Best place as a base for exploration of Europe

First thing to ask....do you have an EU passport or permission to stay in the Schengen area for a year?

Helene, there are innumerable choices of really interesting and charming cities and towns to live, all with great transportation connections. It depends on your main interests and what you want to experience when you're actually at home in your town and not travelling and how centrally you want to be located in Europe. You most likely know that you can only stay for three months in most European Union countries and then have to stay away for three before you can even go back. However, you can apply for visas to your chosen countries that will enable you to stay longer, unless, of course, you have a European passport. My vote is for WIESBADEN, GERMANY. It is a stone's throw from the Rhine river and the wine country and, in the other direction, the Taunus mountains. Wiesbaden is a walkable town, has been a spa town since the Romans were there and in about half an hour you can be in Frankfurt or Mainz. The Moselle river area is a great day trip. My second choice would be PARIS, hands down or perhaps COLMAR. Don't forget BERLIN. These cities have in common that they're fabulous places to live, and are surrounded by picturesque countryside. On second thought, I might make Berlin my first choice. I suggest you get a map of Europe or pull one up on google and pinpoint several areas of interest and then read up on them. By the way, do you speak any language besides English? When are you planning on leaving? Keep us posted! Best, Anna

Vienna, Munich, Frankfurt or Paris would be my choices. But I am also a city person who likes to only day trip to small towns.

I second Vienna and Munich. in 5 hours you can be just about anywhere. Norm's question is the most valid though. Do you have an EU passport or a special Visa? Otherwise, you'll need to plan your trip around not going over the Schengen restrictions...

Due to its' central location, Frankfurt is a really good base city for both train and air travel. Right on the edge of Bavaria, close to the Rhein, less than 4 hours by train to Paris or Munich, and only 4 to Berlin. It is also a very lively city with about 46 museums, tons of galleries and with a varied and rich choice of cultural activities and events. People that move here just fall in love with this city. There are also a lot of smaller towns or suburbs around Frankfurt too, that are also easy to commute to the train station or airport. A big plus is the fact that over 25% of the cities population are foreign, so this makes for a wonderful atmosphere and great restaurants and shopping!

But, do you have a visa to live here?

I plan to stay in Europe for one year

Heads Up: You can't stay for one year without a visa. The limit on a passport, without a visa of some type, is 90 days in the EU.