Summer 07

[ntonguy]

Hi all, i'm planning a trip for June/July of 2007. I got all the train details, stations, stops etc. I never even left the country alone before so this is gonna be hard to say the least. Since i am VERY limited with time i'm planning on 2 nights in each place. Anyone who has any advice at all frankly would be a godsend also any travel buddies going my way, e-mail me. Below is the itinerary so enjoy
LONDON - PARIS
PARIS - ROME
ROME - VIENNA (POSSIBLE STAYS IN BOLOGNA AND VENICE AS IT IS ON THE WAY)
VIENNA - PRAGUE
PRAGUE - WARSAW
WARSAW - BERLIN
BERLIN - AMSTERDAM
AMSTERDAM - BRUSSELS
BRUSSELS - PARIS
PARIS - LONDON

[pointofnoreturn]

2 nights in each place is barely enough. I would NOT recommend staying two nights in each city. Maybe certain cities that are smaller (i.e. Berlin, etc). The guideline for the major cities are usually:

London: 4-5 nights
Paris: 4-5 nights
Rome: at least 5 nights but you can do it in 4 nights
Berlin: 2-3 nights
Amsterdam: 2-3 nights (it's a compact city)
Brussels: Consider Brugges (much better) but usually 2 nights for both

I can't say too much about the rest of the cities.

Could you give us more information? How long are you planning to travel for - like 1 month, 5 weeks, etc.

More tips:
- Between cities, you'll have to take a large chunk out of your day travelling to each city. If you are using a rail pass, try taking night trains.
- You should consider flying Paris to Rome with easyJet. It's dirt-cheap and cheaper/faster than the train.
- Maybe you can buy a 3-4 country rail pass and use it for France-Germany-Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) and fly the rest of the time.

[me]

ntonguy,

any particular reason all your time is in major cities?

in Italy, i found Sienna to be delightful, it's also interesting that Florence, number 2 or 3 tourist destination in Italy, isn't on your list.

Vienna is very impressive, but Austria also holds other places of interest. Salzburg & Innsbruck are great!

Germany is more than Berlin. Munich, Cologne, even Düsseldorf, are nice places to go.

i'm told Brugge is more interesting than Brussels.

it also depends on your interests.

[pointofnoreturn]

me said:

ntonguy,
in Italy, i found Sienna to be delightful, it's also interesting that Florence, number 2 or 3 tourist destination in Italy, isn't on your list.

We were originally staying just in Rome but we decided to head up to Florence for a few nights, a daytrip to Pompeii and Milan for one night (just for a flight) and I think it's a great idea to consider other cities to maximize your stay in a particular country! David hit the nail on the head concerning this... but totally up to you and your budget/timeline!

[herrbert]

Hi ntonguy,

As already stated 2 days for every city is not enough, it's better to make a selection of the places you want to see now, and leave the rest to a travel in the future. It would be like taking a glimpse of every city, but you would not have the time to get to know the city.

of course it's up to you to make the decision, but if I were you, I would make the decision to see 5 or 6 of the cities, and to visit some that are on the way. I would skip Brussels at any time.

[ntonguy]

Thanks all for the tips

I would love to visit all diiferent cities and places but i ain't got the time , i've stuck to the capitals simpley cuz i figure if it all goes wrong i would be better off in them. Plus since major train stations would be in the capital i'm hopin the chances of gettin lost ar limited

[me]

that makes sense, but just visiting the big cities will give you a skewed look at the culture. if someone from overseas were to visit just NYC and LA, they would have a rather skewed perspective on America - no?

- d

[ntonguy]

all true David

but i got to take what i can get. I'm hoping in a few years time i might be in a position to get more time off and do the trip again

Hope and prayer, all i got goin lol

[pointofnoreturn]

Still, more information from you concerning your actual length of stay (# of weeks) and your transportation plans might help us a little bit more in terms of giving you advice. I definitely want to help you have the best trip possible and that's what the rest of us would like to do as well

[me]

i suspect that your trip would be more fulfilling if you were to cut back on the number of places you plan to visit, and spend more time in each place. perhaps concentrate on Italy, Austria & Netherlands (some of my faves) or, alternatively, do "Tale of Two Cities," London & Paris, plus Berlin. Prague could be added to either of these.

but. cutting destinations is better than cramming too many into your plans, imo.

[pointofnoreturn]

I agree with David. If you still attempt to spend no more than 2 nights in each city, you'll just spend most of the time overall travelling from one place to another because not everything runs according to schedule.

I'm just trying to be realistic. 2 nights is not going to work.