Where to go next? I value your opinion!

I think I would go to Eastern France. I haven't been but I have read about it and it sounds delightful.

I have a few ideas in mind, but may I first ask when do you plan on making this trip? For me the seasonal weather plays an important role in deciding what place to recommend.

And how much time will you have?

I take it that you're not averse to renting a car--right?

If your 4 options, I would pick Portugal first, Portugal second, Portugal third and Spain fourth.

Good food and wine, easy to get around, interesting history and architecture and great value for money.

So interested in Portugal - where is your favorite?. And eastern France too/ Provence. Keep the ideas coming. Would want to go next year. We usually go in Sept or early Oct but open on timing. And can rent a car or do mass trans. Or a mix. ( usually not many busses but open)

Oh and probably 1-2 weeks

Provence, without a doubt. And with 1 or 2 weeks maybe one other area of France - Nice, Loire Valley, Normandy, Burgundy.

Hello, thanks for the answers! Late September and early October is generally a good time to visit most of Spain, though Andalucia still my be a bit hot. I would say if good food/wine and nice countryside are important I have two recommendations for Spain:

Extremadura Region: IMO the "Tuscany of Spain" - a land of time warped Crusader Castles, Moorish Strongholds, Royal Monasteries, and impressive Roman ruins, all set against rolling green hills and Oak trees. This region which straddles Portugal to the west is the home to famous conquistadores, Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. And also the best Jamon Iberico in all of Spain comes from this region. It's also very untouristed and with a car you can visit many interesting places like Cáceres, Trujillo, Guadalupe Monastery, Mérida, Zafra.

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Basque Country + Northern Spain: this area has the most Michelin stars per capita in the world! Very different from the rest of Spain, feels like a mix of Switzerland and Ireland, especially the Picos de Europa region. With a car, you can start in San Sebastian and drive west along the emerald coast of the Bay of Biscay, then up into the jagged mountains of Asturias and Cantabria, finishing in the misty forests of Galicia (a Celtic Culture), which has some of the best seafood and white wines in Europe.

Slovenia and Croatia.

Greece should get some consideration

Eastern France includes the Normandy region in the central east/west, and the Alsace region against the border with Germany. Farther south, just east of Paris, is the Champagne region. Farther south, and southeast of Paris, is the wonderful city of Lyon. East of Lyon is Annecy and lots of Alps, which will be warming up in May, but still in a transition from snowy winter to warmer summer.

With a car, south of that, on the way towards Nice, we’ve driven in and around the Verdon Gorge, with spectacular scenery. Then Nice, and other places along the French Riviera, along the eastern side of the south coast of France, looking out at the Mediterranean.

Lots of options, and a variety of foods and drinks, ingredients and preparations, in different parts of a large country that make up eastern France. Many choices, no bad option.

We took a 10 day trip to Burgundy by car (from Paris) in October. It was beautiful with many villages and wineries to visit.

It depends on WHEN and if you are interested at all in cities?

In previous European trips we have done the main large cities in the country so we like to experience that but enjoy getting in the country or smaller cities. Time of trip is flex but we usually go Sept or Oct. on to any suggestions!, thanks!

Portugal and/or Spain!

Eastern France and North and eastern Germany....numerous interesting and lovely towns and cities in these areas.

Burgundy, harvest season. I understand they have countryside, wine, and food there.

Burgundy and Alsace with a car would be my choice. The two best airports are Paris and Frankfurt, which is about 2 - 2.5 hours by train (change trains in Frankfurt) or airport bus (direct) to Strasbourg. I spent 4 nights in western Burgundy, explored tiny villages, larger towns, wineries, chateaux, abbeys, lovely scenery in late June, then 3 nights in a tiny place (Eguisheim) just outside Colmar and dropped the car in Strasbourg 2 nights. I could have happily spent another 4-5 nights in another part of Burgundy and another 2-3 in Alsace. Alsace and Burgundy are very different, so it's a nice mix.

Provence sounds very nice (on my list). You could combine it with 4-6 nights without a car on the French Riviera, the later the better - fewer crowds. Public transport is very good along the coast. I will note that it's all charming with beautiful seashore, but the countryside didn't grab me.

Northern Spain is on my list and someone I met who's from Bilbao said Sept-Oct is the best time of year for Basque country and Galicia. I'd avoid Andalucia, even in October it's relatively hot.

You may like Provence a lot.

You may need to draw a location out of a hat. You can't go wrong in any of the places mentioned. It sounds like anywhere they grow grapes would make you happy.

It isn't my activity interest, but I favour the Burgundy/Alsace combo. Fir a change of pace, and if the routing works, add a couple of days in Nancy for some excellent art nouveau architecture.
When planning, just as you have for France, consider regions of Portugal and regions of Spain. You can't do either (let alone both) in 2 weeks.

Provence is a lot more authentic, with plenty of villages, natural places to visit. I would rent a villa in Lubéron somewhere, and do day trips to villages, the Verdon gorges, hikes etc... And for a full week in Provence, I'd rather stay in a historic village like Saint Rémy.

We are big fans of Italy and I to have to "force" myself to look elsewhere on occasion. I did like Provence but not as much as Champagne. You could fly into Paris train to Epernay or Reims. Then you could continue west and hit Belgium/Bruges and then Amsterdam.

But Provence and the Cote d Azur would be nice. We did that in September a couple years ago. We have done most of the main wine regions in France and Italy. Champagne is by far my fav in France. Very romantic, cute towns, great wine tastings and food.

I agree with Burgundy and Alsace!! Love it there!

https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/cotes-du-rhone

RS has considered that... There are many winery/Agrotourismos options too in that area.

Have fun!

Have you been to Sicily? It's both similar to and different from mainland Italy, and has the advantage of being cheaper. Check the weather in September and October over the past few years, but I'd expect it to be warm but not too hot at this time.

If you love Tuscany, try the Istrian peninsula of Croatia, especially Motovun, Rovinj. With more time, head south along the Croatian coast or out to the islands (depending on time of year).

Best food I've ever had (including Italy and France) was in Greece. I love Greece and would go back in an instant to the Peloponnesian Peninsula (Athens is crowded and not entirely pretty).

Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, Healdsburg, Calistoga. End of Sept when tourists are gone and the crush is going on. Good weather, great food, incredible wine...I miss it...

We travel the month of September and our favorite locations are: Portugal, Tuscany, Sicily, Provence, Greece, Spain, Slovenia & Croatia. (Central Europe, Amsterdam- our latest journey). Lot's of choices. Great food and drink experiences to explore! The only location that was unusually warm was Lisbon in early September. Mid September on was fine.

How about Scotland? A combination of vibrant cities - Glasgow and Edinburgh (and others) - combined with stunning unspoilt countryside, particularly on the west coast. Food and drink is a huge export business for Scotland and rightly so, everything from salmon and shellfish, to the ubiquitous shortbread, plus whisky and increasingly gin. Food tourism initiatives are booming across the whole country and the restaurant offer has grown exponentially over the past few years and is barely recognisable to what it was even 10 years ago.

We took the RS tour of Loire Valley to the South of France and was blown away by the sites. Even if you're not interested in an organized tour I'd recommend looking at the itinerary to get some ideas of your own. I'm not a food and drink guy but some on the tour were impressed with the wines that were sampled in the Loire Valley. Personally I loooooved the Dordogne region and the prehistoric caves, getting up to admire the walls of Carcassonne at Sunrise, and the eery silence of the war memorial site at Oradour-Sur-Glane.

BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA

I am sitting at the bar in a georgious hotel on the banks of the river Sana about three hours drive out of Sarajevo. This place and every stop between here and Sarajevo was stunning. I am in love!!

@James! Good to hear you are enjoying your fishing trip. Sounds incredible. Živjeli.

I am stunned at the beauty of this place. I wish I could post pictures. Fishing starts in the morning. So far the people have been lovely.

Let's face it, there are hundreds of places to go and only you know what appeals to you. This being said, when I was in Greece, I was wondering why so many people go to Italy, when Greece is so close by. Yes, I've been to Italy several times and I love Renaissance Art and much else about Italy. However, Greece has ruins, myths, more physical beauty in the landscape, small villages, the coastline, mountains, islands, and equally if not more friendly people. And it is less expensive and less crowded than Italy...or was 2 years ago. Now the food, I would not necessarily know as I mostly eat vegetarian/vegan. So that's my opinion.

Go EAST! See more for less: 25-50% less. Fewer tourists, more appreciated tourists, a world that you probably never imagined existed, unique cultures, beautiful architecture, great festivals.

Start or end in Budapest, connected to most of the East by Wizzair's cheap, cheap non-stop service.