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Post by wprottsman on Apr 15, 2007 0:33:07 GMT -5
U.K. 13 nights, fly to
Prague 5 nights, rail to
Vienna 2 nights, rail to
Munich 4 nights, rail to
Salzburg 2 nights, rail to
Lucerne 2 nights, rail to
Interlaken 2 nights, rail to
Milan 2 nights, rail to
Venice 3 nights, rail to
Florence 2 nights, rail to
Rome 4 nights, fly to
French Riv. 4 nights, rail to
Barcelona 3 nights, rail to
Valencia 2 nights, rail to
Madrid 3 nights, fly to
Paris 4 nights, rail to
Bruges 2 nights, rail to
Amsterdam 3 nights
Here's my itinerary. What do y'all think?
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 15, 2007 0:51:01 GMT -5
Welcome wprottsman - man of few words!
- Vienna needs at least another night, 2 would be better
- the order might be better to go Vienna - Salzburg- Munich (have you considered Innsbruck at all in there?)
- Milan, unless you have a specific reason, might be worth dropping to gain more time in Florence (needs at least another day) and Rome (also needs another day). If you plan on doing day trips (Pisa or Siena from Florence and Pompei from Rome) you're going to need that time.
- French Riviera: anywhere in particular? I'm guessing you're flying Rome-Nice. You might find 3 nights enough, but again that depends on what you plan to do there.
- that train from Nice to Barcelona, as you may have seen in other posts, is a long one (12hrs) and no night train on that route yet, so look at flying Marseille to Barcelona (Iberia Air or Clickair) if you don't fancy sitting on the train for so long.
- there are a few other places to add to your Spain section, particularly day trips (eg Toledo, Segovia from Madrid) so look at adding another night to Madrid if you can.
A few questions to go with the comments:
1. Where are you flying from and are you flying in to London and out of Amsterdam - ie open jaw ticket?
2. 13 nights in the UK - I'm gathering you have that part of the itinerary (ie sights/cities) sorted?
3. what time of year are you travelling?
4. any major interests that need to be covered?
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Post by me on Apr 15, 2007 12:09:40 GMT -5
wow, half your time in UK. you must really like Britain. Rome & Florence need more time, Rome rates 5 days w/o a day trip, in my book. unless you're wedded to Southern France, you could save many, many hours on the train by taking a Ryanair flight from Rome Ciampino to Gerona [Ryanair's Barcelona airport <an hour or so from Barcelona>] but, you can expierience a nicer area of the Riviera but taking a couple of days in Cinque Terra, EastNorthEast of Florence. I found it much nicer in Cinque Terra than in not-Nice. [ Hey! that'd be a good advertising solgan for Cinque Terra: "we're not Nice, we're nicer!"] |
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 15, 2007 21:37:54 GMT -5
[ Hey! that'd be a good advertising solgan for Cinque Terra: "we're not Nice, we're nicer!"] I'm still laughing! ;D Good one! |
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Post by wprottsman on Apr 16, 2007 21:28:38 GMT -5
Yeah, we're flying open jaw into London and out of Amsterdam. My wife loves the U.K., so we're spending a lot of time there (5 nights in London, 2 in the Cotswolds, 3 in Glasgow and 3 in Edinburgh). We're traveling this summer, May 29-July 31. My wife is an actress and I'm a tennis pro, so I guess those are our interests. Really, we just love to travel and can't wait to see Europe.
Yeah, we're stuck on the French Riv. I've heard great things about Cinque Terra, but Nice and Marseilles have always had a certain appeal to me.
Any other advice would be much appreciated. Thanks guys.
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Post by me on Apr 16, 2007 21:49:49 GMT -5
any particular reason for going from Vienna to Munich, then back to Salzburg and on to Luzern? it seems more logical to go Vienna - Salzburg - Munich - Luzern, especially by rail. unless you're planning some night trains along the way.
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 16, 2007 22:17:39 GMT -5
- the order might be better to go Vienna - Salzburg- Munich (have you considered Innsbruck at all in there?) See above! As for the French Riviera - it's not all bad! And Nice and Marseille have their good points, but (and I'm sure you've looked at these) also consider visiting Aix-en-Provence and Avignon (away from the coast in the heart of Provence) as well as places like Monaco, Cannes, Antibes, Juan-les-Pins, etc. For the tennis stuff, I'm sure you've researched the events on that Summer and where you'll be - if not then do! If you want to go to any shows in London, you can either book ahead (if they are the popular ones) or just go to the TKTS booth in the middle of Leicester Square (behind the grassy square bit) and choose last minute tickets on the day of the performance. As you'll be travelling in Summer, and soon, I'd be looking at booking accommodation as it gets v busy. Once you've locked in your itinerary you can lock in dates for accommodation. |
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Post by me on Apr 17, 2007 9:20:22 GMT -5
D'oh!  - the order might be better to go Vienna - Salzburg- Munich (have you considered Innsbruck at all in there?) See above! a friend's sister has spent a lot of time in Aix. she liked it there! |
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Post by jennifer on Apr 17, 2007 17:37:41 GMT -5
well, you've gotten great comments so far, but here's my input  Great that you gave so much time to Prague. It's such a marvellous city. You might want to try a daytrip to Kutna Hora since you have quite a bit of time on hand. There is a concentration camp nearby too that might interest you. Or you could use one of the Prague days in Vienna as some suggested. Personally, 2 nights in Vienna is enough by me, but, it's personal. Many people love this city. I just don't. It's not that I don't like it, but i really can't say I loved it. I would say it's a city that is totally worth the visit though. Check out the Hundertwasser Haus and the Kunsthauswien, museum designed by Hundertwasser, the crazy but so interesting architect! He also designed a powerplant that can be visited. If you are interested, IMess me, I'll find the metro stop for you. In Munich, since you alloted enough time, might want to visit the Dachau concentration camp. Being interested in WWII, this was a moving experience for me. Check out the free guided tours that start at the Rathaus (city hall) twice a day. It's touristy and done by americans abroad, but it gives a great tour of what needs to be seen and there are some great facts. Once more, if you want the name, just IM me, i'll try to find it. Salzburg is just amazing. I loved this city! Try to find a hostel in the city, mine was a little out and it made it hard to commute. I would have loved to spend evenings roaming the streets of Mozart's home. Definetely go up to the fortress, the view is well worth the $$$. The Salzburg card is also really worth it, it gives you access to many many sites you might not have gone to, had you not had the card. If i remember correctly, it's only 23 euros for 2 days. Lucerne i've never been. Interlaken is also great. Try hiking or cable-car-ing up to the Schilthorn. It will hurt your wallet, but the view is really nice. Check out mountainhostel.com for pictures! Never been to italy, spain, french riviera s can't help there. Paris is also great, obviously you will be busy your entire 4 days! Can't help yet for Bruges. Amsterdam is amazing. If you have the chance, go out to Haarlem or Zaanse Schans. The last place is a reconstruction of windmills from across Holland. Can be seen as touristy, but I loved seeing how it worked and the mini-museums are great! Here was my input Good luck! |
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Post by herrbert on Apr 17, 2007 19:22:16 GMT -5
I agree on most of things already said, Vienna needs at least two days more. The powerplant Jennifer is talking about is to the north of the city, and it would be a good idea, if you visit this place, to also get to Kahlenberg (famous for the battle against the Turks). It will give you a great view over the city. It's the furthest north as you can go, on the Vienna public transport card, and you could decided to walk down the hill, through the vineyards, and back to one of the smaller suburds, and to catch a tram back to the city. (if I remember it clear, the powerplant, is on this route). You would also pass, the Karl-Marx hof (one of the biggest Social housing projects in Vienna). A couple of years ago MQ opened in Vienna. MQ stands for MuseumQuarter, as it is a collection of museums, that are based in and around the old stables. (which had the allure, of a palace). The MuMoK in my opinion is a must, if you like modern art. Some people forget to see the Belvedere palace, as they think they have seen Schönbrunn already, don't be one of those people. The outside is fantastic, and inside is now a museum, which hold some work of Gustav Klimt. For Madrid I would try to make it 4 nights, so you have time to visit Toledo, and Segovia. As your wife is an actress you might want to consider seeing the film Nueve Reinas (New Queens), after you have seen Toledo, as it uses Toledo as a backdrop for the movie. You might want to consider flying from Valencia to Madrid. One final, and maybe important note, is that I think it is best to go to Spain early on, on your trip. July and August are months that it will be very hot in Spain, and a place like Madrid it not a place you want to be around that time. I know people in Madrid, that would love to move, for those two months  . May is perfect, but the first part of June is still OK. |
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 17, 2007 22:50:07 GMT -5
I agree on most of things already said, Vienna needs at least two days more. Can we meet in the middle and make it 3 days total? Luzern (Lucerne) is one of my favourite cities in Europe (fave in Switzerland), but again this is personal preference. If you like the mountains, I'd suggest spending one night in Luzern and the rest in Interlaken or even further up (Gimmelwald is popluar, with good reason, otherwise you have Lauterbrunnen, Muerren, Grindelwald, Wengen...) in the Berner Oberland. If you're looking for adventure activities the Interlaken is a good start, otherwise hiking and mountain biking are good to do in the mountains. |
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Post by wprottsman on Apr 17, 2007 23:08:22 GMT -5
I typed it incorrectly. We're going to do Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Lucerne.
I would pay for the advice y'all have given. I'm so glad I found this site. Thanks for all the great advice.
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 18, 2007 1:58:49 GMT -5
I would pay for the advice y'all have given. I'm so glad I found this site. Thanks for all the great advice. Our pleasure - just book some thing(s) through the links on the GFE homepage and you'll help keep the boards here! ;D Let us know if you have any other questions or what you final itinerary looks like! |
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Post by herrbert on Apr 18, 2007 17:07:52 GMT -5
Can we meet in the middle and make it 3 days total? We can meet in Vienna, and make it a week without a problem  |
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Post by madamtrashheap on Apr 18, 2007 18:54:56 GMT -5
We can meet in Vienna, and make it a week without a problem Done! See you in October! |
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. May is perfect, but the first part of June is still OK. 