kjiang14

Hey, I am a 23 year old student from Atlanta who just graduated and am about to go on a 5 week tour of Europe. I will be in London on 10/9-10/11, Amsterdam on 10/12-10/14, Paris 10/15-10/18, Madrid 10/19-10/21, and the rest is up in the air. From 10/21 to 11/14, I plan on going along the Cote D'Azur, Italy, maybe Greece, Switzerland, Hungary, maybe Czech, Germany, a side trip to Copenhagen/Stockholm if I can swing it, and then back around to London.

I want to meet as many people as possible, but since I'm traveling off season I'm a little afraid that there won't be too many travellers like me, and that the locals won't be as hospitable. Does anyone know what Europe is like october/november? I just want to do and to see as much, and to meet as many people as I can squeeze in during that time, anyone have any suggestions as to what I should do or where to go in cities?

Also if anyone is going to be in Europe around those dates, let me know

marc873

If you are going to be in Italy with no time constraints, you should head south to the Almalfi coast. Start in Napoli, hit a couple of Islands and then down the Almalfi. It is the scenic area of Italy in my opinion. All the villages are on cliffs overlooking the Med. Sorento is breathtaking etc..... I have some good suggestions for A-Dam and Paris if you need. And why not hit Belgium while you are in the area. Its an easy stop off between A-Dam and Paris. Happy Traveling

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Kevin-L

You should have no problem meeting people, there are still plenty of travelers, but the lines are usually less. i went last year in November and i actually could not get a place to stay one night because i didn't book in advance (never again!). TravelPunk.com has a good booking agent, peace of mind for 4 dollars.
as for the locals usually the farther you get from the cities the friendly the people are.
I'm going to be heading to London on Oct 1st and will be trying to make my way south so we may cross paths.

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Every man's life ends the same way. It is only the details of how he lived and how he died that distinguish one man from another.
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tumblezweedz

Provided you pack appropriately for the cooler, wetter weather, Europe in the fall is fabulous. There won't be as many tourists around, but you're unlikely to be the only person in the hostel! More likely, you'll meet Europeans traveling around their own country, or perhaps longer-term travelers, instead of only North American college kids, and some of your fellow travelers may even offer you accommodations at their homes later on in your travels.

Far from being less friendly, I would expect most locals to be a little friendlier, now that the summer rush has passed and life has slipped more into it's usual routine.

As far as what to see, that's really a tough call, and depends entirely on what intrigues you. I could give a page of suggestions for Paris alone, for example, but if your interests and mine are different, my list would be all but useless to you. Read as much as you can about the places you want to go, get an idea of what's out there, and also figure out what YOU like to do and see. Then when you've narrowed it down, come on back and post a "I love clubs and bars/museums and galleries/out of doors/music/whatever - does anyone have specific suggestions for me" type post. That way, if you hate art museums, you're not going to get a whole big long list of obscure galleries, but will get the best venues for jazz or whatever kind of music you like. Make sense?

Most people making a first trip want to see all the "biggies" - the tourist attractions, famous buildings, artistic masterpieces, etc that make a city/country famous, and that's all good - there's a reason that stuff is famous. But it's always a good idea to leave time to get away from the big cities, out in the country side or at least smaller towns, and get an idea of what daily life in Germany or Spain or Czech really looks like. It's also not a bad idea, on a longish trip, to schedule yourself a little down time - you can get really tired of dragging yourself around the 475th cathedral on your list, and after a while they start to blend all together. Take a trip into the hills and hike around a bit, enjoying the natural splendour of these countries as well - there is great geographic diversity that sometimes gets overlooked on a "European Capitals" type trip.