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Summer Europe Trip for 55 Days...shoot me some advice (more inside)!

MacAztec

MacAztec

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 28, 2001
3,028
1
San Luis Obispo, CA
I'm taking the summer off, and after having saved up quite a bit of money, I'd like to visit Europe. Here's my current plan, and I'd really just like some input from fellow board members that travel a lot, have visited these places, etc.

Los Angles > Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon would be my first stop. I'd like to do some surfing, scuba diving, and exploring while here. Potentially work my way around other places in Portugal too (Porto maybe).

Portugal > Spain
I don't know much about this leg of the trip, but I'd like to visit Madrid and Barcelona.

Spain > France
I'll work my way around the south of France, before heading up to Paris.

France > Germany
A friend in Germany is taking time off, and has a car. She will show me her favorite things in the country.

Germany > Czech Republic
Praha! I know this will be fun.

Czech Republic > Austria > Hungary > Croatia
THis will be near the end of the trip, but I'd hope to do as much as possible in these cities.

I'm looking for advice on must see places, places to skip (possibly even whole countries), and anything else you great members might have to add!

Thanks!
 
We did something like this one back in 1990, although it has changed somewhat. It was great, except for the up-at-the-crack-of-dawn, get breakfast, and on-the-bus *****.

Still, all those countries in 28 days is not easy.
 
When traveling to Europe, don't only go to the "tourist" areas, take the time to walk or explore around the cities outside the tourist zones.

When I was in Prague, I found a really cool air history museum (with lots of Russian jets and MIGs which would be harder to find in the USA) but it was way outside the tourist zone and I think it was good to get a feel for how the city really was.
 
Check out Rick Steves for some ideas. Granted, the man's always checking out churches (which is fine if you like history type stuff) but he also has some fantastic recommendations for out-of-the-way places too.

Dusseldorf is beautiful, and relatively low on tourism compared to Berlin or Munich (albeit Munich has the Englischer Garten which is clothing-optional). Still, I'm more of the "spend a month in one place" type of traveller than move around so much.

And if you're in Amsterdam looking for sex, avoid the places that give you a free t-shirt. :D
 
these Maps enable you to use maps offline without internet connection. This includes maps street names detail. This will give peace of mind when traveling aboard knowing you will not be charged with roaming fee. So if you live or travel in that city, it will help you much in your life.

Norway:http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/norway-map/id416407270?mt=8
Marseille(France):http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/marseille-map/id400166889?mt=8
Berlin(Germany)http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/berlin-map/id398454229?mt=8
Bordeaux(France):http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bordeaux-map/id398455064?mt=8
 
MacAztec said:
I'm taking the summer off, and after having saved up quite a bit of money, I'd like to visit Europe. Here's my current plan, and I'd really just like some input from fellow board members that travel a lot, have visited these places, etc.

(...)

Spain > France
I'll work my way around the south of France, before heading up to Paris.

(...)
Thanks!
Click to expand...

Coming from sweden I've always enjoyed the following in france:

Southern part:
* Bordeaux (area) - nice red wine district - you can go sampling at most chateaus.
* Marseille (area around) - nice sandy beaches
* Carcassonne (city; one of the few wholly walled castle-cities)

Northern part:
* Normandy (area)- many nice museums and especially land marks from WW2
* Bourgogne (area) - another nice wine district, distinct differences to bordeaux
* Champagne (area) - this is where champagne is made, equally nice

There are a lot more to see in france of course, but these are the things I've appreciated the most (though normally not all wine districts on the same vacation - I'm not a drunkard :p )
 
Highly recommend Barcelona and Prague on your trip.

Barcelona, beautiful city, lots to see, very chilled place.

Prague, quite a bit to see, cheap excellent food and beer.
 
Trip to Barcelona.

Hi, i am from uk and have just joined this forum and love traveling to different places. Last year i went on a trip to Barcelona, Spain with my family members and i really enjoyed a lot. Its a very unique place and then we headed to PortAventura a theme park in Barcelona, which was really an experience.

I would like to visit one more time to Barcelona with my family.
 
Phew, I don't know where to start. What kind of stuff are you interested in? Museums, cultural events, small towns, huge cities, tourist destinations?
I must say Hamburg, Germany was a very nice city (though I was only there for literally a day). We went to the miniature museum there, incredible sight to see even if you are not into models/miniatures (I'm not and it was insanely cool).

I'd highly recommend staying in Berlin for a few days. Theres some crazy history there, it's easy to explore and the walking tours of the city are well planned out and informative. Museums relaying WWII history and stuff about the Berlin Wall/Airlifts/Checkpoint Charlie are also very, very interesting.

Amsterdam is out of the way but also has great history, Anne Frank house, etc. As well as the red light district :D needless to say that part of town was avoided...

I've also stayed in Banská Štiavnica in Slovakia. Might be too far out of the way, but it's fairly remote. Small town, good for exploring (though not tourist-y at all. Good luck finding an english speaker outside of the mining tours!).

I'll think about some more places. It's been 3 years since I went to Europe but I have enjoyed visiting many of the places you plan to see. I can guarantee you won't be disappointed with anything you plan for the trip.

I went on a similar trip, for the same length of time. Went USA > UK > Netherlands (my personal favorite) > Germany > Poland > Czech Republic > Austria > Hungary > Serbia > Montenegro (with a very brief trip into Croatia and Bosnia) > Italy > USA. Absolutely crazy trip. Too much to see, makes you want to stay so much longer everywhere. You're gonna have a blast!
 
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I personally prefer to avoid big cities, but I absolutely love Barcelona and Spain in general.

As for my own country, Amsterdam is nice but very touristic. There's much more to the Netherlands so I highly recommend visiting the smaller towns also. If you're into scenery, your best place with be to go to Maastricht as the rest of the country is pretty flat.

Personally, when I go on a motorcycle trip I prefer to go to Belgium and Germany. The scenery is excellent and esp. in Germany the roads are fantastic. If you're into motor sports, visit the Nurburgring. You won't regret it. Also, there's no speed limit on most freeways in Germany so don't be alarmed if you're being overtaken by a German sports car traveling twice your speed.
 
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