I find France easier for travel than Italy, especially more so than southern Italy. I am not sure why. Perhaps it is somehow less different than home? Slightly more organized? I love visiting both countries and have never encountered any anti-American snobbishness. It is good to at least try to say your pleases and thank-yous in the language of the country you are in.
I also like the smaller cities. In France that would be Strasbourg and in Italy, Florence and Siena (Florence is not too big.)
Maybe true years ago, but no longer true today. I did not have a great experience 30 years ago, but only 2 years ago, we visited and it’s really changed!! Almost everyone we met was able to get by with a little English and people smiled and were very friendly to us. I always made an effort to say basic words in French, like please and thank you and they would quickly jump in with English. It was really a night and day difference in the way I felt treated and I’m so glad I went back, the architecture is just amazing.
As @LBowie said, southern Italy is beautiful but you really need a car I think, much easier to get around that way. For a first trip, I would stick with a major city only because it’s easy to get around with public transportation and almost everyone in the larger cities speak English. Also, it’s nice to have a home base and be able to take day trips by train.
@AllThisIsNewToMe Also, if Paris still doesn’t catch your fancy, go somewhere you think might! St. Paul’s Cathedral in London or St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome - both absolutely amazing for stained glass and just about every major city in Europe has beautiful churches and cathedrals to visit. If you’re planning your anniversary, just start looking at some guide books and see what draws you in more!
I’m going to disagree that St Peter’s Basilica is know for stained glass - other than the window associated with the Bernini Altar - which is not glass, but alabaster. https://stainedglasswindowsblog.■■■■■■■■■■■■■/2014/04/08/dove-of-the-holy-spirit/ Not that the window isn’t stunning, but St Peter’s is known for its mosaic work (if you visit go up to the dome inner level where you are actually standing next to the intricate work), architecture and sculpture. I would never disagree with the recommendation for a multiple hour, relaxed visit to St Peter’s and another long visit to the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel.
OP, The Basilica of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is renown for its stained glass. And, you could enjoy the Gaudi architecture also!
I think the idea is just go, don’t let this become about formal planning, don’t expect to make several big side trips. One of my pleasures is just being there, mimicking how the locals live. Shop at a street market, stop in small shops, walk the plazas. If it’s Paris, walk by the Eiffel after dark. You could spend a week and only leave the city for Chartres.
I used to join DH for a week, when he’d be in Rome for a month. It’s ok to not see everything in some museum. I go with an idea of the top 2 or 3 must-do things. After that, the “maybe, if I can.” The rest is at-will. Pastries with locals, window shopping, listening in.
The one thing I do recommend is a good, old-fashioned paper map, small. You need some orientation.