Austria
Austria is Vienna coffee houses, Salzburg music and Alpine lakes in summer, then family-run ski villages in winter.
Short flights to long lunches: coastlines, lakes, mountains and cities an easy hop from the UK
Europe travel: Europe
How to think about Europe
Europe is where short flights buy the most holiday. The Mediterranean covers most of it: the Amalfi Coast and Puglia in Italy, the Cyclades in Greece, the Dalmatian islands of Croatia and the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. The Alps in Switzerland and Austria work in summer for lakes and walking as well as in winter for skiing.
Iceland is the odd one out, a road trip of glaciers, waterfalls and hot springs rather than a sun holiday. The Canary Islands and Cyprus are where to look for warmth in winter, and Turkey pairs Istanbul with the coves of the Turquoise Coast.
Timing matters as much as the place. June and September give you a warm sea and fewer people on the Greek and Italian coasts. Combining is easy: Rome with the Amalfi Coast, Athens with two islands, or Lisbon with the Douro Valley in Portugal. Trains often beat flights between cities in France, Spain and Italy.
Destinations in Europe
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands are Europe's nearest dependable winter sun: volcanic landscapes, dark skies and no time difference.
Croatia
Croatia is the Adriatic by boat: Roman Split, the walls of Dubrovnik and islands such as Hvar, Vis and Korčula in between.
Cyprus
Cyprus has a beach season that runs into November, Roman mosaics at Paphos and painted mountain churches in the Troodos.
France
France is close enough for a long weekend and big enough to keep coming back: Paris, Provence, the Riviera and the wine regions.
Greece
Greece is really a choice of islands: the Santorini caldera, quieter Paros and Milos, the gorges and palaces of Crete.
Iceland
Iceland puts glaciers, geysers and black-sand beaches three hours from London, with midnight sun in June and aurora in winter.
Italy
Italy rewards choosing one region well: lemon terraces at Amalfi, Tuscan hill towns, lake villas and the lagoon light of Venice.
Montenegro
Montenegro packs a fjord-like bay, walled towns and wild mountain canyons into a country you can drive across in a morning.
Portugal
Portugal fits a lot into short distances: Lisbon, the Douro terraces, the quiet Alentejo coast and the Algarve cliffs.
Spain
Spain pairs Moorish Andalucía and the food of San Sebastián with Mallorca coves, all within three hours of London.
Switzerland
Switzerland is the Alps made easy: car-free mountain villages, lakes you can swim in and trains that climb to the glaciers.
Turkey
Turkey joins Istanbul, the balloons over Cappadocia and a wooden gulet on the Turquoise Coast in a single, varied week.
Journeys in Europe
Sample routes to start from. Every one can be changed.
Athens and the Peloponnese coast: ten nights with the family
Three nights in Athens for the Acropolis and the museums, then a drive west via the Corinth Canal to seven nights on the Messinia coast, where a kids club, an aqua park and ancient Olympia keep every age busy.
Athens, Santorini and Mykonos in nine nights
Two nights in central Athens below the Acropolis, four on the caldera cliff at Oia, and three at Megali Ammos, close enough to walk into Mykonos town for dinner. Island hops by ferry, with a Delos day included.
Rome and Positano: eight nights of piazzas and sea terraces
Three nights in Rome between Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps, with a private guide for the Vatican and the Forum, then the fast train south and five nights on the cliff outside Positano with a lift down to the sea.
Plan your Europe trip
No forms to get through first. Tell us roughly what you have in mind and a specialist will take it from there.