20 days in Western Europe - August 2009

[joschmoo]

Hi, my girlfriend and I are studying in Alcala de Henares, Spain this summer from the end of May till the end of July, then we're going to meet with some friends in London and go on our European adventure. Here's our itinerary:

July 29 - Fly Madrid to London
July 29-August 2 - London (staying with cousin)
Aug 3 - Chunnel to Paris
Aug 3-5 - Paris (staying at Perfect Hotel, right across the street from Woodstock Hostel)
Aug 6 - TGV Paris to Nice (for day at a beach)
Aug 7 - Train Nice to Venice
Aug 7-8 - Venice (staying at Absolut Venice)
Aug 9 - Train Venice to Florence
Aug 9-10 - Florence (staying at Soggiorno Gloria)
Aug 11 - Train Florence to Pisa for stop-off to see Leaning Tower
Aug 11- Train Pisa to Rome
Aug 11-15 - Rome (staying at B&B Marjeta)
Aug 16 - Fly Rome to London (staying at cousin's for the night)
Aug 17 - Fly back to the states

Any comments on our itinerary? Accomodations?

[madamtrashheap]

joschmoo, good to see your itinerary is starting to take shape now. I just have a few observations:

The Chunnel is just the name for the tunnel that forms part of the rail service used by Eurostar between UK and France. It takes only 20mins in the actual tunnel (and the roof isn't glass, so don't fall for that one!) out of the 2hr30 journey to Paris. It's a great trip, so book ahead to get good ticket prices. Paris for three days is the bare minimum of time to see and experience the city, so take an early train from London (8am) to squeeze the most out of your time there.

Nice - if you're just going to Nice for the beach, you might be a little disappointed. The beaches are pebbles (not that there's anything wrong with that) and there are two public beaches only, the rest are private beaches (let by the hotels) for which you have to pay an entrance fee and rent a sun lounge. It's a decadent, and IMO necessary, way to enjoy a day at the beach in Nice, but something you should be aware of. You may find that your beach experience is better served in Spain on your weekend trips. You could look at flying from Paris to Venice instead (check EasyJet), otherwise if you really want to go to Nice, then TGV from Paris is the best way for you (there's an airport, but the time is much of a muchness from Paris).

Nice to Venice - if you keep Nice in your itinerary, you'll find that this train ride takes up a lot of your time (8hrs during the day), so either take an overnight train (11-12hrs) or look at flights (check Baboo - www.flybaboo.com ).

Venice to Florence - You may have noticed from other Posts on the Boards, we often suggest going to Pisa from Florence or on the way to Florence (in your case, from Venice), as visiting Pisa on your way to Rome is heading in the wrong direction. Even though there is a train from Pisa to Rome, it's a Regionale one and will take a lot longer. In this instance, I'd suggest you take the train from Venice to Florence (the train Venice-Pisa will go through Florence anyway, it's the quickest route), leave your bags at the station or in the Hostel if you can, then catch the next train to Pisa (it takes 1 hour) for an afternoon visit before returning to Florence to check in and start exploring Florence by night.

Florence - as you only have one full day here, you'll need to book museum tickets (esp Uffizi and/or Accademia) if you intend to visit either one. You don't want to spend your whole time standing in line when you could be sightseeing, eating and drinking!

Florence - Rome: take the Eurostar Italia (1hr30m) on this route to give yourselves more time in Florence that morning. Rome for 5 nights will be a magical amount of time to explore, wander and see all you want to.

I'm not familiar with any of the accommodations you've listed, but check GFE for reviews (on the Home page under Hostel Reviews) or online at Hostelworld so you can check suitability.

Happy planning!

[joschmoo]

Thanks madamtrashheap!

Thanks for all the great advice. I hadn't actually read that about Pisa, and I think we're definitely going to do the Eurostar Italia.

[madamtrashheap]

Pleasure, josshmoo, glad we could help with your travels. Make sure you post your final itinerary when you've worked out the details.