Recommendations on places for a 3-4 day stay

Ryde on the Isle of Wight, Bath, Avignon, Nice, and Santa Margherita Italy. I've stayed in all these places for a few days. Public transportation is good and there is much to do.

There are TONS of possibilities. Some that I've enjoyed for a stay of several days:

Berlin
Istanbul
Lyon
Madrid
Barcelona
Lisbon
Prague
Budapest
Palermo
Naples
Taormina
Frankfurt
Stockholm
Copenhagen
Bergen
Edinburgh

Note that these are all quite different, not only in themselves, but in the kind of experience. For instance, Berlin and Istanbul are very big cities, where you would be seeing lots of museums and attractions during your three days (on the move a lot), while Taormina is more of a Bruges-type place, where there are few "attractions" but there's a great atmosphere and ambiance, and the visit is about relaxing and soaking in the vibe (and beauty). That doesn't mean there aren't ways to relax in Berlin or Istanbul, but you may feel more "pressure" to keep going to see everything if you're only there a short time.

Also, for some of these you would feel you had "done" them in 3-4 days, while for others you would feel you had just scratched the surface. Of course, which ones are which depend on you, and how you react to each place, as much as they do on the more objective factors like size and number of attractions. For instance, Berlin has many days of major sights, but if you don't like it, that doesn't matter - you'll be ready to leave in a few days. Whereas you can "see" Taormina in a relatively short time, but experiencing it takes longer (I was there 3 days and didn't want to leave, just because it was so nice, not because I still had a list of attractions to see).

And, of course, some of these are better at certain times of year, so when you're traveling will influence which ones you will want to go to.

Some other places that I didn't enjoy quite as much as others do, but that certainly have enough going on to keep you busy for a few days, are Vienna, Munich, and Krakow. Then there's Oslo, St. Petersburg, Moscow - the list really is endless.

How to start? Read about destinations, ask your friends what they've enjoyed (and not enjoyed), and watch movies and videos (Rick's are available on this site, here: http://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show

Have fun choosing!

So many places, so little time! I wouldn't worry too much about only speaking English, that's all I know, except for little bit of Italian.

I happen to love Prague, I see you haven't been there yet. It is also inexpensive!

"We recently spent 3 days each in Bruges & Amsterdam and then took a Rhine River cruise. We found that we enjoyed our stays in Bruges & Amsterdam much more than the cruise."

Yes, well, it's very, very common for Rick Steves devotees to look at the Rhine as a mere cruise experience - the cruise seems to be the main thrust of Rick's recommendations for the area, and it's a real shame when people zip right through the area. There's a lot more to this UNESCO World Heritage site than a cruise can take in. Visitors who actually spend a few days or longer in the Rhine towns and villages (and the Mosel ones as well) usually find that these offer great opportunities to "get to know the places, stay at B&Bs, eat at local restaurants and take in the sights on their own."

Middle Rhine towns
Mosel towns

"We prefer to travel by rail..."

The Rhine and Mosel Rivers are both very well-served by rail. Untours offers a [Rhine stay][4] in the Middle Rhine Valley of a week or longer - and they include a railpass in their stay - because it in fact is such a good place to soak up local life and to visit by train. (Boppard, one of my favorite towns there, is the one in the photo at the above link.) I'm not saying you should sign on with Untours - but there's no reason you can't do something similar yourself on the nearby Mosel River, where there are several fine towns that might work well for you. Cochem is on a rail line right in the middle of the German Mosel between Trier (Roman history) and Koblenz (Mosel/Rhine confluence) and would give you access to lots of fine places...

Cochem scene
Cochem's old town
Burg Eltz
Bernkastel
Trier
Winningen

Because the Dutch and the British are frequent guests in this region, and because nearly every German takes several years of English in school, English is pretty common among the townfolk.

As Charlotte said above, "so many places . . ." We're very much of a mind with you, having taken just one tour (not a bad experience) versus over 30 years of independent travel. Copenhagen, which I see on Harold's list, is one city that immediately popped into my mind. Plenty to do and see; good public transport, friendly locals. Parts of the French Pyrenees and Basque country are also good candidates, though a car might be better alternative there.
Don't sweat the language issue. Almost any place in Europe that experiences a fair amount of tourism will have enough English speakers for you to get by.

Austria- Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck
UK- (in addition to London)- York, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, Cardiff Wales, Snowdonia area (we stayed in Betws-y-Coed), Edinburgh Scotland, Inverness, Glasgow.........
Oslo, Norway

1) Tallinn >> Helsinki >> Stockholm >> Oslo >> Copenhagen
2) Berlin >> Dresden >> Prague >> Vienna >> Budapest
3) Vienna >> Salzburg >> Munich >> Swiss Alps >> Milan/Lake Como
4) Nice (Cote d'Azur) >> Milan/Lake Como >> Swiss Alps >> Rhine River >> Hamburg
5) Barcelona >> Madrid >> Cordoba >> Sevilla >> Granada

Hi,

My choices for a 3-4 day stay are: Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Krakow, Gdansk, Weimar, Frankfurt, Strasbourg, Budapest, Amiens, Torun, Salzburg, Schwerin, Dresden, Leipzig...this also includes a day trip or two from these cities. If you want to get off the American tourist radar, some of these places fit that.

Naturally I suggest Budapest, then next I would say anyplace in Eastern Europe. Why? Because Western Europe is what it is and will continue to be what it is for the next 50 years while Eastern Europe is in a state of change and before too very long much of it will be like Western Europe. Prague and Dubrovnik have already fallen and much of the rest is not far behind.

I forgot one of my best 4 night stays - the Berner Oberland! I stayed in Mürren in September 2014, and saw both sides of the valley (the Schilthorn and the Jungfraujoch). A great thing about this area is that it can be as low key or as strenuous as you want, and you don't need to plan in advance - just do what you feel up to at the moment.

I forgot to mention that I agree with the other comments - lack of language ability will not be an impediment in almost all these places. The one exception is Spain - I know others find English there, but I don't find much. Barcelona had a bit more than Madrid, but for both, my Spanish (such as it is) really got a workout. For almost anywhere else in Europe, if you can function in Paris and Rome with only English, you'll do fine.

Hi,

If your only choosing small towns and unknown places to Anglophone tourists in Germany...Marburg an der Lahn, Naumburg an der Saale, Tubingen, Eutin/Holstein, Kleves and Xanten in the lower Rhine area, Luneburg, Bonn, Minden an der Wesel, Lübben and Lübbenau im Spreiwald area, Meißen, Halle an der Saale, Potsdam, Neustrelitz (formerly of Mecklenburg-Strelitz), Gorlitz, Hechingen and the immediate area, if you're motorized, Goslar, Frankfurt an der Oder.

If your only language is English, that's challenging but not impossible in traveling about, still doable. You just won't get as much out of the trip and your observations if you could read the German. As pointed out accurately above, you can still get by. As regards to young people more than willing to practice their "school English" with you, true for the most part, but I have met young people (some) who blatantly did not want to speak English, you either spoke the local language, ie, French or German, with them, or there would be no communication.

Nuremburg is a good train base for Bamberg, Rothenburg and many other picturesque towns/cities
Salzburg and surrounding countryside is one of my favorite areas.

www.bensbauernhof.com is a great resource for southern Germany. Both Russ and I ( Bigtyke on his site ) have trip reports there. Small b & b type places and vacation apartments ( ferienwohnng ) are great places to stay. Last trips I have stayed in 4 fewos, 3 b&b's and two hotels. Next trip it's 2 fewos and 1 b&b