Europe holiday ideas please?

[Shodan]

We've decided to do a week in Europe this summer. Ds1 has chosen Berlin as one port of call, but I think we only need 3 days or so there.

There's so many places I'd like to visit but need to be realistic.

The plan ( very vague so far) is: fly to Berlin. Spend three days there. Then take a train somewhere else (or even two somewhere elses!) and fly back to the UK from there.

Where would you recommend? It could be anything- beach/city/countryside/mountains. We generally like to 'do' things- but that could include walking/hiking, visiting monuments/castles/museums/theme parks... you can probably tell why I'm having difficulty narrowing it down.

No small children- my sons are 27 and 15.

Anyone got any fab ideas to help narrow my search down??

I’d catch the high speed train to Munich and use it as a base for day trips. When we went, we visited BMW World and the Deutsches Museum and did day trips to Neuschwanstein Castle, Partnach Gorge, Dachau and Tegernsee.

Fly straight to Greece and stay for the week!

So much to see and do with enough islands to choose from that you're bound to find one everyone likes.

Or if you like the idea of breaking up the week, fly to Athens for a couple days then take a short flight or ferry to an island which you can fly home from.

I would agree with this.
Stay a little out of Munich near public transport and you should be able to travel around easily. We go to Bavaria once or twice a year and the teens love it.
There are some incredible cheap museums in Munich, my 2 really enjoyed the Egyptian one, it was amazing

Lots of lake swimming too

Train or car hire up to the Baltic coast and explore the islands and seaside towns.

www.germany.travel/en/nature-outdoor-activities/baltic-coast-cycle-route.html

You could even try the Polish side too.

Cavtat Croatia can easily get water taxi or bus to dubrovnik.

What time of year would you be travelling? Is Berlin a must? I did love museum island in Berlin- some fabulous things to see. There was also a pathology museum I enjoyed- but I work in a medical field- so its not for everyone!

Some other ideas:

• Fly into Naples, spend 3 days or so there. Get the local train to Pompeii and Heracleum. Spend a day in the Naples museum (where all of Pompeii treasures are). Get the fast speed train to Rome for the remaining days
• Sicily. Fly into Palermo, few days there. Train to Agrigento 1-2 days there. Bus across to Catania. Easy day trips from there include Taormina and/or Syracuse. Fly home from Catania
• Zaragotha in Spain. Some fascinating museums there- an origami one, Goya, tapestry museum. Lovely river to walk along and cathedral. Then catch the train to Madrid, or go north to the Basque region.

Ooh some great ideas here!

@MarmiteCoriander We'll be travelling in the summer holidays, probably last week of July, and yes Berlin is a must- both of my sons want to go there, so I'm happy to do that.

I like the idea of castles and lake swimming so Munich is a definite possibility- for this year. Some of the other ideas on here are going on my list for other years though!

I did wonder about taking the overnight train from Berlin to Vienna-going on a sleeper train has been on my bucket list for a long time...

I’d second the Bavaria suggestion and also add Rügen - it’s northern Germany, seaside resort towns and beautiful cliff scenery

I would recommend Greece, especially Zakynthos.

I'd do a 3 city tour: fly to Berlin then high speed train to Lübeck & Bremen... (you can add Hamburg for a day as you might get better flights)
All 3 cities have a very different feel and things on offer.

I think Munich and Vienna are lovely but would you really want to waste a whole day/ night on travelling around?

@Ylvamoon I wouldn't count it as a waste if I could do an overnight sleep on a train😀but otherwise it might be a bit much maybe. I'll have to ask the boys and ds1's girlfriend what their thoughts are.

Going to look up Rugen now.

We took a train from Berlin to Prague, it was a perfect holiday. The contrast between the two was striking.both great places.

I'd 2nd Munich or Prague.

I second looking at Lubeck, Hamburg & Bremen.

Sticking within Germany, you could also look at getting across to Europa-Park if you all like Theme Parks. It’s an amazing place and the area around it (near Black Forest) is great. I’m sure there are trains from Berlin to get there and you can fly home from Stuttgart/Basel/Baden-Baden

I am leaning towards staying in Germany I must admit. There are so many beautiful and interesting-looking places to visit.

Go up to the Baltic coast, visit an island or 2 eg Sylt, Rügen, Usedom, visit Gdańsk in Poland. this is a guide to various islands.

@midsomermurderess They look lovely! Thank you for that.

I love sleeper trains! There are some interesting options;

Sleeper Berlin to Zurich
Sleeper Berlin to Venice/Florence/Rome/Milan etc. (Change in Munich)
Berlin to Copenhagen - Sleeper to Malmo, onward train to Copenhagen.
Sleeper Berlin to Stockholm
Sleeper Berlin to Budapest

Or just take a daytime train to Prague.

Could you get a sleeper train to Vienna?

You can, but I personally don't like Vienna so I didn't suggest it!

@HannibalHeyes Why don't you like Vienna? I haven't been so don't know what it's like, although I love Austria generally.

(I don't mean that to sound accusatory by the way! Just interested)

I quite fancied the sleeper to Vienna- but I also fancy Zurich. And also the Black Forest.

Would it be too much to squeeze in, going Berlin to Zurich, and then Black Forest? I think it might be- won't be able to do justice to either then.

Ohhh now I fancy Budapest too.

I've 'done' Italy fairly well, so don't think I'll add it to this year's trip.

I second @Whatineed's suggestion of the Baltic coast including the Polish coast. Sopot is lovely, ditto Gdansk in its own way. Also Wolin National Park if you like hiking, forests, etc. Head east to historic Riga for a lovely city experience.