Or even further (which is actually how I plan trips) is don’t make an itinerary at all. Just flights, hotels (maybe, back in my single childless days i’d generally book a hotel for start and end only), then have a couple of “must see” items (booked as far ahead of time as needed to make sure you actually see them) everything else you play by ear.
Sorry I didn’t realize how relevant the origination of the trip was going to be to the responses or I would have included it earlier.
A long time family friend (late 60s) had a major health scare and decided she wants to spend 2-3 months in Europe, and her husband’s only condition is that she has company for the majority of her time there. Her only trip done outside the US was a river cruise (I think down the Rhine). She’s the one that wants to stay in a small village and doesn’t want to do traveling by car (all of her US trips have been road trips). She isn’t opposed to going to bigger cities but it isn’t her first inclination.
My mom (mid 70s) badly wants to join her. Her only trip outside the US was to Spain and she hated it. She didn’t like the food, she found the scenery ugly, and she was with my dad (which would probably make anyone hate where they were). So she understandably doesn’t want to go back there, she wants to try someplace different. Her ideal trip would be a driving tour of Ireland and Scotland, but that’s a no-go for family friend.
My sister wants to go because she doesn’t want to be left out and she’s also never been to Europe. Her husband will also most likely come along because she obviously doesn’t want to see a lot of things without him. He’s never been out of the country before.
Family friend wants me to go because I’ve been to Europe several times and the four of us (her, mom, sister and I) had a successful/enjoyable trip to New Orleans a couple of years ago. I’ve been multiple times to New Orleans so I was okay with a very laid-back pace and short days.
I can’t plan the trip with myself in mind because no one else travels the way I do. I am out and going all day long, I’ve got a long list of must-sees with plenty of backup ideas, I’m okay with getting lost, etc. Sister and husband could keep up but even they would want more down time (and probably just time to themselves).
So long story short, I’m trying to mostly cater to family friend and mom but have access to tourist sites in a larger city. I’m really trying to reign in my natural travel style, but I just can’t spend 8 days wandering in a small town.
The small town requirement seems odd. Not that they can’t be great but the big cities are where all the things to do are.
A trip to Europe is generally a walking tour. Go to museums and historic sites and whatnot. If people want to sit on a beach that can be done but it is a whole different thing.
Certainly you can get around via train (both subway within the city and high speed rail between cities). Great way to travel and in Europe it is easy to get most places via rail.
If you do big cities I would suggest three days in London, take the Eurostar train to Paris and do three days there. Plenty to do in each city so three days each is short actually. Easy itinerary when it comes to hotels and whatnot.
If they want smaller cities then do something in Switzerland, Austria and maybe northern Italy and/or hit Prague. I did that trip once and it was great although we did need cars for some of it (like driving to Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany).
ETA: Iceland Air offers a pretty good deal if you fly back through Iceland. They cater to just this sort of thing. Spend a few days in Reykjavik and drive the Golden Circle (yes…have to drive that one or take a tour bus of which there are loads of). It’s pretty great and I bet really lovely in the spring.
Not just Easter. I’m in central Switzerland and Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday are holidays. Very few shops are open and many museums are closed as well.
I was in Florence for Easter. But that was 2001, so maybe a bit less crowded. They have a special event for Easter, which is interesting, but wasn’t why we were there at that time. Other cities will have special activities for Easter, some of which will fall on Good Friday.
Many restaurants will be closed, or will require reservations. McDonalds is often an option, as is shopping at the train station.
I was just in Amsterdam, which is a bigger city, but is a bit more chill than London. It’s a very walkable city - just watch out for the bicyclists.
Where is this small town?
I’m quite serious.
In Spain Semana Santa (the week leading up to Easter Sunday) is indeed celebrated with fervor. It also means that any whole in the wall is open 24/7, because in secularised Europe, we celebrate Mammon much more than Ther Resurrection of Christ. The celebration is in a way for tourists, as Semana Santa signals the start of Temporada alta, i.e. the beginning of the tourist season. Mind you, tourists in this sense is local people having holiday.
As for toher countries, a quick Googling shows that
• France - many shops closed on Easter Monday (4/21)
• Italy - shop owners are free to set their own opening hours (new law in 2012)
• Germany - Many stores are still closed on Sundays (this was kicked to state level in 2006). Finding food won’t be a problem as restaurants are open.
I could go on but things have changed. A lot.
When I grew up everything was closed on Good Friday. Everything. Television did not show anything but religious or serious programming. This kept on into the 80’s. In the mid 80’s, as I was driving through France on a Sunday, I was surprised to not find an open supermarket in Lyon (Metro area pop 2.3M). In the 90’s, only stores along national arterial roads where allowed to stay open on holidays.
I’ve travelled extensively in Europe for the past 45 years and what you describe is something that to a smaller or larger extent used to the the norm. In 2025, not so much. An American traveller, used to 24/7 Walmarts, should check if going to small, rural villages over a Sunday. Shopping in advance for self-catering? Nah.
Another caveat is opening hours due to local customs. Southern Spain and Italy still have semi-official siesta for small shops. Opening hours in restaurants vary from country to country and between regions. Dinner time in the middle of summer in Spain is about 10 PM. Lunch is at 2.30.
Since the 2 o’clock meal is the main meal of the day, that would make it dinner, while the 10 p.m. meal is supper, but anyway.
England?
Supermarket hours are restricted on Sundays and on Easter Sunday they have to close all day. Although there’s no legal restrictions for smaller independent places it’s not at all unusual for them to close for the whole of Easter weekend. Pubs will be open (normally one of their busiest nights of the year), but pub Sunday lunches can sell out early and they often don’t do a Sunday evening option, and open restaurants will be very busy and often booked out, because it’s another public holiday the following day.
It’s not impossible to find food, but it does definitely require more advance planning than normal.
In the town I recently moved out of, if you’d arrived on Easter Sunday after, say, 3pm, your options would likely be the questionable takeaway near the town’s sole nightclub and the snacks in the petrol station; you’d be lucky to get a seat at any restaurant, and even the fish 'n chip shop was shut on Sundays.
Doesn’t apply so much in Scotland, except some of the weirder islands where literally everything will close.
If you do lean towards a smaller city I can recommend Krakow in Poland. Went there last year and was impressed. It’s cheap, friendly and the centre, the old town, is very picturesque and surrounded by a circular park. Visits to Auschwitz are easy from the city but I guess that could be a bit too heavy for some (it was for me), there’s also the spectacular salt mines. There is also a very impressive cathedral in the city. Salt mines would require a lot of walking down and up steps but the city itself is very flat.
Krakow is crackin’ for sure. We went there a couple years ago and really liked it. Impressive Wawel Castle and other Medieval treats abound, right in the city (we opted out of the day trips to Auschwitz etc.)
I am insanely jealous right now. I spent some time in Prague back in the 80s/90s and loved it. The embassy is in the old town, so my morning walk took me over the Charles Bridge and onto the cobbled streets. The woman we rented our apartment from kept our fridge stocked with Pilsner, and we’d stop to buy some ham, cheese and bread on the way to work.
Italy is great, but I would advise caution about Florence, which has apparently become overrun with tourists; even more than it used to be. My wife and I took two weeks, starting in Rome, then going to Sienna and ending in Florence.
I don’t know why Spain is off someone’s list. Big cities are the same everywhere, but the south of Spain (Andalucía) is very scenic and nice.
Portugal is another good option. Lots to see, and they are doing much better at accommodating tourism than they were in the 90s.
If I was going to spend a week in a small town in Europe, Ronda would be my first choice. Get a place with a balcony overlooking the ravine and just soak it in with a good book, a glass of wine, and some charcuterie. The weather should be great around Easter.
Spain has an excellent rail system. It’s easy to quikcly travel anywhere, and fares remain affordable. In addition, both Spain and Portugal are enjoying strong economies right now, and the atmosphere feels festive (unlike many other places already mentioned in this thread).
As I said up thread, my mom is the one opposed because she’s been there and hated it. I’m not going to waste the time or money to take her there.
Mine also.
Fair enough.
Seems to me you need to decide who this trip is FOR.
It rather looks as if it’s for the family friend who has had a health scare and wants a bucket list trip because they may not get another chance?
If so, focus on that. Ignore all the other ‘me toos’ who “don’t want to be left out”. They can plan their own trips some other time….
Are you wanting to stay in just one location?
I want to thank everyone that posted - you all helped me frame things and gave me some phrasing ideas, and we had a very successful meeting this afternoon and have made decisions.
I will fly to Lisbon to meet the family friend (she is spending almost all of March in Portugal with her niece). She and I will make our way to Paris and meet up with mom, sister and her husband, who will arrive a couple of days after I land in Lisbon. I’m going to look for accommodations within about a 30 minute train ride to the center of Paris but that will also be a decent jumping off point for trips to Giverny, Versailles, Chartres, etc.
Mom and I will fly home 4/8. My sister, her husband and family friend will then travel to Seville and spend a few days before sister and husband fly home. If family friend has been unable to find anyone else to come stay with her the rest of April and into May, then she will fly home with them.
Those are, broadly, west of Paris, but to get about within Paris, you’d be using the metro and/or buses anyway. For Giverny, you take a train from the Gare St Lazare and for Chartres the Gare Montparnasse, but Versailles is reachable with the RER trains that run through central Paris.
If they haven’t already, it be worth everyone’s while to familiarise themselves with the public transport in advance:
And plenty of YouTube videos: check out the “Frenchies” playlists, for one
That sounds like a vastly more successful outline than the “one size fits nobody” that the group had started out with.
Hooray for success! Please do keep us posted as the plan gels and later as you’re doing it.
Might I suggest an Airbnb in Maisons-Laffitte? It’s about a 30 minute train ride to central Paris (€2.5 each way). It’s upscale and is popular with English speaking ex-pats. Lots of green space and nice shops. It’s also horse-central for France if anybody in your party is into equestrian stuff. Our Irish friends live there and drove us to Giverny from there (about 40 minutes) so I’m not sure what other transport is available.