december travel in europe

I'm sorry. Don't understand "I'd rather not travel too much inside Europe so I can explore a couple of places." What does that mean? You''ve got two weeks in December for a trip to Europe. Where do you want to go???

Last minute deals? go to Kayak.com and get airfare quotes. Anything under $1800 is a deal. I'd avoid Aeroflot.

Donna - My take is that Pam wants somewhere that she isn't moving every other night to a new location.

Hi Pam. In the East, a "standard" route is Budapest-Vienna-Prague (or reverse order, and flying open-jaw). It would probably be cheaper than Italy, but Italy will probably have better weather. I don't know how nice day trips will be in December. Budapest has a lot of sights, especially if you like museums. Hungarian food and wine are both excellent and inexpensive. Vienna is expensive overall and has much more of the feel of Paris than of Eastern Europe. Then there's Italy. So much to choose from. The classic trip is fly into Venice, then Florence and home from Rome.

The big cities typically are your best cold-weather options, with more services open year-round, indoor museums, and entertainment options (see also http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/timing-your-trip). But adding a smaller town to the mix gives you a different perspective on a country. For instance, the hill town of Orvieto is an easy stop on the main train line between Florence and Rome.

The first two weeks of December would allow you to visit the Xmas Markets if you have not had the chance to do so. The markets in Paris, Germany and Salzburg are all great. You could split your trip between one of the cities with markets and then on to a location in Italy.

do the Christmas markets in Germany & Austria . . . we went on a Christmas Market River Cruise down the Danube thru Austria & Germany . . . Vienna, Salzburg, Passau, Regensburg, Nurmberg . . . absolutely amazing. The decorations, hot wine, gingerbreads were amazing. We hope to do one on the Rhine River next time. It would be very easy to do it on your own if you don't want to do the cruise . . . you can take the train to your favorite towns. Trip Advisor has lots of info on the German Christmas Markets.

I don't believe the main train line between Florence and Rome goes anywhere near Orvieto. It's a 2-hour-plus regional train ride to Orvieto, then you have to get up the hill from the train station by funicular and still walk into the center or wait for the shuttle bus. Then get back to the train station to get to Rome on a 1.5 hour train ride. It's only 1.5 hours from Florence to Rome directly. I'm not saying don't do - just know what's involved. And check the weather there in December.