Italy for the culture/history and then train to Austrian alps/Salzburg for nature

Anonymous wrote:Provence in early May with poppies and wine and later sunsets and warmer but not too hot. I would retire there if it were like that year round.

Yeah we were there at the same time. Absolutely glorious. The bnb we stayed at was actually owned/run by a French couple who did semi-retire there. They ran the bnb during spring/summer and then did their own traveling during the winter.

In spring, the south of France/NW coast of Italy is great, particularly near Easter. Start in Menton, which is lovely, plus they have the lemon festival -- strange and fun!: https://www.fete-du-citron.com/

If you can do fall, there are far fewer tourists on the SW coast of France/NE coast of Spain at that time, and the waves are really picking up if anyone in the family surfs (this is all my kids think about so it drives our vacations). The food is great, there is a street art festival in Bayonne, a film festival in Biarritz and plenty of fetes to keep you busy on weekends all over the Pays Basque in the Sept/Oct timeframe -- specifically the fete in Espelette which is awesome.

Anonymous wrote:Provence in early May with poppies and wine and later sunsets and warmer but not too hot. I would retire there if it were like that year round.

Funny. When I went to Provence, it teemed down rain every day. I can vividly remember the rain pouring down the hill at us in Les Baux.

Everybody says, oh, I love Provence! But fate and the weather ensured that I don't feel that way, lol!

Provence in early May with poppies and wine and later sunsets and warmer but not too hot. I would retire there if it were like that year round.

I’ve loved all my Europe trips frankly, and would take all of them again, but I’d probably rate Bavaria highest and Portugal lowest.

Anonymous wrote:Considering a Northern Spain road trip between San Sebastian and Oviedo. Dipping down into Rioja for wine and the Picos de Europa for hiking. Anybody here ever flo that and have some tips,?

We enjoyed San Sebastian and Bilbao (Basque food, beach, museums) and Santander

Our favorite trips have always included self driving tours - Ireland, England, Loire valley, Provence, Tuscany, Portugal, Switzerland. With GPS you can't get lost so we often just "head to the hills" to see what we might discover. We enjoy the big cities but it's the little towns and meeting local people that really make for a great trip. We hope our next driving trip will be in NE Switzerland, Bavaria and Austria next fall.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Scotland - 10 days to tour all over. Simply magical.

Can you share which tour operator ?

We rented a car and drove ourselves. Wrong side of the road with a manual transmission, but hubby did great. I'd recommend doing this as tours are too slow for us and sometimes we just wanna pull off the road and hike. We climbed Ben Nevis.

Anonymous wrote:Considering a Northern Spain road trip between San Sebastian and Oviedo. Dipping down into Rioja for wine and the Picos de Europa for hiking. Anybody here ever flo that and have some tips,?

Loved Northern Spain. We drove the coast from Hondarribia to Santiago de Compostela. Especially loved Bilbao and Santander. Oviedo was actually our least favorite spot, but it was on a Monday when many things were closed. We also loved driving the coast from Santiago down to Porto. All beautiful, easy driving, lovely coastal walking, and such amazing seafood everywhere you go.

Anonymous wrote:Ghent was a very nice surprise. Bruges was very touristy whereas Ghent felt very authentic and not touristy.

The Ghent altarpiece is a must-see, IMO. Bruges is touristy, but if you venture outside the city center, the crowds thin out.

I really loved Ypres. Not crowded, the WWI museum is excellent, go see the last post at the Menin Gate, take a battlefield tour. Highly recommend if you’re a history buff.

Anonymous wrote:Considering a Northern Spain road trip between San Sebastian and Oviedo. Dipping down into Rioja for wine and the Picos de Europa for hiking. Anybody here ever flo that and have some tips,?

Yes we did it. Wonderful trip and so many great towns and wineries in that area. We loved them all.

Considering a Northern Spain road trip between San Sebastian and Oviedo. Dipping down into Rioja for wine and the Picos de Europa for hiking. Anybody here ever flo that and have some tips,?

Venice
Edinburgh
Bath-Salisbury-Stonehenge-Cotswolds-Oxford

Germany - romantic road, castles, Berlin, Dresden, Munich.