Hi Guys, Well, I purchased tickets back in Janurary to fly into and out of London May 26th-July 2nd with the intention of spending some time planning the trip. Work has gotten extremely hectic and I am now desperately searching and stumbled upon this gem of a website.
Anyway, I would love any input, basically, I'd love someone to plan my trip I know this is very cheesy, but I will be asking my girlfriend to marry me sometime along the trip, so any input on that would be great. Ideally, I'd love to rent an apartment in each city we visit so we have use of a kitchen- we're very laid back people. The cities I'd like to visit are, in no particular order: Paris, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Nice, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels. I understand that many of these cities are within earshot of eachother, so we plan on doing day trips, as well as a few over nighters using the rail system as much as possible.
At this juncture I am desperate. I need help with everything! Thanks guys and I look forward to hearing any input.
Once you've arrived at some format for the trip, you could come back here and place specific questions in various Country boards, indicating also your preferences in terms of locations, times, what are your goals in travelling, what do you like most, etc.
As it is now, your appeal for help is just too open-ended.
The one piece of advice I'd give you, as someone who has been to various parts of Europe many times, and often for longer than a month, is that one month is not very long and that your plans are definitely not slow travel. From Paris to Prague and Vienna are a long way by train - remember there are mountains in between! Idem down to Rome. Amsterdam and Brussels are indeed extremely close, but there are also interesting Dutch and Flemish towns in between. The most romantic Flemish town is Bruges/Brugge.
I'd suggest you rent a flat in one city and travel out from it, or two at most. It is wonderful to get settled in somewhere and be able to do the cooking, or if you don't feel like cooking, indulge in some of the excellent prepared foods you can find in European shops, markets and even supermarkets. I don't like always eating in restaurants either - reminds me too much of working at conferences, and there is too much food.
You will find a lot on this board about romantic destinations - search the board with such terms as romantic, honeymoon etc (though you aren't married yet). Other sites to look at include Lonely Planet (Western Europe) and Rick Steves. This site - slow travel - features some exceptionally well-written and thoughtful essays.
Personally, since you are landing in London, I'd concentrate just on London and southern England and either northern France or the low countries. You'll be back. Then plan another trip down to Italy and southern France, and yet another to central Europe.
Posts: 868 | Location: Montréal | Registered: 29 January 2006
I agree with lagatta. Don`t try to squeeze too many places in or you`ll find you are spending your whole holiday travelling, never really seeing anything & arriving home needing another vacation. While some of the cities you mention are fairly close, e.g. Amsterdam & Brussels, they are still a 2.5 hour train ride apart - 5 hours out of your day spent on the train on a day trip.
Choose 2 or 3 centres you really want to see & enjoy those areas to the full.
Ann
Posts: 64 | Location: England | Registered: 14 March 2006
I agree! My first trip overseas is coming up in errrr 27 sleeps and we will be gone for a month (may 24- June 23) with the destination being Italy. Lots of people have said 'oh! only italy?' but when u sit down and list all the places in italy that would be incredible to see, a month doesnt seem like long at all! We are laid back aussies who of course want to see and experience as much as we can on this amazing holiday but not at the expense of living out of a suitcase and missing the best bits because we have to be in the next place by tomorrow. So we have chosen to rent some apartments and just go with the flow. So my advice is to sit back and think about what of each of the cities appeals to you and pick just a couple.
Posts: 44 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 20 November 2005
I'm definitely part of the "keep it slow" crowd. My original intention for this trip was to spend 2 months in Perugia studying Italian and then hit the backpacker circuit around Europe leaving no stone unturned.
Well, three months later I'm still in Perugia and my plans for May don't even get me out of Italy... maybe in June I'll escape the clutches of this enchanting country. Sure I haven't ticked as many big tourist sites or tourist towns off the list, but I've visited places and done things that most people don't even know exist. I also spent 10 days in London before my time in Perugia and even then I didn't get to do all that I wanted in that time!
Slow your trip down, concentrate on a few spots and remind yourself that you'll be back...
btw - if you're keen to rent apartments in each place, a lot of apartment rentals are from Saturday-Saturday, so that's an immediate reason to spend more time in fewer places!
Topic Closed
I know this is very cheesy, but I will be asking my girlfriend to marry me sometime along the trip, so any input on that would be great. Ideally, I'd love to rent an apartment in each city we visit so we have use of a kitchen- we're very laid back people. The cities I'd like to visit are, in no particular order: Paris, Prague, Vienna, Rome, Nice, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Brussels. I understand that many of these cities are within earshot of eachother, so we plan on doing day trips, as well as a few over nighters using the rail system as much as possible.
