanish Barcelona (3-4 hrs) and enjoy their spirit of living, Catalan culture and the archirecture for the rest of days.

Optionally visit Florence instead of Barcelona.

May 30, depart
May 31, arrive mid afternoon, jet lagged.
June 1, first real day
June 2, second real day
June 3, third real day
June 4, fourth real day
June 5, fifth real day
June 6, flying home.

You have 5 days in Europe. Get a non-stop flight to a big city and stay there with maybe a day trip.

How about London? A great place to dip your toe into Europe. My first ever trip to Europe was a week In London, there was plenty to do and lots of options for day trips. They might like seeing Stonehenge. I’m not a car person but i wouldn’t be surprised if there are options.

I'd also suggest London for a first trip, add on Paris if you must go to more than one place. Fly in to London and home from Paris for efficiency (or vice versa). Honestly this wouldn't be enough time for either city IMHO, but here's how that could work following Mr E's timeline:

May 30, depart USA

May 31, arrive London morning or mid afternoon, jet lagged. (minimal activity day)

June 1, London

June 2, London

June 3, London a.m., midday Eurostar train to Paris (2.5 hours, buy tickets ahead to save $)

June 4, Paris

June 5, Paris

June 6, flying home from Paris.

CL, i like it, but only if you do half day private tours every day.

CL- I was thinking about this as well. I was trying to find places I haven't been before, but I think London is an Excellent choice and I have never been to Paris.

Mr. E - I already took out our travel dates, but appreciate your input.

Just go to Paris. There's a fantastic aviation museum right there and a nice car museum just a short train ride away in Reims. You have all the major museums, and places people will always ask about (Arc d'Triompfe, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, etc.) It will take a week just to hit the major sights. It will be busy, as you're coming in season, and 6 June is D-Day, so that will have events scheduled also.

In Italy I'd probably just do the same, pick one city, like Milan or Turin, and hit that hard. Prague would be a good choice. Or Budapest. And you may want to do some research on the festivals, as that's prime time for the spring ones.

A week in a single major European city is both EASY and a BLAST. It simplifies immensely the logistics and lets you all get comfortable and allows the boys to branch out from homebase on their own when you and your husband are in cooldown mode.

You cannot go wrong with London, Paris, Rome, Barcelona, or Amsterdam, nor many of the other ideas suggested. Pick a hotel in a good central location and walk, ride, metro, etc. every day to museums, parks, restaurants, and other interesting places.

Paris - as you've never been there - is an obvious first choice for me. But Rome offers insane hands on "history" and London offers their great museums plus the "no language" barrier some need.

Someone mentioned Budapest and Amsterdam and Barcelona I would concentrate on one of the classics on a first trip. I vote for London/Paris or just Paris or just Rome.

How about Bologna and Modena for Ferraris and Lambourghini’s?

https://www.garage-italia.com/en/hub/articles/5-must-visit-car-museums-in-italy

Bologna is a university town with lots of interesting museums and other sights, great food, and a nice vibe. The porticos (covered walkways) make for pleasant walking in the shade, and the Saturday passeggiata on the main shopping streets, closed to vehicles on weekends, has the celebratory feel of a neighborhood block party.

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en

https://www.bolognawelcome.com/en/places/squares-streets-monuments/via-indipendenza-2

See if one of the modern vacation apartments in the Design Club Collection suits your taste. They are very well-located near Piazza Maggiore. Some are listed on AirBnB and booking.com (where we rented our car-themed one-bedroom loft apartment) but the company has its own webpage with the complete listings:

https://designclubcollection.com/

Bologna has a nice, easily-managed airport. I know British Airways flies in there (and out) because we have done that. I don’t think you would have to be concerned with Jubilee crowds here; the city is better known for its Communist leanings. Spend a few days here and then rent a car to drive to Sant’Agata Bolognese and Modena to see the Lambourghini and Ferrari sites.

Then if you have time, maybe visit Lago di Garda for 2-3 nights before heading to Milan for your flight home. Maybe they would like to try windsurfing there?

https://www.gardatrentino.it/en/outdoor/water-sports/windsurfing

As much as we loved Bologna (and day trips to Modena, Parma and Ravenna), it wouldn't be my first choice for an initial one-week visit to Europe. And flying in and out of Bologna from the US is likely to be much more expensive than the other major destinations others have listed. I would second the suggestion to pick one (maximum two) cities. Paris combined with Amsterdam might be an interesting combination.

They will be very busy during a week in London. Can you encourage them to do some of the planning? My adult son wanted to see the tank museum in Bovington. It's a long day trip via train but do-able. And I enjoyed it more than I expected. And the other adult son picked the RAF Museum in Colindale which took about half a day. I'm a sailor, so on my day to choose we took a boat to Greenwich and saw the Cutty Sark. IIRC that took 3/4 of a day because we included the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian and one other museum where there was a special photography exhibit.