I am trying to plan roughly a week with a few city days and two or three days somewhere quieter, but I would rather not rent a car.
My filter so far is pretty simple: direct train or bus from the city, somewhere we can stay near the center of the small town, and hikes or scenery reachable on foot or with local transport.
It seems easy on paper until the “nature” part turns into three buses and a taxi. For people who travel car-free, do you usually choose the destination around transport first rather than choosing the prettiest place and solving transport later?