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I'm looking for some advice/ideas on where to go for a trip I'm looking to make to Europe. I'm looking to make it a 3-4 week trip, I would love to see Eastern Europe but I am also not against some of Western Europe. I would like to see as much as possible, but at the same time, I am not looking to pack so much into the trip that I will only get a day or two.
My inital idea is to fly to maybe France or Germany, and from there get on the train and Luxembourg. I have an ex-girlfriend who moved to Paris, and is now in Lille, so I would have a free place to stay there. I'm also considering Lithuania, and I really want to see Prague.
I have no problems flying, I've seen the prices with Ryan-Air and it looks perfect for me, I travel with only 1 carryon, so I won't have anything to worry about.
Are there any must-sees? Even a basic outline of what kind of things I can expect in different cities would be great to hear. I don't know much about any place in Europe!
Well if you fly into Paris then there are plenty of must see things there. In general there is lots to see in Europe. It really depends on what type of things are of interest to you.
I've taken all different kinds of trips, but one broad rule that I kind of keep in my mind is to spend one week per country.
This is not to say that I never break this rule.
An example: Back in June/July 2006 we flew to Frankfurt, Germany, immediately trained it to Berlin, then Hanover (Germany), then, on a cheap regional airline, we flew to Dubrovnik, Croatia. After that we flew from Split to Strasbourg, France at the Germany/France border, with a final train ride from there back to Frankfurt.
We spent 3-5 days in each destination. During our time in Croatia, we rented a car and drove to coastal Montenegro, which was absolutely beautiful. That was the only time we used a car.
This trip was approximately 3 weeks.
What time of year will you be traveling? What kind of things do you like to do and see?
One option for you is EuropeByAir. We used this for the 2006 trip.
But of course easyjet or Ryainair would work, too. Just be aware of Ryanair's add-ons. We too only travel with one carry-on, but a 12 euro fare quickly becomes 41 euros.
We went to Lille in 2009. It is a beautiful, happening place full of young people, and we loved the pedestrian areas as well as the public sculpture.
Don't miss the cathedral with its translucent marble wall.
Planning your trip depends on what you like. Maybe you could start in Paris, make your way to Lille, then head east into Germany. I think you would like Berlin, and it is easy to get to Prague from there.
Or just begin in Paris, then fly all the way to Lithuania, and then, over the course of a few weeks, work your way back. WhichBudget shows flights from Paris to Vilnius.
Don't just stick to big cities. Sprinkle some rural flavor into your trip. Eurotrip is a website with a feasibility trip planner. You might find it helpful, as well as the Cheap Flights section.
Below is a pic we took in Lille.
Awesome, thanks for the advice BlueWillowPlate, I plan to do my trip this June, which is the only time I will really get any sort of vacation time. I like a lot of different things, and really one things that interests me a lot is the history of Europe. I think Germany would be cool to see things back from the WW2 days, but I'd also be interested to maybe see some old castles or things from the medieval times.
I think I am going to try out some couch surfing, but on occasion there will probably end up days where i'm going to have to go out alone, and in that case it'd be nice to be in a place where I can go out to a bar and have a good time alone too.
Another thing I look for is interesting and really good food, I love trying all different kinds of food.
Croatia by far should be up near the top of your list. I've been to most of Europe and Croatia is near the top. Absolutely stunning.
I have heard this from a lot of people, but call me ignorant, what is it that really attracts people to Croatia? What kind of person would be interested in it? What is the food like etc?
I have heard this from a lot of people, but call me ignorant, what is it that really attracts people to Croatia? What kind of person would be interested in it? What is the food like etc?
I spent 3 weeks in Croatia in '06 and loved it! At the time it was inexpensive but not cheap. I chose Croatia because it was not a Euro zone country. I had heard it was a great place to travel and am so glad I went.
The food was Italian-esque. Pasta and pizza and very good. My itinerary was Zagreb to Plitsvice Lakes to Zadar to Split to Krocula to Hvar then Dubrovnik.
I loved it all but Plitsvice, Hvar, and Dubrovnik are my fav's.
Transport was easy between cities, they have a great bus system as well as ferries to the islands.
I like history but enjoy the outdoors more, Croatia offers plenty of both.
Since I was so close I sent to Bosnia as well and it was totally different. Bosnia is still heavily scarred by the war, the demeanor of the people was quite different.
Food in Croatia is not that good. However, it is a work in progress that is trying to improve. The food is what you'd expect from it's geographic location--a lot of Mediterranean like food. Don't be shocked if you ask for wine and they put an equal part of water in it. Dalmatian hams and cheeses, cheese from Pag specifically, are worth trying. The cafe/coffee culture is also quite big in Croatia, especially Zagreb.
What makes Croatia attractive are the tons of beautiful beaches, nature, and beautiful people. The old ancient cities and town that litter the coast of Croatia are absolutely stunning. Just getting lost in the maze and knot like work alleyways and streets in one of those towns and stumbling upon a cool cafe or bar around the corner is so much fun. If you want ancient Roman and Greek culture, you don't have to travel to Greece or Italy, you can go to Croatia for half the cost. Zagreb is not on most people's lists to visit, but it is a great smaller city. Dubrovnik will be tourist central and it is definitely worth seeing. I'd recommend starting in Zagreb and driving down the coast stopping in smaller cities and towns along the way as you make your way down to the Lakes, Split, Hvar, and Durovnik. Go before it gets into the EU. It's culture and people are still preserved quite well since they do not have extremely porous borders yet.
Last edited by fibonacci; 12-05-2011 at 06:58 PM..
Ignore other people's "must see" list. Europe is composed, basically, of three distinct cultural sectors: Germanic, Romance, and Slavic. I'd recommend an itinerary that passes through all three parts, and once you have been exposed to those, you have had your sampling.
I like to recommend a small circle tour that goes through NE Italy (including Venice), Austria and Slovenia/Croatia. That way you'll also see the Alps and the Adriatic coast,, as well as all the culture zones, along with one of the architecture/museum highlights.
Ignore other people's "must see" list. Europe is composed, basically, of three distinct cultural sectors: Germanic, Romance, and Slavic. I'd recommend an itinerary that passes through all three parts, and once you have been exposed to those, you have had your sampling.
I like to recommend a small circle tour that goes through NE Italy (including Venice), Austria and Slovenia/Croatia. That way you'll also see the Alps and the Adriatic coast,, as well as all the culture zones, along with one of the architecture/museum highlights.
That's an interesting take on it. I have a slight idea of an itinerary now kind of going by everyone's recommendations here.
I thought I'd take bluewillow's idea on 1 week per country and give myself 4 weeks for 4 countries. I've been trying to set it up so they are reasonable, but I was thinking.
1. Fly to paris, spend a day or so in paris (it isn't a huge interest to me) then meet up with my ex in Lille then head to the south of france which has always been interesting to me and checking out some castles and Marseille.
2. From France, head from Paris to Berlin and check out the Berlin wall and some things around there. (if anyone has a recommendation for germany it'd be nice to hear because i don't know a LOT about it).
3. From Germany head over to the Czech Republic for Prague which is a city I 100% want to see. Are there other places around the Czech Republic that are really cool?
4. Then from Czech Republic head to Croatia to check that out, it seemed really interesting and I honestly don't know much about it! and then head back to paris for my flight back to USA
I thought Vilnius, Lithuania would be cool to see, but I am beginning to think with my itinerary it'd be trying to pack a little too much (distance-wise) into the trip. Is my thinking correct or would it really be possible?
Also, I do feel a little bad about missing out on Italy, I do however feel that Italy could be almost a trip of its own.
Are there things that I'm missing or that you guys feel I should try to look into more or do my +/- plans seem fairly solid? I think that cover's jtur's Germanic/Romance/Slavic sections too!
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