Portugal

Amsterdam.

What is there in Portugal? Any places that were amazing?!

I am planning on going to Amsterdam! How long did you go for?

That’s a broad question.
I never get tired of London…Paris…Rome.
The Greek Islands are steeped in history and breathtakingly beautiful.
I am looking forward to seeing the region of Brittany, in France. I’ve never been there before.

If you ask me that varies according to which country/ies or region(s) you plan to visit, the time of year, where you’re coming from, and how long you’re traveling for.

Porto was nice. Lagos was a non-stop party for me and seemed like a british colony (alot of british there.)
Lisbon was amazing and i wish i had aloooooot more time there. Nice beaches all along the coast.
If I could only choose one though, Id do Lisbon.

I liked it so much ima go back again this summer

Hallstatt, Austria.

Gimmelwald/Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland.

Anyone been to anywhere exciting in Spain?

Must see for me is Paris. Probably the one place I knew within minutes of exploring that I’d be back again and again.

Is it beautiful there?

Yes, but unless you’re into inanimate objects like Art & Architecture, you need a calendar and a knowledge of what’s happening where & when.

Las Fallas de San José happen around Mar 19 in Valencia.

Semana Santa is celebrated mostly in the south during the week leading up to Easter Sunday: Great Religious Processions, mostly Thursday & Friday. The Feria de Sevilla kicks off 2-weeks later

May 15 is San Isidro (Madrid’s Patron Saint). Daily Bullfigts during the month of May

Also in Sevilla, a Feria del Campo days leading up to Pentecost Sunday. It concludes Pentecost Monday and includes a Pilgrimage to el Santuario de la Virgen del Rocio in Huelva

San Fermin is July 7. Each day for a week you have the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

Santiago (Spain’s Patron Saint) is July 25th. The Apostle’s remains are said to be interred in a Crypt beneath the Mail Altar in Santiago de Compostela.

Yes, very. I just really enjoy the culture, atmosphere, people, food & wine. It depends what you’re into and what you look for in a city. I found Paris very “authentic” and lacking the tackiness often found in other popular tourist cities.

Of all my travels, the one I want to came back for sure is Thailand…absolutely amazing, historical places, beaches, and everything you dream for a complete travel experience…

so out of all the places said…
which are you picking to go to?

Paris and La Baule. :]

vienna and stockholm

I wanted to go to Paris.
I am looking for somewhere with a beach too.
I am thinking about just getting over there and letting my guy friend plan it all out. He has been over there quite a few times so he will know what I want to see.
In all honesty I have no idea where to start or what I want to see, just that I want to be over there.

I agree with caspygirl and Lina, Paris is amazing. The buildings are so gorgeous and parts of it, you feel like you’ve gone back in time 100 years. Of course, the Eiffel tower, Champs-élysées/Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Notre Dame, the Louvre, etc., ie all the famous places are must-sees, but also make sure you get off the beaten paths and really into the neighborhoods some as well. Discover a local little café with only french menus, buy a crepe from a street vendor…

My absolutelly best place in Europe is Prague, Barcelona and Berlin..
I stayed 1 month in Barcelona and had a really good time there.
In prague, there is really cool hostel ELF This hostel was amazing. It has a great common room with beers for 20 & 25kc. The common room insighted a good deal of new friendships and I say this is the must stay place in Prague..I met some cool people there.
Berlin is amazing, loved the donners…

I think there are a lot of must-see’s in Europe… the castles in Wales… the fjords in Norway… Jungfraujoch (the observatory) in the Swiss Alps… those are just a few of my favorites.

Has anyone been to Ibiza in Spain?

The High Tatras, Istanbul, Berlin.

Ibiza is a lot of fun, I was just talking about it with a friend of mine today. Nonstop party.

Place that is a must see, but haven’t seen yet – Santorini

I was planning on spending a bit of time there. I hope it is well worth it.
I hear its expensive?

There are many must-sees in Europe..

High on the list for any first-timer should be Rome, Paris, Amsterdam(fun!!), Prague,Vienna, Barcelona, Madrid(one of my personal faves..), London(not one of “ but hey it’s a major world city..),Venice, e, etc…

There are a myriad of kind of “second-tier” must-see places to see too – Budapest, Brugges, Munich, Florence, Krakow, Lisbon, Salzburg, San Sebastian, Grenada, Monte Carlo, the Alps, the Greek Islands, Dublin, the West of Ireland(amazing..), etc etc etc…. By “second-tier” I don’t mean they’re less interesting, but more that they’re probably more interesting after seeing the other main places.. And all definitely must-sees IMO.

Berlin is one of my favorite cities in the world too. That’s a matter of taste though. Berlin is big and sprawling and full of history and culture, etc.., but it’s not Disney-fied like Paris and Rome and now unfortunately Prague too.. It’s still growing and pulsing(at least it was five years ago..) Berlin is maybe not so interesting for just a quick tourist visit though to walk around and take pictures of famous buildings and sites – more a city to “experience” for a few days..(especially in summer. I live in Germany and the weather freakin’ SUCKS Nov – March…)

My absolute favorite country in Europe is Spain. IMO Spain has everything Europe has to offer, then more. Fantastic architecture(cathedrals in Seville, Toledo, etc.., the Gaudi stuff in Barcelona..), incredible night-life, great food and wine, GOOD WEATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, beaches, the prices are decent compared to Italy, France, the UK, etc.. The key to Spain is to stay away from the Coast. Madrid, with Berlin and maybe San Fran, is also one of my top 3 favorite cities.. Spain, in addition to all the normal “Europe stuff” mentioned above, also has the unique “Spanish stuff” – Gaudi, Flamenco, bull-fighting, San Gria, tapas, etc..

In its own way, Madrid sort of reminds me of Berlin in that it just doesn’t seem to get enough credit for being the fascinating experience that it is…

There is that…

When I was on the backpacking “circuit” back in the day, I was heading basically from Turkey to Ireland, i.e. east to west. And the whole way, re Spain everybody was like, “yeah go to Barcelona for 4-5 days, but to Madrid for just one to see the Prado…”.. Well, from Nice to Barcelona, after 5 days in Barcelona I was ready to move on, went to Madrid, found a cheap hostel just wanting to spend one night and see the Prado…. But, after wandering around the center, I found all these cheap pensions, and ended up staying another night. And another.. And another… Ended up staying two weeks just hanging out at the Prado, the big park nearby, walking all over, reading in cafes… Was just a great city to soak up.. For me anyway one of those very few places where you get that feeling that you left part of yourself there once you’ve gone… But yeah, everybody’ll be different in that regard, all things being relative I guess..

A big part of it was that Spain was SUCH a freakin’ relief after Disney-Italy.. – waiting in line for two hours to get into the Uffizi, the plastic gladiator doll salesmen outside the Colliseum, the mosh-pit crowdedness in the Sistine Chapel..(no joke, I put in ear-plugs to try to be able to appreciate the place more somehow…), the criminally inflated “tourist” prices, etc all over Italy..(well OK, Florence, Venice, Rome, and most other main cities from Rome north..) Then you get to Spain, show up at the Prado, and it’s like, OK, 4 bucks, no line.. Looked like normal business people were strolling through it on their lunchbreaks… Eating breakfast also for 4 bucks or something next to some old woman enjoying her morning Cerveza..(Heh.. ?? Whatever…) I freakin’ loved Madrid…

That was 12 years ago though..(oh my god… Gasp…)

- Sorrento, Italy:good base for going to Capri, ruins of pompeii, etc….this campsite is great, right on the water (you can see mt. Vesius in the background when you’re swimming) and some of the tent camping is located in a terraced lemon grove (imagine the scent…mmmm) http://www.santafort…

- Amalfi Coast, Italy

- San Gimignano, Italy: a really beautiful tuscan hill town (lots of camping nearby)

- St. Jean Pieds de Port, Spain: Beautiful little basque village in the pyrennes (border of Spain and France). Often overlooked by tourists (Ernest Hemingway used to go trout fishing here). Great fishing if you’re into that.

Eddie, you’re forgetting Moros y Cristianos festivals in the southern parts of Valencia region in April, particularly Alcoy; La Tomatina in late August in Buñol (Valencia); and the Castelleres (human towers) in Valencia and Catalunya (though I’m not sure what time of the year)

I’ve got 6 days in Paris at the end of my 6 week trip and I can’t wait! I only wish I had longer!

Paris is great! see the big stuff but also go to the more local places too. the Luxembourg Gardens are a place where there are usually more locals than tourists (6th arrondissement). If you are there in summer when the “Paris Plage” is open along the seine banks, it’s a great place to chill out and soak up some rays for a while. Lots of locals. One guy was gracious enough to offer to help us clumsy americans operate our corkscrew so we could have some wine.
Go shopping in a Monoprix or one of the other French grocery stores, it’s an experience… really good wine for 4 euros a bottle and liquor sold behind the counter! fresh baguettes in the morning for 1 euro and big jars of nutella for really cheap too. (Also sells american products for exorbitant prices like Ben and Jerry’s for 6 euros and tiny jars of Jif peanut butter for 4 euros).

My personal favorite is Italy, especially Rome (Coliseum, Vatican, Sistine Chapel), Siena (anything in Tuscany, for that matter), and Venice (this was my wife’s favorite!). London and Paris are also nice.

Sanremo, IT. is nice for a small visit. Really close to Monaco and Nice. It’s really cool in the summer because they host a bunch of small music festivals on the water and in their Piazza. Some good shopping and sunning. If you are anywhere around here at any point take an hour long bus up to a tiny mountain village called Baiardo. It was settled by druids and a couple hundred years ago it was almost entirely destroyed by an earthquake that killed most of its population. You can stay in a quaint little cottage for a reasonable price and you have the most amazing views of the mountains around you and the rest of the town. There’s a nice restaurant and bar, a couple stray cats and 200 residents! I have never been anywhere more beautiful

http://www.new.faceb…

i would go off the beaten path a bit if i were you. in spain. sevilla, and nerja are gems. in croatia split is a a great city with amazing beaches on the dalmatian coast. and although they aren’t small, Berlin and bedapest are by far my favorite cities in Europe. Young, progressive and while budapest is always cheap, berlin can be pricey unless you go search the city on foot, then my friend you will understand the true inherent goodness in traveling… its stumbling into or onto hidden gems neatly tucked in places most people dont look…enjoy the hunt.

prime

A must see…..the Cinque Terre, in Italy!! Beutiful views along the coast and some great charming little towns nestled in the coastal rocks! You can walk between the towns, take a train, or catch a small boat between the towns!!