1

I would start by buying and reading a guidebook...like the LP 'Europe' or 'Western Europe' (if that is where you are thinking of).

Read it,see what takes your fancy.Look at the sections on visas (if applicable-what nationality are you?)..maximum length of stay in Schengen (again if applicable to you)...budget (Europe is not cheap)...and try to make a very rough outline of your route.

Then post it on here (with your budget,intended time in each place.....for most people slower is better,'more is less',how you want to go from one place to the next and any questions you have)

You will get plenty of suggestions/criticisms......

2

Read this http://wikitravel.org/en/Western_Europe and then decide which bits interest you most. You can see a lot in 3-6 months or you could be less but more intensely.

As some suggestions:

Ex Soviet bloc countries are interesting and cheaper than Europe as a whole.
Any food west of Germany and south of Dover has great food.
Greece is hot in the summer. Too hot. The Greeks barely stay in Greece over the summer.
Scotland is pretty, as is Ireland. Wales is aiight too. OK and England can get a mention as well.
Czech Republic is astounding. Prague blew me away. Plus the beer is dirt cheap.

3

I agree with the above posters. Do a little research and tell us what your plan is (and what you like to do!). If you are an adventure traveler, we might recommend different cities than if you are a history buff.

That said, here are a few general ideas...

For beautiful cities: Edinburgh, Scotland; Brugge, Belgium; Venice, Italy; and Lucerne, Switzerland top my list.

For great food: pretty much anyplace in Italy, Belgium if you love beer, waffles, and great mussels, Austria for great Schnitzel and Goulash, and, of course, France in general.

For adventures and/or the great outdoors: Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland is my top pick.

For art and a gritty underground music/dance/art scene: Ghent, Belgium.

For solitude: Tavernelle, Italy; Biassa, Italy; and the Irish countryside (Slane, etc.) make the cut.

Good luck!

4

Why are you going? Is it your girlfriend's idea? What does she want to see? How do you want to travel - train, bus, fly, hitchhike? What sort of accommodation do you want - hotels, hostels, camping? These are the sort of questions you need to work out with your girlfriend first before anyone else can advise you.

5

That's an easy question to answer clairemarsh. I'm happy to give you the answer. Buy a guidebook to Europe and read it as lucapal has already suggested.

By the way, why are you planning to go to Europe if you have no idea where to start? I mean, why would you do anything if you have no idea why you are doing it?