Europe trip May to July 2026

[ut2sua]

So, DW and I agreed that life is short and chances need to be taken while we could (my weak attempt to explain why we booked trips at this time with everything going on rn). We booked a 50 day trip through Central and Western Europe from May to July. We will be visiting Sofia, Belgrade, Bucharest, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, London among other places.
We would love to get some guidance/input on where to go, what to see, food to try etc. among other things. Some particular questions below (many thanks in advance for any/all comments):
1- Sofia, is taking a taxi from the SOF airport to town as easy as just getting to the official taxi line outside of the airport? Uber is not available there, and we definitely do not speak the language. Google search mentioned 9 euros for the trip, but that could be old info.
2- We did a general weather search on the web regarding temperature and rain-fall for the various cities (and got fairly mild average climate for all during the month of May to early July) , but is there anything we should be aware of?
3- We applied online for the UK ETA. There is no requirement right now for US citizens to the Schengen zone (?)
4- Transfers from airport to town and back: We plan to take the official taxi from the airport to town, and Uber back from hotel to airport for all
mentioned cities (except Sofia). Is this a passable plan? We did some research and understood not to take the "taxi" rides from folks inside the airports.
Thanks for reading and wishing safe and fun travel to all

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, the ETIAS for the Eurozone/Schengen area is not yet active.

The hotels can help you arrange transportation to and from the airport if needed.

 

[HarveyS]

I think you should plan on Madrid and Barcelona being very warm, bordering on hot.
Eat at Posada de la Villa in Madrid. Get the roasted lamb.
Visit Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
In Paris, the best bakery I found was Du Pain et Des Idees, 34 rue Yves Toudic (but it is really hard to separate the best from the rest).
If in Amsterdam on a Saturday, take the bus or train to Leiden for the market.

Taking a cab from the airport is easier than trying to find the Uber pick up location many times. May cost a bit more, but limits the hassle factor when arriving in a new city. DW and I have also taken trains from airport to downtown without a problem.

Get a good e-sim and learn to use whatsApp - if not already using it.

 

[audreyh1]

In Spain taxis are reliable and very reasonable. The hotel can schedule one for you for returning to the airport.

 

[FIREd]

In Belgrade I can recommend the Hilton. It’s very nice, reasonably priced, and centrally located. I can also recommend “Josephine” across the street for cocktails and light eating.

 

[deserat]

You will be biometrically scanned when you enter the EU...the ETIAS or 'visa' similar to the UK one has not been activated yet.

Paris/London/Amsterdam are large cities-look up some of the museum policies regarding tickets and times. These large cities in Europe have passes which include public transportation and museum passes. They can be more economical.

Since this is a multi city, multi country trip and I'm going to assume your first trip over there, hit the known highlights and then do something that you as a couple (or alone) like to do based on your proclivities. Your time is limited, so research is important (unless you all are more serendipitous). I usually have 'non-negotiable' items and then a list of nice to do if can. When I was married, my husband, who was not as organized as I, was the serendipitous type, so we did the non-negotiables first and then the rest of the time was free to roam and discover. It worked fairly well.

 

[target2019]

If your city dates are set now, book in advance for things like Basílica de la Sagrada Família. Bookings for that require months in advance.

Weather around the Mediterranean can be very harsh in the summer. Protect yourself from the sun, and also from pickpockets.

 

[ut2sua]

Eat at Posada de la Villa in Madrid. Get the roasted lamb.
Visit Sagrada Familia in Barcelona
In Paris, the best bakery I found was Du Pain et Des Idees, 34 rue Yves Toudic (but it is really hard to separate the best from the rest).
If in Amsterdam on a Saturday, take the bus or train to Leiden for the market.

Per your tip, we have added a train trip to the Leiden market on Sat to our list of things to do in Amsterdam. The mentioned bakery in Paris is about 2 miles from our booked hotel. We like to walk, so there is a good chance we will hit it as a part of our Le Marais adventure. Much appreciated.

 

[ut2sua]

In Belgrade I can recommend the Hilton.

Our tour will have us staying at the Hilton in Belgrade. It is great to know it will be a great hotel for us. Thanks.

 

[ut2sua]

In Spain taxis are reliable and very reasonable. The hotel can schedule one for you for returning to the airport.

It is great to have this confirmation. We will make use of Spain taxis to move around as even we have most transportation provided by our tours, we do plan to stay extra days by ourselves in Barcelona and Madrid.

 

[audreyh1]

Per your tip, we have added a train trip to the Leiden market on Sat to our list of things to do in Amsterdam. The mentioned bakery in Paris is about 2 miles from our booked hotel. We like to walk, so there is a good chance we will hit it as a part of our Le Marais adventure. Much appreciated.

Leiden is lovely and there is a lot to do there. The canals are nice and there is a famous university botanical garden founded by Carolus Clusius late 1500s who brought the tulip to the Netherlands. A huge windmill is a museum where you can climb almost all the way to the top, many stories. There is also a natural history museum but that alone could sink all day.

 

[ut2sua]

You will be biometrically scanned when you enter the EU...the ETIAS or 'visa' similar to the UK one has not been activated yet.

Paris/London/Amsterdam are large cities-look up some of the museum policies regarding tickets and times. These large cities in Europe have passes which include public transportation and museum passes. They can be more economical.

Since this is a multi city, multi country trip and I'm going to assume your first trip over there, hit the known highlights and then do something that you as a couple (or alone) like to do based on your proclivities. Your time is limited, so research is important (unless you all are more serendipitous). I usually have 'non-negotiable' items and then a list of nice to do if can. When I was married, my husband, who was not as organized as I, was the serendipitous type, so we did the non-negotiables first and then the rest of the time was free to roam and discover. It worked fairly well.

Similar to us, DW is the organized type (I am less so). I try to contribute more (thus relying on the vast knowledge of folks here) Thanks for the tips

 

[ut2sua]

If your city dates are set now, book in advance for things like Basílica de la Sagrada Família. Bookings for that require months in advance.

Weather around the Mediterranean can be very harsh in the summer. Protect yourself from the sun, and also from pickpockets.

We have just learned that the Sagrada Familia has finally been completed this year. So, of course, we will plan to see it. There seem to be a choice of having the tower access as part of the tour (or not). Our only previous trip to Barcelona were several hours off a cruise ship stop, but the church was a bit too far to get to at that time. I was blown away visiting the Gothic architecture Duomo di Milano (church in Milan). I wonder how this church will compare. Thanks for the tips.

 

[target2019]

We have just learned that the Sagrada Familia has finally been completed this year. So, of course, we will plan to see it. There seem to be a choice of having the tower access as part of the tour (or not). Our only previous trip to Barcelona were several hours off a cruise ship stop, but the church was a bit too far to get to at that time. I was blown away visiting the Gothic architecture Duomo di Milano (church in Milan). I wonder how this church will compare. Thanks for the tips.

Barcelona - Fall 2025

This was our second trip to Barcelona in 2 years. Last year in May we visited Barcelona and Valencia, each for 10 days. We were helping our oldest decide which city would he and girlfriend would settle in. When we, the parents, went up 145 meters in the Torre Glòries (Enjoy the view of...

www.early-retirement.org

That's my diary from Fall 2025 in Barcelona and surrounding area.

We used the underground trains and some surface public transit. Very inexpensive with a multi day pass.

 

[audreyh1]

We have just learned that the Sagrada Familia has finally been completed this year. So, of course, we will plan to see it. There seem to be a choice of having the tower access as part of the tour (or not). Our only previous trip to Barcelona were several hours off a cruise ship stop, but the church was a bit too far to get to at that time. I was blown away visiting the Gothic architecture Duomo di Milano (church in Milan). I wonder how this church will compare. Thanks for the tips.

It’s like night and day from the Duomo in Milan, totally different experience. We didn’t tour the tower. Small group guided tour of the basilica was awesome back in 2016. It’s a real zoo around La Sagrada Família so having a group make the arrangements and guide is nice.

 

[braumeister]

We have just learned that the Sagrada Familia has finally been completed this year.

Well, that may be debatable.
From Wikipedia:

An updated forecast says the building is expected to be completed in June 2026, though work on sculptures, decorative details and a controversial stairway leading to the main entrance is expected to continue until 2034.

Close, but no cigar yet.

 

[Katoslake]

We just returned last week from a 12 day visit to Spain.
Spent the majority of the time in Madrid with a brief two day visit to València via train. Both cities are beautiful and very walkable, but if you need a ride taxis and Ubers are plentiful as previously mentioned. Too many great restaurants to list. One standout is called Charrua in Madrid. I mention it because you will likely need to make a reservation. Another note. My wife has numerous food allergies, especially gluten, and the acknowledgment and sensitivity to these issues is outstanding in Spain. Very accommodating and safe. Zero issues with TSA, flights, security or anything else. We were concerned. Thank goodness we went anyway!
I’d go back in a heartbeat!
Enjoy !

 

[Global Wizzo]

My wife and I really enjoy traveling. Mostly for the people and hotels. We combine a few high points, lots of down time to explore or sit and read. This is written while sitting in the Baku, Azerbaijan airport waiting on our flight to Istanbul and then back to Atlanta.

Don’t do stupid stuff that makes you stand out, but enjoy the trip. Trying to cram in too much and you just beat yourself up.

Most of my Europe travel is done by car. Strasbourg and Colmar are nice. Strasbourg Hilton was excellent.

Suggest you make sure you have a good international cell plan that includes data, TMobile has worked very well for us. You need at least 256K speed for Google Translate and some other services to work well.

If you don’t have your home network set up with a VPN you can access, get a US VPN set up. This secures some of your online account access and will let you get into your US Netflix accounts among others.

Sign up for the State Department STEP program and load your itinerary.

If you drive, be very careful about entering restricted emissions zones. You can get the stickers for a rental car, but it takes some work. Some rental cars will have the ones for the country you rent in (Germany), but not for France’s CRITAIR.

Have fun. We hit the Baltics in May, back to the UAE in June. September-Nov are multiple Asia trips. Dec had us in Poland for two weeks of driving Christmas markets.

We have driven the route from Germany through Poland and zig zagged to Budapest.

Be aware. If you have mobility issues, you will need to allow extra time. Escalators and Elevators may not always work. The locations can sometimes be difficult to find. Some of the subway platforms are a long way down.

If you are taking trains, travel as light as possible. You will be dragging your bags yourself.

Late edit: add the Bolt app for taxis. Works well. Not in every country.

Sorry this a bit mixed, but hope it helps.

 

[Chapter 3]

Thanks for the post and the responses. We are going to some of the same places in May-June so the tips and suggestions are appreciated. Our route is Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bordeaux, Paris, Ghent and Amsterdam. Can't imagine 50 days, since we are ONLY going for 25 and I'm a bit anxious about that. Longest trip ever for us.

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for the post and the responses. We are going to some of the same places in May-June so the tips and suggestions are appreciated. Our route is Barcelona, San Sebastian, Bordeaux, Paris, Ghent and Amsterdam. Can't imagine 50 days, since we are ONLY going for 25 and I'm a bit anxious about that. Longest trip ever for us.

Very nice cities to visit. Great Basque food in San Sebastián. You might enjoy Sidreria Beharri, a cider tavern with fabulous food in old town San Sebastián.

 

[flyingaway]

Just came back from Europe last month. In Sofia, take the Metro #4 from airport to the city center, use a credit card to tap the gate doors (also on buses), no need to tap it again at exit, fares will be calculated after midnight. In Belgrade, every public bus is free, take Bus 100, for example, from the airport to the Old Town, Republic Square.

 

[ut2sua]

Just to share info with those who may be travelling to similar cities as us.
For Paris, we booked and paid guided tour tickets for the Eiffel tower, the Louvre museum, and Notre-Dam from GetYourGuide. GetYourGuide cancelled out Louvre museum tickets saying they ran out of tickets even though we had secured and paid our booking earlier. Turned out tickets price were increased by $40, and we had to rebook at the new price ($230 for 2 now).
For Barcelona, we booked guided tour tickets for Sagrada Familia with tower access (>$100 per guided tour ticket which is more expensive than a Vatican guided tour, but YOLO), a walking tour, and the Picasso museum. Picasso museum is one of those places needing prepurchase tickets. So far, no cancellation there.

 

[YB88]

Some similarity with us --- 47 day trip in June - July. Some concern over fuel shortages impacting flights. We're doing a 3-week Hotel to Hotel walking trip mostly in Switzerland followed by a cruise from Bergen to London. Got the British ETA thing just for that brief London stop.

Direct flight to Munich to start with, but then flight from Geneva to Bergen and later from London to home, all on different airlines.
I hope that jet fuel isn't a tight commodity by the time we're doing those flights, but ... we'll see!
Good to have some travel insurance, with the caveat that it's hard to know for sure what that would turn out to be worth depending on exactly how any negative (flights) scenario might play out.

I note that the OP's plan seems to be focused on major cities. Lots to see there, but I really like trips where I also get out of the big cities. Walking trips work for us like that, but there are other ways of course that allow more interaction with people who live there and a less busy, more relaxed way to spend time and learn about a country. I get kind of exhausted when I spend much time in crowded touristy areas --- but each to their own! Certainly there's no single 'right' way to travel.

 

[ut2sua]

Some similarity with us --- 47 day trip in June - July. Some concern over fuel shortages impacting flights.

I share your concern, but I am not discussing it with DW since she may worry. This is the other side of travelling that might hit anyone from time to time. Hoping for the best.

I note that the OP's plan seems to be focused on major cities. Lots to see there, but I really like trips where I also get out of the big cities.

I only name the big cities in our trip to keep the post short. We actually will visit many interesting cities/places beyond the mentioned ones. We do spend more time in the bigger cities as they have more things to see/do.

 

[ut2sua]

A note on the UK ETA for those who may need it. Do use your phone to start the app as recommended by the instruction. Your phone is needed to scan your passport and to take your picture. Both are needed and are much easier to do with your phone than otherwise.