For the world travelers out there...

Some background:

• Neither the wife or I have ever been to Europe
  
• Got a few years to plan a trip
  
• Will be the first trip, but most likely NOT the last
  
• Length of the trip will be at most 10 days
  
• Interested in museums, out of the way places, historical stuff, decent food, decent hotels (doesn't have to be 5 star, but no hostels or anything like that)
  
• Will probably be in the summertime
  
• NOT interested in crazy nightlife and stuff like that

For decent food I'd go for Italy or France Very yummy there!

Italy - places like Siena and the surrounding area (Tuscany generally) or the lakes - Como and Maggiore. (Both trips I have done so can recommend from experience.

France - we visit Provence a lot (but I have been to plenty of other areas), the Vaucluse region specifically. This year we are staying in a town called Bedoin - it is lovely there and has a great market every Monday. Not much in the way on big museums but terrific countryside and the food and wine is top notch.

Thanks Mike!

Italy and France are actually two places, among several more, that seem to peak both the wife's and my interests. I'm also thinking about places like Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Austria too.

London- use the tube to get around to the further places in the city. Within the regular tourist attractions I recommend the double decker tourist bus. Get one of those multiple day passes and hop on/off wherever it goes.

Hong Kong- nearly the same procedure for getting around.

I've been to those places multiple times, they are big cities with lots of culture and sights within so I never felt the urge to check too far outside the city limits

dan.k78 wrote in post #14055847
Thanks Mike!

Italy and France are actually two places, among several more, that seem to peak both the wife's and my interests. I'm also thinking about places like Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Austria too.

Bulgaria is a sweet place to visit. Enjoyed my stay in Sofia immensely!

We had a brief stop in Germany a couple of years ago, I'd always wanted to visit so on the way back from Italy we drove through Swizerland to Germany and stopped overnight in Triberg in the Blackforest where they make fantastic cuckoo clocks (we bought a great one from this shop). From Triberg it is a short drive across the border to Strasbourg in Alsace, France, a really lovely city with a great cathedral (the one at the beginning of Sherlock Holmes 2).

I've lived in Europe a couple of times, Paris and Zurich. I could easily spend time in Paris, great place. We had a car when we lived there, but rarely used it.

I love going back to Paris, any time I can. Great Food, Great Wine, Amazing Hostory.
The Metro transit system is amazing. Just pick up a Metro Pass or Navigo Pass and hop
on and off the busses and trains to get around the city in minutes.

There are museums of all kinds in Paris. Some, like the Musée du Louvre that will take
you days to see everything. You need time to ascend the La Tour Eiffel. Either by climbing
the strairs, or waiting in the crazy long line for the elevators. You can also head over to
Tour Montparnasse and accend the elevator to the 56th floor and view Paris from the
observation room, and then walk up the stairs to the Helechopter Pad, and view Paris
in the open air. I also enjoy visiting the Jardin de luxembourg. It's so relaxing. You can
stop to watch people play with toy wooden sail boats in the large pond. You can sit and enjoy
the sunshine and the beauty of the flowers. Or you can just wonder around the park and
enjoy the shadows of the trees, and smell of the grass. You can also hop the Train out to
Château de Versailles, and spend the day exploring the different Palaces, the enormous
maze of gardens, or the small town itself.

And don't forget all the monuments, plaza's, fountains, statues and churches that
cover the city. And a walk thru the underground Crypts will make for something
most people never see.

Small Restaurants dot the streets at every turn, with great food, and wine. Whether you
are looking for a simple lunch, or a 5 course meal, you will find whatever your heart desires.
And you're not limited to just French Food Either. Just down the street from the little
hotel I usually stay at, are French, Italian, Japanese, Indian, Chinese and a few others that
I haven't ventured into yet.

And if you ever do get tired of the CIty, you can hop on the High Speed Trains and be in Bordeaux
or Nice or countless number of other cities in a few hours. Or another country for that matter.

--Evan

If you wan't plenty of stuff to shoot, I would suggest Prague. You will not find a better collection of historical buildings anywhere.
Great restaurants, theatre and opera, museums and just about anything else you might want.

Bring a fast 50mm. You will absolutely want to do some night time street photography. The atmosphere is just amazing after sundown.

I have been there at least 10-12 times over the years and it only gets better with each visit.

dan.k78 wrote in post #14055384
Some background:
[LIST]

Neither the wife or I have ever been to Europe

Got a few years to plan a trip

Will be the first trip, but most likely NOT the last

Good attitude. Europe's been there for a while...don't try to see it all at
once...it'll still be there when you go back.

dan.k78 wrote in post #14055384

• Length of the trip will be at most 10 days
  
• Interested in museums, out of the way places, historical stuff, decent food, decent hotels (doesn't have to be 5 star, but no hostels or anything like that)
  

Almost any city will work. For 10 days, I'd recommend one large city as a
base, possibly with day trips, or two locations at most. Ground travel in
Western Europe is easy, but that does add cost/confusion/stress that can
detract from a first trip.

dan.k78 wrote in post #14055384

• Will probably be in the summertime
  

Think weather...unless you're at altitude you may hit hot weather,
particularly in Eastern Europe. Going to altitude (Alps, Dolimiti, etc) or
heading north (UK, Netherlands) are good options.

Summer is 'high season' for travel. Not only does this mean that costs are
higher, but some things are closed (family run businesses often close in
August), hotels are booked, and spontaneous travel is more difficult.

dan.k78 wrote in post #14055384

• NOT interested in crazy nightlife and stuff like that

So my question is where are some places you'd all recommend for this type of trip? Do you recommend traveling around to see nearby cities and towns, or just explore the area you are in more thoroughly?

Thanks for your input

P.S. - If you've got vacation pics from your trip(s), feel free to post a link.

Given the limited time (10 days, minus a little to get over jet lag, minus a
day to get back to whatever city you are departing from at the end of the
trip), doesn't leave a lot of time.

Plan a couple of day-trips (possibly overnight), pre-book a very limited
number of museum tickets (to avoid waiting on long lines, but not so
many so that you're locked into a schedule and spending all the daylight
indoors), but leave lots of time open.

Some other considerations:

• City or country (what do you want to see or do)?
  
• Modern City or Ye Olde Country Europe? (Berlin vs Budapest)
  
• Languages -- do you or your wife speak any languages other than English?
  
• Food restrictions -- some regions are difficult for vegetarians, etc.
  
• Planned or improvised -- What's your level of comfort with doing things on-the-fly?
  
• In-country travel preferences -- public transport, walking, rental car, regional flights?
  

Thanks all for the great info
rmsppu, wow, that's a lot of great advice! What makes planning this so interesting is that pretty much all options are open for us as 1) everything will be new to us 2) are really flexible/laid back type people 3) don't have any dietary restrictions 4) and can pretty much roll with whatever happens.

I think this trip we'd like to shoot for the museum, art gallery, old churches, little cafes, wandering down centuries old streets vibe.

I'll be honest; even doing the "research" is quite enjoyable with all peoples' pictures, travel channel shows, etc....

Ahhh... Europe. My childhood stomping ground.

I'm not kidding about that, either. My dad was in the Air Force so I lived in Germany for 3 years followed by the Netherlands for another 3 years, and went on trips around the region to Denmark (Legoland, hehehe), Paris (and Disneyland), London, and Innsbruck, Austria. I would definitely add my vote to sticking to just a couple of cities at most. My number one choice for summertime travel would be Paris (great excuse for the wife to wear any flowy skirts she might have, as Paris in the summertime and flowy skirts are just a natural pairing, in my rarely girly opinion). The weather doesn't get too hot there (then again, I lived in Texas for four years) and it's got more museums, old churches, art galleries, cafes of all sizes, and centuries old streets than you can shake a finger at (I personally recommend checking out Le Centre Pompidou, and only partially because I think the name is awesome). In addition, it's easy access for day trips to a number of other places. If you're interested in a slightly less popular location, I took a day trip with my dad and stepmom while visiting them in Germany to Luxembourg City and had a wonderful time. It's a beautiful old city and the fortress there is amazing.

Belgium is wonderful, as well, and has some more great food (namely waffles, chocolate, and waffles dipped in chocolate), not to mention the architectural wonder that is Brussels. The Netherlands is a unique country, to be quite honest, but I loved it there when I was a kid. The people are very interesting and will ride a bike with their small-to-medium-sized dog in a basket ANYWHERE. Friendly people, though, and getting out into the countryside to check out the famed tulips and windmills is definitely worth it (I threw a fit when I almost missed my chance to tour a windmill when I was 7 because I had been pulled out of school for the final two weeks while my parents looked for a house in Florida, but the family I was staying with at that time offered to take their kids and me on a windmill tour since I had never gone and was leaving Europe in a month).

I've spent a great deal of time in Germany and always love visiting Trier, Bad Homburg, Hamburg, Colon (they have an amazing chocolatier there that functions off a river boat, not to mention the supremely beautiful and famous cathedral), and any other cities in western Germany. There is no shortage of amazing places there.

I'll see if I can get some photos from my various trips back to Europe together on flickr for you. I have at least some of the Germany photos and potentially all of the Paris photos recovered from my external hard drive, plus London and maybe a couple of other places.

dan.k78 wrote in post #14061461
I think this trip we'd like to shoot for the museum, art gallery, old churches, little cafes, wandering down centuries old streets vibe.

Since this is what you're going for and it hasn't been mentioned, I'd like to nominate Spain. There's an amazing variety of sights throughout the country, definitely a lot of that centuries-old vibe, a wonderful mix of architecture, some beautiful cathedrals, and some really nice landscapes as well. I think my personal favorite town for photography is Sevilla, but if you start in Madrid you could definitely hit a lot of interesting places in 10 days!

Any questions about England or the Netherlands, feel free! I live in both. I can advise on most of mainland Europe west of the Czech Republic too

This is all really great info! Thanks again. I've got a feeling that (because it'd all be new to us), that we wouldn't be disappointed with anywhere we decide to go.
While I have your ears and eyes, can anyone shed some light on train travel in Europe? I went to the Eurorail site and prices seemed outrageous for multi day passes. What would be the best way to travel around once there? Thanks.