Layover European counties to visit suggestions in March

Welcome!

Where would you like to visit?
Where are you flying from? What are your flight options?
Amsterdam, London, Munich, Paris, Zurich are all stop over possibilities but depends in YOUR flight options and your interests

Flying from Chicago. I thought of Iceland but wasn't sure about the weather. I'd like the visit where it's easy to get in and out, like transportation to and from the airport to the hotel. Easiest to go around, not rushed, more relaxed. Tour or rent a car is fine whichever is hassle -free with different price range. Yes, Paris, Amsterdam, London, and even Zurich among others sounds lovely.

Lots of factors. What airline(s)/departure city is the main one.

Second one is your terminology. A layover is usually less than 24 hours, and is
often defined by the timing of the flight. For example, you have a flight going home
from the European gateway city, but your connecting flight cannot get you there
in time the same day (a non-trivial occurrence since most USA-bound flights leave in
the morning). A stopover is what I think you are hoping for, which is more than
24 hours.

Some airlines, like Icelandair, TAP Portugal, and Iberia, may offer you the
chance to include a stopover on either leg. But you are limited to their
hub city.

Otherwise, you are more likely to be successful researching an open jaw trip, where
you fly into one city and fly home from another. In this situation, you would then book
a single flight into Rome on a European (budget) airline.

I suspect you think that being flexible may give you more options, but it's also going
to make finding something reasonable harder.

The easier option is to fly into Rome and then take a train to, for example, Florence
and spend a couple of days there, then train it back to Rome.

Ooops. You're right! It's a stopover!

The plan is to fly from Chicago on Thursday since arrival to Europe is usually Friday morning. Spend the day on the stopover country then fly Saturday to Rome. Renting a car from FCO to Tuscany since the wedding event is held there. Stay a week and head back to Chicago from FCO on a Saturday nonstop.

So now I'm debating which country should I visit for a stopover?

Is there a reason you want to spend a jet lag day somewhere?
I can see spending longer-like 2 nights?
Why not just go to Rome and spend a day or two there before heading to Tuscany?

While aesthetics would seem to be the way to move forward, I would note
that you need to be thinking about logistics and flight schedules as well, even
though flight schedules will change.

For instance, it's a 4.5 hour flight from Reykjavik to Rome. And they don't fly
every hour. So unless the flight schedule cooperates, you won't make it to
Rome until mid-late afternoon at best. Does that still work for what you need
to do to get to Tuscany?

I tend to agree with ChristineH - get over your jet lag the first day in Rome,
not in a different city, unless your stopover is more than 1 night.

If you are renting a car at FCO, you could take a bit of the week in Tuscany,
drive to a different part of Italy, say, Venice, and drop the car off at Venice
Airport. There will be a dropoff charge, but not too substantial since you
will be dropping off in the same country. Then you still get a taste of multiple
places on your trip.

My first thought is Seville, Spain. The city center is very walkable. The airport isn’t too far away (25 minutes). If you have two nights, that gives you a full day to explore. The cathedral is fabulous (and I’ve seen a lot of them). The Alcazar is wonderful. It shouldn’t be too hot in March.

Granada, Spain would be another great stop. Definitely visit the Alhambra.

While Seville is lovely, and March would be a great time to visit, the fly in the
ointment is that there are no non-stop flights between Seville and Rome. The
shortest flight is 5 hours connecting in Madrid, and all of those flights are
already over $200.

If the OP is comfortable with the risks and cost, great, but since the main purpose
of the trip is for the wedding, moving the side trip/stopover to the end seems to
make a lot of sense to me.

I can see spending 2 nights in the stopover country. I thought about that too if we would rather crash. Hopefully the hotel will let us check-in. Want to have choices what I can see in a day or two. Someday I may come back to explore the place longer.

We'll be in Tuscany the whole week because it's my niece's wedding and the whole family is planning to prepare for the event. Will be driving to Rome for 1 day from Tuscany in the middle of the week. Basically we'll be based in Tuscany. I really want to visit another country en route to Italy

Worth exploring the stopover on the way back

Out of curiosity, where in Tuscany is the wedding? Tuscany is a very large area. Much bigger than some US States. And driving in Rome is a really bad idea unless you are used to the traffic there.

If you are still intent on an interim stop before Rome, go to Google Flights, input your departure airport, and then just select Europe as the destination. Set a filter for non stop flights. You will have a large selection of major European cities if you are flying out of a hub city like Chicago. Once you find a city that appeals to you, then look up flights from that city to Rome to see how long and/or expensive they are.

Chiusi. Staying for a week

Putting aside all the other logistical issues, which are certainly valid, just want to say that Amsterdam Centraal (station in city center) is quite easy and quick to reach from Schiphol airport, about 20 minutes on the tram.

Have you traveled abroad before this trip?

Will be driving to Rome for 1 day

Please take the train from Chiusi to Rome!

2 nights is hardly enough time for any major city that could be used as a stopover.
2 night is 1.5 days- that.5 day is jet lag day.
Pick from any city that you can fly to easily that has cheap direct flights to Italy. You could fly into Florence, Pisa, OR Rome since you are not staying in whichever city you land- plan to drive on to Chiusi, right? Rome to Chiusi is probably quickest most direct but are you in a hurry?

Check your flight options- then come back if you need more help on choosing from those city options.

Amsterdam airport is really close to the city- super easy- that’s a very good point made by Elena. Amsterdam is also pretty compact- you could see a lot in 1.5 days.

United & KLM fly nonstop from Chicago.

Book your flights as a multi city trip-
ORD-AMS —AMS-FCO —FCO-ORD

Here is a good starting point-pick any country/city- review the info-pick a city of interest
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe

Here’s what to do in Amsterdam
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/netherlands/amsterdam

(Just using Amsterdam as an example- we have no idea what you are interested in)

Does the stopover HAVE to be a different country?
The simplest thing would be to fly in to Venice- spend 2 nights there- train to Florence to pick up car.
Venice is my favorite place to get over jet lag and start an Italian vacation.
It is so unique.

I would love to visit another country as much as possible. Yes, we've traveled to Europe, England and France to be exact but that's decades ago. Can't do train since it'll be cumbersome with our baggages. We're no spring chicken anymore that's why I prefer the trip as slow-paced. We're not in a rush to be in Tuscany but I want to be there when everyone arrives at the villa we are staying.

There are those stopover programs from different airlines that doesn't cost extra to stay longer. KLM/Air France has theirs and so is Iceland Air. Watching the rates and fights if it's worth it.

Yes, very familiar with jet lag days with trips going to Asia.

Hi there, a few things - The obvious stopover in another country I would choose in March would be Lisbon, if TAP airlines flies N/S from Chicago to Lisbon with a free stopover? Really easy to get the train into town, stay someplace central. And it is likely to have better weather than places further north. Google flights is your friend, lots to learn just plugging in dates and places that would be easy to stop over. As others have said, you can do a multi-flight, let's say into Amsterdam, out of Rome with the leg in between on a separate ticket. March could be dismal in Iceland so it wouldn't be my first choice unless you have reasons for going there specifically? If it was my niece getting married, I would add in a day upon arrival just in case something goes wrong, flights get cancelled it seems more than they use to pre-pandemic. And yep, will repeat the suggestion that if you're going to Rome for the day (curious as to why not do that at end of trip?) take the train. You mentioned needing a car due to baggage, are you planning to stop a few days in Rome at the end of the trip? Hope you have a great trip!

Istanbul on Turkish Airlines from O'Hare. They offer a free stopover program with several nights' hotel covered. And they are a delightful airline to fly.

I was in Istanbul for the first time in June. I loved it. Take some guided tours to avoid getting overwhelmed and eat the delicious food. I'll definitely be going back to see and learn more.