Visit Europe
A Few Ideas for Your European Vacation
European River Cruises
Few travel experiences rival a European river cruise for sheer variety and ease. Unlike ocean cruises, river cruises dock in the heart of historic city centers, meaning you step off the ship directly into cobblestone streets, local markets, and centuries-old architecture, no tender boats, no distant ports.
The itineraries are exceptionally diverse. The Danube takes you through Vienna, Budapest, and Bratislava. The Rhine winds past medieval castles and vineyard-draped hillsides. The Douro cuts through the terraced wine country of Portugal. The Rhône connects Lyon's world-class gastronomy with the lavender fields of Provence.
Themed departures add another dimension: Christmas market cruises in December are among the most popular and sell out up to a year in advance. Wine-themed sailings pair onboard tastings with vineyard visits ashore. Active itineraries incorporate cycling and hiking excursions at every port.
I work directly with two of the world's leading river cruise lines - AmaWaterways and Uniworld - and can match you with the right ship, itinerary, and cabin category for your preferences.
Italy
Italy is among the most visited countries in the world, which means planning matters more here than almost anywhere else. The difference between a frustrating, overcrowded Italian trip and a genuinely transformative one comes down almost entirely to sequencing, timing, and knowing where to look beyond the obvious.
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Rome, Florence, and Venice are irreplaceable but they are also at their best when complemented by slower, less-visited places. The hill towns of Umbria and Tuscany or the lesser-known Cilento beyond the Amalfi Coast or Sicily's ancient temples and Baroque towns. The lakes of northern Italy, Como, Maggiore, Garda, Varese each has a distinct character. Puglia's trulli houses and masseria farmhouses are quickly gaining popularity, also the Dolomites both summer and winter.
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Italian food and wine are inseparable from the travel experience, and I design itineraries that treat them as destinations in their own right: a Barolo producer in Piedmont, a cooking class in a Florentine kitchen, a seafood lunch at a harbor-side trattoria in Sicily that has no English menu and no tourists.
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Italy itinerary possibilities:
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The classic Rome, Florence, Venice circuit, done properly with the right pacing and pre-booked site access
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Tuscany and Umbria by car, combining wine estates, hill towns, and local markets
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The Amalfi Coast, Positano, and Capri, with a possible extension to Sicily
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A northern lakes itinerary combining Como, Bellagio, and the Borromean Islands
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Sicily or Sardinia as underrated standalone destinations
Greece
Greece rewards the traveler who goes beyond Athens and Santorini - though both absolutely deserve their reputations. With nearly 3,000 islands scattered across the Aegean and Ionian seas, only 130 of them inhabited, Greece offers an extraordinary range of experiences within a single country: ancient ruins, whitewashed villages, crystalline beaches, and some of the Mediterranean's finest seafood.
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History enthusiasts will find 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Acropolis and Parthenon in Athens, the archaeological site of Delphi, and the extraordinary cliff-top monasteries of Meteora, one of the most visually striking places in all of Europe.
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For island hopping, the choices matter enormously. Mykonos and Santorini are iconic but crowded in summer. Paros, Naxos, Folegandros, and Milos offer comparable beauty with far fewer crowds. The Ionian islands - Corfu, Kefalonia, Zakynthos - have a distinctly different character, greener and more Venetian in influence.
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Highlights I recommend for a well-rounded Greece itinerary:
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Athens: the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Temple of Zeus, and the underrated National Archaeological Museum
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A day trip from Mykonos to the uninhabited island of Delos, the legendary birthplace of Apollo and Artemis
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The beaches of Paros, Naxos, or Costa Navarino
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The monasteries of Meteora, best visited early morning before the day-trip crowds arrive
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A small-ship island cruise combining three to four islands in seven days
Croatia
Croatia has emerged as one of Europe's most sought-after destinations over the past decade, and with good reason. It combines the cultural depth of an ancient Dalmatian coastline with some of the clearest water in the Mediterranean, a thriving food and wine scene, and extraordinary natural parks that have no equivalent elsewhere in Europe.
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Dubrovnik is the obvious anchor, its medieval walled city justifiably famous. But limiting Croatia to Dubrovnik is like visiting Italy and skipping everywhere but Rome. Split's Diocletian's Palace - a Roman emperor's retirement home that evolved into a living city - is one of the most extraordinary urban spaces in Europe. Hvar is sophisticated and lively. Rovinj, in Istria, is arguably the most charming town on the entire Adriatic coast. And Plitvice Lakes National Park, with its cascading turquoise lakes and waterfalls, is among the most visually stunning natural sites on the continent.
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Croatia also lends itself particularly well to combination itineraries - land and sea, cultural and active, or paired with Slovenia or Montenegro for a broader Adriatic experience.
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What a custom Croatia itinerary might include:
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Dubrovnik's Old Town, city walls, and the nearby Elaphiti Islands
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Split, Trogir, and the Dalmatian hinterland
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A fully crewed yacht charter to explore the islands at your own pace
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Sailing and cycling adventures combining two modes of exploration
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Plitvice Lakes National Park, ideally positioned as a mid-trip break from the coast
France
France is one of those rare countries that consistently exceeds expectations regardless of how many times you visit. It is the world's most visited country for good reason: no other destination combines world-class art and architecture, one of the world's great culinary traditions, extraordinary regional diversity, and an unmatched wine culture within a single border.
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Paris is the inevitable starting point for most first-time visitors, and it earns every superlative. However, getting Paris right is less about the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre (both worth doing, both requiring advance planning to avoid wasted hours in queues) and more about building in time to simply be in the city rather than moving through it.
Beyond Paris, France divides into regions so distinct they feel like separate countries. Provence offers lavender fields, Roman ruins, hilltop villages, and a cuisine built around olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. The French Riviera - Nice, Antibes, Èze, Saint-Paul-de-Vence - combines glamour with genuine cultural depth and some of the Mediterranean's most beautiful coastal scenery. Normandy pairs moving World War II history with dramatic cliff coastlines and some of France's finest cheese and cider. The Loire Valley, easily reached from Paris, offers a concentration of Renaissance châteaux unmatched anywhere in the world. Alsace, bordering Germany, has a character entirely its own - half-timbered villages, excellent Riesling and Pinot Gris, and a cuisine that draws equally from both cultures.​
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France itinerary ideas worth considering:
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Paris done properly: four to five nights minimum, with pre-booked access to the Louvre, Musée d'Orsay, and Versailles, and time built in for neighborhoods and markets
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A Paris and Loire Valley combination, adding two to three nights among the châteaux
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Provence and the French Riviera: Nice as a base, with day trips to Eze, Monaco, Antibes, and the Luberon villages
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A Bordeaux and Dordogne road trip combining grand wine estates with prehistoric cave art and medieval bastide towns
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Burgundy and Lyon: pairing the world's greatest wine villages with France's undisputed gastronomic capital
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Normandy and Mont Saint-Michel: history, landscapes, and one of Europe's most iconic island abbeys
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A full southern France itinerary combining Provence, the Camargue, the Languedoc, and the Pyrenean foothills
Switzerland
Switzerland is one of Europe's most logistically rewarding destinations precisely because it is so well organized. The trains run on time famously so, the infrastructure is exceptional, and the country packs a range of experiences into a geography roughly the size of the Netherlands.
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What makes Switzerland particularly appealing for the kind of travelers I work with is the combination of world-class cities, Alpine landscapes, and a rail network that connects them so seamlessly that the journey between destinations becomes part of the experience itself.
Switzerland's cities are consistently underestimated by first-time visitors who assume the country is primarily a skiing destination. Zurich, regularly ranked among the world's most livable cities, combines excellent museums, a beautifully preserved medieval old town along the Limmat River, and a sophisticated dining scene that reflects the city's international character. It makes an ideal entry or exit point for a broader Swiss itinerary and rewards at least two nights on its own terms.
Geneva, more cosmopolitan in character, sits at the southwestern tip of Lake Geneva with the Alps rising on three sides. Beyond the lakefront and the iconic Jet d'Eau fountain, Geneva's Old Town is compact and walkable, and the nearby Lavaux wine terraces, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of steep vineyard terraces above the lake are among the most beautiful landscapes in French-speaking Switzerland and very few visitors think to include them. Lausanne and Montreux, further along the lake's northern shore, add further depth to what is a genuinely rich region.
Lucerne may be the most immediately photogenic city in Switzerland. Positioned at the edge of its lake with the Alps as a backdrop, the medieval Chapel Bridge, the Water Tower, and the old town's painted facades create a setting that justifies every photograph. It also serves as the natural gateway to the Jungfrau region, the villages of Grindelwald, Wengen, and Mürren, and the famous viewpoint at Jungfraujoch, the highest railway station in Europe at 3,454 meters.
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The Swiss rail network ties all of this together in a way that makes Switzerland particularly well-suited to independent travel with a carefully planned itinerary.
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For winter visitors, Switzerland's Alpine resorts -Zermatt, Verbier, St. Moritz -offer world-class skiing, but even travelers who do not ski will find Zermatt worth visiting in winter simply for the Matterhorn and the car-free village atmosphere.
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Switzerland itinerary ideas worth considering:
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A classic cities circuit combining Zurich, Lucerne, Bern, and Geneva over eight to ten days, using the Swiss Travel Pass for unlimited rail travel
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Zurich and Lucerne with a Jungfrau region excursion to Grindelwald and the Eiger viewpoints
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Geneva, the Lavaux wine terraces, Lausanne, and Montreux along the northern shore of Lake Geneva
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A Lucerne base with day trips to Mount Pilatus or Rigi by cogwheel railway and lake steamer
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Switzerland combined with neighboring Austria -- Zurich to Salzburg or Innsbruck makes a natural and logistically straightforward pairing
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The Golden Pass scenic rail journey as the spine of a Lucerne to Geneva itinerary
Ready to Plan Your European Adventure?
Europe rewards the traveler who plans with intention. Whether you have a specific destination in mind or are still deciding between Greece and Italy, Croatia and Portugal, or a river cruise and a land-based itinerary, I can help you make the right choice for your travel style and design every detail from there.