European trip location advice sought - during Easter and herding cats

liirogue
Fri, 28 Nov 2025 21:01:28 +0000
In My Humble Opinion

I’m trying to plan a trip to Europe next spring for a group of 5 adults and it’s quickly devolved into a herding cats situation. We’re struggling on picking a location, so I would love to get some ideas.

Ages are 40s-mid 70s with no major accessibility issues, but a ton of stairs/elevation change wouldn’t be doable. One person has visions of strolling quaint European villages and immersing in the local culture (I almost asked if she expected the locals to periodically break into song). One person is strongly opposed to Spain. Another is strongly opposed to a driving trip. So I’m wondering if staying in a smaller city with train access to a larger city would fit the bill best?

The dates that work for everyone (3/31-4/8) fall over Easter (4/5). How much Easter will actually impact things for a tourist? One city we had tossed around as an idea was Florence, but if Easter is going to be a big deal somewhere it seems like it would be in Italy…

45 posts - 28 participants