2 weeks in Europe

[burnin_vernon]

It's my first time traveling there and I have no idea where to start. When I start researching all the countries, I just want to go everywhere but 14-days isn't a lot of time.

I want to maximize my visit because I don't know when I'll get to go again. Anybody have any suggestions for a well rounded trip that includes sightseeing touristy stuff, nature, history, and a bit of nightlife? I guess the tricky part is spending more time enjoying it instead of traveling.

I am going with one friend at the beginning of May. We are going to hostel it. She has been before so the logistics should be under control. I just need to figure out which candies to pick out of this giant store.

[WetCoast]

If you want to spend the majority of your time sight-seeing over travelling. Don't bother training over any distances that are more than 3 hours away. Fly, fly, fly.

[Flabbibulin]

If it is your first time there and you only have 2 weeks, I think London-Paris-Rome would be the obvious selection. You will always have people recommend more remote spots, but I think this is the basic selection for your first trip. They aren't my favourite by any means (I prefer plenty of other locations over these), but they are the must sees on your first trip to Europe imo. Yes they are expensive and predictable choices, but they are the busiest cities in Europe for a reason- Have all of the things people desire to experience in Europe.

If you are up for the "less obvious" cities right off the bat and aren't necessarily set on seeing these top 3, a good start would be Prague. Has everything. From there you have easy access to Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Budapest.

Then there are the trips that avoid the cities, of which there are an endless number of spots. Where to start???

[Papa Gino]

You could also potentially consider a tour, do a quick google search for "Contiki" tours, they have tours that go all over the place, and it's all planned for you.

Just did a quick search for you, and pulled up this one:

http://www.contiki.com/destinations/...pean-discovery

Could be a great chance to meet some like-minded travelers and have everything planned for you worry free? I'm going on a three week one in May, sounds like a pretty awesome thing to me!

I'm sure somebody on here has been on a Contiki tour before? Either way I've heard nothing but great experiences.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by WetCoast

If you want to spend the majority of your time sight-seeing over travelling. Don't bother training over any distances that are more than 3 hours away. Fly, fly, fly.

Ya, I agree if it is long distance, but going by train is a no brainer for the shorter trips. London-Paris, Rome-Florence-Venice, Prague-Vienna-Budapest, Barcelona-Madrid are all best done by train. How much time do you less travelling to airports (which are usually never central like train terminals), checking in, security etc..

[Table 5]

Europe might look small, but it's jam packed with stuff. If it were me and it was my first time, I would pick one region and stick to that. You can't do it all in 2 weeks, so might as well have a great time exploring one section.....chances are you'll be back for more anyway.

Some possibilities: Central/Northern France (and BeNeLux if you wish as they are small), Southern France/Northern Italy, Central Europe (Prague, Vienna, Budapest), Spain (it's a big a place and has tons of variety), Italy (I'd pick one region, probably start with Rome/Florence/Tuscany). I would leave some of the slightly less obvious destinations (ie, Croatia, or Scandinavia) for a future trip.

London, and then taking the train to Paris is always a nice trip too, especially for a first timer looking to really get that stereotypical European experience. They are obvious, but popular for a reason. Just don't got to Paris in August if you expect to see French people.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Papa Gino

I'm sure somebody on here has been on a Contiki tour before? Either way I've heard nothing but great experiences.

Yup, the first time I went to Europe, I did it on a Contiki tour. I'd say it's the best if you want to see as much as possible in a short time.

They are for all intents and purposes "postcard" tours, where you get to see all those places you've seen on postcards before, but it sounds like that's what you want.

Everything is scheduled for you, you have an English-speaking tour manager and driver. Because they're a big tour company, they get favorable rates and schedules on the optional tours and things that are available.

[Table 5]

I dunno, I feel like Europe is much better on your own... especially if you're younger. Most of those tours are dumbed down and full of senior citizens....so you pretty much only go where tourists go.

Even if you want to see mostly tourists sites, at some point you'll want to do something a little different and off the beaten path. It's not like Europe is particularly dangerous or hard to get around. Besides, getting a little lost, having to talk to locals, and stumbling onto unknown gems is part of the fun.

If you want something in the middle, one of my favorite things to do lately is to do a self-driven trip through a site like EuropeanDestinations.com. You get a car rental and pick out the hotels at various points in time.....the rest is up to you.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I dunno, I feel like Europe is much better on your own... especially if you're younger. Most of those tours are dumbed down and full of senior citizens....so you pretty much only go where tourists go.

Even if you want to see mostly tourists sites, at some point you'll want to do something a little different and off the beaten path. It's not like Europe is particularly dangerous or hard to get around. Besides, getting a little lost, having to talk to locals, and stumbling onto unknown gems is part of the fun.

Ya, i agree. I would personally be up for a more guided and scheduled tour like this if I were going to somewhere like India, but Europe is so accessible, safe, and easy to get around.

[getbak]

Contiki is for ages 18-35, so no seniors.

[3 Justin 3]

Having been to 14 countries during my trip (though over 83 days), my favorites and suggestion would:

Berlin
Rome
Amsterdam

I really liked Krakow, Barcelona, Florence, Prague, Munich, and London as well.

But for 14 days I would do: Rome 5 days, Berlin 5 days, Amsterdam 4 days.

Also, www.ryanair.com www.easyjet.com

Screw the train, this can be cheaper if you book in advance. You could probably fit in a 4th city if you wanted to, but I Berlin and Rome have a LOT to offer. Amsterdam is more than just weed, it is a really cool city, has some cool museums and other stuff.

Also, take free tours. In the three cities I mentioned there is a free tour offered, http://www.neweuropetours.eu/ . You just pay a tip at the end (you don't have to, but don't be a dick). There around 2-3 hours and are great for meeting people, getting to know the city/where to hang out, a lot of history.

Don't go to Paris. It can be nice and there are a LOT of stuff to see, cool stuff, but like I said, I'd suggest a lot of cities over it.

[driveway]

I agree with a lot that's been said. Pick three cities you want to see and really explore those, don't worry about missing out on things, Europe's been there for a few thousand years, it'll still be there next summer too.

Top three cities I most want to go back to:

Amsterdam
Stockholm
Helsinki

Been to Amsterdam three times, spent about two and a half weeks there total, I never get tired of it, it's my favourite city in the world, I want to live there. So much more than just weed.

Stockholm I didn't get nearly enough time in, it's a fantastic city.

Helsinki has, beyond any doubt, the most beautiful women on Earth. It's not even close. And they're all friendly. Also, the city itself is cool, but, my god, the women.

Top three Haven't-Seen-Yet cities are Rome, Berlin and Prague and I'm knocking Rome off the list this summer.

[3 Justin 3]

Originally Posted by driveway

I agree with a lot that's been said. Pick three cities you want to see and really explore those, don't worry about missing out on things, Europe's been there for a few thousand years, it'll still be there next summer too.

Top three cities I most want to go back to:

Amsterdam
Stockholm
Helsinki

Been to Amsterdam three times, spent about two and a half weeks there total, I never get tired of it, it's my favourite city in the world, I want to live there. So much more than just weed.

Stockholm I didn't get nearly enough time in, it's a fantastic city.

Helsinki has, beyond any doubt, the most beautiful women on Earth. It's not even close. And they're all friendly. Also, the city itself is cool, but, my god, the women.

Top three Haven't-Seen-Yet cities are Rome, Berlin and Prague and I'm knocking Rome off the list this summer.

No no no no no, go to Krakow or Prague my friend. The women in those cities will knock your socks off.

It's funny though as your top three haven't-seen-yet cities are all in my Top 5 of favorite.

[gargamel]

I think you have to go Paris and Amsterdam. They're two of the more unique cities in the world, they're both awesome, and they're a short train ride away from each other.

After Paris and Amsterdam, I'd suggest Rome, London or Prague. If its London or Rome, I don't think you'd have time for anywhere else, but Prague is compact enough that you can get by with only 3 nights there and then fit in another 3 nights in either Berlin (if you're into WWII/Cold War history) or Budapest.

[Cowperson]

If you're thinking long term and anticipate you'll be returning a bunch of times through the next few decades, you might do the Contiki thing to get a base of experience in multiple places then go back and experience those places in more depth later.

But I'm with some of the other guys in that Mrs. Cowperson and I like to go plunk ourselves down in a single, downtown spot in a place like London or Rome for about a week and a half and basically "live" in the place, walking around and experiencing it in depth.

Outside of major metro areas, I definitely favour driving versus a tour. I've driven around France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy . . . . . I wouldn't drive in Paris or Rome. Those places are nuts. I have driven around the core in London though!!!

Good luck.

Cowperson

[_Q_]

Unlike the others on here, I found Amsterdam very drab and boring everytime I went to be quite honest. With that said, I spend 2 weeks last May in Europe, similar to what you're doing and had a great time. My girlfriend at the time had a 4 day long soccer tournament in Prague, so we decided to make the best of it and turned it into a 2 week long vacation in the area. The trip consisted of the following cities (in order with they were visited)

Frankfurt, Germany - Cheapest flight to the area at that time was to Frankfurt, so we decided to start and end our trip there. We spent 3 days here and actually liked it quite a bit. Popular opinion says that Frankfurt is kind of a boring city with not much to do. We didn't experience that. It was lively, extremely clean and fun. For some reason, I always imagine that if Calgary was in Europe, it would look exactly like Frankfurt.

Dresden, Germany - 4 hour train ride from Frankfurt and on the way to Prague. Maybe one of the most overlooked locations in Europe. I'm actually not sure why this place isn't very well known. It is basically everything you would imagine a renaissance European city to look like. It is very historic and very cultural. Maybe one of my favourite parts of the trip.

Prague, Czech Republic - 1.5 train ride from Dresden. Awesome night life. Very cheap everything and just a very fun city. The weather in early May though was more confused than May in Calgary. One day it was 28 degrees and humid, then I woke up the next morning and it was 6 degrees, windy and rainy. It made for a miserable last 2 days we spent there.

Brno, Czech Republic - Czech Republic's second largest city. 2 hour train ride from Prague. It is actually very similar to Prague, but smaller and way less tourists. It was nice, but not much to do there. I would maybe skip this place and go straight Vienna next time.

Salzburg, Austria - 3 hour train ride from Brno. Spent only a day here, but wish I spent more time there. The city is absolutely beautiful. It's a small, modern Austrian city right in the middle of the Austrian Alps.

Munich, Germany - 1.5 hour train ride from Salzburg. There is a special kind of big city buzz in Munich. It's always alive, always happening. There's always something to do in Munich. Probably my favourite part of the trip. The pubs are incredible, the people are very friendly and the architecture is awesome.

We then rented a vehicle, drove around Bavaria and back to Frankfurt to catch our flight to Calgary.

My recommendation is focus on one area of Europe and try to do a circle route and back out. I know a lot of travellers want to see everything all at once, but you truly can't enjoy the places you visit unless you spend some quality time there. Try to find the hidden gems like I found with Dresden. But above all else, enjoy your time and take it easy.

Let me know if you have any questions.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by gargamel

I think you have to go Paris and Amsterdam. They're two of the more unique cities in the world, they're both awesome, and they're a short train ride away from each other.

After Paris and Amsterdam, I'd suggest Rome, London or Prague. If its London or Rome, I don't think you'd have time for anywhere else, but Prague is compact enough that you can get by with only 3 nights there and then fit in another 3 nights in either Berlin (if you're into WWII/Cold War history) or Budapest.

Amsterdam is a pretty cool place and I am not sure that I have ever met nicer people. I found it to be a very friendly place.

I went there as an after thought and avoided it in the past because of the image associated with it, but I would defintely go back and spend more time. You can also get relatively cheap flights there and their airport is very easy to find your way around. Even if you just have a layover for a few hours, there is a regular train that takes you right from the airport to downtown. Just ask any kid on the train platform to help you find the right one... people there are seriously that nice.

[JBR]

We did 2 weeks last summer - starting in Barcelona and making our way slowly to Avignon, taking the TGV to Paris then home a few days later. Drove from point to point from Barcelona to Avignon. Highly recommended.

[Flabbibulin]

I think its clear from the suggestions that you cant go wrong regardless of what you pick. I personally would never suggest Barcelona, Amsterdam, or Krakow as a first Europe trip selection, but others clearly would. Krakow is perfect if you are interested in WW2 history and want to see Auschwitz.

I would second the recommendation of being regional. 3 destinations in fairly close proximity is ideal for 2 weeks, as opposed to starting in London and jaunting over to Athens or something.

London-Paris-Amsterdam is very doable and short train rides from each other.
Prague-Vienna-Budapest are as equally amazing and probably less pricey (not like it used to be, but still).
-Rome-Florence-Venice is another great option.
-Berlin-Munich-Zurich (or Salzuburg)

Whatever you pick, I'm envious- would live over there in a second if I had the opportunity. Fortunately, we are able to go to Europe often because we have so much family there. Our trip last summer was only to England (for a wedding), but the previous summer was our honeymoon and we went Barcelona-Nice-Rome-Sorrento-Sicily-Venice-Croatia, with a one day layover in Amsterdam because we flew KLM.

Btw, in my experience, for YYC carriers it goes KLM>>>BA>>>Air Canada

[Table 5]

One thing I would also recommend against is only doing big cities. Sometimes the coolest stuff (and food!) is in the countryside or small towns. It's one of the reason's I prefer to drive over flying (and to some extent the train)... you get to see a lot of the cool stuff in between the big ticket spots. The people tend to be much nicer too.

Keep in mind though, if you're driving in Europe, you better know how to drive a stick.