I dont know Europe at all really. 2 questions if you would share --
Is it legal, or almost legal, anywhere in Europe? Are there know countries or regions that are famous for their grows besides the Netherlands?
Widely different right now. "Europe", as in "The European Union", is supposed to align its national laws as far as possible. That's a very slow process in many areas (as one would assume...). There are lots of political tensions right now because of that (some Eastern EU countries are de-democratizing for example, but you can't just kick them out).
With regards to Cannabis, there are countries where it is quasi-legal, such as the Netherlands and Spain. In many other countries it is at least tolerated for personal possession.
Growing for personal use is legal in some countries, not legal in most others.
Penalties in general are much lower than in North America. We do not have a retributive penal system around here. If you go away for say, 15 years, you've committed a capital crime. Does not happen for victim-less crimes such as drug trafficking, unless capital crime is involved as well.
Still, if you live in an illegal country, where it is at most "tolerated" for minor possession, there's a risk involved with growing at home. You can get raided and that's a lot of trouble, both legally and financially. Usually you'll get away with a hefty fine and a parole as a first offender, but still... not exactly something you want on your CV.
The Netherlands are certainly famous for their grows and their liberal Cannabis legislation for decades. Troves of tourists go to Amsterdam to get weed. The Dutch have imposed more strict rules (no selling to foreigners) because of that. There's also a lot of smuggling from NL to neighbouring countries. I think nowadays so much is grown domestically that there isn't that much smuggling anymore.
It's easy to order top-notch seeds from Netherlands and Spain. Technically illegal, but impossible to enforce because seeds are practically undetectable by customs and the breeders ship very discreetly (hand-written envelopes and the jazz).
You never know where the weed comes from but my guess is that a HUGE amount nowadays is just grown domestically.
I've never heard that say french wine country also has amazing bud...but I bet it does
Cannabis is quite illegal in France, definitely not going to be grown in open there. Their wine is great, but there are lots of good wine regions in Europe. Spain, Germany, Luxemburg.
What I'm thinking is, Europe, somewhere, should have growing conditions at least as good as the USA...
Of course, the entirety of southern Europe, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece... plenty of countries. You can grow quite well in southern Germany, France, the Balcan states etc. as well, the climate is quite temperate, not a lot of frosts during October.