Vienna, Cinque Terre, Umbria...

[morgan23]

Soooo excited about my trip to Europe ;D

Since it's my first trip to Europe though (hopefully not my last ) though, I of course want to see everything but I can't.

I have a month. All of August.

Here are cities I definitly have to go to:
Paris, France
Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy
Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Here are places that I'm definitley interested in, but don't know if I should bother as far as time goes I'm thinking I should pick maybe one or two of these:

Cinque Terre, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
German/Swiss castles (don't know which one)
Vienna, Austria
Umbria/Tuscany Area, Italy
And many more that I probably will love that I don't even know about yet....

Suggestions on any of these cities?
I'm really interested in the whole castle thing, I just really haven't been able to decide on one particular one. I really wanted to go to Spain because it's the only country that speaks Spanish, plus I saw some really cool architechure. Also, Cinque Terre looks absolutely gorgeous.

I will be backpacking/hostelling. My interests: art, archetechure, hiking, nature, biking...

HELP!

[me]

morgan23 said:

Rome, Italy
Florence, Italy
Venice, Italy

Italy is now my favorite country. and Rome is the most important city in the history of Western civilization.

many of us have stayed at the Beehive in Rome. it's a good hostel. but, when i was there, there was no breakfast provided, or food of any kind. there was a kitchen, and lots of food shops in the neighborhood. also plenty of restaurants.

morgan23 said:

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

never been. but Switzerland is *very* expensive! Innsbruck, Austria, and nearby towns, where the mountain views are also impressive, might be a better value.

morgan23 said:

Cinque Terre, Italy
Barcelona, Spain
German/Swiss castles (don't know which one)
Vienna, Austria
Umbria/Tuscany Area, Italy

beware of Cinque Terre Holidays! Roberto just has some apartments around Riomaggiore which he fills with bunk beds. the apartment where i stayed, especially the bathroom, was *very* disgusting! and i'm a guy, my standards aren't that high. try to reserve a bed at the real hostel. the natural beauty of the place makes it worth it to visit.

Barcelona is a delight! i loved it, even though i was sick the whole time i was there. as you like architecture, Barcelona is a must see. the Gaudi buildings are wonderful! <his name is the source of the English word gaudy>

there's a nice, fairytale castle near Fussen, Germany <not far from Austrian border> called Neuschwanstein, Disney used it as the model for the castle at his theme park.

there are also the residential castles in Vienna, Austria. Hundertwasserhaus <http://www.hundertwasserhaus.info> might also appeal to you.

oh, Sienna, Italy, has a great striped cathedral! the only one like that that i've ever seen. Sienna's town square is also special.

- d

[Eagle]

morgan23, you'll probably get a variety of suggestions, however my preferences would be as follows:

- since you're going to be in Venice and Florence anyway, then the Cinque Terre is a good choice as it's relatively close. You'll have to decide which of the five towns you want to stay in? The "official" Hostel is in Manarola, so that might be your best bet. Keep in mind that it's not a "party Hostel" and there's a daytime lockout; reservations are probably a good idea. Check their web site for further details.

- since you're "really interested in the whole castle thing", I would suggest travelling from Paris to Munich. That will give you the option to visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau (hope I spelled it right?) Castles. There are lots of castles in Europe, but in a short trip that would allow you to see two of them. Tours are available from Radius Tours in the Munich Train Station.

- Umbria / Tuscany areas: do you have any particular cities in mind to visit? You could stop for a day or two in either area on your trip from Florence, etc. to Rome. Siena would probably be a good bet, although I believe the Hostel is located quite far out of town so you might want to choose a budget Hotel instead. There's also Orvieto (home of the Orvieto Classico wine, which is quite nice).

- I'm not sure about Barcelona? I can't recall from previous posts how long your trip is, but the transportation / distance might be a concern? Possibly you could use a budget airline and use the Paris - Barcelona - Munich route and then carry on by train? Just a thought......

Anyway, hope you get some more suggestions from the others. Good luck with your trip planning!

[morgan23]

Okay, I have done some research and have ruled out
Vienna - because of distance
Siena/Tuscany/Umbria - because I'm already going to Florence, Rome and Venice in Italy and in comparison to others, I think I don't like these as much.

But I have become more interested in :
Barcelona
Cinque Terre
Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen, Germany

[stanncie]

Morgan: like eagle said you can visit the castles from munich, there are tours available or you can take a train to fussen from the main station, allow a full day for this though since there are two castles and they give you a set time in which you can enter each once you buy your tickets in fussen.

[GoJoel]

Too bad you ruled out Tuscany, it was my favorite place on my trip to Italy! But if you stay an extra day or so in Florence, you can easily see some great stuff on day trips. Don't miss San Gimignano and possibly some towns in Chianti! Also, I don't know what your Venice plans are, but I took a day trip and saw more than enough for my preference.

As for Cinque Terre, I would definitely recommend it because it was my favorite scenic place in the country and it's on the way from Paris into Italy. So it's pretty easy to reach and well worth it.