Where to visit first?
 

Hello everyone!

I've decided I would like to travel abroad for the week I have off in August but, I haven't traveled abroad before. It seems there are a million places to visit but since I only have one week I was looking for some personal opinions. I've been looking in Berlin or perhaps Krakow? I love history and architecture so those are my main focuses but I'm curious as to what seasoned travelers have to say!

History and architecture? It would have to be Rome for me!

What country do you live in?

welcome to FT!

you can expect to get dozens if not hundreds of suggestions, but a little more information from you beyond "I love history and architecture" will help (at least some of) us provide more considered responses

Many years ago when my wife and I planned our first international trip, we asked ourselves where we'd go if we knew we could only take one trip. The answer for us was easy: Paris.

Welcome to Flyertalk! We'd love to make suggestions but need to know a bit more about you:
* Where is home?
* What are your personal interests?
* What's your budget?
* Any mobility issues?

History and architecture? By architecture, I'm taking the liberty of guessing you mean 'of the historic kind'.

Athens, Paris, Rome, Istanbul, Firenze, Prague, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Brussels, Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna ... and that's just a small selection from a single continent.

Need to narrow your preferences down a bit more.

Edit: Just noticed you said August. In that case, strike Paris, Rome, Firenze and Istanbul off the list. Too crowded, too hot, too many tourists. In fact, August is just about the 'worst' month for historical touristing in Europe.

Agreed. I was about to say the same thing.

While Rome is a great place to go for history and architecture, August is not the time, especially for someone's first international trip.

If it's European history the OP is specifically interested in, then something farther north in Europe is a better idea than Rome in August.

But if it's general history and architecture the OP likes, for August, may I suggest going southern hemisphere and doing something like Machu Picchu, and saving Europe for a time when it's less hot and less crowded.

Where have you always dreamed of visiting? That's where I'd go. August can be hot, crowded, and expensive in much of Europe but I went to Berlin one year at the end of August and it was a good trip. Not overly crowded and the weather was comfortable.

Also depends where the poster is from - if they live in a hot climate, they may be a) comfortable with the temperatures and/or b) actually getting away from even hotter weather elsewhere! Hot, per se, doesn't overly bother me if I am meandering around a city, and as a Brit, our holidays as children to southern Europe were always in July and August, so perhaps I just got used to it! I will add that while northern Europe (e.g. UK) is generally a better bet for cooler temperatures, northern cities are also far less likely to be geared up for hot weather, so a city used to high 20s low 30s heat, with all the AC that comes with it, may end up being more comfortable than a city like, for example, London, in the mid-high 20s.

In case OP was wondering, Firenze is the Italian name for the city known in English as Florence.

Hi guys,

Thank you for all the replies! I currently live in the U.S and am in my twenties. History is really what interests and learning about new cultures. I'm a very curious person so I love to learn. In high school world war 2 was always what interested me the most. I know August is one of the worst times to travel but the only other time I have is January and this January I can't go. As far as climate, I can handle either cold or hot but I would probably go cold.

Home is the United States
Personal interests are hiking, art (mostly painting,) architecture from the earlier centuries, history (WW2, ancient Egypt, Rome,)
Small budget but not terrible
No mobility issues

New Zealand without a second thought but when I go I'm planning to make it a good, long trip!

My first thought was Japan.

Germany sounds like a great destination in August. Flights are more expensive then, but the weather is fantastic. Pick a couple of cities, and just go enjoy yourself.

Warning: Traveling can rapidly become addicting.

But for just a week? She'd lose more than a day to travel and would spend the first two or three days adjusting to jet lag.

If you like history and architecture, what about a trip to Montreal and Quebec City? You get foreign culture and another language to boot, some beautiful architecture, cities rooted in history, great food and will spend far less time on planes.