Best places in Europe...

[jacob0401]

I'm taking a month long trip to Europe, so I'm asking the ATOT hive mind for their favorite destinations in Europe.

Especially interested in which Greek islands are the best...

 

[soulcougher73]

Ive never been to Europe (yet) but plan to in the future as much as i can. Places i want to visit are. Greece, Italy, Croatia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland. Those are high on my list. The other European countries id like to see but they would have to be after seeing all the above first. Sorry, im sure this was not much use to you

 

[InflatableBuddha]

My favourite cities when I went: Prague, Berlin, Nuremburg, Dresden, Nice, Vienna, Istanbul, Budapest. Not to take anything away from London, Paris, Rome, etc. which have a lot of highlights, but they're very large cities and overly touristy.

Greek Islands - I went to Ios and Thira and loved them. Mykonos is apparently very good.

I managed to hit 18 countries in 3 months, so I can help you out a bit. I know some people here have traveled much more than that too. Tell us what you want to see/do (architecture, nature, partying, etc.) and we can narrow it down a bit.

 

[Demo24]

Kinda depends on if your looking to go see the major sites or something else? I'm not a huge city person so a lot of those don't do much for me. I did how really like Munich.

 

[blackdogdeek]

my favorite cities:

prague, florence, amsterdam, london

 

[rasczak]

I've seen and loved,

London, Paris, Nice, Villefranche, Rome (not so much with the attempted theft of my wallet), Florence, Venice, Interlaken (switzerland), Amsterdam (this was disappoint). We saw the german countryside and parts of belgium too.

The most lax part of our honeymoon was southern france, some of the most breathtaking views of the mediterranean boobs i will ever see. paris was pretty much paris. had a blast there. totally enjoyed venice. Interlaken was such a surprise that i wanted to seriously move there. this coming from a surfer who needs to paddle out at least twice a week, this is saying something.

agreed on the what you want to do question.

 

[zinfamous]

Italy: Florence (much of Tuscany, really), Venice, Cinque Terra is worth the ~2 day hike.

France: take a trip through the wine regions if you can. Southern France--the Cote d'Zure [sic], is awesome.

Belgium: car trip touring the trappist monasteries

Amsterdam, just because

Austria: Vienna and Salzburg are quite rad. You could do Salzburg in a day, I think.

Prague is awesome if you can make the trip. Though it was still in its famously cheap days when I last visited-- 0.25 beers (and good, too); $4 for a 4 course meal, long gone now, though

taking the train through Switzerland, which you will invariably do, is absolutely worth it. stop off in a town or two if you have time, but the trip through the Alps is a nicely efficient sight-seeing compromise with time.

Haven't been to Greece, but I often hear good things about Mykonos, and to avoid Athens if you can...

 

[jacob0401]

well i have the major touristy things figured out...

I guess I'm looking for suggestions of things that are more off the beaten path, less touristy, more real European...looking to relax especially after doing the major touristy cities...

 

[blackdogdeek]

i forgot to add: zermatt

 

[jacob0401]

Italy: Florence (much of Tuscany, really), Venice, Cinque Terra is worth the ~2 day hike.

France: take a trip through the wine regions if you can. Southern France--the Cote d'Zure [sic], is awesome.

Belgium: car trip touring the trappist monasteries

Amsterdam, just because

Austria: Vienna and Salzburg are quite rad. You could do Salzburg in a day, I think.

Prague is awesome if you can make the trip. Though it was still in its famously cheap days when I last visited-- 0.25 beers (and good, too); $4 for a 4 course meal, long gone now, though

taking the train through Switzerland, which you will invariably do, is absolutely worth it. stop off in a town or two if you have time, but the trip through the Alps is a nicely efficient sight-seeing compromise with time.

Haven't been to Greece, but I often hear good things about Mykonos, and to avoid Athens if you can...

yea...definitely avoiding Athens unless things resolve themselves really fast...that's why i was asking about the islands. kinda bummer though if i have to miss out on all the historical and archaeological sites in Athens...

 

[ViviTheMage]

My favorite, London,Munich, Berlin, Brussels, Amsterdam (most of the netherlands actually), prague, all of croatia.

My next trip will be Munich, italy (Florence, Rome, etc), croatia, poland, amsterdamn, London.

Trains, planes, and water boats baby!

I need to hit more of the backcountry cities though ...

 

[Yeem]

well i have the major touristy things figured out...

I guess I'm looking for suggestions of things that are more off the beaten path, less touristy, more real European...looking to relax especially after doing the major touristy cities...

You'll definitely want to check out Finland. Very mellow place. Quiet and polite people.

 

[JoPh]

just went to rome/vatican was very enjoyable -- u can do it 3 days... 2 days if you want to push your self.

 

[ravana]

Don't miss Rome & Venice if this is your first time & you will be in Italy.

 

[rasczak]

well i have the major touristy things figured out...

I guess I'm looking for suggestions of things that are more off the beaten path, less touristy, more real European...looking to relax especially after doing the major touristy cities...

Interlaken. Villefranche. Interlaken may be a bit mro touristy, but it didn;t feel like it when we stayed there. Beautiful scenery. We went up the Jungfrau which was really cool. Had some goulash in a town up a ways near the mountain summit. absolutely one of the best times i had ever had. Ever.

Villefranche was a little port town cote d'azur. we did a little bit of shopping, and ALOT of eating there. probably the most relaxing part of our trip.

 

[nageov3t]

Florence was my favorite city to relax in... don't get me wrong, there's a bunch of stuff to see, but we were able to see just about everything we wanted to in a single day and then spent a couple days just eating and shopping and relaxing before moving on to Rome. it was a well-needed recharge between Paris and Rome.

Assisi is really nice too. amazing view.

 

[JoPh]

oh.. my next trip i want to go is to ireland.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Don't miss Rome & Venice if this is your first time & you will be in Italy.

Definitely, but Florence is better IMO.

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Interlaken. Villefranche. Interlaken may be a bit mro touristy, but it didn;t feel like it when we stayed there. Beautiful scenery. We went up the Jungfrau which was really cool. Had some goulash in a town up a ways near the mountain summit. absolutely one of the best times i had ever had. Ever.

:thumbsup: The cog railway getting up the mountain was very relaxing and the view at the top was breathtaking (partly because there's not much oxygen up there! )

 

[blackdogdeek]

Definitely, but Florence is better IMO.

agreed. and if you've played assassin's creed 2 you can see most of the stuff from the game

 

[Fern]

I'm taking a month long trip to Europe, so I'm asking the ATOT hive mind for their favorite destinations in Europe.

Especially interested in which Greek islands are the best...

-snip-
Tell us what you want to see/do (architecture, nature, partying, etc.) and we can narrow it down a bit.

Yes, please tell us what things in particular interest you.

I spent several years traveling around Europe, and lived in London, Berlin and Paris. My wife is Italian (here on Green card) and we travel to Italy to see her family etc.

How will you be traveling around? Train, plane etc?

I first arrived in London to acclimate myself. Eventually I became aware of a company there that refurbished and sold/rented campers. I purchased one and used it for most of my travels. (Depending upon the length of your trip renting may be cheaper. There were 'hitchhiking' companies that matched up people without cars to those with cars. Having a camper and being able to take several people with me I often managed to make money off their required contributions for fuel.)

Some favorite cities (in no particlular order) : Sorrento and Amalfi Coast (in Italy near Naples), Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Florence. I also like Biarritz and Marseille. Actually, the area around Marseille is definately one of favorites. Oh, another big fav is a small French town on the Mediterranian coast named Sete.

Least favorite: Venice, Frankfurt, Madrid, Brussels. I didn't care much for Barcelona (Spain) or Bordeaux (France) either. I also don't much like the the whole Cannes/Nice thing, and I found Monaco fairly boring. Those places are for rich old people IMO.

Most overrated museum: The Louvre (and most of the modern art museums excepting the one near Copenhagen).

Worst food: England, Scotland and Germany. Although in England there is good Indian food. In Germany (particulalry Berlin) I really enjoyed the Turkish food.

Best food: Italy and France. Amsterdam has an area of great restaurants featuring food from all over.

However, I would like to mention that some of my most enjoyable trips were to unknown places I ran across traveling through contries. These were mostly in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. My camper afforded me this ability, I suppose one could it by train as well. Once on the way to either Monaco or Nice from Paris I noticed several small interesting little seaside fishing villages on the way. After finishing my business I purchased a train ticket that let me jump off where I wanted and had fun exploring those little villages before I went back to Paris. So, you can explore some 'back country' type places by train.

However, the real good news is if this is your first trip almost everything will be interesting.

Edit: face/palm. I forgot to mention Dubrovnik, one of the best/coolest place I ever visited. I flew in from Paris and spent some time there, later I went down to the docks and bought a ticket on one one of the 'milk boats' (or whatever they call them). These are the boats that take mail and supplies to the many (Dalmation) islands nearby, Korkula was awesome, the ticket were uber cheap. You just ride around until they stop at a island you like then hop off. No need to look for hotels etc, you just walk up to one the houses and ask if they rent rooms, most do. When you're done exploring that island, get back on one the milk boats, or pay a fisherman to drive you to your next spot etc.

Edit #2. Istanbul is interesting too. However I left it off because I don't really think of it as being in Europe.

Fern

 

[Sho'Nuff]

Czech republic. Excellent and cheap beer, beautiful women, and amazing architecture. What else do you need to see and do in a month's stay in Europe?

In all seriousness, if you do end up going to the Czech republic, drop me a PM. I've been there many times (my father lives in Opava, on the eastern side of the country) and I can give you a detailed roadmap of the must dos, okay to sees, and should avoids.

Best,

Sox

 

[GasX]

Edinburgh during the fall (google international festival)
Solden duing the winter (It's a party town with skiing)
Iceland for a really late night of drinking

 

[JoPh]

Definitely, but Florence is better IMO.

now i found florence boring compaired to rome. o well

 

[jacob0401]

Yes, please tell us what things in particular interest you.

I spent several years traveling around Europe, and lived in London, Berlin and Paris. My wife is Italian (here on Green card) and we travel to Italy to see her family etc.

How will you be traveling around? Train, plane etc?

I first arrived in London to acclimate myself. Eventually I became aware of a company there that refurbished and sold/rented campers. I purchased one and used it for most of my travels. (Depending upon the length of your trip renting may be cheaper. There were 'hitchhiking' companies that matched up people without cars to those with cars. Having a camper and being able to take several people with me I often managed to make money off their required contributions for fuel.)

Some favorite cities (in no particlular order) : Sorrento and Amalfi Coast (in Italy near Naples), Rome, Amsterdam, Paris, London, Florence. I also like Biarritz and Marseille. Actually, the area around Marseille is definately one of favorites. Oh, another big fav is a small French town on the Mediterranian coast named Sete.

Least favorite: Venice, Frankfurt, Madrid, Brussels. I didn't care much for Barcelona (Spain) or Bordeaux (France) either. I also don't much like the the whole Cannes/Nice thing, and I found Monaco fairly boring. Those places are for rich old people IMO.

Most overrated museum: The Louvre (and most of the modern art museums excepting the one near Copenhagen).

Worst food: England, Scotland and Germany. Although in England there is good Indian food. In Germany (particulalry Berlin) I really enjoyed the Turkish food.

Best food: Italy and France. Amsterdam has an area of great restaurants featuring food from all over.

However, I would like to mention that some of my most enjoyable trips were to unknown places I ran across traveling through contries. These were mostly in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. My camper afforded me this ability, I suppose one could it by train as well. Once on the way to either Monaco or Nice from Paris I noticed several small interesting little seaside fishing villages on the way. After finishing my business i purchased a train ticket that let jump off where I wanted and had fun exploring those little villages beofre I went back to Paris.

However, the real good news is if this is your first trip almost everything will be interesting.

Fern

Yea, I will be flying into London than crossing over to Paris. After that travel by train to Italy and work my way through Italy.

I could probably hit up Switzerland on my way from France to Italy so that seems like a good idea...