Where to visit in europe

So, you have two weeks and you want Europe and not UK, right? In order to give helpful advice we probably would like to know more about your interests. In general, it's better if you can stay in one place three nights. It let's you really explore the places you visit. You could do the whole trip just in France. Almost everyone is going to tell you to visit Paris. What's next probably depends on your interests. If you can wait until September, that's when I'd go, as the crowds will be down, but everything is still open. I admire, though, the ability to go on a trip like this on the fly so to speak. ; )

I suggest that you explore the tours on this site to get some ideas of places and timings. Look at where Rick goes for two weeks. If you like the looks of it, that just might be the answer. On the other hand if if misses out on places you want to go, then see if you can plot it out yourself. I did the Berlin/Prague and Vienna tour a few years ago. I added on a few extra days in Berlin at the beginning and then added on a weekend in Salzburg at the end. That was a great two week trip.

Pam

Just wondering why you want to skip London, it's a great city and lots to do and see.

We've seen London & Scotland before..

I would fly into either Rome or Paris and fly out the other, this saves backtracking.
I would spend a week in each place,, there is plenty in either city to keep you busy and happy much longer, but with a week in each you can get a good taste. I would likely fly into Paris first,, its an hour shorter flight, and since I have to fly like 13 hrs to get to Paris,, shaving off even an hour seems like a good plan to me.

In each city there are many sights, they both offer some wonderful daytrip opportunites too.

The food and cultures are very different, so you get a real taste of two places.

The flight between Rome and Paris is only 1. 5 hrs. and I have flown on Vueling and found it to be one of the fairly decent discount type airlines. Do travel light, or pay the extra ahead of time for checked baggage,, if you have to pay at boarding its more.

Conversely you could do Paris and Amsterdam,, but with that split I would ( personal choice here) do 10 days in Paris and 4 in Amsterdam,, although you could take the train from Paris and stop in Brugges for a night,, then continue on to Amsterdam..

Mostly its all personal tastes.

I don't like splitting a trip into too many hotel hops , and as I said there are always daytrips one can do from a central base.. so for me 14 nights would be a max of 3 stops,, although there again remember that it is all personal tastes.

If I was going north to Netherlands I would go in July, but if you choose Rome I would go in September unless you like melting.,.LOL Rome is so hot and sticky in summer.

What about a "tour" of Austria and Germany? You could do any of these: Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Innsbruck, Berlin, Frankfurt, ...

Or do Vienna and Budapest

Wales and Ireland

Lots of things to consider.....
Tell us more of what you like, desire from a trip.

Personally, I'd go in September. It's cheaper and less crowded.

If London is out, you can do a nice tour of England, Northern Wales, Scotland in two weeks. You can also have a good look at the Rhine/Mosel areas of Germany plus Munich and Salzburg in that time frame (maybe add Neuschwanstein). Part of France, Part of Italy, etc.

The main thing is don't try to cover too much. If you try to do too much, you end up spending all your time in planes, trains, busses or cars traveling from one place to another.

If you like cities - Paris for sure, I loved it. If you like gorgeous countryside - Germany/Austria - so beautiful. But I do second the question of what you like to do. Activities will help people give you advice. Another place to look is geobeats.com - there are little videos posted of attractions that I found enjoyable when I was researching what I would do on my trip...

We like countryside/scenic beauty (heard Norway is cool), exotic structures (moscow, st petersburg) and castles (some in Germany)...

Besides Heidelberg, and Neuschwanstein (I hear is not super inside).. any castles you recommend? How is the Rhine cruise - here you see castle from boat. Or is there some castle drive - where you can stop by and see a few.. [More like a fair tale day trip]

Is it ok to do Moscow, St petersburg alone or one needs tour..

I think Italy, Paris are must see.. Prague, Austria seem pretty cool but we'll skip this time. Amsterdam I am thinking better to go next year March to May when tulips are in bloom?

July may be hard so probably we will do August-end/September..

July may be hotter, pricier but in September you loose 1.5 hour of sunlight .. Is that much of an issue.. I think most attractions, museums close by 6ish so would earlier sunset in September (around 730pm) affect sightseeing vs July?

We have gone to France for years in September or October. The sun is up, the weather is great, and you get to see the night time things a little earlier, after a long day of seeing the sights.

September/October are a great time to go. The weather is great, flights are a little cheaper, and lines are shorter after school starts.

Think about the time of year in relation to where you want to go. It's better to go north in July (Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany) and south in September (Italy).

I personally hated Paris, but Amsterdam is a wonderful city if you go north. Ghent in Belgium is a nice town with a castle you can tour.

I think traveling by yourselves is better than a tour. It's cheaper and the tour will take you to the most touristy places. If you spend a few days in one city, you can consider taking a day tour. In Rome I took a tour of Imperial Rome and Early Christian Rome. You can see these sights by yourselves but it's really nice to look at them while someone tells you all these fascinating facts. I just wouldn't want to be stuck on a tour for my whole trip.

I am not sure why Sarah hated Paris but we love it there. Been there several times. She also says traveling by yourselves beats a tour. Not sure if she has ever been on a RS tour, but I have been on 9 of them and they are they most
"un-tour" you will ever take if your impression of tours is big busses full of too many people that all they do is go-go. The first time I went to Europe, I was going to go by myself and wanted some company and in comparing prices, concluded that a RS tour was the most efficient and cost effective for me so I took his 21 day Best of Europe tour. They now offer a 14 day Best of Europe tour I believe. Anyway, do not dismiss the option of taking a tour for your first time in Europe. Good luck and happy travels.

"hated Paris" ..Sarah.. I have been to many places,, mulitple times for some of them, and I have never "hated" any of them,, but, I do definately have places I would choose not to return to,, or may have not enjoyed as much as other places..
Hate is such a strong term .

And Charlie is spot on about the RS tours. I have travelled indendently to Europe,, ( solo sometimes, sometimes with a child or friend) for years and always had a great time. I chose to try the RS Family Tour of Europe ( 14 days) and my dd and loved it,, and it was nothing like a big bus tour as far as I could tell. Small group, lots of free time, great guide, and we definately stayed in some off the beaten track places. If one is going to take a tour,,, then Rick Steves tours are the ones to take( unless one wants alot of luxury,, these are comfortable but not wait on you hand and foot tours)

I doubt you have time to get Russian visas, so cross off Moscow/St Petersburg.

""We like countryside/scenic beauty (heard Norway is cool), exotic structures (moscow, st petersburg) and castles (some in Germany)... "

Maybe eastern Europe is more suited to those tastes. Certainly not Paris or most of Italy, which is much more about art, sculpture, and palaces. In 2 weeks you could easily manage a route from Prague to Budapest, through Austria, seeing a bit of the Alps, some small towns....

""July may be hotter, pricier but in September you loose 1.5 hour of sunlight .. Is that much of an issue.. I think most attractions, museums close by 6ish so would earlier sunset in September (around 730pm) affect sightseeing vs July? ""

It depends on where you are. In Paris, September is probably better. Sunset is at 8.30, not 9.30, so you can enjoy a bit of the city after dark. However, in Paris, there's usually at least one museum open every night, as well as other attractions that are open every night (Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe). Italy is better in September, not as hot. Anyway, if you are in cities, does it really matter about sunset?

Are there budget issues? Are you prepared to rent a car? Do you have the time and interest to do your own detailed planning and reservations?

We will go around Aug-end now.. - start with Russia and then come back to Europe.. - We can rent a car and can our own itinerary also.

I'm going back to Europe this September, will be in Munich during Oktoberfest (that should be fun)! I wonder why Sarah 'hated Paris' - that's my favorite
city, though I can't say the same for Florence; but I wouldn't say I 'hated' it. Just did not care for it...Italy's not one of my favorite places (I know I'm going to get slammed for that opinion because a lot of people love Italy). It just doesn't do it for me, prefer the Germanic countries actually; this trip I'll be spending most of the 4 wks in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria. Next year, I'll either return and go back to Switzerland, the South of France, and Italy so that I can see Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast finally, or head to the Caribbean.
Anyway, Mike and co., enjoy your trip and go where you want to go, do what you want to do...

Pat and Michelle - I don't use the word "hate" freely and I hated Paris because I only had bad experiences there. As soon as we arrived at CDG Airport, my friend asked an airport employee (in French) if she spoke English and she said no, then laughed with all of her employee friends like it was an inside joke. We had lost our luggage before we arrived in Paris and while we were there, we bought clothes and toiletries. Our hotel staff wouldn't help us find clothing stores, drugstores, or Internet cafes and answered "I don't know" to all of our questions, as if they had all just moved to the city. Most of the natives were rude, even though we spoke to them in French, and a lot of the men we saw on the street leered at us until I started looking them in the eye which cut down on that quite a bit. Nothing like that ever happened to me in Italy or any of the other places I've been.

I have had bad experiences in other cities, like all travelers have, but nothing to the extreme of Paris. I liked Chartres and I think I would like other small towns in France, but I have no desire to return to Paris.

We loved Scandinavia. Clean cities, green countryside, friendly people, spectacular scenery, wonderful museums, and in the summer, the best weather in Europe. The food is delicious, the water clean and drinkable. Didn't see a lot of American tourists there in June- guess it's not the most popular destination for Americans. In two weeks we saw Helsinki, Tallinn (Estonia), Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen, and Reykjavik (Iceland). Could not fit in Copenhagen, but we'll do it when we go back to continental Europe. Look into this beautiful part of Europe, rather than the stereotypical areas of Paris and Rome.

Forgot to mention the 20 hours of daylight in Scandinavia during the summer!

The more Americans that say they "hate" Paris, the better for us not in that camp.

Hopefully Sarah will pass this along to as many people as possible.

Sorry to say it, but I agree with Sarah. Paris was all negative for me. However, I love the UK (been more than 40 times), Scandinavia, and Austria.

Hi Mike. I am in love with Paris. I did a RS city tour one February and really enjoyed it. I have since been back by myself for a 10 day trip; I didn't leave the city at all in the 10 days. I had already seen Versailles. Provence is also beautiful. Look at the itinerary for some of the RS tours to give you some ideas. I have taken 3 RS tours, Village Italy and a France tour that is no longer available but started in Paris, through Provence and ended in Villefranche sur Mer. 2 of the tours I was on my own, which was why I chose a tour. There were mainly couples on the tour or 2 family members travelling together, some families and 2-4 single people.

I suggest September. Cooler weather but still quite pleasant. Last year I was in Paris from Oct 1-10, very little rain, some gorgeously warm days and a couple of cool days.

I also am enamoured with Venice. That is another city that people seem to love or not care for. Have a great time.