|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 18, 2008 12:57:07 GMT -5
So for those who had read my previous post, you know Im planning a trip to Europe in a year or so. I want to get an idea for what kind of itinerary I should plan, and you guys seem more than qualified to help me.
These are the places I really want to go. As a big history and art student, I would love to see all the ancient ruins (such as the colosseum in Rome).
I would like to go
- London, England
- Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Paris, Frace
- Nice, France (I Just want to go to the French Riviera, so I can take suggestions here)
- Barcelona, Spain (Even Madrid if possible)
- Switzerland - any recommendations? I just want to see the beautiful scenery
- Italy - I want to see a lot here so Rome, Venice, Florance and Milan.
- Want to go to Athens, Greece to see the Acropolis, but people are saying its too far out of the way and needs more time so I guess it could be saved for another trip but still...
any itinerary suggestions? Where would be a good place to fly into (from Toronto Canada) and where to fly out of? How long would you suggest the trip should be? a few days in every city?
|
|
|
|
Post by me on Jan 18, 2008 13:34:40 GMT -5
London & Amsterdam both have great art museums (& history museums, too!) Madrid & Barcelona have them, too.
Nice turned me off to the Riviera for a dozen years. but later, i went to Cinque Terra, just West, across the Genoa bay, in Italy. the people were sooo different! gracious, friendly, the things a tourist expects!
if history is a strong interest, i'd suggest adding Vienna & Berlin.
|
|
|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 18, 2008 13:37:23 GMT -5
I forgot Vienna but never had a huge interest going to Berlin.
I want to see more architecture then just art museums.
Does my itinerary sound realistic?
|
|
|
|
Post by me on Jan 18, 2008 14:08:12 GMT -5
Does my itinerary sound realistic? sure, it's realistic, Greeneyeddreamer. <may i shorten that to green, or ged, or something?> it's just a matter of your constraints: how much time & money you have. [for Americans, to stay legal we need to limit the trip to 90 days in the Schengen area. "in a year or so," the Schengen zone will cover all places you list, except UK. but, the time limit might be longer for Canadians. i don't remember] |
|
|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 18, 2008 14:15:25 GMT -5
Does my itinerary sound realistic? sure, it's realistic, Greeneyeddreamer. <may i shorten that to green, or ged, or something?> it's just a matter of your constraints: how much time & money you have. [for Americans, to stay legal we need to limit the trip to 90 days in the Schengen area. "in a year or so," the Schengen zone will cover all places you list, except UK. but, the time limit might be longer for Canadians. i don't remember] hahah GED is fine, or Rena. haha. I want to go for about 4-6 weeks. I want to make a savings plan right now based on all the things I want to do. I want to go something between May-August 2009, so I have a lot of time to save. Im aiming for $6000-7000 but thats with flights and euro rail..and im starting to think thats not enough. |
|
|
|
Post by francefiend on Jan 18, 2008 15:17:13 GMT -5
I can't defend Nice (seems too glitzy for me), but I will defend the South of France from David's merciless attacks  People in the South have been known for their hospitality - I'm sorry the people in Nice were mean to you  Maybe the kindness is limited to Provence... Nice is of course the major city in the area, but you can also visit Vence, Saint Paul de Vence, Menton, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Entrevaux, Eze, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Saint-Raphael, or Sainte-Maxime to name a few. And that's just the Cote d'Azur. Don't forget the other parts of southern France: Provence (Aix, Avignon, Arles, Nimes) , Languedoc-Roussillon (Carcassonne, Montpellier, Narbonne; medieval ruins), and Midi-Pyrenees (Toulouse). France does include, but it not limited to Paris and Nice. The same applies to London, UK and Rome, Italy. They are all wonderful places, but the countries' borders extend beyond them. The Mediterranean coast line is quite long - people tell me it even goes past France ;D </end of sermon> General advice: Peruse some travel guides and their accompanying websites - Rick Steves ETBD, Lonely Planet, Let's Go, Michelin. Mark places that interest you and visit them. Obvious information: Popular towns and big cities have more tourists but have easy access. Lesser-known towns won't be overcrowded with people taking pictures, but may not have available lodging or many activities. A mixture of these, along with medium-sized towns, works well. |
|
|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 18, 2008 16:23:59 GMT -5
What about Monaco?
|
|
|
|
Post by me on Jan 18, 2008 17:10:22 GMT -5
I can't defend Nice (seems too glitzy for me), but I will defend the South of France from David's merciless attacks People in the South have been known for their hospitality - I'm sorry the people in Nice were mean to you Maybe the kindness is limited to Provence... i said nothing about "the South of France," just Nice. but, Nice did color my perception of the Med area. that, & other family members problems in Paris, made me leery of France, even though my one daytrip to Strassbourg when i studied in Freiburg was fine. but, i also figgured that had to do with Strassbourg's history as a German city - when it was known as Straßburg. ;D a German friend spent many Summers of her youth in Aix. loved the place. btw, i'd always thought Nice is the biggest city in Provence? |
|
|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 19, 2008 13:42:32 GMT -5
I just wanted to go to the french rivera.
|
|
|
|
Post by Eagle on Jan 19, 2008 14:02:20 GMT -5
greeneyeddreamer, a few more thoughts on your trip......
For Switzerland you might consider the Berner Oberland region (near Interlaken) and more specifically the small village of Gimmelwald (it's a favourite here). Let me know if you want more information on it.
The Italy destinations in your original Post (Rome, Florence, Venice) are all good choices, but unless you have some specific reason for visiting there, you might want to drop Milan. There are better choices. Other areas you might consider are the Cinque Terre (another favourite!), Lago di Como, Siena (or other parts of bella Toscana), Orvieto (which is in Umbria) or parts of the Amalfi Coast (try to use Naples just as a transit point).
Regarding Spain, I'm sure herrbert will have some great suggestions for you, as I think he knows that area better than anyone else.
Finally, for a trip of just 4-6 weeks, IMHO it would be best to drop Greece and plan that for another trip. You'll have more than enough to keep you busy with the other locations!
Cheers!
|
|
|
|
Post by herrbert on Jan 19, 2008 15:06:48 GMT -5
These are the places I really want to go. As a big history and art student, I would love to see all the ancient ruins (such as the colosseum in Rome). About Spain: Most of the art can be found in Madrid and Barcelona. Barcelona is the city of Gaudi, and nearby Figueres is the town of Dali, and the Dali museum: www.salvador-dali.org/en_index.htmlIn Madrid you will find the famour Prado museum, which has had a facelift, and has reopened a few weeks ago. If you like modern art then also include the Reina Sofia on your list. There is a lot of works from the 20th century, and of course famous for housing "Guerika" by Pablo Picasso. (both museums can be visited on Sundays for free, opened until 14.30). There is also the Thyssen museum, which has a bit of a mish-mash collection of mainly paintings, but there are some impressive works there as well. From Madrid there are a couple of great daytrips to make: Toledo is a must-see, and only half an hour by train, or one hour by bus. The walled old city has buildings by the 3 religions (Christian, Muslim and Jewish) you can visit. The Cathedral and the Alcazar are the main places to visit here, but I can also recommend to just walk through the old city, and explore it for yourself. Segovia is also a good place to visit. By AVE (Spain's version of the TGV) it's only 30 minutes away. There is the Alcazar which is beautiful, a beautil old city, and very special, the Roman Aquaduct. If you like to see the Roman remains in Italy, then I would also suggest seeing the Moorish buildings of Andalusia. Most famous of all is the Alhambra in Granada. Not only the alhambra is worth a visit, but also the old center of Granada (the Albaysin) and the cathedral are worth a visit. Granada in itself is a very pleasent place to be. Nearby Sevilla, the capital of Andalusia, and the place where a lot of the voyages to the new world started (including those of one Cristobal Colon) is very worth a visit. The Alcazar is just like the Alhambra one of the beautiful buildings built by the Muslims. Just across the square is the Cathedral, which is huge!. Sevilla is also a good city to enjoy a flamenco perfomance, and birthplace of the tapas tradition. |
|
|
|
Post by francefiend on Jan 19, 2008 16:40:04 GMT -5
I can't defend Nice (seems too glitzy for me), but I will defend the South of France from David's merciless attacks People in the South have been known for their hospitality - I'm sorry the people in Nice were mean to you Maybe the kindness is limited to Provence... i said nothing about "the South of France," just Nice. but, Nice did color my perception of the Med area. that, & other family members problems in Paris, made me leery of France, even though my one daytrip to Strassbourg when i studied in Freiburg was fine. but, i also figgured that had to do with Strassbourg's history as a German city - when it was known as Straßburg. ;D a German friend spent many Summers of her youth in Aix. loved the place. btw, i'd always thought Nice is the biggest city in Provence? My bad - you actually said the "French Riviera" in this case. And Strasbourg and Aix are awesome! Nice is part of the Cote d'Azur/French Riviera, which can be considered a subdivision of Provence or something separate altogether. When the French government split the country into régions in 1973, the traditional province of Provence and the Cote d'Azur area got lumped together into the official région of PACA - Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur. But Marseille is bigger: 800,000 people compared to Nice's 345,000. It's the second most populated city in France, right after Paris. |
|
|
|
Post by francefiend on Jan 19, 2008 16:48:49 GMT -5
I just wanted to go to the french rivera. Sorry for ranting - These places are in the French Riviera and have coastline: Nice, Menton, Villefranche-sur-Mer, Eze Bord-de-Mer, Juan-les-Pins, Antibes, Saint-Raphael, Sainte-Maxime. Also, Monaco is a 20 minute train ride from Nice and makes a great day trip. |
|
|
|
Post by me on Jan 19, 2008 16:53:30 GMT -5
i said nothing about "the South of France," just Nice. but, Nice did color my perception of the Med area. i take it back! in another thread, i did refer to "the South of France." i forgot  but, i never went much West on Nice. Nice is the part of Southern France i most remember from my visit there 20+ years ago. it was the unpleasant treatment there that sticks out in my memories. have heard about some fun things to see in Monaco. when i was there on that same trip, i slank into a casino, plugged a coin into a one-armed-bandit and pulled the lever. since then, i can say that i've gambled in Monte Carlo.  didn't make it there, but have since heard good things about the Oceanographic Museum/ aquariums. they're associated with Jacques Cousteau. - d |
|
|
|
Post by greeneyeddreamer on Jan 20, 2008 5:44:56 GMT -5
I just chose Nice caused I wanted to see the French Rivera. I could always just go from Paris to Monaco, is that possible?
If I want to go to London -> Amsterdam -> Paris - > French Rivera -> Italy -> (and if possible Greece)
Where and how can I fit in Barcelona, Spain?
|
|
People in the South have been known for their hospitality - I'm sorry the people in Nice were mean to you 
Maybe the kindness is limited to Provence...
but, i never went much West on Nice. 