at first when i saw those i was like what the…….and then i googled them and saw they actually are places. random.

1. Vienna, Austria – grand city but also a bit boring, not top of my list
2. Brussels, Belgium – don’t , do Bruges instead
3. Prague, Czech Republic – yes
4. Paris, France -of course
5. Nice, France- optional
6. Berlin, Germany – trendiest place in europe they say
7. Frankfurt, Germany – definitely not, better go to Munich, or do a Rhine trip
8. Corfu, Greece – yes! (or another island)
9. Athens, Greece – no, unless you like old ruins
10. Budapest, Hungary – could be nice
11. Dublin, Ireland – if you fly into europe thru ireland
12. Rome, Italy – yes!
13. Venice, Italy – yes
14. Milan, Italy – no, big city
15. Amsterdam, Netherlands – of course
16. Toledo, Spain – why?
17. Barcelona, Spain – yes
18. Valencia, Spain -no, quite boring
19. Madrid, Spain- yes, but not as good as Barcelona
20. Zurich, Switzerland – could be skipped
21. Istanbul, Turkey- yes, but requires extra travel maybe
22. London, United Kingdoms – i guess it is a must

23. Fucking, Austria, 24. Kissing, Germany,25. Condom, France: – Just photoshop a picture from internet

26. Antwerp, Belgium – you pass it on the way from Bruges to Amsterdam so why not
27. Lisbon, Portugal – nice, but out of the way
28. Glasgow, Scotland – no, Edinburgh is nicer.

[/quote]

1. Vienna, Austria ~ yes, grand but boring unless you like classical music.
2. Brussels, Belgium ~ Bruges
3. Prague, Czech Republic ~ have not been, would like to go.
4. Paris, France ~ love it, very walkable, lots of culture and beauty—a must see IMHO.
5. Nice, France ~ beautiful region, Nice has worthwhile sights, but further south is better.
6. Berlin, Germany ~ lots going on there, much history and worthwhile sights.
7. Frankfurt, Germany ~ strictly a transportation hub.
8. Corfu, Greece ~ it’s got the Pink Palace, but much more than that if you rent transportation. A stunningly beautiful island.
9. Athens, Greece ~ must-see ruins, but one day is enough unless you have time for Delphi.
10. Budapest, Hungary ~ never been, have heard good things.
11. Dublin, Ireland ~ Loved the day trips, wasn’t thrilled with the city itself.
12. Rome, Italy ~ The Eternal City. An absolute must.
13. Venice, Italy ~ worth a day or so.
14. Milan, Italy ~ not a must-see.
15. Amsterdam, Netherlands ~ loved the people, beauty, history, museums.
16. Toledo, Spain ~ much culture and ancient architecture but also a nice youthful energy.
17. Barcelona, Spain ~ a lot happening, many sights to see, don’t miss La Sagrada Familia.
18. Valencia, Spain ~ okay but not a must-see
19. Madrid, Spain ~ The Prado is mandatory. Madrid always seems to fade in the background if juxtaposed with Barcelona, but IMHO it is worth a visit, even if just for the art.
20. Zurich, Switzerland ~ boring and expensive.
21. Istanbul, Turkey ~ haven’t been, would like to go.
22. London, United Kingdoms ~ An absolute must. You could spend six months there and not see and do everything.
23. Fucking, Austria
24. Kissing, Germany
25. Condom, France ~ heh we actually drove by here but didn’t stop.
26. Antwerp, Belgium ~ have not been, but would go if I was in the area.
27. Lisbon, Portugal ~ I want to visit Portugal, but my first choice would be north-central.
28. Glasgow, Scotland ~ if you like cutting edge music and nightlife, this is where you go. Edinburgh is more civilized and can also be more stodgy, though the Fringe Festival is very entertaining. If you are going to Scotland for scenic beauty and history, check out Stirling. It has one of the best castles.

Thanks Bigfoot and Cil for your advice! Based on what you’ve told me and some external research my revised list is this:

1. Paris, France
2. Athens, Greece
3. Rome, Italy
4. Barcelona, Spain
5. Amsterdam, Netherlands
6. Corfu, Greece
7. Berlin, Germany
8. London, U.K.
9. Madrid, Spain
10. Prague, Czech Republic
11. Glasgow, Scotland
12. Bruges, Belgium

If you have any advice on “must-see” places I have overlooked I’d appreciate you pointing it out. Thanks again for the help so far!

I would skip Athens and Glasgow, and perhaps Madrid & London as well. Too many big cities.

Maybe it is nice to spend some time in the Alps as well since you like outdoor activities. Many backpackers goto Gimmelwald or Interlaken.

Toledo is an easy daytrip from Madrid. Edinburgh and Stirling are also easy daytrips from Glasgow. Incorporating side trips like that would allow you to see more places on your list (or some of the places suggested by Cil). Plus, I always like to sprinkle in some smaller cities between big ones.

Hey Kyle,

Since you are a Eurotrip virgin, I think it’s wonderful that you are currently researching potential cities for your first time. I like to compare it to online dating where you weed out potential lovers on match.com or plentyoffish.com. Besides, you will not have sex with someone you barely know, right?

My point is, a Eurotrip is like an intense cycle of romance and dating where cities are like the opposite sex (or same sex, whichever you prefer — I don’t discriminate!). You fall in love with the city you’re in, and then you feel sad leaving it thinking you might never see it again. Then once you arrive in your next city, you forget about the previous city and you fall in love all over again. And the cycle repeats. The excitement of getting to know the city, having verbal intercourse with the locals and fellow backpackers alike, penetrating the tourist areas and poking around hidden streets causing several instances of visual orgasms, will definitely leave a lasting memory for such a young mind.

Sometimes, despite currently seeing a particular city, you might decide to “cheat”. If you’re currently seeing Munich as an example, you might be tempted to do Salzburg for a short quickie. You probably might feel guilty: “Should I have spent more time in Munich and actually get to know her more?” On the other hand, you might think to yourself, “I should have left Munich to sleep in Salzburg.” And then in the middle of it all, you have an epiphany: some cities like London, Paris, and Rome are worth spending some time to get to know more; while others like Milan and Brussels (beautiful as they may be) should only be a one-night stand. You then see different personalities emerge: London the quirky and cool, Paris the old-fashioned and romantic, Berlin the party animal, Amsterdam the dirty little slut.

And then there is LOVE. It might be possible on your trip that you might fall head over heels with one of these sexy cities. So much so that it might screw you up really bad. After your trip, you might decide to shake up your life, blindly throw your life to fate, and with intense passion, make the move and actually live there so you can get to know her more. And in those rare situations, you might actually decide to settle down and have your relationship legally binded by reciting your citizenship vows. And your life will never be the same ever again. Oh love, what a blessed feeling you are.

That being said, it is also important to be spontaneous. The best lovers sometimes come during times you did not expect. I see that you left out Tuscany. What if Siena or Florence is your one true love? Or what if a city in Scandinavia or some small town in Provence that you’ve never heard of can ignite your passion in ways that you’ve never imagined? Of course, there are too many places and too little time and we can’t penetrate them all. Doing this Eurotrip, you finally understand what Casanova must have felt like with all those women.

Anyway, whatever city you decide to see, once you’ve settled in to your mind-numbing job and your mundane life several years from now (sorry to be harsh), you’ll always look back to this summer of intense discovery. So go ahead young man, sleep around in as many cities as you like (and “cheat” as much as you want), for you will always look back to the time you were a european-city slut.

Make us Eurotrippers proud!

By the way, in addition to my post above, dump Glasgow and check out her stunning sister, Edinburgh. Bruges can be a one-night stand if you’re in a rush. Definitely cheat on Madrid with Toledo (and Segovia as well). But then, those are just my personal preferences. Who knows, Glasgow might be your one true love.

Just my opinion, but I would not cheat on Madrid with Toledo.
Madrid is not Barcelona but has much to offer in its own way.
Also, I could be wrong, but while they are certainly related I am not sure that Edinburgh and Glasgow residents consider their respective cities “sisters.”
Edinburgh has much to offer, but so, in its own way, does Glasgow, home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mark Knopfler, David Byrne, Average White Band, Del Amitiri, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Sons and Daughters, Franz Ferdinand etc etc etc.

Just my opinion, but I would not cheat on Madrid with Toledo.
Madrid is not Barcelona but has much to offer in its own way.
Also, I could be wrong, but while they are certainly related I am not sure that Edinburgh and Glasgow residents consider their respective cities “sisters.”
Edinburgh has much to offer, but so, in its own way, does Glasgow, home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mark Knopfler, David Byrne, Average White Band, Del Amitiri, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Sons and Daughters, Franz Ferdinand etc etc etc.

Just my opinion, but I would not cheat on Madrid with Toledo.
Madrid is not Barcelona but has much to offer in its own way.
Also, I could be wrong, but while they are certainly related I am not sure that Edinburgh and Glasgow residents consider their respective cities “sisters.”
Edinburgh has much to offer, but so, in its own way, does Glasgow, home of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Mark Knopfler, David Byrne, Average White Band, Del Amitiri, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Sons and Daughters, Franz Ferdinand etc etc etc.

Thanks everyone for the advice! Heymikey, your analogy made me laugh but it makes a lot of sense. I’ve never heard travel put quite that way before!

I guess what I should have asked from the beginning is, if I only have 32 days for my eurotrip how many places should I squeeze in? So far I’ve been trying to get it down to around 10 or 11 because I figured that’d afford me about 3 days per city but I have no way of knowing if that’s a good idea or not.

I’ve plotted the places out and I wonder if I should cut certain places that I want to go to out simply because they’re so far away. For example, I was planning on going to Istanbul but it’s really out of the way and I have no other destinations near it… Would the time I’d lose traveling there make the trip worth it?

Cil, I think you’ve pretty much sold me on Glasgow. I had no idea Belle & Sebastian or Franz Ferdinand were from there. The only thing is it’s far up north of London, which brings me back to the same problem in the paragraph above.

I also don’t want to plan it out too strictly cuz I feel I should leave a little bit of wiggle-room for last minute change of plans.

Anyway, here’s the google maps thingy I made to plot out the cities you’ve suggested so far in case you’re curious:

http://maps.google.c…

Again, I appreciate the advice guys (and gals)!

By the way, Bigfoot and Cil, you both mention that Athens isn’t worth more than one day. Do you think I ought to just skip it altogether and go to corfu instead since it’s out of the way?

An average of three days per stop is good, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend three days in each stop. Some places only need a day or two, and you might want four in others. You probably don’t need three in Bruges, and skipping Athens and sticking to Corfu might be a good idea if you want a taste of Greece without having to devote yourself to spending tons of time there. If you shuffle things and drop a place or a day and you end up with an extra day while in Madrid consider that Toledo day (or overnight) trip.

I think it really depends on your traveling style. Some travelers are strictly monogamous where they spend an entire 2 weeks in only one city, while others tend to be a player having only one-night stands in every city they visit. While I encourage you to be a slut, I don’t really recommend you to be the latter since it can be physically and mentally draining jumping from one hostel bed to the next every single day. Your idea of spending three days in each place is what I would recommended as well although I’d probably spend at least 4 days in either London, Paris, and Rome.

In your map, I would recommend dumping Dublin, Glasgow, Istanbul, and maybe Athens and Corfu. They are really out of the way. If you will be traveling with a eurailpass, maybe try to be somewhat spontaneous. Have an idea on which cities you want to sleep in, but don’t commit yourself to them just yet. If you feel that Venice gets on your nerves after 2 days, then you can just leave her and move on (if only relationships in real life were that easy).

Have you considered extending your trip to at least 2 months?

Okay three days it is. So if I hurry and manage to leave by April 6 that gives me…. 7 weeks and 5 days or 54 days if I come back on May 30… Do you guys think that’s doable? I’m an American citizen so I shouldn’t have any visa problems in Europe right? That’s the ultimate maximum days I can stretch my vacation to. It’s close enough to two months for government work.

If you think this is good I’m gonna revise my list and incorporate your suggestions. I’ll be able to see more places this way and stay longer at the ones I like!

Also, I’ll be passing through France again on my way to Barcelona from Rome. I figured I might as well stop somewhere along the coast if I have time. Any suggestions? I was thinking either Cannes (for the film festival) or Nice (or maybe Marseille?)

Hey guys, I’ve revised my list and expanded it to cover 54 days. Here it is:

1) London, U.K. (4 days) 2) Paris, France (4 days) 3) Bruges/Brussels/Antwerp, Belgium (4 days) 4) Amsterdam, Netherlands (2 days) 5) Berlin, Germany (3 days) 6) Prague, Czech Republic (2 days) 7) Munich, Germany (3 days) 8) Salzburg, Austria (2 days) 9) Budapest, Hungary (2 days) 10) Athens, Greece (1 day) 11) Corfu, Greece (3 days) 12) Montenegro (2 days) 13) Venice, Italy (2 days) 14) Tuscany, Italy (2 days) 15) Rome, Italy (4 days) 16) Cannes/Nice/Marseille, France (3 days) 17) Barcelona, Spain (4 days) 18) Madrid, Spain (2 days)

• This totals to 49 days with 5 days extra for travel time, natural disasters, hangovers, and spontaneity.

I’m still not sure about Athens but I figured it’s one of those “must-sees” for all the culture. I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology too.

I’d love to hear what you guys think about this and the way I’ve spread out the days. I’ve checked out the Eurorail and plane tickets and if this is good then I’m gonna go ahead and buy the tickets already.

Looks good Kyle. I like your little cushion of extra days.
About Athens: It is kind of a hectic place, just not especially relaxing.
If you are huge fan of Greek mythology, you might want to visit Delphi, which is about an hour outside of Athens, or you could even head up to Mt Olympus. I have not been to either; I would like to return and visit Delphi some day.
Aside from those two, at the very least you’ll want to visit the Acropolis in Athens, and the Plaka. Corfu is gorgeous, and it is so much more than just the Pink Palace. It is a very green island.
For coastal France on the way to Barcelona: getting around is pretty easy. You can visit a town or two along the way but not necessarily stay there. A town we liked a lot: Collioure.

Your revised itinerary sounds a lot better Kyle. If you’re a big fan of Greek mythology, then definitely visit Athens. You might want to buy a open-jaw ticket as well. Since the eurostar from London to Paris isn’t included in the Eurailpass, you might want to fly to Madrid from London and work your way east to Athens. Then fly back home from Athens.

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to update you all on my trip. I just bought my tickets and passes last night! It’s never really final until you buy the ticket, I think. I should be getting my Eurail pass in the mail before the end of the month.

The overview of my trip is as follows:

April. 13 – May 26

1) London, U.K. (6 days)
2) Paris, France (7 days)
3) Bruges/Antwerp, Belgium (4 days)
4) Amsterdam, Netherlands (4 days)
5) Venice, Italy (3 days)
6) Tuscany, Italy (5 days)
7) Rome, Italy (4 days)
8) Barcelona, Spain (7 days)

• This totals to 40 days with 3 extra days for natural disasters, hangovers, travel time, and spontaneity.

I had to make some adjustments after reviewing the plane and rail timetables. For example I found taking the train from Amsterdam to Venice and Rome to Barcelona was impractical. Instead I’ve bought cheap plane tickets to get there faster.

Here’s the breakdown of my itinerary:

On April 13: Leave Philippines 01:15 AM and arrive in London 01:15 PM on the same day. Travel: AIR via Etihad Airways.
14-19: Stay in Bournemouth with friends and make day trips to London and surrounding areas.
20: Leave London, St. Pancras Station (QQS) at 6:55 AM and arrive in Paris, Gare du Nord (XPG) at 10:17 AM Travel: TRAIN via Eurostar.
21-26: Stay in Paris at youth hostels and make day trips to surrounding areas.
27: Leave Paris at 6:25 AM and arrive in Antwerpen at 8:29 AM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
28: Stay in Antwerpen.
29: Leave Antwerpen 6:06 AM and arrive in Brugge at 7:29 AM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
30: Stay in Brugge.
May 1: Leave Brugge at 6:19 AM and arrive in Amsterdam at 10:06 AM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
2-4: Stay in Amsterdam with day trips to surrounding areas.
5: Leave Amsterdam-Schiphol (AMS) at 10:10 AM and arrive in Venezia, Italy, Marco Polo (VCE) at 3:55 PM. Travel: AIR via British Airways.
6-7: Stay in Venezia.
8: Leave Venizia at 8:27 AM and arrive in Pisa at 12:06 PM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
9: Stay in Pisa.
10: Leave Pisa at 6:01 AM and arrive in Firenze at 7:23 AM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
11-12: Stay in Firenze.
13: Leave Firenze at 7:00 AM and arrive in Roma at 8:45 AM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurail.
14-16: Stay in Roma.
17: Leave Roma, Fiumicino (FCO) at 9:40 AM and arrive in Barcelona (BCN) at 11:25 AM. Travel: AIR via Vueling Airways.
18-22: Stay in Barcelona with day trips to surrounding areas.
23: Depart Barcelona at 9:05 PM via Eurail (overnight train) *MAKE RESERVATIONS IN ADVANCE
24: Arrive in Paris via Eurail at 9:01 AM.
25: Depart Paris, Gare du Nord (XPG) at 12:13 PM and arrive in London, St. Pancras Station (QQS) at 01:28 PM. Travel: TRAIN via Eurostar.
26: Leave London at 9:20 PM. Travel: AIR via Etihad Airways. (will arrive the following day)
27: Arrive in Manila at 11:10 PM

I want to thank you all for helping me make this trip a reality. I started this trip with close to three times the number of destinations that are on my list. Comparing that list to this one makes me realize how much better an itinerary this one is and what a difficult time I would have had if I had stuck to my original.

If you notice from my itinerary that I’ll be down in your area then drop me a message and I’ll buy you a beer

Peace!