mommyoffive Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The past two time we have been to Europe this year we focused on cities and the historical places that were there. We are going back again this summer and now some of the kids are asking for places with natural beauty, not man made things. So tell me where to go. Countries and cities please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Fjords. Norway. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Wye River Valley in Wales is also very beautiful. Actually, a lot of Wales has lots of natural beauty. I agree about Scotland and No. Italy as well. Haven't been to the other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Scotland is the most beautiful place in the world. If you took all the amazing shorelines and islands of the world and squished them close to the amazing mountains of Colorado and all the northern lakes of Minnesota then you'd come close to imagining the beauty of Scotland. Highly recommend renting a car and driving the west coast and stopping at the island. Its ... words fail me ... PM if you are insterested in such a trip because I can give some tips of places my family loved and some that were just meh. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockhopper Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The Alps. Breathtakingly beautiful. I've always wanted to go hut to hut hiking in the Alps. Great skiing in the winter, if you'd rather. There's great cable (attached, harnessed) climbing in the Dolomites that makes otherwise really dangerous technical climbs doable by the average person. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
importswim Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The Lake District in England 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbel Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 North Yorkshire and Lake District, England. Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland The island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides is beautiful but in a sort of unconventional way. It's sort of desolate but still stunning in its own way. Things may have changed since I was there 13 years ago, but maybe not too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Austria--just about anywhere. My favorite is around the Innsbruck area; you can access the city, but there is a wide variety of mountain lakes, streams, glaciers, tall peaks, hiking trails, bike paths (mountain biking or gentle paths through the valley). You also have great access to smaller villages and huts away from any city life with easy transportation options (by car or public transportation). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Grenoble, France. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Thumbs up on the Alps. The drive from Marsailles to the Alps was breath-taking . . . and we were mentally prepared to approach the Alps. But dd & I were still just overwhemingly awed by the Alps==their size, beauty, the snow caps . . . just everything. We took the cable car up Mt. Blanc, but would have done more hiking if we had time. Adding our endorsement of the PP suggestions of ANY British countryside.. ? Let us know where you end up! I love Armchair Traveling when I'm "stuck" at home! ETA = We went to the French side of the Alps. DD & fam just returned from the German side, which was also beautiful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Echoing the Dolomites in Northern Italy. (Selva/Val Gardena.) Very family-friendly. Great hiking in summer (I felt like we were in the mountain meadows in the Sound of Music) & great skiing in winter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 hafelekar in Austria. It's above Innsbruck. we're going- it's high on dh's list of places to go. he has us in a B&B that's outside town with views of the mts and the valley. leutescher gleisterklamm and I'm putting it on the list. the boardwalk reminds me of an area in Banff. Langbathseen trip advisor has some nice places. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g190410-Activities-c57-t68-Austria.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Kiddos Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland Bled, Slovenia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 The island of Capri - the Anacapri section Agrigento, Sicily Any area around Salzburg or Zillertal (Tyrol) The French Riviera between Cannes and Nice - also Porquerolles aka Ile de Porquerolles The riviera near / around Alassio Lago Maggiore Lago Garda Chur (Canton Graubünden) Switzerland Cornwall (Britain) Surrey (Britain) Konstanz / any area around Bodensee (Lake Constance) Norwegian fjords - also area north of Bergen - Flam Helgoland - alternate spelling is Heligoland Gotland and Grötö in Sweden Zaanse near Zaandam (Holland) - colorful windmills and Dutch food!! Ameland in Friesland (Frisia) Husum in Schleswig-Holstein (Northern Germany) near Denmark 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said: hafelekar in Austria. It's above Innsbruck. we're going- it's high on dh's list of places to go. he has us in a B&B that's outside town with views of the mts and the valley. Many years ago, my husband and I were hiking up Hafelekar on a sunny day and got caught in a sudden downpour. Visibility was 15 feet or less, and the avalanche barriers would loom spookily up at us out of the mist. Luckily we were near the top, and we made it to the cable car station near the summit, had some hot tea to warm up, and took the last cable car back down. Great memory! OP, it depends on what kinds of things your family likes – water, mountains, etc. What about going to the library and having everyone look through guidebooks and kids' books about various countries? Or look online. You'll find a lot of ideas. And I agree with everything in every PP! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Iceland, Iceland, Iceland. Cornwall Cinque Terre in Italy. Basically if you give me a rocky coastline, I’m a happy girl. ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 4 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said: Fjords. Norway. I totally and completely agree with this. There was a bakery near my house that had one of the nature mural wallpapers. It was like a photo only super big and made into wallpaper. I remember always thinking, "There is no place on earth that pretty." There was a waterfall and artfully but naturally arranged rocks and pretty trees and plants and flowers. Then when I was in college, I did the Europe 'backpacking' thing. Near the end I was taking a train along the coast in Norway from Goteborg, Sweden. My thought was, " Ohhhhhhhh, this is where that mural photo was from." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Scottish Highlands, and the Isle of Skye. Driving through the highlands we would come around a bend in the road and every time it was just so gorgeous...we actually were almost annoyed at how pretty it all was, lol. Like, come on, Scotland, this is ridiculous, save some beauty for the rest of the world! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corraleno Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Iceland!!! If you fly Icelandair* to Europe, you can stopover in Iceland for a few days at no extra (airfare) charge. Cost of living is VERY expensive there, so we only stayed a few days, but it is truly stunning and like nowhere else on earth. There are tons of tours to choose from, taking you to different parts of the island, and pretty much everyone speaks English. I would love to go back again sometime and see other parts of the country. *(maybe true with WOW airlines as well, but I'm not sure as we flew Icelandair) My other recommendation would be the Lake District, but I think it will be really crowded if you'll be there in peak tourist season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 5 hours ago, gardenmom5 said: hafelekar in Austria. It's above Innsbruck. we're going- it's high on dh's list of places to go. he has us in a B&B that's outside town with views of the mts and the valley. leutescher gleisterklamm and I'm putting it on the list. the boardwalk reminds me of an area in Banff. Langbathseen trip advisor has some nice places. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g190410-Activities-c57-t68-Austria.html Hafelekar (and the entire area around there) is wonderful--you can't go wrong. Just don't put your passport in your backpack, set your backpack down, and let it fall off of the mountain into a crevice (the consulate in Munich will know of your being the second person that has happened to, given that one of my students did that when I was leading a study abroad program there.) If you have time, going over to Hoch Imst and riding the Roddelbahn is a fun activity https://www.imster-bergbahnen.at/en/summer/alpine-coaster/facts/ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAJinBE Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Garmisch, Germany (Bavaria) Croatia (coast and Lake Plitvice) Provence Amalfi coast Italy Tuscany The Ardeche France 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbelle Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Southern Switzerland and Northern Italy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Thanks everyone. I think we might enjoy Europe more if we spend more time in nature than in the cities. We are not city lovers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 12 hours ago, Corraleno said: Iceland!!! If you fly Icelandair* to Europe, you can stopover in Iceland for a few days at no extra (airfare) charge. Cost of living is VERY expensive there, so we only stayed a few days, but it is truly stunning and like nowhere else on earth. There are tons of tours to choose from, taking you to different parts of the island, and pretty much everyone speaks English. I would love to go back again sometime and see other parts of the country. *(maybe true with WOW airlines as well, but I'm not sure as we flew Icelandair) My other recommendation would be the Lake District, but I think it will be really crowded if you'll be there in peak tourist season. Thanks on the tip. I know that about Icelandair. Iceland was on top of my bucket list, but we went to Banff and then I was kind of done seeing nature and wanted to see historical sites. So I crossed Iceland this time. We are flying to Denmark first. There was a deal with an airline that let kids up to 8 kids fly free on an adult ticket to , so we jumped on that. We paid for it all with Chase points. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia is on the top of my list! Plus, it's a lot cheaper to travel in Eastern Europe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 3 hours ago, CAJinBE said: Garmisch, Germany (Bavaria) Croatia (coast and Lake Plitvice) Provence Amalfi coast Italy Tuscany The Ardeche France I just had to comment on your choices, because my ds worked in Bavaria for a year, my dd taught for two years in the Ardeche, and we had a family vacation in Croatia and spent time in Plitvice National Park -- absolutely stunning! ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Bonus points if you know that these places are reachable by public transport. I would really like to not rent a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 17 minutes ago, mommyoffive said: Bonus points if you know that these places are reachable by public transport. I would really like to not rent a car. Then I would highly suggest the Innsbruck area (the state of Tirol) in Austria. You can fly into Munich (or Zurich) and then take a train or a shuttle service to Innsbruck. You can buy a pass that includes all trains and busses within the area of Tirol. The public transportation to and from all of the villages is some of the best in the world. You can get to castles, lakes, glaciers, hiking trails (of all levels of difficulty), wonderful swimming complexes, and more. We have spent over a month in the area and not been able to do all that we wanted to do. We have done it both with a car and using only public transportation; each had its advantageous but each worked well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lailasmum Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I live on the edge of Dartmoor (south-west England and that's stunning as are many moorland areas of the UK. The coasts of Cornwall and Dorset are also really stunning an interesting. Some areas are doable by public transport easily between May and October. The public transport is not as great outside of these times as they're tourist destinations so it more geared to high season. You can get to Lyme Regis in Dorset by train if you fancy doing some fossil hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 I haven't traveled much in Europe but want to add my vote for Wales. The mountains and hilly regions are beautiful. One day during my visit we were driving through Wales near the end of the day and were awestruck by the way the setting sun looked between mountains. One of my traveling companions said "I think God lives here". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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