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Europe

Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026

Five country books, eleven city guides and honest advice on when to go — the Guild's chapter on Europe.

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The Colosseum in Rome lit by late afternoon sun

The Colosseum, Rome — the most visited monument in Europe. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The Guild's chapter on Europe

For a great many American travellers Europe is the first big trip — the one saved for, argued over at the kitchen table and remembered for the rest of a life. It is also the easiest part of the world to travel well once you are there: an overnight flight puts you at breakfast in another century, the trains run between city centres rather than airports, and most of the places you have come to see can be walked in a morning. The Guild's chapter on Europe is five books today — Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom — each with its own guides to where to stay in the headline cities and a month-by-month page on when to go. More of the continent is being written, and we will say so here when it arrives.

Books on the shelfItaly, France, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom
Flying timeAbout 7–9 hours from the US East Coast; 10–12 from the West
MoneyEuro in Italy, France, Spain and Germany; pound sterling in the UK
Getting aroundHigh-speed rail between most major cities; budget flights for longer hops
EntrySchengen allows 90 days in any 180; the UK is separate and needs an ETA

The countries on the shelf

Five country books today, each with its own city hotel guides and a best-time-to-go page.

ItalyBOOK 1

Italy rewards a slow trip more than almost anywhere else: three thousand years of ruins, the whole of the Renaissance, and a national conviction that lunch matters. Rome, Florence and Venice sit within a few hours of one another on the fast trains, which makes a first visit unusually simple to arrange. Heat and crowds both peak in July and August, so most Guild readers aim instead for May or the second half of September.

FranceBOOK 2

France is really two holidays sold together — Paris, which needs no argument from us, and a countryside of vineyards, cathedral towns and Mediterranean coast that a good many travellers end up preferring. The TGV puts Nice or Bordeaux about three hours from the capital, so you need not choose. August is when the French themselves take their holiday: Paris empties and quiets, and the coast fills up.

SpainBOOK 3

Spain runs late, eats late and costs noticeably less than the rest of Western Europe, which is a fair part of the appeal. Madrid holds the great picture galleries, Barcelona has Gaudí and the sea, and Andalusia in the south keeps the Moorish palaces at Granada, Seville and Córdoba. Inland summers are genuinely fierce — well past 100°F in the south — so spring and autumn are far kinder to most visitors.

GermanyBOOK 4

Germany is the practical one: trains that keep to the minute, cities rebuilt with real care, and prices that come as a relief to anyone arriving from Paris. Berlin is the restless modern capital with its history left deliberately visible; Munich is Bavaria's front door, with the Alps an hour to the south. Two calendar dates drive the crowds — Oktoberfest, which fills Munich from mid-September, and the Christmas markets, which open across the country in late November.

United KingdomBOOK 5

The United Kingdom is the gentlest introduction to Europe an American traveller can have — no language to wrestle with, and history stacked in plain layers from Roman wall to Georgian square. London alone will fill a week without effort; Edinburgh, about four and a half hours north by train, is the handsomest small capital in Europe. One piece of paperwork to note: most American visitors now need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, applied for online through GOV.UK before you fly.

Elsewhere in Europe

These countries do not have a Guild book yet, and we would rather tell you that than hand you a thin one. Until the books are written, here are hotel searches for the cities readers ask about most.

Not yet writtenEUROPE

No Guild book exists for these yet. These links open a hotel search on Trip.com, our booking partner — they are not Guild guides, and we have marked them so.

When to go

Europe's high season is short, loud and expensive, and it sits squarely in July and August. Almost everything the Guild recommends comes down to travelling on either side of it.

Spring — April to June

The best all-round window on the continent. Gardens and countryside are at their peak, the days are long by June, and the queues at the headline sights are still manageable. Northern Europe warms later than the Mediterranean, so save Scotland and Germany for late May onward and take Spain, Italy or southern France in April.

Summer — July and August

Peak everything: peak sun, peak crowds, peak prices. Southern Europe can be genuinely uncomfortable — Seville, Rome and Athens regularly pass 100°F — and August is the month the French, Italians and Spanish take their own holidays, so cities empty while the coast fills. If you must travel then, go north: Britain, Germany and the Alps are at their best.

Autumn — September and October

Our favourite compromise, and the one most Guild readers choose. September still has summer's warmth with a fraction of the crowds; October brings the vendange in France, truffles and chestnuts in Italy, and hotel rates that drop week by week. Daylight shortens quickly after the clocks change in late October.

Winter — November to March

The cheapest and quietest time to see the great museums and cathedrals, and the only time you will have the Louvre or the Uffizi to yourself. Expect short grey days and some seasonal closures on the coast and in the hill towns. The exceptions are the German and Austrian Christmas markets from late November, and the Alps, which come into their own from January.

Questions readers ask about Europe

When is the best time to visit Europe?

For most travellers, late April to mid-June and September to mid-October. You get warm, long days, everything is open, and you avoid the July and August peak when southern Europe is hottest, most crowded and most expensive. If you are going mainly for cities and museums rather than beaches, November to March is quieter still and considerably cheaper — and the German Christmas markets from late November are a genuine reason to travel in winter.

Do Americans need a visa for Europe?

US citizens do not need a visa for short tourist visits to the Schengen area, but you may stay no more than 90 days in any 180-day period across the whole zone. Two systems are changing how that is checked: the EU's Entry/Exit System, which registers fingerprints and a facial image at the border, has been fully operational since 10 April 2026, and ETIAS, a paid online travel authorisation to be obtained before departure, is scheduled to start in the last quarter of 2026 with the exact date still to be announced. The United Kingdom is not in the Schengen area and runs its own scheme: most American visitors need an Electronic Travel Authorisation from GOV.UK before flying. Always confirm current requirements with the official authority before you book.

Which European country is best for a first trip?

Italy and the United Kingdom are the two the Guild suggests most often. Italy gives you the greatest concentration of what people picture when they say Europe — ruins, art, coastline and food — with Rome, Florence and Venice linked by fast train. The UK removes the language question entirely, which matters more than travellers expect on a first trip. France is the natural third choice if Paris is the thing you have always wanted to see.

Is it better to take the train or fly between European cities?

For journeys under about four hours of rail time, take the train — Paris to London, Rome to Florence, Madrid to Barcelona, Berlin to Munich. You leave from a city-centre station, skip the airport ritual, keep your luggage with you and arrive in the middle of town. For longer hops, such as London to Athens or Lisbon to Berlin, fly. Booking rail tickets two or three months out usually saves a great deal on the fast lines.

How many days do you need in Europe?

Ten days to two weeks is the realistic minimum for a first trip, and the common mistake is trying to fit too much into it. Two cities in ten days, or three in two weeks, with the travel between them done by train, leaves room to actually sit down somewhere. Remember to write off most of your arrival day: an overnight flight lands you tired, and no one enjoys a cathedral on two hours' sleep.

Ready to plan your European trip?

Compare hotels, flights and tours across Europe — booked through Trip.com.

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Europe · a shelf of the The Guild Travel Library
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