The Ultimate European Bucket List

Here we go with our Ultimate European Bucket List!

We’ll be living in Germany for three to four years (until 2024-ish), and our goal is to see and do as much as possible*.

*I realize posting this now seems almost ridiculous since we’re all stuck at home, but one day we will travel again. And when that happens, we’ll be ready.

This list is ever changing and evolving, and we’ll be adding to it and updating it as often as possible.

The possibilities are endless for amazing places to travel within Europe, and we’re also always on the lookout for awesome places to visit, cool things to see, and great eats, please feel free to comment share your favorites with us if you don’t see it on our list!

We also lived in Europe (Italy) back in 2011—2013, and travelled a lot then, so I’m still going through and updating this list with posts from back then.

Our European Bucket List

⬡ = have not accomplished
⬢ = accomplished (linked to blog post/instagram when applicable)
underlined = click the link for posts from that entire country
(HR = Hard Rock Cafe; I collect their shot glasses)

Austria

⬡ Hallstatt
⬡ Vienna (HR)
⬡ Lake Zell
⬡ Melk Abbey
⬡ Innsbruck
⬡ Krimml Waterfalls 
⬡ Feldkirch
⬡ Durnstein
⬡ Plansee
⬡ Wachau
⬡ Innsbruck (HR)
⬡ castle leopoldsberg (from Pretty.thrifty.girl on insta)
⬡ Underwater park (pinterest)
⬢ Go on the Sound of Music tour
⬢ Salzburg
⬡ Salt mine in Salzburg

Belgium

⬡ Antwerp (HR)
⬡ Boom (De Schorre; hidden trolls)
⬡ Borgloon Doorkijkkerk
⬡ Bruges (stay in a castle)
⬡ Brussels (HR)
⬡ Dinant
⬡ Durbuy
⬡ Graefswinning (May/June)
⬡ Hautes Fagnes
⬡ Hallerbos (April for blue bonnets)
⬡ Kasteel van Horst
⬡ Kasteel Wissekerke
⬡ Nieuwpoort
⬡ Villers Abbey
⬡ Vorselaar (Borrekens Castle)
⬡ Walzin Castle

Croatia

⬢ Plitvice Lakes National Park in the Lika region
⬡ Rovinj
⬡ Pula 
⬡ Dubrovnik 

Cyprus

Czech Republic

⬡ Prague (HR)
⬡ Český Krumlov

Denmark

⬡ See the Little Mermaid statue
⬡ Copenhagen (HR)

Estonia

Finland

⬡ Rovaniemi

France

⬢ Paris
⬡ Dijon
⬡ Épernay
⬡ Lavender fields
⬡ Normandy
⬡ Mont Saint-Michel
⬡ Bordeaux
⬡ Disneyland Paris
⬡ Lyon (HR)
⬡ Nice (HR
⬡ Andorra (HR)
⬡ Arles
⬡ Aix-en-Provence
⬡ Marsaile
⬡ Riquewihr – inspiration for Beauty and the Beast
⬡ Eguisheim
⬡ Kaysersberg
⬢ Colmar 
⬡ French Riviera
⬡ Champagne region
⬡ Versailles (been there in 2001)
⬡ Etretat, Upper Normandy (pinterest) 

Germany

Day Trips Near Geilenkirchen (click here to see this list on a Google map)
⬢ Schloss Paffendorf
⬢ Tri-border Point
⬢ Aachen
⬡ Beilstein (2 hours)
⬢ Bonn (1 hour)
⬢ Brander-Wald (American tanks in Germany)
⬡ Bruggen
⬡ Burg Eltz (2 hours)
⬢ Schloss Satzvey (1 hour)
⬡ Burg Vischering (2 hours)
⬡ Cochem (2 hrs)
⬡ Cologne/Köln (HR; Chocolate factory)
⬡ Freudenberg (2 hrs)
⬡ Halde Haniel (1.5 hrs)
⬡ Irrland (Waterpark; 1 hr)
⬡ Kakushöhle Caves (1 hr)
⬡ Kaldenkirchen Sequoia Farm (1 hr)
⬡ Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth (1 hr)
⬡ Kamp-Lintfort (1 hr)
⬡ Kugelbahn (2 hrs)
⬡ Maria Laach Abbey (1.5 hrs)
⬢ Monschau
⬡ Schloss Bürresheim (1.5 hrs)
⬡ Schloss Drachenburg (1.5 hrs)
⬡ Schloss Dyck (30 min)
⬡ Schloss Nordkirchen (2 hrs)
⬡ Schloss Rheydt (40 minutes)
⬡ Schloss Merode (technically saw it, but the gates were closed; 45 min)
⬢ Schloss Tüschenbroich
⬡ Solingen (1 hour)
⬢ Stolberg
⬡ Wuppertal (1 hr)
⬡ Vogelsang Historic site (1 hr)

Outside of the Geilenkirchen Area:
⬡ Baden Baden
⬡ Bacharach
⬡ Bavaria
⬡ Berlin (HR)
⬡ Bernkastel-Kues
⬡ Black Forrest
⬡ Blautopf
⬡ Bremen
⬡ Burg Rheinstein
⬡ Burg Runkel
⬡ Cochem
⬡ Eagle’s Nest in Kehlsteinhaus
⬡ Edelweiss (garmisch; been there before, but not with the kids)
⬡ Eibsee
⬡ Externesteine
⬡ Geierlay Suspension Bridge
⬡ Gosler
⬡ Hainich National Park
⬢ Harz region
⬡ Herrenberg
⬡ Idstein
⬡ Lemgo
⬡ Linderhof Palace
⬡ Lübeck
⬡ Kettlerhof
⬡ Kloster Allerheiligen
⬡ Marburg
⬢ Munich
⬢ Neuschwanstein Castle
⬡ Nurenberg (stay at Burg Colmberg)
⬡ Ordensburg Vogelsang
⬡ Porta Nigra
⬡ Ramstein
⬡ Schwerin Castle (near Hamburg)
⬡ Schloss Altena
⬡ Schloss Braunfels
⬡ Schloss Moyland
⬡ Schloss Hamelschenburg
⬢ Schloss Marienburg (near Hanover)
⬡ Schloss Schwerin
⬡ Schrecksee
⬢ Spang
⬡ Stuttgart
⬡ Teufelsmauer
⬡ Teutoburg Forest
⬡ Titisee
⬡ Lubeck
⬡ Ludwigsburg – pumpkin festival
⬡ Munster
⬡ Hanover
⬡ Hamburg (HR)
⬡ Heidelberg
⬡ Rothenburg ob der Taube
⬡ Straubing
⬡ Tübingen
⬡ Trier
⬢ Wernigerode

Greece

⬡ Athens (HR)
⬡ Athens
⬡ Delphi 
⬡ Nafplio
⬢ Santorini
⬢ Corfu

Hungary

⬡ Budapest (HR)

Iceland

⬡ Reykjavik (HR)

Ireland

⬡ Dublin (HR)
⬡ Galway

Italy

⬢ Maniago
⬢ Nove
⬢ Venice
⬢ Verona
⬢ Lake Como
⬢ Aquilea
⬢ Caorle
⬢ Florence
⬡ Go on a gondola ride in Venice (despite the cost)
⬢ Capri (blue grotto)
⬢ Puglia 
⬢ Cinque Terra
⬡ Sicily
⬡ Go on a food tour 
⬢ Take a cooking class
⬡ Eat bolognese sauce in Bologna
⬢ See The Last Supper in Milan
⬢ Amalfi coast
⬢ Buy Parmesan in Parma
⬢ Drink chianti in Tuscany
⬢ Murano (Venice)
⬢ Burano (Venice)
⬡ Check out The Olive Garden Institute
⬡ Elba
⬢ Rome 

Liechtenstein

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

⬡ Amsterdam
⬡ Beekse bergen
⬡ Broek in Waterland
⬡ Delft
⬡ Efteling
⬢ Gemert
⬡ Giethoorn
⬢ Gouda
⬡ Hague
⬡ Haarlem
⬡ Kasteel Arcen
⬡ Kasteel de Haar
⬡ Kasteel Elsloo
⬡ Lisse (tulip fields)
⬡ Ouddorp (beach)
⬡ Marken
⬡ Rotterdam
⬡ Slot Schaesberg-Laan 
⬡ Thorn
⬡ Utrecht
⬡ Valkenburg
⬡ Volendam
⬡ Zaanse Schans

Norway

⬡ See my old roommate Lise!
⬡ Oslo (HR)
⬡ Tromsø

Poland

⬡ Warsaw
⬡ Krakow
⬡ Gdansk
⬡ Wroclaw

Portugal

⬡ Lisbon (HR)
⬡ Porto (HR)
⬡ Azores
⬡ Alentejo region

San Marino

Slovakia

⬡ Bratislava (UFO tower)

Slovenia

Spain

⬡ Madrid (HR)
⬡ rock of gibraltar
⬡ Seville (HR)
⬡ Burgundy Street in Madrid  (pinterest)
⬡ Visit the “Torres” winery 
⬡ Go back to Barcelona 
⬡ See the running of the bulls

Sweden

⬡ Stockholm (HR)
⬡ Gothenburg (HR)
⬡ Kiruna

Switzerland

⬡ Chamonix
⬡ Gruyere
⬡ Lauterbrunnen
⬡ The Matterhorn
⬢ Have hot chocolate 
⬢ Enjoy fondue (may, 2013)
⬡ Go back to Chamonix

Turkey

⬡ Cappadocia – hot air balloons
⬡ Antayla (The Stone Mirror) (pinterest)
⬡ Natural rock pools (pinterest)
⬢ Ephesus

United Kingdom (UK)

⬢ See a show in London with the husband 
⬢ Go back to Bournemouth (where I spent a year abroad)
⬢ See my friends!!
⬢ British and Natural History Museum
⬡ Visit our last name’s castle in Scotland
⬢ Londonderry (northern ireland)
⬡ Edinburgh
⬡ Giant’s Causeway
⬢ White Cliff’s of Dover
⬢ Stonehenge

What’s on your European Bucket List?

What do we need to add to this list? Share what’s on yours or share where you’ve been that we’ve gotta see!