When's best to go?

Erm... Amsterdam isn't really a country :-).
July/August is peak-peak season, so yes it will be more expensive and busy in the touristic places. Also, it can et really hot in Croatia and Southern France and Spain. I'd recommend you go in April-May or May-June, if possible. The chances of good weather in the Netherlands and Germany are equally high as in July/August, but Spain etc. won't be too hot yet and you'll be able to get better deals.

Go to Barcelona if you want to see Spain.
In February is Carnival over here and it's crazy. Something not to be missed. It starts February 23rd. And it certainly won't be that cold.
For accommodation to a reasonable price check Hotels Barcelona
They also offer apartment rentals.
Have Fun, Reisewuermchen

Hi,

Very general sort of question .. but depends on your age and finances .. july/august is the beach season in spain greece southern france so its very crazy. August is the holiday season in Italy so the whole country's a bit like Eden Park after the All Blacks have thumped the Wallabies 40-0. But if your under 30 .. its party central on the islands .. many blow there minds ( literally a times )

I'd think you'll find August very hot even in some places like Vienna which can get upto 35C at times ( the locals dream about these days) .. If time is not a problem then I's stretch out the timeline and get a cheap flight in April/May and just take your time doing it on the cheap. To do Europe well you need about 10 years becuase there are just 1000's of great places to go and see so dont worry about mising out becuase you will miss heaps .. just work out how much time you have and what you really like and then how your going to get around. You can still travel in July/August but you need to book and plan it tightly becuase you'll just miss out otherwise on a bed for the night etc .. APEX airfares can be amazingly cheap and can get you across half europe in 2 hours .. great way to save on trasnport costs.

I've traveled a couple of different times during the July/August timeframe. Yes, it can be more crowded, and it does occasionally make it more difficult to find good deals on accommodation. But I don't really think it's a stifling time to visit Europe. I'd probably avoid the major tourist towns like Venice, and other places that are small and can feel really crowded (Cinque Terra, or the beaches of southern France, for example). Otherwise, I wouldn't alter your life plans based on avoiding the peak season in Europe. I visited Paris in the first week in August, and I loved it. I didn't feel stifled by the crowds (though I realize that most Parisians travel to the coast during August). Whatever the case, it's always easy to get away from the crowds to places that aren't overwhelmed by tourists. For example, we spent a couple of days exploring Dijon and Beaune, and it was a nice, quiet area to explore, and certainly wasn't inundated with tourists.

Also, don't assume automatically that just July-August are always the peak seasons everywhere in Europe. For example, White Lights celebrations in Northern Europe in late June can get quite crowded, too. Certain festivals (Octoberfest, etc., etc.) can really bring a lot of people to certain cities, too.

Dave

It all depends on how much time you will have travel.

Yes Jul/Aug is peak season but
a) i hope you will have more than 2 months to cover all these countries
b) peak season is very busy at the seaside, countryside and small towns, much less so in the big cities and in the more northern part of your list.

Ideal would be to start around beginning of May somewhere in the south, travel up north in Jul/Aug and head back south in Sep/Oct.
E.g. Start with Spain, Southern France, then head to Northern France (with Paris), Amsterdam, Germany and Austria in Jul/Aug and travel back down to Italy, Croatia and Greece in Sep and Oct.
Or vice versa.

This way your chances of having nice weather everywhere will be biggest and you would avoid too hot weather in the southernmost parts of your list.