Suggestions for Destination

It would make it a lot easier for people to give meaningful recommendations if you shared a bit about what you like and don't like, what interests you and what doesn't. WHY do you want to go to Europe? What did you enjoy most (and least) about the places you have been? Do you want Disneyland, or the Kierkegaard Museum? A selfie with the Mona Lisa, Running with the Bulls in Pamplona, or an Ice Hotel in Sweden?

One size does not fit all...n'est-ce pas?

One of our all time favorite vacations was Ireland. The scenery and the people are reasons we loved it. We’re not much on big cities so Ireland fit the bill.

Budapest. Montenegro. Albania. I was in all 3 in 2023 and all amazing in different ways.

Time of year and number of days or weeks would be helpful.

I am a big fan of Turkey -- exotic enough to be interesting and familiar enough to be comfortable. Throw in some history from the neolithic to modern, a wide range of landscapes, great food, and a friendly population, and you have a very nice destination. A tour guide recommended it to me when I was on a tour of southern Italy years ago, and I thought it was a weird recommendation. He turned out to be right. I enjoyed my first trip (and subsequent trips) far more than I would have expected.

When do you plan on going and how many nights will you be in Europe? You need a car for Ireland. Would you be comfortable driving on the other side of the road with the steering wheel on the opposite side?

Thanks everyone who supplied destination ideas. Look forward to exploring your suggestions and more. We're not Disneyland visitors, and (for decades) we travel with Rick's guidebooks on the traditional "Europe Through The Back Door" technique. FYI I don't know when I want to travel or for how long. At this stage, we're just gathering ideas and motivation. Again, thanks for the destination suggestions. I'm looking forward to some more!

I agree with Turkey. Have you been to Scotland? Wales?

Turkey sounds amazing, as does the rest of the UK that I haven't seen (Ireland and Scotland). Husband studied at St. Andrews and he'd like to go back so that's a great suggestion. A driving trip through Ireland sounds great and I have Rick's most recent guidebook for there.

Ideas - I would suggest thinking more off season, or even far off season, rather than main vacation times for most larger cities. After visiting Rome in Dec 2023, we will avoid all the bigger cities during holidays. How about spending some time at your local library browsing some of the more pictorial travel books? Personally, RS guides are my second choice, simply because they do not cover most of the towns in a country, but specialize in the preferred towns, not necessarily my favorites. I prefer DK Eyewitness Guides. Have you looked at any recent RS Trip Reports for other countries, perhaps Portugal in April or October, the Netherlands after tulips are harvested in mid May or in October, & Scandinavia June through September, (rarely crowds outside the capitals) all come to mind. Not to mention the countries you've visited but perhaps not gone far afield? Sicily comes to mind as an example. I've be traveling to Italy since 1988, hiked, skied, walked, biked, trekked, but still lots left to see!

Been to England, France, Austria, Germany, Italy, and Spain.

I've been to those too, but I've also RETURNED to them repeatedly, so while I too like to keep expanding my "range", I think "new destinations" can be found in countries you have already visited. IOW Berlin is different from Munich, Paris from Nice, Madrid from Barcelona, Rome from Palermo.

Would love recommendations for a new destination from recent travelers

Last year was The Netherlands and Spain & Portugal. I would 100% recommend either The Netherlands or Portugal for you to visit (or Spain again). Both (and Spain) were super easy trips and filled with lots of diversity of things to do and enjoy. We're back in The Netherlands in July (still more to see and do), and Portugal will be in the mix again I'm sure.

Would appreciate any destinations you can recommend to get us thinking and planning.

I think Scotland, Wales, Ireland, N. Ireland all remain big hits for travelers. I saw Turkey in other responses, and I really loved Istanbul by itself as well as other places in Turkey. Greece also has a lot to love - both Athens and all the islands (and more). I've got lots of love for Switzerland and the natural beauty there (include parts of France or Italy or border areas). Slovenia and Hungary were wonderful, and obviously, places like Prague are regular popular suggestions.
It really is a "you can't go wrong" sort of thing. I'd just focus on what you want to do/see/explore (museums, nature, history, food, etc.) and try to build around that. My wife and I generally either tour around or focus on one core city for our trips. There are benefits to both and drawbacks for both, but if you have a preference for one or the other, that would help with suggestions.
Have fun planning!

kb2375,
How long is this trip? If two-three weeks, I would pick Ireland, with or without a few days in Scotland or Wales.

Two weeks, would see me in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Portugal is a place I want to return to. I didn't have enough time there.
And Turkey!! Our 2 week tour there with Insight Vacations was one of our all-time favorites. I am not sure about the political situation there at the moment, but we went in a time of calm. It was really, really great!
Have fun choosing!

Portugal came to my mind first, then Turkey followed by Croatia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. We enjoyed all of these very different countries.