Where to go in europe
- Thread starter whoa-dere
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miroz
Active member
13429792:ThaLorax said:
This is a good list, but I might sub out Vienna or Budapest for Paris, as this is a lot of mid-eastern Europe and not a lot of western Europe. Plus, he's flying into Paris.
OP, I did a Europe trip last summer and went to all of the places you've listed, minus Budapest. Prague is a must do - food and drink are spectacular and hella cheap, and assuming you'll be going out, the nightlife is awesome. Plus, the city is arguably the best preserved large city in Europe, as it was the only major city not destroyed by WWII.
Geneva is absolutely gorgeous. CERN and the UN are really cool too. Unfortunately, its super expensive. Everything there costs a ton. We actually ended up modifying our plan and only staying there two nights because we just couldn't afford more. If you were adamant about seeing Switzerland, I would take an early morning train into Geneva from somewhere, spend the day there, take another train up to Zermatt (the Swiss side of the Matterhorn), stay the night at the hostel and hike the next day, then take trains to your next destination. Warning: you won't want to leave Zermatt. Interlaaken is another great choice for outdoor activities.
Munich was fun, a lot of history there. Great museums (especially the Munich museum and the science museum), and the hostels have lots of other young people looking to kick it. Drink a radler, they're tasty there. Find out when Munich's birthday celebration is and be in town for that weekend. They have a big festival to celebrate with lieberkas and beer and outdoor fun stuff. The best part of being in Munich for me was taking the S-Bahn just out of town to visit the Dachau concentration camp. Talk about moving; I can't put that experience into words. You just have to go and see, touch, and feel.
Vienna was cool, but we didn't stay there long. I'd recommend getting bikes and riding around the city. It's a very nice, easy loop. If you need a recommendation for a good restaurant to get schnitzel, I'll pass on the one we went to. It was fucking awesome. If you go to Austria, you have to find and try Almdudler, their national drink. It's like a lightly carbonated, slightly sweetened iced tea. Really refreshing.
Amsterdam was beautiful, especially if you take the time to walk through the city. The way it's laid out is really cool and the canals are lovely. The red light district was off putting - I couldn't believe that the girls waving at me behind the glass would have sex with me if I wanted it. It was weird. All in all, though, don't go to Amsterdam unless you want to get stoned. If you buy edibles, go to a reputable shop to make sure you don't get bunk stuff. For a good, free view of the city, climb up to the top of the science museum.
Berlin was actually great, we had a ton of fun with the history and memorials. The Berlin Wall exhibit is cool, Checkpoint Charlie was okay, but the best museum was that showcasing the Nazi propaganda programs. It's set on the former site of the SS Headquarters. Really cool. The Holocaust memorial is breathtaking. Also, they show an outdoor movie right next to the Reichstag every night. You sit on these steps that lead down to a river walk and they project a film about Post WWII Berlin history onto the wall of a building across the river.
We did a lot of walking in Paris, as we staying in Montmartre but didn't want to pay for transit to the main attractions. If you want to go on top of one building in Paris, choose the Arc, because then you can see the Eiffel Tower. Plus, it's cheaper and you get a student discount. The Luxembourg Gardens were awesome, there's a cool WWI photo exhibit there. Highly recommended. We skipped going inside Notre Dame and the Louvre because we didn't want to pay to go in. The highlight of Paris for me was climbing out of our window on the top floor of our little hotel and finding that we had a small flat balcony with just enough room for our bedside table and two chairs. We ate picnic dinners every night.
I concur with all above that say spend more time in less places. A good gauge for your timing is to ask yourself "If I never get to come back here again, will I be satisfied with what I've seen and done?" I think three days per place is about just right to meet that goal. If you wanted to really go above and beyond that, you'd need more time.
Before I finish, I'd say skip Venice on this trip. Italy could be a trip on its own, plus I've heard mixed reviews about Venice. Save it, your time on this trip is most precious.
Let me know if you have any more questions!
cornholio
Active member
13429778:whoa-dere said:
13429849:miroz said:
i agree with miroz here, see some other stuff this time around, i like italy but you could easily spend 2 weeks there by itself. venice is a sight to see but not a must do and probably not the first place i'd recommend in italy
jiveturkey
Member
go to Poland. Polish chicks are horny as fuck and will just soak in their fucking bloomers when they hear an American accent.
T-Nutcracker
Active member
> go to russia
> profit
> ???
> never come back ...
> profit
> ???
> never come back ...
PeppermillReno
Active member
Switzerland is lovely and has top notch skiing go there its lovely.
I am very partial to Copenhagen for a quick city break usually get there once or twice a year and try and fly though there.
London is always a good time but Im British so its not really a tourist experience usually visiting relatives. Madrid is a good city as well. Paris isn't worth the hassle maybe in the winter but avoid septic tourists in the summer fucking dumb americans really ruin that shit.
I like St Petersburg lived there for a month but Russia is a bitch with Visas and all Im not going back until Zenit's new stadium is built.
If you find youself in Sweden take a cruise-ferry to somewhere else in Scandanavia TRUST me don't spend too long in Stockholm its crazy expensive and those cruise ferrys are the shit and everything is way cheaper on the boat.
I am very partial to Copenhagen for a quick city break usually get there once or twice a year and try and fly though there.
London is always a good time but Im British so its not really a tourist experience usually visiting relatives. Madrid is a good city as well. Paris isn't worth the hassle maybe in the winter but avoid septic tourists in the summer fucking dumb americans really ruin that shit.
I like St Petersburg lived there for a month but Russia is a bitch with Visas and all Im not going back until Zenit's new stadium is built.
If you find youself in Sweden take a cruise-ferry to somewhere else in Scandanavia TRUST me don't spend too long in Stockholm its crazy expensive and those cruise ferrys are the shit and everything is way cheaper on the boat.
Laurent.
Active member
13429849:miroz said:
Fuck this, seriously Amsterdam is so much more then drugs, such a fucking tourist view of what is a city with one of the largest amounts of museums of which dozens are world-renowned. From the old Dutch Masters to an excellent photography museum and from European avant-garde to ancient Egypt.
It has one of the most untainted old city centre's, more music venues then Seinfeld has Porsches and a couple of great restaurants amongst many more things. There's just three things in my city that I hate, tourists who smoke and act silly, tourists who try to ride a bike and tourists in general.
miroz
Active member
13430467:Laurent. said:
No shit there's more to your city than that. There's more to any of the cities that I described. But for someone who has that little time, I think there's better. That's why I said what I said. Didn't mean to offend, but then again you seem easily offended.
Laurent.
Active member
13430470:miroz said:
I'm not easily offended at all but when you live in Amsterdam you start to hate tourists coming here just for the drugs, booze and banter ending up pissing against your door or throwing your bike in the canal. It triggers me badly due to past experiences.
There's a reason they want to make drugs legal for Dutch citizens only, not tourists.
bnewbs6
Active member
Well I'm actually in Europe right now on a trip and its incredible. I'm staying with a friend in freiburg germany right now. We went to Munich last week and I would definitely put that on your list. A ton of great museums, the river surfing, breakfast beer and much more. We are heading off to southern france tomorrow and then Barcelona and back to Freiburg after that.
the.hellion.
Member
Prague and Budapest are must dos. Much cheaper than Germany or Switzerland. I really love Prague.
Berlin was great but expensive - the Berlin Wall was pretty cool as was just being in the city - walking around. There are some pretty hip places in Berlin.
I was not as in love with Amsterdam as I thought I'd be - more than one creepy guy came up to me asking me of o wanted to party. But the Van Gogh museum and FOAM - their modern art museum were amazing highlights. Also, sitting in Vondel Park at sunset was incredible - okay maybe I liked it more than I thought. I didn't bother with the red light district though.
If I could make a small recommendation - Bruges, Belgium. Very close to Paris. Great for really, one or two nights as it is tiny. They have a LOT of awesomely strong Belgian beers and beautiful canals and architecture. Rent a bike and ride around at sunset, return the bike and do a walking tour at night. It's truly spectacular.
Berlin was great but expensive - the Berlin Wall was pretty cool as was just being in the city - walking around. There are some pretty hip places in Berlin.
I was not as in love with Amsterdam as I thought I'd be - more than one creepy guy came up to me asking me of o wanted to party. But the Van Gogh museum and FOAM - their modern art museum were amazing highlights. Also, sitting in Vondel Park at sunset was incredible - okay maybe I liked it more than I thought. I didn't bother with the red light district though.
If I could make a small recommendation - Bruges, Belgium. Very close to Paris. Great for really, one or two nights as it is tiny. They have a LOT of awesomely strong Belgian beers and beautiful canals and architecture. Rent a bike and ride around at sunset, return the bike and do a walking tour at night. It's truly spectacular.
Corin
Active member
I'm from Europe, and I've travelled around quite a bit. Still never been outside of Europe, but done a bunch here. Here's a few tips:
Less places. For two weeks, either buy a Interrail card and go around everywhere, or choose two or three places to visit and discover. Or maybe even decide on just one.
Don't limit yourself to cities. Sure, they're a bit easier maybe, but kind if boring tbh. Go to maybe northern Spain Andorra or the french Basque coast (great surf) or try a small village in the alps (I'd go italian) or maybe a smaller coastal town in Norway? Chamonix is always a great choice too.
Lastly, Norway. I'm Swedish, and there's a bit of rivalry there, but to me going to Europe without a visit to Norway would be like going to Italy and not having an espresso, or going to Bali and not surfing. So yeah.
Less places. For two weeks, either buy a Interrail card and go around everywhere, or choose two or three places to visit and discover. Or maybe even decide on just one.
Don't limit yourself to cities. Sure, they're a bit easier maybe, but kind if boring tbh. Go to maybe northern Spain Andorra or the french Basque coast (great surf) or try a small village in the alps (I'd go italian) or maybe a smaller coastal town in Norway? Chamonix is always a great choice too.
Lastly, Norway. I'm Swedish, and there's a bit of rivalry there, but to me going to Europe without a visit to Norway would be like going to Italy and not having an espresso, or going to Bali and not surfing. So yeah.
McLS
Active member
topic:whoa-dere said:
Id go less places. If you're more into visiting cities rather than sightseeing, Geneva and prague not worth it imo. I'd do 3-4 cities max in 2 weeks. Defo come to paris and hit me up i can give you tips about whatever, I live there. Venice is beautiful af.
