European destinations for a July jaunt

[erictheobscure]

I'm remarkably poorly traveled, but I'll have a chance to putz around a bit in late July. I'm starting out in London, meeting my girlfriend in Dublin, where she'll be for a summer program, and then we'll head out to some western European spot for several days (or maybe a week). I've never been anywhere, so novelty isn't the issue. We might have a slight preference for Spain because we both like Spanish wine and food, but I'd also really like to hang out in France. I suppose a combo of two places might also be a possibility. Cost is somewhat of a consideration too, since I'm a broke-ass academic and she's a grad student.

 

[Mr Herbert]

you could do a lot worse than the basque region for food and wine

 

[b1os]

Paris. Although it won't be very full because, afaik, many Parisians go on holiday then. But probably a little too expensive to fully enjoy?

Barça and even more south Spain (and Portugal) will be very hot and dry in July. Also, Barça is very touristic and expensive (but a beautiful city).

Provence is great. If you wanna see a lot, you'll have a busy holiday. But it's worth it. So much to see! Pretty hot, too, though.

So I'd go for Paris or Provence. Alternatively Basque. Italy out of the question? Sometimes even hotter, but so many beautiful cities in Toskana (and elsewhere, too). Might become extremely exhausting though if you aren't used to these temperatures. But really, if you wanna go to Barça, just do it. I guess Basque will be the cheapest. But not too many tourists, therefore not too much infrastructure for them. People are afraid of ETA.

 

[fritzl]

in july travelling big cities can be a hassle.

if spain wins the euro champ, it's definitely a place to go.

my vote is for aix-en provence.

save travels

ps: i forgive you, that you didn't consider my country.

 

[b1os]



if spain wins the euro champ, it's definitely a place to go.

Edit: Let me try this again. They will.

 

[erictheobscure]



So I'd go for Paris or Provence. Alternatively Basque. Italy out of the question? Sometimes even hotter, but so many beautiful cities in Toskana (and elsewhere, too). Might become extremely exhausting though if you aren't used to these temperatures. But really, if you wanna go to Barça, just do it. I guess Basque will be the cheapest.

in july travelling big cities can be a hassle.
my vote is for aix-en provence.
save travels
ps: i forgive you, that you didn't consider my country.

I think Provence is sounding more and more appealing.

I definitely want to visit Austria at some point--just figured I'd start on the western of the continent and work my way east!

 

[sns23]

Barcelona. The beach and the rest of the city is nice. Two or three days is the perfect amount of time. Then you could always take a relatively short train ride to Madrid.

 

[b1os]

Which cities are you aiming for? The Provence is a big place. I find Aix-en Provence to be a rather limiting destination if you're interested in the obvious cities like Nice, Cannes, St Tropez and Monaco. Might want to keep that in mind.

 

[clausc]

I would not go to a big city in July. Or maybe spending a day visiting a city (Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon) is a good choice, then go to a nearby seaside resort on the Mediterranean or Atlantic (e.g Cascais/Estoril).

 

[erictheobscure]



Which cities are you aiming for? The Provence is a big place. I find Aix-en Provence to be a rather limiting destination if you're interested in the obvious cities like Nice, Cannes, St Tropez and Monaco. Might want to keep that in mind.

Do the beach cities turn into a douchey tourist scene in the summer? Would prefer something on the serene/mellow side, especially if we end up going to Provence.

Barcelona. The beach and the rest of the city is nice. Two or three days is the perfect amount of time. Then you could always take a relatively short train ride to Madrid.

I would not go to a big city in July. Or maybe spending a day visiting a city (Barcelona, Seville, Lisbon) is a good choice, then go to a nearby seaside resort on the Mediterranean or Atlantic (e.g Cascais/Estoril).

These also seem like tempting options.

 

[itsstillmatt]

IMO, the riviera sucks in high summer unless you are renting a house, which is awesome, or you have the money to shack up with the crazy Russians in very, very expensive hotels. Otherwise, it is disappointing these days. Hell, I might limit that to unless you rent a house it is disappointing. I don't love the area around Aix and Avignon either, but I can definitely see the charm. We have a house in the Dordogne, which is outside of Bordeaux. It's more laid back, and more English than Russian as far as ex-pats go. The up (and down) side is that there are few hotels, but there are a lot of nice rental properties, some quite cheap and clean. If you want to bum around it is a place to consider. The siteseeing is interesting in that many of the famous caves are there, and the cities are ancient, so there is neat stuff, but it isn't the kind of neat stuff that calls to people trying to put together their impressive scrapbook. Also, very close to Spain. Food is better during truffle season, but it is heavy in wild mushrooms all year, and foie gras and duck are the two specialties of the region. And Armagnac, which can smooth the rough edges off of anything.

 

[b1os]



Do the beach cities turn into a douchey tourist scene in the summer? Would prefer something on the serene/mellow side, especially if we end up going to Provence.

I guess so. We were there in late September which was quite good. You could always focus on the less-popular (in terms of 0815 tourist attractions) spots. But these cities are really worth a see when you're already in the region. Anyway, Matt's got a point.

 

[clausc]

Well, depends if the OP want something more laid back or a tourist region like Côte d'Azur, Costa Brava etc. July could be pretty hot and crowded, but not as much as August, when most of the French, Italians, Spanish are leaving their cities and go to seaside.

 

[Fuuma]



Do the beach cities turn into a douchey tourist scene in the summer? Would prefer something on the serene/mellow side, especially if we end up going to Provence.
These also seem like tempting options.

Don't go to Riviera, it doesn't "turn" into a lair of douchebags it IS a lair of douchebags.

You should go to the "colder" places btw, this is ******* July, visit Berlin/Prague/Vienna or something. If you have to go to France go to the North, if you have to go to Spain or Italy, don't.

If it helps Berlin isn't expensive and you can rent a large apt there for a really low price, you can then go out and listen to german minial techno while other clubgoers are having an orgy 1 meter away from you. If you always wanted to go to Scandinavia now is the time. Avoid Greece like the plague, really ******* hot.

 

[erictheobscure]



IMO, the riviera sucks in high summer unless you are renting a house, which is awesome, or you have the money to shack up with the crazy Russians in very, very expensive hotels. Otherwise, it is disappointing these days. Hell, I might limit that to unless you rent a house it is disappointing. I don't love the area around Aix and Avignon either, but I can definitely see the charm. We have a house in the Dordogne, which is outside of Bordeaux. It's more laid back, and more English than Russian as far as ex-pats go. The up (and down) side is that there are few hotels, but there are a lot of nice rental properties, some quite cheap and clean. If you want to bum around it is a place to consider. The siteseeing is interesting in that many of the famous caves are there, and the cities are ancient, so there is neat stuff, but it isn't the kind of neat stuff that calls to people trying to put together their impressive scrapbook. Also, very close to Spain. Food is better during truffle season, but it is heavy in wild mushrooms all year, and foie gras and duck are the two specialties of the region. And Armagnac, which can smooth the rough edges off of anything.

Unless it's a major city destination, I far prefer laid back & relaxing with good food & drink being the key draws. Roaming around Bordeaux seems like yet another option. Is it too hot in July? Wikipedia tells me the average high in July is around 80. 80-90 seems okay and not too oppressive.

Don't go to Riviera, it doesn't "turn" into a lair of douchebags it IS a lair of douchebags.
You should go to the "colder" places btw, this is ******* July.

Come to think of it, I have always wanted to check out Iceland.