Tell me what you think.....

[prodigy339]

My friend and I will be traveling to Europe for just over 3 weeks in July. I've been over a few times, but this is his first trip. We are both in our mid 20's and are looking for a good combination of culture and nightlife. We've come up with a tentative itinerary and would like some feedback. Here we go....

Fly into London, take the Chunnel to Brussels (2 nights).

Things we would like to see: Royal Palace, Mannekin Pis, and we've heard there is a nice light show at Le Grand Place at night.

Brussels to Amsterdam (3 nights)

Things we would like to see: Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Red Light District, going to a couple clubs.

Amsterdam to Cologne (1 or 2 nights)

Things we would like to see: Cologne Cathedral, Rhine River. I am not to familiar with this city and I am unsure of how much time to devote to it. Any ideas?

Cologne to Munich (3 nights) - possibly take the night train if we only stay 1 night in Cologne.

Things we would like to see: Haufbrauhaus, Glockenspiel, and perhaps a day trip to Dachau

Munich to Interlaken (2 nights)

Things we would like to see: open to ideas....we were thinking of doing a white water rafting excursion for 1 of the days.

Interlaken to Barcelona (3 nights) - take the train to Bern and then the night train to Barcelona.

Things we would like to see: Barcelona Cathedral, Las Ramblas, La Sagrada Familia, go to the beach.

Barcelona to Ibiza/Formentera (3 nights)

Things we would like to see: beaches and sunshine

Ibiza to London (3 nights) - I have found a cheap flight for approx. 40 Euros.

Things we would like to see: Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, possibly see go to a play.

Then fly home out of London

[Jules80]

i'm not really a fan of brussels i would suggest brugges... much prettier and more pleasant. you may find going from long to brussels straight away exhausting... don't forget the jet lag!

ibiza is quite the party spot - my cousins have been there many times! should be fun!

london really needs more than 3 days imo. check into it, buckingham palace may be open when you're there... its only open to the public at certain times of the year. i recomend the cabinet war rooms and the london walks tours - they're excellent. for plays there is the tkts tickets in leicester square... buy them the day of and they're much cheaper... these tend to be for plays that have been running for a while. while not likely to be cheap, i believe lord of the rings is now playing in london. i saw it in toronto and it is the most breath taking play i've ever seen.

Jules

[prodigy339]

Thanks for the info. I agree that to see London properly it takes more than 3 days, but I have been there already and don't feel like spending more than 3 days seeing many things that I have already seen. On the other hand, my friend has not been there so I told him that we would spend a couple days there to see the major attractions. Thanks for the tip about the plays. I really hope to be able to see one while I am there. Any other hints or tips would be greatly appreciated, especially concerning Cologne or Interlaken.

[herrbert]

It looks like you have already done your research. I agree with Jules on Brussels, but if you find Brussels boring, you can always do Bruges as a daytrip. (btw, make sure to make advance reservations for the Eurostar, and to show up on time.)

Amsterdam: Het Rijksmuseum is still under going a big renovation (until 2009), and that can mean not everything is on display, or can be found in a different room. It is now also possible to visit the museum on Friday-evenings until 22.00. (personaly I would choose the van Goghmuseum, as it is more interesting (for my taste), and see if it would be possible to visit on off the museums in London, for a more general exhibition, but that is personal)

Cologne: I would recommend only one night. The traintrip from Amsterdam would not be really long, so if you leave early enough (maybe hard after the clubs, you mentioned), you can have an afternoon, and a morning. That should be enough to visit the cathedral, and to make a short tour on the river.

Munich: No daytrip to Neuschwanstein?

Interlaken: remember that the day you want to leave to barcelona is a short day. If you want to catch the 17.30 train to Barcelona, you need to leave as early as 16.00 to have a little bit of margin. But it would get you in Barcelona at 9.30.

Ibiza: Do you plan on taking a boat trip, or the plane. (check vueling airlines for cheap tickets within Spain).

Even though you have already seen London before it remains a city with a lot of things to see, and do. I would invest the day you can save in Cologne into London. You would be racing your friend around the place instead of a more relaxed way (it's a holiday after all.)

[madamtrashheap]

prodigy, welcome.

I'm the lone defender of Brussels on this site ( ;D) but have to defer to Jules and Herrbert about Brugges - if you've never been, then choose it over Brussels. There are great things to see and do in Brussles (beer museum with samples, chocolate musuem with samples, art museum no samples but important pieces) and the nightlife is pretty good too (haven't had a bad night there yet). But...Brugges is incredibly pretty and has amazing chocolate shops, cathedral, canals and a quaintness about it that Brussels no longer has. Totally up to you, but something to consider.

Amsterdam - van Gogh is my fave too, but also consider the House Boat museum (kitsch, but a good insight into life on a boat), the area around Jordaan and take a canal cruise for an alternative view of the city. The queue at Anne Frankhuis is almost always long, so plan for the wait.

Cologne - I'm with Herrbert, 1 day is plenty. Search for other posts on the city (particularly pretravel.proboards1.com/index.cgi?board=intinary&action=display&n=1&thread=7163&page=1 )

Munich - as Herrbert pointed out, think about a day trip to Neuschwanstein as well as Dachau and time in Munich. And explore more than the Hofbräuhaus (pronounce “hofbrouee” house – best phoenetics I
can come up with). Have a look at www.hofbraeuhaus.de/en/01/hist_anfang_en.html. It's one of the more well-known beer halls in Munich and is frequented by lots of tourists, but still has a little corner where the locals hang out (Friday and Saturday nights) with their Lederhosen and hats. There are many other beer halls in Munich worth visiting such as the Löwenbräukeller, English Garden –Chinesischer Türm (Chinese Tower), Franziskaner Keller, Paulaner Keller. And make sure you do a bit of exploring too - Frauenkirche (Our Lady's Church), climb the dome of St Peter's (the other St Peter's) for great views, have lunch in the Viktualenmarkt (market in centre of city), stroll the shopping street Kaufingerstrasse (literally named "shopping street"), visit the Nymphenburg Palace and gardens, have a look at the Residenz art and rooms, if you're into science the Deutsches Museum might be of interest, otherwise stand with the crowds in Marienplatz (main square) at 11am or 5pm and watch the cheesey-but-cool show that is the Glockenspiel. Or even the BMW Museum if you're a hard-core fan.

Interlaken - there are lots of adventure companies based here so you could raft, mountain bike, hike, paraglide...up to you. Do venture further up into the mountains (Gimmelwald, Mürren, etc) as they are breathtaking.

Barcelona - definitely look at flying as this will save you time, unless you particularly want to take a night train. The beach in Barcelona (at Olympic Marina) was cleaned up a few years ago so it's pretty good, if not a little crowded. There are two sections, one with bars and one without. Otherwise, the other beaches are a little way out of the city centre, so maybe wait until Ibiza if you don't feel like the bus ride out there.

Ibiza - great vibe, just remember the clubs cost on average Euro50 to get in. Make sure you join the crowds for the obligatory sunset at Cafe del Mar.

Happy planning!

[prodigy339]

Thank you so much for all the information. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to help us out.