Bat signal sent into the sky.... - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**simply_angelic** · 03-20-2005, 02:52 AM

I thought I needed a catchy title to wring you all in to help me hehe....

Alright, I need your advice. As some of you may alsready know, I'm planning a 6-7wk trip to Europe this summer and I'm planning on hitting Portugal, spain, britain, france, italy, germany and austria(just vienna), which I'm already starting to feel as a bit of a stretch. There is so much that I want to see from those countries and I definitely will not be able to do it all in that amount of time, but at the same time, I really don't want to put any of them off to a later date. I started out with a HUGE list of practically everything in Europe of where I wanted to go and have slowly been narrowing it down and spreading it out to just the basics (for now). I've found that I had wanted to visit a few smaller towns but they tend to be getting cut as I've been going along because I don't want to miss out on the main sites either.....
So I need your help. Here is my *rough* itinerary of where I want to go in Europe. If you guys could, please tell me any positive or negative aspects of any of these cities that you've visited, plus perhaps some "must sees" that you think I'm missing out on. If it helps, I'm bigger on seeing the historic stuff the most, natural wonders and culture are kind of tied for second. I'm hoping to get a fairly well rounded view of the countries (if that's possible on such a short trip) Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

Toronto-Lisbon
1. Lisbon for 3-4 days
2. Madrid for 3 days
3. Pamplona for 2 days (during the running of bulls, yeah baby!)
4. Barcelona 2-3 days
5. Tours 1 day
6. Blois 1-2 days
7. Paris 3 days (staying w/ family in the f%ing heart of paris)
8. London 4-5 days (including day trip to see stonehenge)
9. Edinburgh 2 days
10. Somewhere in the highlands 1 day
11. Glascow 3 days
12. Prague 3-4 days
13. Munich 1-3 days (I'm a little iffy as to whether or not Munich is the city I want to see, or Berlin.....or somewhere completely diff.....Can anyone recommend their fav place in Germany? Preferbly one w/ a lot of castles/historic monuments?)
14. W/e My cousins live in Germany.....I forget right now haha.....I think it's near Frankfurt........
2-4 days
15. Veinna 2 days
16. Venice 4-5 days
17. Rome 2-3 days
Rome - home haha

**worldwidemike** · 03-20-2005, 06:58 AM

Everyone will have suggestions on where you can cut or where you should add. Most cities you can see the sights in 2 days or so (as long as you're not loafing). However, it's good that you budgetted 3+ for many. I'd spend those extra days taking day trips out from the city to see stuff you want to nearby. Like in Madrid, take trips out to see Toledo or Segovia while staying in Madrid. While in Lisbon, you can see the castles at Sintra. While in London, well, you can go just about anywhere...Dover, Canterbury, you name it.

As far as ones to cut down on...hmm. I can't imagine there are really 3 days worth of sightseeing in Glasgow. I'd take those three days and hit one of the Hebrides like Mull or Skye. You're going to see plenty of "city stuff" on your trip. Get out and see the countryside, and what better place than the highlands and islands of Scotland?

And as much as I love Venice, and think it is the most beautiful city in the world, 4-5 days is probably more than needed. Give it 3, but make sure you stay IN Venice so you can experience its quiet after the hordes of daytrippers are gone.

Other than that, I would say you have a nice skeletal itinerary that you can pad a little here, snip there...whatever you feel like!

worldwidemike

shonsta · 03-22-2005, 02:46 PM

I agree, once you see edinburgh, Glasgow won't impress you much, and Scotland has a beautiful countryside, another thing is Amsterdam, it's about a pound to fly from Edinburgh to Amsterdam via air-scotland. But all around it is an excellent itinerairy, you'll have a blast

**pinion** · 03-22-2005, 03:11 PM

I wanted batman

Anyways...

I found Munich to be a little bit more rewarding then Berlin. Berlin is a very powerful city to see b/c of its history, but it all boils down to a large dirty city. There's a couple sites left over from WW2 but thats about it.

Munich is a little easier on the eyes and mouth if you are a beer fan. I

beer so going to the many many beer halls and beer gardens was heaven for me.

As for Venice, you'll find it pricey so you may want to aim it more towards 2-3 days. I was there for 2 days and that was enough for me.

You'll like Vienna. I had a good time there.

Looks good to me though!

**simply_angelic** · 03-22-2005, 06:42 PM

sorry for the trickery pinion.....I actually wouldn't mind batman myself right now....but thanks for the advice so far guys! Keeeeep it comin

**JiveTurkey** · 03-22-2005, 09:10 PM

Ok, to touch on a little of everything. WWM is right.. Venice is an awesome city, but you only need 1 day there.. and yes, it is expinsive there, so be warned!

and yeah.. Berlin is cool and all.. but it was bombed to nothing in WW2 so the city has been rebuilt. Munich was a little better in that respect.

Prague is awesome! I could of spent a week there and been happy. I will also have to agree with shonsta, you should try and hit up Amsterdam, even if only for a day, just to see.. Many people think Amsterdam is just some drug infested city with hookers that stand in the windows ... and these people are right.. but it is a cool city with loads of history and I never felt unsafe, and I was traveling by myself. It is a fun city.. kinda like Europe's Vegas.

One thing I can say is while you are in the UK, be prepared for the pound! It's a doozy! I was just there in November and the exchange rate was bad. For 200US I got back 102GBP .. OUCH!

Also, look at checking out Cesky Krumlov while you are in the Czech Republic.. I have to admit, I have never been there, but everyone I met (local and other travelers) said it was one of the best places to see in the Czech Republic, and I have also seen photos, and the place looks amazing.

I would like to add that I liked Eastern Europe more then Western. Prague, Krakow, Budapest are awesome citys loaded with history and beauty.

Hope this helps! You are gonna have an awesome time!