Related, what should we do besides Barcelona next June?

Posted by Dilbert on September 26, 2025, 11:31:03, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Have a conference midweek in Barcelona, but will have flexibility on the weekends. Will have a 16 month old in tow. Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

Have you/your wife/your kids been to Europe before?

Posted by Desert on September 25, 2025, 18:48:04, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Sidejack - just booked Iceland for my wife's 50th next April - any suggestions? *

Posted by aimlessillini on September 24, 2025, 14:29:28, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

Two of Munich/Vienna/Budapest/Prague/Krakow, Amsterdam/Paris

Posted by snipes824 on September 24, 2025, 14:27:38, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

I don’t know the castle situation in each off the top of my head, but those are definitely some good pairings. Vilnius is a smaller option that definitely has some old world charm to it and a place I really liked. Could pair it with other Baltics like Riga or Tallinn. If you don’t get to Europe often, maybe not a top choice. But if you’re willing to go off the top group, there would be fewer crowds and it’s nice. Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

Germany / Vienna / Prague*

Posted by reggiedunlop on September 24, 2025, 14:11:12, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

London 1 night, Fly to city A; Fly to city B; then fly home from city B

Posted by jfinsocal on September 24, 2025, 14:07:23, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Take the redeye to LHR then take the Underground or HEX to the city. Then split the rest of the trip into 2 cities. Fly home directly from the second city. The London stop helps with the jetlag and you can see a few sights or at least do the hop on hop off. With the remaining days it's a lot of work to go to more than 2 cities. Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

You may want to consider in/out of Brussels for the direct from O'Hare

Posted by opey8 on September 24, 2025, 11:42:04, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Small airport easy to navigate. Gent or Brugges easy day trip or stay a night Paris and Cologne durect trains Northern French countryside Luxembourg and The Netherlands close as well Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

I would suggest skipping London if you've only got 7 days. Prague would be a good spot.

Posted by longsnapper on September 24, 2025, 11:18:50, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Also, Paris and some of the southern French castles would be a fun trip. Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else. Lots of puns, no real answers

Just so you know, Europe peak vacation is July/August. VAST majority goes on vacation (more)...

Posted by timmer on September 24, 2025, 11:10:41, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

How do you feel about Munich as a base?

Posted by biclops on September 24, 2025, 10:42:21, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

This June we're doing Spain. Specifically Salou.

Posted by tvillini on September 24, 2025, 10:30:15, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

portugal has a decent number of castles, is shorter to get to, and is pretty american friendly for

Posted by torinese on September 24, 2025, 10:23:48, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

tourists (relatively speaking.) they might shut down in august, though. Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.

Czech Republic has some great castles, so Praha (Prague to some) is a good starting point*

Posted by TarheelIllini on September 24, 2025, 10:02:33, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else. Recrudescence

Assuming Europe will still let Americans in by next Summer. *

Posted by doubledown on September 24, 2025, 9:57:55, in reply to "Trying to figure out the optimal 7 day Europe trip for this summer"

Previous Message Likely to be in early to mid august, so unfortunately no regular season soccer to be seen. At first I thought fly into London, but maybe there's a better place to start? Wife and kid want to see "old European castles", I'm really not sure what my priorities would be. Not opposed to flying into some place like London, seeing a few things there and then taking a quick flight (or train) to somewhere else.