My spouse and I would like to go to Europe for our tenth wedding anniversary next summer. We live in the U.S. So far we’re thinking Italy and Greece because friends have recommended them but we’re open to other possibilities. This would be our first trip there.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!
I have a suggestion- narrow your search terms.
Are you looking for beaches? History? Nightlife? Food?
Go to Greece, definitely. Been there and you can’t beat the feeling. Incredibly beautiful people, beaches, and it’s fairly cheap.
I’d totally go to Cyprus.
Don’t go to Portugal next summer unless you like Sok-kah.
Be careful where you go in Greece unless you enjoying mixing with drunk, rampaging teenagers (think Ft Lauderdale during spring break). I’d go for Italy, especially Venice given the anniversary and all.
Italy’s often better value for money, but book your hotels well in advance. Try travelling round (Venice-Milan-Florence-Rome-Naples would be a good route) - the Italian train system is excellent. DON’T drive unless you enjoy thrill-seeking :p. Other possibilities are Barcelona and Prague, although both are even busier in the summer.
I would reconsider Greece. The 2004 Olympic Games are held in Athens (from the 13th to 29th August) and at least the traffic and hotel situations will be catastrophic.
Go someplace different, like Estonia. Tallin’s supposed to kick ass.
Go to Scotland.
Beautiful scenery, lots of history, rain, cold, unreliable train services, bigotry, bad diets, alcoholism…
Why do I live here?
What does your fiance consider romantic? If she’s into castles and knights, there’s a couple of options. If she wants moonlit nights on desolate beaches, that points in a different direction. If she wants lights, snooty waiters and walks in a big city, that’s a third. If she’s into nightlife and crowds it’s a fourth. Europe can have a lot to offer, but you need to be a bit more specific. And don’t try and do it all. Remember that quality is generally better than quantity, and you’ll want some quality time in a hotel room as well. Also a hint as to your budget would help.
Slovenia. Wonderful wine food and lots to do from hiking to spas.
Ah…Home sweet Home.
An obvious choice but Catalonia is pretty special, Barcelona being the only city that comes close to Glasgow in my experience.
I agree, it will help to tell us what your interests … oh, never mind, just go to Spain. It’s got 'em all, and you can’t possibly skip Picasso’s Guernica and the Alhambra and the cathedral at Santiago and the best coffee you’ll ever have in your life and long slow-paced evenings drinking wine and eating olives.
Start in Italy, drive north into Switzerland and Austria and angle over to Prague. This will give you a wide range of food and drink experience, not to mention the scenery (Tuscany, the Alps, etc.)and the historical (and architecturally stunning) cities of Rome, Florence, Vienna and Prague, among others.
Personally, my experience in Greece was a boring one (I didn’t go to Athens), but I don’t like beaches. If all you want is to sunbathe, go to Florida.
Almost every country in Europe is only a day’s drive from any adjoining country (at most; Spain comes to mind as a possible exception), so you can do this easily with some planning.
Tallin is indeed very cool.
FWIW, my next Euro country visited shall be Iceland.
For a first trip to Europe I recommend London and Paris. Paris is very romantic. London is awesome with its history and too many things to do/see. But, as mentioned above, it all depends on interests. Congrats on the 10th! 
What do you consider to be summer? Italy and Greece are uncomfortably hot in july-august, and still rather hot in june and september. So if you don’t like warm climates, you’d better go to a more northern country. Otherwise Italy is better for culture. Greece apparently has beautiful islands but I’ve heard the mainland is a bit disappointing.
Spain! Spain ! Spain ! I love it. Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous and only a few hours away from the south of France. Very cheap, warm, nice beaches, great wine, awesome people, beautiful architecture, lots of olives, sexy language, and everyone naps in the afternoon. I’d go back in a second.
If you’re going in August, don’t go to Spain. It’s stinky hot and everything’s closed.