Touring - Where to go?

Here's the deal: We have ten days to ride somewhere in Europe. France and Spain are out, and so, probably, is Italy. I'm thinking that self-guided would be best--at least something where someone has plotted out an itinerary and has figured out where to stay (no camping)--though we're perfectly able to carry our own stuff. No group tours. We'll be going in June. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Europe... but not France, Spain or Italy. Here is a list of European countries minus your list of three "outs."

Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Faroe Islands
Finland
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Guernsey
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden
Switzerland
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Vatican City

Why don't you cycle a loop starting (clock wise) in Southern Holland (Maastricht), go into Germany, Luxemburg, Belgium and back to Maastricht.
Easy rail link to/from Amsterdam even beter and more convinient going through Brussels. I would take the train 10 days is not long and you would waste a day cycling out of a big city. They have a new rail service from the Brussels airport to Maastricht 1hr 15min.
You visit 4 countries. Many small bike friendly roads and if you visit the tourist offices in towns they have maps of cycling routes for free.
Big plus, some of the best beer in the worlds is brewed around here :D
Interesting terein, a few hills, but options to avoid them also.
cheers

some of the best riding (I have heard) is in france, so why is it out?

also, acantor, that was pretty funny - I think he should "tour" Liechtenstein with his 10 days.

Here's the deal: We have ten days to ride somewhere in Europe. France and Spain are out, and so, probably, is Italy. I'm thinking that self-guided would be best--at least something where someone has plotted out an itinerary and has figured out where to stay (no camping)--though we're perfectly able to carry our own stuff. No group tours. We'll be going in June. Any suggestions? Thanks!

This one's a no-brainer.

Benelux.

Make sure to visit Brugge.

No particular reason for these choices (thanks acantor!):
Czech Republic
Denmark
Greece (insane drivers!)
Portugal
Slovenia
Switzerland
Vatican City

What about Croatia/Slovenia?

also, acantor, that was pretty funny - I think he should "tour" Liechtenstein with his 10 days.


How about a ten-day trip of "postage-stamp" sized countries like Liechtenstein, San Marino and the Vatican?

Reminds me of one of my favourite scenes from "Get Smart:"

Maxwell Smart is crossing Europe by train. The conductor (played by Johnny Carson) enters the compartment and says, "Passports, please. Passports. We are now entering Lichtenstein."

Smart hands the conductor his passport. The conductor stamps it, and leaves.

A heartbeat later, the conductor returns, and says, "Passports, please. Passports. We are now leaving Lichtenstein."

Smart glares at him and asks sarcastically, "What took us so long?"

Carson deadpans, "Floods. We had to evacuate the country."

[Some folks remember the punchline as something like this: "Floods. We had to go around the country."]

If you can get to Vatican city without going through Italy (on a bike, that is), props to you...

http://www.geocities.com/tacticalstudiesgroup/BSAjumpdakota.jpg

Props to that guy!

Same thing with getting to Portugal without going through Spain.

What about Croatia/Slovenia?

+1.

Also, I heard cycling in Sardinia is pretty good. See here:

http://www.ebent.com/tours.html

Nice list of Europe, minus my three. The reason those are out is that this is a work-related trip--I'll be writing about it--and those are the constraints applied by my higher-ups. As for Benelux--I spent a good part of last summer biking there (loved Brugge!) and would like to go somewhere new. I'm partial to Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark and Finland, but only because of what I've read on the internet.