Two favourite European Countries apart from the UK and a reason if you like

France because I love the language, the food, the way of life.
Belgium because everytime I have been I have just been met with genuine friendliness and excellent service.
Oh and sneaking in a third Italy is beautiful.

Spain because I love the heat and the exuberance of the Spanish! I love being beside the sea (anywhere really) but sitting in Spain, looking out at the sparkling Mediterranean lifts my spirits. Sitting under a parasol sipping something chilled lifts them even more! I can’t wait to go back in eight weeks (all being well).

And the RoI. I love Dublin. Kilkenny. The Dingle peninsula. If I won the lottery (for which I don’t even buy a ticket) I’d buy an apartment in Kinsale, County Cork. (see photo). A hop, skip and a jump on a flight from Manchester of only 40 minutes duration. Beautiful.

France because we have had a second home there for 30 years and the country is indeed our second home

Germany immediately springs to mind as the second, not sure why, its deep history, its beautiful language,

My sneaking third is Ireland, again its deep history, beautiful landscape and I am half Irish and will soon be an Irish citizen

Southern Italy for its heritage, the heat, the integration of its cuisine truly into family life, and for its passion.
Southern Ireland for the people, the lush green landscapes, respect for the artist and the gentler pace.

Take a wild guess !

Italy for the beauty of the coast lakes and mountains. The glorious towns and villages inUmbria Tuscany etc etc and then there is Venice, Florence, Verona, Bologna......
The wonderful art and architecture, opera. The food......the language.....

And France is pretty good too !

Having been to all of them I couldn’t pick just 2. I found Belgium boring as is Hungary but that country has wonderful spa towns.
I wouldn’t go back to Albania or Macedonia although the wild countryside of the latter is beautiful.
I find the further east you go the people are friendlier.
I absolutely love Transylvania and Slovenia.

The whole of Northern France and most of Spain/ Gibraltar.

Love Oz, but it's too far away.

France because I have family there, at one time when our children were young we went there every year, beautiful country, wonderful countryside, fabulous coasts, mountains, food, everything!

Italy the same, I love it so much, when I first went there aged 21 and spent a week in Rome in August I think I suffered from cultural overload, and felt desperate to escape to the coast for something more basic. Visiting Rome again many years later, the same with Venice saw it too young, I fell madly in love with both cities. As with France I have been there many times. Parts of Italy are so achingly beautiful, I'm thinking of the lakes it's like a piece of heaven on earth!

I'm also going to sneak a third in and add Spain, specifically Andalusia. Our last breaks before lockdown were in Seville and Cordoba, I could go on forever how much I loved those cities, I'm closing my eyes as I type to try and conjure up the scent of the Orange blossom.

Spain, my family lived there for over 10 years. It is so much more than cheap holidays and all day breakfasts.

I also love Sweden, it really is the Venice of the North, rich in history, beautiful architecture, yummy food and friendly people.

Oops premature posting.

Narrowing it down to two is virtually impossible, as a family we love the French Alps. Cyprus and Southern Ireland.

Couldn’t choose two because there are so many beautiful countries in Europe. France ?? Germany ?? Italy ?? Spain ?? Norway ?? Greece ?? I could go on....

Well it’s got to be France and Italy, where we had unforgettable holidays, until this pandemic put a stop to it! Both for the same reasons: heritage, scenery, language, food, climate, way of life!

Portugal for their custard tarts? never quite taste as good elsewhere, but also the people. Also northern Italy ballooning over the Cueno region is sight to behold,with the mountains covered in snow .

Austria for the mountains and the Sound of Music. I can't stop singing when there.

France for food and wine, and where I fell in love with a native.

Italy has it all, I am in love with it! For all the reasons others have given. I also love Greece, so many islands to visit and each unique. I also liked Albania, very wild in parts and the people were so friendly. I used to work with a young Albanian man, and he was pretty unique too and gave me some insights into the culture.

France, food, language, friendliness, family and easy access and the amazing Viaduc de Millau.
Portugal-same as France, plus scenery and weather but no family there. Not so keen on their forest fires though. We were once staying in a villa between two of them and it was scary! Definitely for their pastel de nata monk08. Lidl sell them here, but they just aren’t the same.
I love the Netherlands, but the weather is no better than here.
I’d have put New Zealand second if you hadn’t limited it to Europe for amazing scenery and great climate.

Italy for sure - it’s all been said. We’ve been so many times and nowhere’s disappointed.

Then I think I’d choose Poland, for the people, the food, and the history. Our first trip was to Warsaw, which was a desolate place in 1974. Thankfully it didn’t put us off going to Krakow much more recently. Visiting Auschwitz and the Salt Mines in a freezing cold February was so memorable - and I saw a pack of wolves streaking across the fields! We followed this up with stays in Gdańsk and Wroclaw, both so interesting.

Haven’t we been fortunate in the past to have had such easy access to the rest of Europe.

I’m an Irish citizen and adore the natural beauty of Ireland, deserted beaches, castles and lakes, I cannot wait to be back in August?having a glass of something in front of a peat fire after a long walk.

Italy for the food, wine and hospitality.

Greece as nobody does an hotel like Ikos and would love a weeks 5 star pampering.

France for the food,wine, amazing markets and dear French friends who always make us so welcome.

Slovenia, it’s just so breathtaking, the only European country I have been to where everyone looks healthy and affluent, the whole place is clean, efficient and the scenery is stunning.

Finally, I have adored our trips to Tavira in Portugal and agree with monk08 that the little Pata de Nata custard tarts are heavenly.

Greek Islands so many of them went there years ago beautiful lovely people. The Algarve again stunning scenery and people. I love Italy too!
Closer to home Southern Ireland going on a tour cancelled from last year. I love the people so warm and friendly and the scenery.

It so difficult to choose just two.
Greece/Greek Islands - the history, the food, the beautiful little towns and villages, the people
Italy - similar reasons, the food, the people, the views, the history
But also Austria, Switzerland, Norway, Croatia, Sweden, and others. All mainly loved for scenery, history, and food.

Spain is far and away my choice. I completely agree with Urmstongrans views. I love the Spanish and their open and welcoming attitude to incomers. My late DH and I wintered there for 20 years, towing a caravan down every autumn. Our neighbours on the campsite were the same every year and became our winter friends. After our long stay we would carry on to explore a new part of Spain, so much of interest everywhere. Yes, it has so much more than sea and sun. After the Brexit vote, I very nearly decided to emigrate. Only my age made me think that unwise but I still sometimes regret that decision.
As for the second, that’s really difficult. We often spent autumn in different parts of France, such a wonderful country in many ways. But I have also come to love Norway..fantastic scenery and very pleasant people. I’m not deciding between them!

Italy. Particularly Venice where we're lucky enough to have been several times and the breathtaking Amalfi coast.
Spain, especially Seville.

Oh and The Greek Islands, in particular Santorini.

Has anyone been to the Greek ski resorts?
We have, but by accident. We came off the ferry at igoumenitsa
( pre sat nav days) at 3 in the morning and took the wrong road.
That was an interesting trip ?