For those who have toured Europe

What/where was your favorite place to visit?

My husband is in Stuttgart, Germany for the next 3 months on business and I am flying over there for 10 days in the beginning of September.

We plan to spend some time in Stuttgart but we would like to venture outside of Germany a time or two.

We can only do about two days in two separate locations or four days in one due to the little amount of time I will be there. We are open to any suggestions anywhere in Europe.

A little background on us, we are an adventurous couple in our late 20's and love to have fun. Not all that into the arts but love the pubs ;) I love the beach and warm weather so I was thinking possibly somewhere with beautiful views and blue water, but I can be swayed from that.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!!!

TIA!

Re: For those who have toured Europe

What was my favorite place to visit in Europe? The Baltics - Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia.

But this doesn't really fit your description.

Not sure about beachy places.. but I would say Spain is fantastic for not being too adventurous, great places to have a drink (a pitcher of sangria by the water in Seville ) and very nice climate. It was gorgeous when I was there in September.

The good news is that most major cities in Europe have a place where you can sip a drink and have a beautiful view.. whether it's waterfront, or in a square looking at old, gorgeous buildings, or the middle of the street where the people watching is fabulous

Re: For those who have toured Europe

From Germany, and you want water, i would say South of France or kinda northwestern coastal Spain (Barcelona) (that could really be northeastern I suck at directionals)

but if you really like laid back and pub-y as well, you could also stay in Germany. they are relatively landlocked (ulness you go north) but have a great park and pub life.

I'd suggest Munich for sure. it's not too too far from Stuttgart.

dh and I toured Germany for 3 weeks for our honeymoon. we did two popular drives, the "romantic road" through the black forest, and the "fairy tale road" whick takes you along the sites and cities of the Brothers Grimm Fairly tales.

Germany is a gorgeous gorgeous country. I honestly never expected to be as taken with it as I was.

but again, if you really want some sun, I would definitely fly from Stuttgart or Munich to Marseille or Barcelona. (about 2 hrs from Munich to Barcelona and about 1.5 hours from Munich to Marseille on NON STOP flights). from Marseille, you'll be close to so many beautiful french cities (including Marseille itself, also Avignon, Aix-en-Provence just to name a few.)

have a GREAT TIME!!!!!

Message edited 7/9/2009 2:16:59 PM.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

I spent time in England, Scotland, Wales, France, Italy and Spain.
My favorite cities were London, Rome and Nice. Have fun!

Re: For those who have toured Europe

I agree with Barcelona, its a beautiful artsy city with lots of fantastic bars where you can get great Tapas, and Barcelona has a beach!! So it kind of answers more than one thing.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

I LOVED Barcelona.
It has a little bit everything.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

I would go the the French Riveria. I loved Cannes when I was there . The beach was sand as opposed to rocks in Nice.

On a side note, since you are in Stuttgart definitely take a train to Tübingen. I lived there for a year and it is a cute German Schwäbisch university town which was almost untouched in WW2. Stuttgart was completely ruined in WW2.

You could also go to Freiburg or Heidelberg.

Definitely try Maultaschen and Spätzle as that region is known for this food.

Message edited 7/10/2009 11:28:24 PM.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

You must go to Munich - relax at a beer haus, listen to the oompah music, sing with your new comrades - In Munchen stadt ein Hofbrauhaus...eins...zwei...gsuffa


On your way to Munich from Stuttgart - you can get off in Ulm (where I went to school) and climb the tallest church in the world - the Ulmer Munster. Also, Albert Einstein and Hans and Sophie Scholl (founders of the White Rose resistance group against the Nazis) are from Ulm. It is a really old city and just cool to walk around the old parts and also where the Blau and Iller rivers combine with the Danube.


If you want beachy, Lake Konstanz is a great option - think more of the great lakes. Konstanz is a cute touristy town


for longer trips, I'll echo the Barcelona recommendation. DH is from Madrid, but I like Barcelona so much better.

Prague - the Paris of Eastern Europe

Paris - I can't get enough of Paris...I imagine it's what the rest of the world thinks of NYC.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

i'm partial to Spain, it's where I'm from and go every year...I can't wait to have more time to travel all around Spain

Re: For those who have toured Europe

Another Spain fanatic here - lived there for 15 years. You can get really cheap flights to the Costa del Sol if you want sun and fun.

Otherwise what about Zurich? Also agree with Munich. Loved Coppenhagen and Paris too...

Re: For those who have toured Europe

THANKS EVERYONE!!!

I am definitely going to look into Barcelona.

Also thanks to all who recommended place in Germany. I will definitely be hitting those places up.

We also decided we are going to go to London. I have always wanted to sit and have a beer in a London pub and so has the Hub so we decided we will add that to the itinerary.

I just know that once I go over there I am going to be excited to go back. One of my dreams is to spend some time in Greece. I am so intrigued with the country but I decided I dont want to rush it when we go there so I am going to skip it all together and plan another separate trip fully devoted to all the places I want to go in Greece.

Thanks again!!

Re: For those who have toured Europe

I have been to london, paris, brussels, and amsterdam. I liked amsterdam the best!!!

Re: For those who have toured Europe

If you like the beaches, I would definitely suggest Croatia! I was in Dubrovnik (though there are other beautiful cities along the coast too) during the off-season, but they have beautiful beaches. I would love to go back during the summer. I also would suggest Budapest and Prague, though they aren't beach cities.

Re: For those who have toured Europe

If you have dreams of having a nice pint in a nice pub in London, use Fancy a pint.com This is a really good guide to finding a pub.

Make sure you have a picked egg! They go great with beer!!