Europe Recommendations

[dreamingat30fps]

So the only place I have been in Europe is Spain. Madrid and the southern parts. My family wants to go back to Spain in early Nov for a week and probably do northern Spain.

However a week is too short for me to get on a plane for what seems like an eternity so I'm thinking of extending it by going a week or so early or leaving a week or so later.

What do you all recommend as far as places to go from Madrid. Places I have thought about are Greece and Italy but I don't know much about either. We are not huge fans of very touristy heavily populated areas. Honestly even Madrid is too much for me, we just fly into Madrid then rent a car and drive out of the city.

Not sure if it would be best to drive to another country or fly or what. I guess I'm open to any ideas since I don't have much of a clue where to even start.

[Alfisti]

November should be fine tourist wise.

Something different: Malta
Quiet: Island of Paros in Greece
Underrated: Nice, use it a hub to Monaco, Antieb, Cannes and even Italy (San Remo)

Also 8 hours in a plane, I am just settling in.

[vreihen16]

Are river cruises still running in November?

If I was on mainland Europe and didn't visit Germany to drive on the autobahn and hit the 'ring, I would consider it a wasted trip. Just saying.....

[chassis]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

So the only place I have been in Europe is Spain. Madrid and the southern parts. My family wants to go back to Spain in early Nov for a week and probably do northern Spain.

However a week is too short for me to get on a plane for what seems like an eternity so I'm thinking of extending it by going a week or so early or leaving a week or so later.

What do you all recommend as far as places to go from Madrid. Places I have thought about are Greece and Italy but I don't know much about either. We are not huge fans of very touristy heavily populated areas. Honestly even Madrid is too much for me, we just fly into Madrid then rent a car and drive out of the city.

Not sure if it would be best to drive to another country or fly or what. I guess I'm open to any ideas since I don't have much of a clue where to even start.

What do you like to do? Walk in the cities/pedestrian areas? Museums? Architecture? Cathedrals? Mountains? Hiking? What culture or cuisine is on your bucket list? I can make a number of recommendations based on your preferences.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

November should be fine tourist wise.

Something different: Malta
Quiet: Island of Paros in Greece
Underrated: Nice, use it a hub to Monaco, Antieb, Cannes and even Italy (San Remo)

Also 8 hours in a plane, I am just settling in.

I can barely stand flying to the west coast and that's 6 hours. When we went to Spain I said I would never do that shit again. I have a bunch of miles so I'm definitely doing business class or whatever they call it. Not the super fancy one, but the equivalent of business/first for US flights.

Originally Posted by vreihen16

Are river cruises still running in November?

If I was on mainland Europe and didn't visit Germany to drive on the autobahn and hit the 'ring, I would consider it a wasted trip. Just saying.....

I dunno how river cruises are, but I get very sea sick and have refused to go on a cruise ever since I got sick on one when I was as a kid. Everytime I get on a boat I get sick unless it's like a flats boat in the everglades or some kind of totally still water.

While I would love to do the ring I doubt my gf and mom would want to do that, especially since we have so many places we haven't been.

Originally Posted by chassis

What do you like to do? Walk in the cities/pedestrian areas? Museums? Architecture? Cathedrals? Mountains? Hiking? What culture or cuisine is on your bucket list? I can make a number of recommendations based on your preferences.

Considering I have only been to Spain it's hard to say. I can tell you I don't much care for Madrid and bigger cities in general, but I can deal with them in short bursts if there's something worth seeing. Would mostly be sight seeing, eating, etc but nothing to strenuous since we will probably go with my mother who can't walk too far, but she can walk around town and stuff but not like go on a hike.

In Spain some of the places we liked most were Seville and Granada... Granada probably more so than Seville. We are slow paced, not a fan of tours where you're up at 7am and go go go all day trying to cram in as much as possible. Would rather spend more time in a couple of areas than cram a million places in.

I mentioned Greece and Italy just because I THINK we would like them. Language barrier is also something I've not had to deal with since we speak Spanish it's not an issue in Spain. Might be ok in touristy area but not sure about further out.

[jwalther]

Florence, full stop. Compact footprint meaning you can walk pretty much everywhere you'd want to go in the city, and every time you turn a corner you'll be faced with something new and interesting. Day trips into the surrounding Tuscan countryside (Siena, San Gimignago) are well worth the effort. I've been all over Europe, and Florence is my favorite city by far.