My ten favorite trips to Europe over the past decade — Letter to Sons

6 min readJul 19, 2024

You are going to Europe this year, but you’re not sure where to go or how to spend your time. If that’s you, you are in the right place. I go to Europe every year. In this blog, I will share my ten favorite trips I’ve taken to Europe over the past decade.

Why trust my opinion about this topic?

You may be wondering why in the world I should listen to this guy’s opinion. I have visited Europe more than twenty times in the past decade. Below, you see the list of European countries I have visited. There are ten total, starting at the top with Germany, the country I visited the most. I’ve done a solo trip, many family trips, and multiple couples trips with my wife. In this blog, I am sharing my ten favorite trips.

Trip #1 — my solo trip to Catalonia in 2019

In the fall of 2019, I went on a solo trip to Catalonia, a region located in Northeast Spain. I started in Barcelona, rented a car, and explored this wonderful region. The most important thing I learned during this trip is that you can stay in a castle and other historical sights. Spain and other countries in Europe offer these accommodations. Some are reasonably priced, and I recommend you take full advantage of them whenever possible. Who doesn’t want to sleep in a castle?

Trip #2 — Taking my boys to Bavaria

In 2015, I took my then-teenage sons to Bavaria, an area I’m familiar with in southeast Germany. We went all over the place, including Munich, the Alps, Mad King Ludwig’s castles, and Rothenburg. We did it all. The key takeaway from this trip is that if you’ve never been to Germany, Bavaria is the best place to go. My boys loved it, and Bavaria is what most Americans picture when they think of Germany.

Thanksgiving in Southern Germany

My younger son lived in Nuremberg for a year. I came up with the brilliant idea of taking his older brother to visit during Thanksgiving week to celebrate this American holiday. We flew in and out of Frankfurt. We spent most of our time in Baden-Wurttemberg, including Heidelberg, Stuttgart, several castles, and Nuremberg. Our trip finished in Wurzburg before heading back to Frankfurt. The thing we learned during this trip is that Thanksgiving is the perfect week to spend time in Europe. Forget about turkey and gravy for Thanksgiving. We ate bratwurst, sauerkraut and washed it down with German beer.

Thanksgiving in Portugal

In 2022, we went back to Europe for Thanksgiving. This time Kim and I took the kids to the wonderful country of Portugal. We started in Lisbon, then headed to Porto for a few days. From there, we rented a car and worked our way down the coast back to Lisbon with overnights in Nazare, Obidos, and Sintra. Portugal was magnificent. The lesson we learned is important if you are traveling with family. If your children do not get along in the car when you are in the US or wherever you’re from, it’s not going to get better when you go to Europe. We learned that lesson the hard way.

Trip #5 — Classic Italian Cities

Last year, during Thanksgiving week, Kim and I went to Italy. We visited three classic Italian cities: Rome, Florence and Milan. We had a wonderful time. The lesson we learned during this trip is that the Italian railway system works well. It is easy to get from place to place. Get on the train and relax. Next thing you know, you’re in the next city.

Visiting three European capital cities

We’re halfway through the list. I’m going to mention here these trips are in no specific order. Kim and I took the kids for their first trip to Europe in 2019. We started in London and spent several days there. Next, we took the high-speed train to Brussels, Belgium. We finished in world-famous Paris, with a day trip to Versailles. This plan is an excellent schedule for your first trip if you’ve never ever been to Europe. The culture shock is not bad in London, and there’s high-speed rail, so you don’t need to rent a car.

Trip #7 — U2 in Dublin

I was lucky enough to land tickets so that Kim and I could see my favorite band of all time in the capital of Ireland. As Taylor Swift’s fans are teaching us, going to Europe to see a concert is not a bad idea, especially in Dublin. This city lives for music. It has Guinness and is easy to get to from the States. What more could you ask for?

Trip #8 — Spring Break in Spain

Kim and I took the kids during spring break to spend a week in Spain, splitting our time equally between Barcelona and Madrid, the capital. If you’ve never been to Spain, this is the perfect plan. Both Barcelona and Madrid are awesome cities. If you get bored of them, there are easy day trips such as Montserrat from Barcelona and Segovia or Toledo from Madrid.

Long weekend getaway to Edinburgh, Scotland

Last fall, Kim and I spent several days in the capital of Scotland. We had a blast. During this trip, we learned that spending a long weekend in Europe from America is doable. If you are wondering where to go, Edinburgh is a great choice. The city contains many historic sights and wonderful whiskey. There is so much to see and do. One reminder — don’t forget your rain gear. You will need it.

Trip #10 — Exploring Holland

Neither Kim nor I could afford to take a lot of PTO many years ago. We decided to visit a small European country, the Netherlands, for our summer vacation. We explored one of the regions, Holland. Our trip started in Amsterdam. We took the train to all our destinations, including Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, and Rotterdam. The lesson we learned is that if you don’t have much time for your trip, go to a small country you’ve never been to before. We had a blast, learned a lot, and enjoyed the Netherlands.

My most recent trip to Europe — graduation celebration

Let me wrap up this blog by writing about my most recent trip to Europe with my younger son. Riley and I flew to Manchester to watch Manchester City win the Premier League. We were in the Etihad stadium when it happened, a bucket list experience. From there, we headed to Barcelona for several days. I flew home from Barcelona, and Riley finished his trip in Lisbon, Portugal. We experimented with using budget airlines that fly within Europe on this trip. If you want to go from one city to another that is not close together, take the budget Airlines. They are worth it.