Where to go on a 3 week trip around Europe

By Gemma Tedaldi | Published: 18th November 2018 | Updated: 1st November 2023

Matt and I recently travelled around Europe managing to hit 9 countries, 12 cities, 3 towns and countless villages all in the space of 3 weeks! A 3 week trip around Europe, are we mad? Possibly… But it was a truly wonderful experience that I would gladly do again, just maybe in a slightly bigger van!

One massive bonus of travelling through Europe is how close everything is to each other. We managed to see Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia and Sopron in Hungary in the space of 3 days, purely because they are so close to each other!

So if you are looking for some inspiration for your own 3 week trip around Europe, or even smaller week-long or weekend trips, then read on below!

– Contents –

Slovenia

Hungary

Slovakia

Austria

Germany

Liechtenstein

Switzerland

Italy

Croatia

Accommodation

Slovenia

Sometimes called the New Zealand of Europe, Slovenia is home to some stunning sights. From the capital Ljubljana, north to Maribor and Triglav National Park, or south to coastal Piran, there is something for everyone.

Bucket List Stops & hidden gems

Of course, Lake Bled is on everyone’s list when visiting Slovenia. The bluest of blue water with a castle in the middle is pretty picturesque. But how about a trip to Lake Bohinj instead? There are fewer crowds, the views are still incredible and you can, and definitely should take the cable car up to Vogel, a hidden mountaintop village with views to die for!

Must eat Food & Drink

Slovenian wine is incredible! I have to admit we bought a few bottles to take along the rest of our trip they are just that good! So head north of Maribor to one of the wine regions and enjoy to your heart’s content! The added bonus this is also where the famous heart-shaped road is…

Check out – Which lake to visit in Slovenia, Bled or Bohinj?

Hungary

Whilst on our trip we spend a day in the city of Sopron. This wonderful city sits on the Hungary / Austria border so is easy to get too for a day trip. It is also near Lake Neusiedl, which we found was a great place to camp! Make sure to wander the winding streets in the old town and to climb the medieval fire tower for incredible views over the city.

Slovakia

Another place we had a day trip to was the city of Bratislava. Sitting on a border with both Austria and Hungary, the capital of Slovakia is pretty astounding! One place that is well worth a visit is Bratislava Castle. It has some pretty beautiful views as it looks down on the 18th-century old town and the River Danube. In the pedestrian-only old town itself, there is baroque style architecture everywhere alongside wonderful cafes and bars. Make sure you try some of the local goulash or the cheese and bacon dumplings and find all the famous statues too!

Check out one of our city guides – European City Guide – Prague

Austria

Austria is full to the brim with wonderful places to visit and sights to see. You could easily spend an entire 3 week trip around Europe just in Austria, but we recommend splitting your time stopping for a day or two in Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck, and of course, a visit to Hallstatt is in order, but there is much more to Austria than just city breaks.

Bucket List Stops & hidden gems

Along the River Danube, there are some beautiful villages that you can walk between, think Dürnstein, Weißenkirchen in der Wachau and Wösendorf in der Wachau. All of these are full to the brim with colour architecture alongside fields upon fields of wine vines and apricots. You should also schedule in going to a few of the lakes around Austria, such as Traunsee or Wolfgangsee, purely for the less touristy side of Austria.

Must eat Food & Drink

If you are a fan of apricots you are in for a treat in Austria! Along the River Danube from Vienna to Salzburg, just happens to be the best region for growing apricots. So expect to eat, (and drink!), them in all varieties. Think apricot dumplings, apricot jam, apricot as an apricot, apricot wine etc. If you like the sweet Slovenian wine you will most probably like apricot wine too.

Check out our post on Austria – 5 must see villages, towns and cities of Austria

Germany

When you think of Germany, do you think of historic timber towns, tasty bratwurst and fairytale castles? If you don’t then you should! We only briefly popped by Germany, but boy was it incredible! From the highest point in the country at Zugspitze, all the way to tiny Bavarian towns like Füssen, Germany is not one to miss.

Bucket List Stops & hidden gems

Hire a bike and cycle the vast amount of bike routes there are around Germany and visit castles! We hired bikes in Füssen then cycled out to Neuschwanstein Castle, Hohenschwangau Castle and a beautiful lake called Alpsee. Hiring the bikes not only meant we were able to get out and about without the campervan, perfect if you want a cheeky beer or two… But it also allows you to escape the throngs of tourists as well.

Must eat Food & Drink

After all that cycling some hearty food is on the menu, so try some Bavarian classics like krautschupfnudeln, a lovely cabbage and bacon potato noodle dish, and schneeballentraüm or ‘snowball cakes’, pastry rolled into balls and decorated in any sweet flavour you can think of! I’d highly recommend sticking to a classic cinnamon sugar one of these as the chocolate covered ones can get quick sickly!

Planning your own trip to Europe? Make sure you check out our Travelling Tedaldi Amazon Store Travel Guides for all your guidebooks and maps. (We’ve done the hard work for you and linked all the things we used to plan our trip!)

Liechtenstein

This teeny tiny micro country with an area of only 160km is the 4th smallest country in Europe, (behind San Marino, Monaco and Vatican City), but don’t let that put you off! With mountainous views, timber buildings with pretty shutters and incredible hot chocolate what more could you want? There is also a vast network of Alpine trails you can hike between. Unfortunately, it was intensely foggy whilst we were visiting, so even though we wanted to hike, you couldn’t see 5 steps in front of you!

Switzerland

Switzerland may be expensive but with views like that and great hiking trails, it is well worth a visit to. We only briefly stayed in Switzerland, stopping by Davos, St Moritz, (with its only leaning tower!) and the wonderful scenic mountain road, Flüela Pass, but it gave us a taste of what you can get from a road trip through Switzerland.

Bucket List Stops & hidden gems

We hadn’t originally intended on driving it, but boy, when we did the Grand Tour route of Switzerland, is a sight to behold! With stop off points all along the tour, you not only get to enjoy the fantastic driving that the winding mountain roads of Switzerland have to offer, but you also get some picture perfect views. We only did a short portion of the Grand Tour route and we will be going back to finish it off!

Must eat Food & Drink

You can’t go to Switzerland and not have at least one cheese fondue, it is just delicious! You should also make a beeline for any chocolate you can get your hands on, be it on a waffle, in a cake or as pure slabs of the goodness! We stocked up on Lindt chocolate here as they sold every flavour you could think of and more as a pick’n’mix!

Italy

The land of love, history and food. How could you come for a 3 week trip in Europe and not go to Italy? We filled our time in Italy with day trips to cities such as Bergamo and Verona, as well as wandering small villages like Varenna. Oh and we also ate a lot of food!

Bucket List Stops & hidden gems

Lake Como is one place most people would love to visit in Italy and it is easy to see why the views are astounding! We stopped for a day in Varenna on the eastern edge of  Lake Como, a small village filled with colourful alleyways and wonderful views. This is also the place to go if you want to visit Castello di Vezio and its famous ‘ghosts’. Up above the village, this castle has quite possibly the best views of Lake Como!

Must eat Food & Drink

Food wise, anything and everything that Italy has to offer is something you must eat or a drink you must try! Saying that bellinis in Venice were particularly good… As was the gelato pretty much everywhere!

Croatia

One last day trip was to the wonderful city of Rovinj in the north of Croatia. This fishing port city is bursting with cobbled streets all tangled up leading to beautiful viewpoints and St Euphemia the hilltop church. You can literally wander the cobbles all day long, getting lost and finding unique bars and family run restaurants. Because of its proximity to Italy, there are also some rather nice pizza parlours in Rovinj too!

Accommodation: Where to Stay

We would highly recommend hiring your own vehicle and camping throughout Europe. We had no problems finding somewhere to stay, (apart from one very very busy campsite in Slovenia!) and the majority of the campsites have some great facilities like pools and saunas! For our trip, we hired a campervan from the lovely Nest Campers and you should too!

Check out our post for Nest Campers – Why you have to spend your summer travelling Europe in a Nest Campers

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Gemma (i.e The Travelling Tedaldi)

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Gemma Tedaldi

Gemma is the owner and author of The Travelling Tedaldi, a travel blog helping travellers to discover the best road trips and travel itineraries throughout the UK and Europe. When she isn’t writing about her favourite travel destinations, she can often be found out exploring local hikes or planning future trips.