I LOVE Europe in the summer. Whether it’s long summer days exploring the dusty Spanish countryside, traipsing the sun-beaten cobblestone streets of Rome, or biking La Croisette and taking in the eye-popping glamour, architecture and umbrellas along the French Riviera, one thing I know for sure: I’m dying to go back. We had such a great time on our cruise with Celebrity Cruises through the Caribbean earlier last year that I’m starting to daydream about a European cruise.
Best Places in Europe
And perusing through pictures from European adventures past is giving me a serious case of the wanderlusties!
Have you been dreaming of a getaway?
Where would you go?
Perhaps the French Riviera strikes your fancy?
And it IS fancy.
I’m eyeballing this itinerary, which would hit some of our beloved spots (Rome, Nice, Barcelona) but also add in some new stops we’ve never had a chance to explore and have been wanting to go (Corsica, Mallorca, Florence, Valencia).
I’m getting excited just thinking about it!
Maybe I’ll treat myself for my birthday?
To a little Roman Holiday?
Plus, a tryst and twirl through the South of France?
The fun thing about a cruise is you can hit so many spots in so little time and not worry about how to get in between destinations, or constant packing and unpacking, so it feels like a TRUE vacation.
Instead of racing through train stations or airports, you could be having a rooftop picnic at sea instead while your ship cruises along (pun so intended) to your next destination.
Celebrity Cruises even has a new EuroXPass option that includes round-trip airfare, transfers, veranda stateroom, free drinks, and $150 to spend on-board, so the whole trip can be completely stress-free.
Now doesn’t that sound dreamy?
Where in the world would you go?
France? Spain? Greek Isles?
Italian Riviera as pictured above?
This itinerary that covers both Rome, the Amalfi Coast, Sicily and the Greek Isles is very tempting…
As is this itinerary that travels to Barcelona, Mallorca, Malta, Sicily, Amalfi, Rome, Corisca, Florence/Pisa…
But I keep coming back to this itinerary that sets sail on Aug 6:
Day 1: Rome, Italy — My favorite European city, especially in the summer. From gawking at the Colosseum and pretending you’re Audrey Hepburn on the Spanish Steps to meandering around the Trastevere, there’s no place like Rome.
Day 2: Florence/Pisa, Italy — Embarrassingly we’ve been to Pisa and NOT seen the Leaning Tower and once drove into Florence but couldn’t find a place to park and left immediately, which would never happen with a cruise – ha!
On Day 3: Nice, France — All of those colorful striped umbrellas? French Riviera, bebe! I want to bike and take it all in again, and have lunch at Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc.
Day 4: Ajaccio, Corsica — Garance Dore has had me dreaming of Corsica ever since she wrote about it here.
Day 5: At sea — I look forward to another rooftop picnic at sea!
On Day 6: Palma De Mallorca, Spain — I don’t know much about Mallorca but hear great things and look forward to soaking it all up!
Day 7: Palma De Mallorca, Spain
On Our 8th Day: Cartagena, Spain — I probably shouldn’t admit that the only Cartagena I’ve heard of is in Colombia, but that’s the beauty of travel, exploring places we know nothing about!
Day 9: Valencia, Spain — We’ve been lucky enough to visit many spots in Spain — from Barcelona all along the Costa del Sol to Portugal, but have never seen Valencia. Looking forward to seeing what it’s all about.
Day 10: Barcelona, Spain — We loved biking along the water and La Sagrada Familia was probably the most impactful architecture I’ve ever seen. I look forward to checking out Gaudi’s other masterpiece, the wonderfully kooky Parc Guell.
What do you think? Where would you go?
For inspiration and itineraries visit celebritycruises.com.
PHOTOS by FRED MOSER
Thank you to Celebrity Cruises for partnering on this post.
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OMG. Those pics are amazing!! I need to go now!!
Thank you! And I say go, go go!