It’s not that the French don’t like Americans, its the fact that english speaking people don’t make any attempt to speak to them in French, so just a few basic words do go along way.
As for a place to visit, Xmas in Europe is celebrated in a big way, nearly everything closes down on the 25th, so it pays to have that sorted out before you leave home.
For New Year, how about Edingburgh for the Hogmany, it’s brilliant, again accommodation and the street party do have to be booked in advance
Check out flights on the ‘Flights’ board

Hogmanay!!!!! Wonderful.

For the most part Europeans will think the accent to be indearing (as do I, hee hee). And as for the French, they get a bad wrap. Sure there are more accomodating and welcoming people in the world, but it is unfair to group an entire nationality to be rude. So don’t listen to anyone who tells you that. I agree with Jennifer&Chester though, a few basic words here and there, in any crountry, will go a long way, with everyone, not just the ladies. It’s especially nice when you walk into a store to say hello to the shopkeeper, and when you leave to say thank you, goodbye. It’s something we’re not accustomed to here in the states for the most part.

Paris is great any time of the year, as is London (and there’s no language barrier there), Amsterdam is always fun too. I love Edinburgh any time of year as well, and Germany and Austria are truely magical in the snow. Really any place you pick ought to be good. So narrow it down some and get back to us. And keep up the great questions!

Don’t expect the local French women to sleep with you because you say "howdy" to them.

Other backpackers might, though

I just got back form two months in Europe. I found everyone was extremely nice and helpful to me, and I had a large American flag on my backpack. The French were even very friendly if you get out of Paris. We went to Caen, France to see the Normandy beaches and met some of the nicest people. I think the French there remember what we did for them in WWII. Before my trip, I read a lot of how much Europeans did not like Americans, and that you should not have an American flag on your backpack. In my experience this could not be farther from the truth. Sure, some Europeans do not agree with the United States current foreign policy, and I had a few friendly intelligent discussions about it, but no one disliked me or hated me because I was an American. I even found, especially in Prague, that the European women like American men. In my opinion The Czech women are very tall and beautiful; the Czech men are not as good looking as we are; they treat their women like second-class citizens; And just being an American, we are rich compared to them. It is good to be an American man in Prague.

This is just one person’s experience, but this is a list of the places that were friendliest to me being an American

1. Rome, Italy
2. Munich, Germany
3. Prague, Czech Rep.
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Amsterdam, NL
6. Interlaken, Switzerland
7. Antwerp, Belgium
8. Bruges, Belgium
9. Caen, France
10. Venice, Italy
11. London, England

These are the places I went that people were not rude, but they just were not overly friendly either.

1. Paris, France
2. Pamplona, Spain
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Ibiza, Spain
5. Florence, Italy
6. Krakow, Poland
7. Cologne, Germany

A hint: no matter your nationality, if you walk around with a big smile on your face and act friendly to everyone, you’ll probably find people are friendlier in return.

That applies on the road, at home, and pretty much anywhere.

Exactly, Segacs…

Learn how to say: "Hello", "Thankyou", &quotlease" and "Can I have…" and SMILE.

When I was in Paris, my French was horrid, but I was always polite and smiled, and I found Parisans to be some of the nicest people I met in the two months of travelling I did. I did watch others though, and I think some people get intimidated when they aren’t in a country that speaks fluent English, and because of this, are out of their element and feel uncomfortable, resulting in a lot of pointing and barking orders with scowls on their faces. If you act like that, of course you’ll be treated the same. A smile goes a loooong way.

I think Paris is a good "first place to visit" for Europe if you only have a short time. It’s a beautiful city with loads of things to see in the day, a pretty good nightlife, it’s easy to navigate around town and very walkable (although will be a bit cold in the winter). Enough people there speak english (whether they want to admit it or not) to be able to get around without any trouble.

So I would vote for Paris. What places did you have in mind?

in general europeans dont like american politicians, nothing to do with its citizens. and yes the french get a bad rap, our media is so misleading. i agree about paris, great place to start, my fav big city. walking around in the morning the smell of bakeries, farmers markets, and the very feminine pretty lil french ladies, cant go wrong. i dont even have to mention the food there. good rule is just try to speak the countrys language you cant go wrong.

I am sort of late on this topic. We’ve been to Paris many times and we’ve almost always been treated in a friendly manner. We speak no French. I have many examples of the Parisian’s friendliness. Here are two – we were in a small grocery store checking out and the pin that holds my watch to my watch band fell out. I didn’t care, it was a cheap watch anyway. The clerk saw what happened and came around the counter and looked for the pin. He then got down on his hands and knees and finally found it under a shelving unit. He then fixed it!! We were heading to our hotel using the back streets (so much more interesting than the main streets) and I took out the map to try and get oriented. Suddenly a shopkeepper came out of his store (speaking no English and us no French) but we showed on the map where we wanted to be and he showed where we were and he pointed the direction we should be heading. These are little things I know but they build up to make visiting Paris a very nice experience indeed.

As a previous poster said SMILE. Keep a light hearted attitude – don’t get glum – and people will go out of their way to help you.

Sorry, I’m not much of a nightlife person so I can’t address that.

Everytime my friends from the States come to visit me in Italy they are always concerned about that. How will peopel treat me since I am an American.
. Somebody may disagree with Bush’s policy but that does not have anything to do with indivitual Americans and if somebody is rude to you it means that he is rude anyway, not just to you. But anyway all the people I know from the States travelling around Europe have never had problems and they have had a very good experience.
I agree that to learn the local culture is nice. You show an interest in the culture that people always appriciate.
Ciao and enjoy it

Well, I hope I’m not too late, and I hope alanmac67 reads this… Man, it’s not that americans are rich or nice looking and ppl hate them for that. People hate guys with heavy spirits that feel superior. That’s easy to get I think, so, keep cool and be humble, so maybe more people will like regardless of where U’re from. By the way , did U do something for the french guys in WW II ??? Don’t take credit for that if U were not even born !!! and please don’t stereotype ppl and countries… it’s no sense at all…

quote: A hint: no matter your nationality, if you walk around with a big smile on your face and act friendly to everyone, you’ll probably find people are friendlier in return.

That’s because they’ll think your retarded.

I lived in France for awhile, and have been back several times, and the one tip I can give is to truly try and submerge yourself in their culture! For the French, that definitely includes the language! Especially in Paris, you will find that they deal with tourists endlessly, so dont expect them to go outr of their way to please you. I’ve always tried to compare the stereotype that parisians get to that of a new yorker. More times than not, you meet people who do not fit that label. Thats not to say that they don’t have rude people, but I have always found that a sincere effort will take you far in France.

quote:
also how do europeans see americans? i’ve read on a few posts that france isnt a good place to visit being an american,

False.

Many American tourists who are inexperienced in traveling abroad will misinterpret the stupidest mindless things as "anti-american sentiment." For example, a waiter who doesn’t smile doesn’t mean he hates Americans. Don’t be paranoid like this. Just go, and have fun. Oh, and do not walk up to people and start rambling in English as many English-speakers do. It’s rude as hell, and will justifiably get you a cold response. make use of the phrase &quotarlez-vous anglais?"

quote:

quote: A hint: no matter your nationality, if you walk around with a big smile on your face and act friendly to everyone, you’ll probably find people are friendlier in return.

That’s because they’ll think your retarded.

Agreed with clunker. Such a public display of smiles is culture-specific. It’s a sign of friendliness in the USA, but in France as well as other Greco-Latin countries but to a lesser extent might be viewed with suspicion. Smiles are more than welcome after getting acquainted with a total stranger (even a brief introduction), but initiating contact with a smile is considered strange. In other words, don’t walk up to a total stranger with a big grin on your face.

quote:
I think some people get intimidated when they aren’t in a country that speaks fluent English, and because of this, are out of their element and feel uncomfortable, resulting in a lot of pointing and barking orders with scowls on their faces. If you act like that, of course you’ll be treated the same.

Thank you!

quote:
I just got back form two months in Europe. I found everyone was extremely nice and helpful to me, and I had a large American flag on my backpack. The French were even very friendly if you get out of Paris. We went to Caen, France to see the Normandy beaches and met some of the nicest people. I think the French there remember what we did for them in WWII. Before my trip, I read a lot of how much Europeans did not like Americans, and that you should not have an American flag on your backpack. In my experience this could not be farther from the truth. Sure, some Europeans do not agree with the United States current foreign policy, and I had a few friendly intelligent discussions about it, but no one disliked me or hated me because I was an American. I even found, especially in Prague, that the European women like American men. In my opinion The Czech women are very tall and beautiful; the Czech men are not as good looking as we are; they treat their women like second-class citizens; And just being an American, we are rich compared to them. It is good to be an American man in Prague.

This is just one person’s experience, but this is a list of the places that were friendliest to me being an American

1. Rome, Italy
2. Munich, Germany
3. Prague, Czech Rep.
4. Berlin, Germany
5. Amsterdam, NL
6. Interlaken, Switzerland
7. Antwerp, Belgium
8. Bruges, Belgium
9. Caen, France
10. Venice, Italy
11. London, England

These are the places I went that people were not rude, but they just were not overly friendly either.

1. Paris, France
2. Pamplona, Spain
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Ibiza, Spain
5. Florence, Italy
6. Krakow, Poland
7. Cologne, Germany

This must be personal experience. Are these lists based on locals’ response to you after finding out you were American? Or are you assuming that they knew you were American? Regardless of the visitor’s nationality, I would put Rome and Munich in the second list as far as "friendliness" goes.

You mention that "some Europeans don’t agree with US policies" actually, the majority don’t agree with US policies and in many countries it’s the vast majority. 80-90% of the populations in Spain, Finland, Switzerland, Greece, Belgium, Italy, and Norway oppose the war in Iraq. The war isn’t very popular in other countries either, with anti-war sentiment hovering around 60-80% in France, Germany, and Britain. So, it’s safe to say that most at least western Europeans oppose US policies. And those who don’t oppose the war don’t necessarily support it either. (Most of those who don’t support the war are either indifferent or undecided.)