Europe packs an extraordinary range of trips into a small area. In a single week you can trade the cliffside villages of the Amalfi Coast for the museums and cafés of Paris, or swap Santorini’s whitewashed lanes for the lakes and peaks of Switzerland. Distances are short, trains are fast and frequent, and many countries share the euro, which makes multi-stop itineraries easy to plan. Our Europe travel guides cover when to go, what the weather is like each season, which neighbourhoods suit different travellers and which tours are worth booking ahead. Summer brings the warmest sea and the biggest crowds, so we flag the shoulder months of May, June and September wherever they offer a better balance of weather and price. Each guide also includes rough daily budget estimates, practical tips on transport and timing, and answers to the questions readers ask most. Start with a destination below, or use our month-by-month planner in Travel Guides to see which European places are at their best when you can travel.