Hi all! My bf and I are planning our first trip to Europe (pretty much anywhere!) this summer. If any one has any planning tips, favourite places, rail experiences or anything pertinent, I'd really appreciate the advice! Thanks

Florence. Without doubt one of the most beautiful walking city's. And a shout out for York, England, it's what you think an English city should look like.

Check out the Tasso Hostel Florence or the Beehive Rome!

Depends on where you're going and what you like to do. The wineries abound all over Europe, castles (king ludwig's castles in Germany are extraordonary), hiking in the Alps, B&B it through the many small towns (you might catch a festival while you're there) or see the big cities with the wonderful museums and shopping

Keep an eye out for great deals on flights (I've seen as low as $345 return to Paris) Other than that, Buy a railway ticket. You can buy a certain number of "train rides". It's a big expense but saved us a bundle in the end. If you're planning on staying in Hostels use hostel world.com I went backpacking for two months and booked everything through the app. Great for reviews. Favorite places were definitely Spain, Italy (Cinqueterre is incredible) and Germany.

If you want history, and warm clean water/beaches head for the Croatian Coast. It's incredible and quite a bit more affordable than France or Italy. Google Plitvice Park...it's magical.

Venice,florence,Nice,Rome,Santorrini,Lisbon,Barcelona,Porto....loved them all Paris as well.

Austria is beautiful. ..Links especially. ..If you get a chance....check it out

Turkey is gorgeous! I recommend Istanbul, Cappadocia and Pammukale. Very historically rich and romantic places to visit! Domestic travel whether it be bus, or plane (turkish airlines)

...is inexpensive

Barcelona, allways

I forgot Prague is Beautiful as well

We loved Rome, Tuscany (specifically Pienza, Radda in Chianti and Montepulciano) and Venice. We stayed at B&B Al Gallion in Venice and were thrilled. Daniela is a wonderful host and so knowledgeable about her city. Eat local! Go to grocery stores and buy bread, meat, cheese, oil and vinegar and buy fruit from the markets. Eat sandwiches from the grocery stores, too. It's the best food.
Take a plate and knife to make lunching around easier, and a platypreserve if you like wine. You can dump an entire wine bottle in it and then roll it up when you're done--it looks like an inflatable water bottle, found at MEC. Make sure you buy water when it's cheap, and take refillable bottles. Train is the best way to get around.
Our friends loved Budapest, Holland and Prague.

Romania is beautiful tooo...and cheap the wine is cheaper than water!!!

Wine is cheaper than everything in Europe.ha ha

Yes, but extremely cheap in the former easter bloc!!!!

Buy your rail pass before you go. It is much cheaper here.

Thanks everyone! This has been helpful

I ended up booking flights between locations in Spain and France because they were so much cheaper than train. Bus, on the other hand, us usually very inexpensive.

My husband and I did a tour with Busabout run through Kontiki tours through Spain and Portugal. They have tours through other countries as well. It was great

Florence

I travel with students and have experienced a substantial amount of Europe. Anything in particular you are looking for?

San Sebastián, Barcelona!

Cherie
I think I have narrowed it down to needing to find out more about transportation city to city, country to country- train vs bus vs plane. I think we will first have to pick where to go and plan from there. There's just so many countries with so much to see that it's hard to pick!

Absolutely. You need to decide your "must-sees." Accept that you just won't be able to see every country and what it offers. Some people enjoy being on the move and seeing 10 countries in a week. Me, I like to focus on a few spots and really take time to settle in and get the local feel of the people and culture and spend as much time as I might want at my must-sees. We did three weeks in Italy and stayed in just 4 locations. This spring will be two weeks in Spain and two weeks in France. Go with the attitude that you will have to return someday to see what you just can't fit in this time.

Choose an area/region and then go from there. Europe to very large and no fun spending most of your time on a train.