European honeymoon location/itinerary advice
My fiancé and I are getting married in October, and are planning to take our honeymoon the following summer, probably for 7-9 days. We narrowed it down to Southern (ish) Europe, but are having trouble landing on the ideal itinerary. Ideally our honeymoon would be split, with a few days in a city to soak up some history, culture, and interesting architecture, and the rest of time relaxing in a more rural village or enjoying natural landscapes. We want to be sure we're not hectically trying to do too much, though - it's a honeymoon and above all want to be able to focus on each other, in a romantic setting. We also are budget-conscious and so less expensive options get more points. Also, we eat a pretty much pescatarian diet, so very meat-focused places are a downside!
So those of you who are experienced European travelers, I would love to hear your thoughts on which of these seems most in line with the kind of honeymoon we want!
Barcelona and Morocco - we have both been to Barcelona (separately) and loved it, and the mixture of beach and lively culture sounds great for a honeymoon. He speaks Spanish and I speak French, so fewer language barriers is appealing, and crossing the Strait of Gibraltar seems exciting. But it doesn't necessarily sound super relaxing, so I'm not sure it's right for our honeymoon.
Venice and Italian Alps - He's always wanted to go to Italy, but aside from France (where I studied for a semester), Italy is the place in Europe I've spent the most time, and liked the idea of going somewhere neither of us have been. But I've spent so much time there because I love Italy, and Venice is the city I'd most enjoy going back to, as I was there only a few days over a decade ago, and found it so very surreal and romantic.
Vienna and Austrian Alps - Eastern Europe is appealing to both of us, but I've only been to Prague and Cesky Krumlov. Austria seems like it could be a cool mix of Eastern and Western Europe, and staying in a little village in the Alps sounds so cozy.
Croatia and Slovenia - he loves beaches and I love mountains, so it seems like we'd get both covered here, as well as the cozy Eastern European village feel. Worried it's sort of at an opposite pole from the Barcelona/Morocco option, though, without the same kind lively cultural experiences you can get in larger, historical cities.
Greece - I'd love to go to Athens for some history and then Santorini for the architecture or some other more remote island for the landscapes and beaches, but he's worried island-hopping will be stressful and expensive.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts and/or votes!
Posted Jul 19, 2017, 3:27 PM UTC
Just as a suggestion that falls somewhere between two of your options, have you considered the South Tyrol, particularly Bolzano/Bozen?
It's a pretty unique area, which combines Austrian and Italian Alpine life together. Bolzano is a beautiful city and the villages in the mountains around it are spectacular. Many of the villages have places to stay as well. The views from these villages are some of the mos staggeringly beautiful I've ever seen.
Bolzano itself is a relaxed place, but has some interesting cultural places to visit. In particular, there's the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, which houses Otzi the Iceman and his belongings. There's also Schloss Runkelstein, which is a very scenic castle with one of the largest intact collections of secular Medieval frescoes in Europe.
You could quite easily spend some time in Innsbruck in Austria, then take a train over the Brenner Pass to Bolzano.
Exactly the kind of suggestion I was hoping to find here! It sounds ideal. Castles, mountains, villages, and medieval frescos sound completely up our alley, and I love that it's a place neither of us have been. I'm excited to bring it up to my fiancé so we can do more research on it together - thank you!
Definitely northern Italy is a place to have a closer look at. I would go beyond Bolzano which was a bit too industrial city for me and had a look at lake Garda and surroundings or Merano. But this is because I definitely like it to be further into the mountains than Bolzano.