Germany

Germany is efficient, varied, and easy to travel, and quietly one of Europe's best-value big trips. Berlin is one of the most interesting cities on the continent; Bavaria delivers Alps, beer halls, and fairytale castles; the Rhine and Mosel valleys are made for slow river travel. Christmas markets make December worth the cold. Otherwise, late spring through early autumn.

A first trip splits naturally between Berlin and Bavaria, with a Rhine or Mosel stop if you're driving or riding the slow trains along the river. Berlin days are museums, memorials, and long nights out; Munich days are beer gardens, the Englischer Garten, and an easy hop to Neuschwanstein or the Zugspitze. Costs stay moderate for Western Europe — it's Munich hotels and rail tickets bought at the last minute that sting.

Two warnings. Deutsche Bahn's reputation for punctuality is years out of date — build slack around long-distance connections. And Germany still loves cash: plenty of bakeries and pubs won't take your card, and shops close on Sundays. Cities outside the big names can feel functional rather than charming, so if you want nonstop visual romance, pick Italy. What Germany offers instead is depth — history handled seriously, and a beer culture nowhere else matches.