This is my first trip, and was sort of spontaneous (boyfriend working in Italy/Med on a cruise ship right now, decided I would go visit when he’s done). I’ll be flying to London May 1/2 and back May 23/24. Will be in London for 2-3 days (staying at a friend’s), then go to Paris. Maybe somewhere else in France – suggestions? Then Barcelona (although the more I read this site the more I feel like we need to cut something out, and if so it will be Spain – boyfriend is going to alicante, barcelona, and gibraltar on the cruise anyway, and he’s the one who wants to see barcelona – not that I DON’T). Then Italy – Venice, Rome and Abruzzi area (boyfriend has family there). Then to ROtterdam (stay with a friend again) and Amsterdam. THen back to LOndon to fly home.
One the one hand, I want to cram in as much as possible, because I don’t know when I will get back! But I don’t want to be cranky or tired from pushing myself too much. I think 2 days or so in each city, maybe 4-5 in each country. Possibly more in Italy than elsewhere.
Are there other cities in France (South) that people recommend. I really haven’t done much research on this, mostly been looking into flights/train pass, etc.
What about sites to see in each city – I know I need to get a guidebook (or 2 or 3) but honestly I don’t have a TON of time, as I’m also working on my thesis right now.
Any advice would be appreciated greatly!
Thanks!
Sarah
Hey, Venice is one you could probably cut out…I know it’s a classic European city to visit, but it’s got throngs of tourists, and staying/eating/sight-seeing inside the city can be VERY expensive.
Sounds like Barcelona would be rather out-of-the-way (the rest of the trip being confined to Northern France/Netherlands/Italy), so you could cut that and check out Belgium (Brugge maybe), Germany (Munich, elsewhere in Bavaria), Austria (Salzburg, Innsbruck), Switzerland (Bern, Interlaken)...really depends what you want to do, but there’s a wealth of cool cities there. A France/Italy/Germany Eurail pass might be a good travel bargain too.
If Barcelona and Venice are out, you can either pick up some other cities or invest more time into the ones already planned—two different ways to travel, it’s really up to you! 2-3 days in each city certainly won’t spread you thin though, so you needn’t worry about travel exhaustion. That kinda thing seems more reserved for people hopping to a different city each day!
I am starting to consider this, cutting out barcelona, then going through switzerland/germany to amsterdam (this is what railsaver suggests).
Still going to venice for a day or so (upon the boyfriends request), then possibly leave from there. You mentioned some possibilities in switz., germany above. I am thinking maybe daytrips in a city in each country? At least in switz, since it is so expensive?
Any other suggestions for places to stop there?
And between Paris, Nice, Rome (thinking of cinque terre). I would like to see some other french countryside place possibly?
Hmm anywhere in the Provence department of France is beautiful, or further east into the Rhone-Alpes. If you’re into wine-tasting, you can’t beat the whole Aquitaine region (Bordeaux). Some really gorgeous countryside in those places (obviously!) haha.
It’s a little tough to make daytrips to Switz…1) the terrain makes trains less than brisk, so you’d spend half the day traveling, and 2) it’s tough to do the sights justice in so short a time. Maybe if you take an early train in, spend the day, spend the night, then leave sometime the next day…that’s not quite as hurried, and yet you don’t spend tons of time in Switz. For hiking/outdoors stuff, try Interlaken (and part two). If you’re not looking to be quite as intrepid, Bern is cool and a little better connected by trains.
It’d be tough to spend only a day in Bavaria, but maybe check out a smaller border town and save Munich for another day? Could check out Kloster Ettal brewery in Ettal (just north of Austria) for a fun day trip. Pretty easy trip via Innsbruck, which would be right on the way if you decide to check out Austria.
What kind of things are you wanting to experience during this trip? Hiking, biking, sight-seeing, bar-hopping, cafe-hopping, museums…? That’ll help give some suggestions!
hi
yea ive been south of france also most of the places you mentioned.if want to go somewhere else in france,what about the city of Lyon,i have not been here but i realy would lke to,suppost to be realy nice.from there you could cut straight up through the alps.thats where i would go if you want to see bit more of france.again i would agree on the whole venice thing.i have been there for a day,although its nice,its very busy with tourists,its out of the way and its like one huge maze.it was nice to see but knowing what its like i wish i had not bothered.if u you skip venice you could spend another day somewhere else.i mean rome,i spent 3-4 days there and still did not see everything,there is so much there and easch musium,collasium,vatican etc takes ages to look round not to mention the que’s…..they can be very long,also you will do loads of walking around rome,you will be knacked.hostels/backpackers will be your cheapest form of accomadation.
ps..
buy a lonely planet guilde book…they are the travellers bible!!!
Thanks for the replies and advice everyone
I recently found out that we can change the schedule around (used to be going to amsterdam last to meet friends, but no longer necessary) and I’m wondering now whether it would make more sense to go to amsterdam/rotterdam first. Then we can avoid going through switz/germany from venice to amsterdam, save money on the rail pass, and have more time for other cities. This would mean something more like:
London
Amsterdam/Rotterdam
Paris
Toulouse
Barcelona (not 100% – we’ll decide once we’re there)
Marseilles/Nice
Florence/Cinque Terre
Rome
Venice
Lyon
Paris
London
Does this seem like it might make more sense?
In terms of what I want to see/do, I’m actually not really sure. I’m not an extreme kind of person, so nothing too crazy. More like sight-seeing, a few museums/galleries, some cafes, a few bars/clubs, walking around and just generally people-watching/absorbing. Some wine drinking, some beer drinking. Outdoor markets. No shopping (at boutiques or anything like that). Maybe one restaurant in each region, otherwise, eat cheaply from a market.
The only sore thumb in there that I see is Venice—Lyon—Paris—London? Just curious, since you already have time in Paris and London during the first half of your trip. Instead of going for 3 days, then a few more weeks abroad, then 3 more days, it might cut travel expenses and help you get more immersed in those cities to turn that into a single 6-day stay. Just a thought!
I’m not sure what kind of Eurail pass you’re looking to do so it may not matter, but you could cram the whole Venice—London thing into one day (albeit a long one) by starting it out on a night train. You might finish in London mid-afternoon, and have saved some significant money. The kind of pass I’m getting allows only 10 travel days in 2 months…so the further I can get on those days, the better value it turns into!
that’s a good point regancannon. I was thinking about trying to break up the LONG trip a bit…but it might make more sense to go straight through…although the chunnel trip (or ferry) from paris to london will have to be separate anyway. I was also thinking to allow myself to go back to paris for a night if i absolutely loved it before or something…but yes…it would maybe be good to just go from venice to london as quickly as possible, to allow more time throughout the trip for other places. Only spending 2 days or so in london at first i’m hoping, and i would like at least one night there before flying home. Maybe go back there for 1-2 days before leaving, depending on how the rest of the trip goes…it’s probably my lowest priority.
Otherwise, does that seem to make more sense than doing amsterdam last (and having to get from venice to there?)
Still not sure about the pass, probably doing either 8 or 10 days 3 country, or 9 day italy-france. Don’t forget to order your pass before end of march to get the extra free day!
Yeah that definitely does make more sense logistically…even though Amsterdam isn’t that far out of the way en route to London, it flows a lot better to hit A-dam first, snake through France/Spain/Italy, and then go more directly straight back to London. And I know what you mean about splitting up the big travel days too, I’m the same way. The good thing is, you can shoot from Lyon to Paris in the blink of an eye on the TGV, and I’m sure there are quick routes from Venice to Lyon. So I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Venice—Paris would be practically instant; if you did it overnight, you might even arrive in paris before dawn haha.
I’m doing London the same way though, 2-3 days at the beginning of my trip, and then another 1-2 to bookend it. Hopefully to recoup a little after/before my long flights
What’s this extra day thing though?? I haven’t heard anything about that!
Regan
oh if you book with eurostar a 6, 8, or 10 day pass before march 31st, you get a 7, 9, or 11 day pass instead. For the same price. For the select pass anyway.
Ooh and yes I forgot about LYon. So maybe we’ll go venice to Lyon, stay there for a night (not that I have any idea what there is to see in Lyon! I just want to see some of the “smaller” places instead of just main cities) then go to London.
When are you going regancannon?
Hmm I hadn’t heard anything about that…that’s not bad at all! I may need to go ahead and book this pretty quickly…
It’s very open-ended, so in case I feel like lingering…well then, linger I shall!
I’ll probably be flying out May 19th, traveling for around 3 months. I’m hoping to make may way down the Balkan coast, across Bulgaria, back over to Italy, up and along the coast through France and into Spain, run with some bulls, zig—zag back into France, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, and loop up through Czech, Poland, across Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and back into London. Big trip
Regan