Suggestions for March 2020

I would go to Florence. It has almost everything you like, it's a fun city, and you can do interesting side trips. Second recommendation would be Paris (WWII history/Normandy side trip would be great).

Thanks BG! I have been to Paris 3 times but have never visited Normandy. Florence sounds great. My Italian choices are between Florence/Tuscany and Venice. I am wondering if a day trip to the Dolomites is possible at this time of year.

How about Barcelona? A lot of extraordinary architecture, Picasso and Miro museum, fantastic view from the mountain and an inspiring culture mix of Catalan and Spanish.

The Dolomites are too far for a day trip. Florence is excellent for day trips (Pisa, Lucca, Siena, San Giminagno) and great Renaissance art and architecture.

For what it's worth, I second the suggestion of Florence; as a bonus Florence in March is likely to have pleasant spring weather already. Venice isn't the best place to day trip from (walk to the train station can be long depending on where you stay, and you are basically at the end of a line). As for the Dolomites, not only they are too far, they are also snow-bound in March : the skiing would be top-class, other activities would suffer.

Barcelona has some beautiful scenery and architecture - I would definitely recommend!

For March, I recommend somewhere in the Med, Italy, Spain or Greece.

Florence is wonderful, but I would save it for a longer trip to Italy were you can do Rome, Venice and Florence.

Madrid with day trips to Toledo and Segovia would be nice. For WWII history Normandy would be great. Don't miss the Bayeux Tapestry, the 900 year old display of the Norman Conquest of England.

I frequently go to Europe in the second half of March. Many trips to both London and Paris and of course year to year it can be cold and wet or beautiful and sunny and warm. One year in Paris I had light snow and 70 degrees and sunny on the same trip.

Also been to Italy several times in March. Florence is a good suggestion. One year I took a friend who had never been to Italy and in 8 days we visited Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan. Sounds like too rushed but it was actually fun. I had been to all those places so it made navigating them easier than for someone who has never been, but it is possible. But since you said you wanted one city to base in and side trips then Florence would be my pick. Although Rome is also wonderful and has a few possible side trips (Orvieto would be my favorite) and could easily take up 6 days. Is 6 days total the amount of time for the trip?

But if you want a bit more assurance of better weather then Spain gets the prize. No guarantees but I've been to Barcelona, Valencia and Andalucia (Seville, Granada and Cordoba) various different Marches and all were great at that time.

None of these has mountains - and as pointed out, mountains in March are still in winter and not great for anything but skiing. One year I was in Milan in March and did a day trip to Lake Como and to Lake Lugano and they can be nice at that time. Lake Lugano especially had great mountain scenery.

None of these has deserted beaches either and though you can find deserted beaches in Europe in March the areas wouldn't have any of the other things you mention. Plus, many of the best you get to by ferries which run on greatly reduced schedules at that time of year.

If you can't go during another month, then it's March. I would prefer going in the summer, at least in the beginning of May. It's very possible you could encounter rainy weather, I even encounter that in June in Germany.

Where? I would suggest focusing on France and Germany depending on how deep the WW2 interest is. Maybe Austria to pursuit the war sites, such as in Vienna and Linz., the same with Klagenfurt.

If you don't mind not great weather, look into Berlin. It certainly has enough museums and WWII history to keep anyone busy for 6 days.

Similarly, I don't know the weather in Budapest at that time, but it would work well for 6 days.

I'm not as fond of Vienna as many are, but again, there's lot of museums and history to investigate there.

Florence, or Rome, or Venice, could all work. Florence in particular, as Chani said, has lots of side trip possibilities.

Amsterdam is good for your purposes, and in March it may be a bit less overwhelmed with visitors than at other times. However, April is one of the peak times for Amsterdam (tulips), and weekends are busy year-round due to its popularity as a "city break" for those from the UK, Ireland, and elsewhere. It has similar weather to the UK - 1000% humidity and it can rain at any time, or be lovely at any time.

I firmly believe one should never go to a place just because it's cheap, or easy to visit, but money and logistics can be great tie-breakers. Look into flights for your dates - you may find one place substantially cheaper or easier to get to.

Fire Festival in Valencia, usually late March. You could add Barcelona and Montserrat plus maybe Cuenca and Toledo.

Another thought that actually fits almost all your requirements (except WWII history) would be the Spanish island of Mallorca. The main city is Palma, a city of 350,000 with some great architecture, churches, museums, etc. It's an island, lots of beaches. There is a mountain range so scenic it's a UNESCO world heritage site.

https://andiamo.zenfolio.com/blog/2019/5/spring-in-spain---mallorca-ibiza-barcelona-tarragona-valencia My photos and trip report from last March.

Thanks all! I was in the midst of replying when my internet shut down and all my replies were lost. Stormy weather here in New York. I appreciate all suggestions and will properly reply later tonight or tomorrow (didn't want anyone to think I was ungrateful for taking your valuable time to help us fellow travellers with your insight and experience).

No worries. 2-3 days to mull over a range of suggestions for a trip that's half a year away is normal, not rude. Happy planning!

"...anything to do with WW2 history." Depending on where you finally decide to go, there are lots of places, sites, etc connected with that, and depending how much time and energy you want to commit to tracking down these sites, say in London and obviously elsewhere. I would suggest Paris and Berlin and a 2 hour radius. In Austria I would suggest Vienna, Linz, Klagenfurt as I suggested above.

What is the specific focus pertaining to the war history?

Greece can be miserable in March. I would head to Italy from mid April onwards.

March - I would head to Lisbon, which has enough to keep you occupied for 4-5 days itself. plus you could take day trips to Evora or Cascais. Great wines to accompany the food and pretty scenery.

Berlin would be my second choice if you like WW2 history.

I will assume that you don’t ski because if you did, March is the best time to be skiing in the Alps.

Vienna, Nice (French Riviera), Barcelona, Lisbon/Porto, Milan, Florence, Amsterdam (may get an early peek at tulips if you’re lucky), Berlin

Thanks all! I was thinking of Florence because of all the suggestions. Now I am thinking Portugal. I have been to Barcelona and Southern Spain 3 times in the past 6 years. I want to visit Germany and Austria but I don't think 6 days on the ground would give me enough time to visit the places of interest (Bavaria, Salzburg, Vienna). I think Italy deserves more time ( Florence and Venice are my main interests). Normandy is high on my list for the WWII sites and I do love Paris. Now that I am thinking I get more confused. So many places... I will have a limited budget and am thinking maybe Portugal is the least expensive option. I will do more research. Thanks all!