Travelling plans

[Glory Box]

A friend and I plan to go travelling around Europe in about 6 months time for a month and a half.
Is there any 'must see' places that i shouldnt miss?
Also, I dont want to turn up in a place and see that its not how I'd researched. Is there any where I should steer clear of?
xx

[vehelpfulguy]

Are you travelling from outside Europe (from the USA perhaps)?

Where are you landing (country) and which Countries or Cities have you already thought about visiting ?

You say 6 months, would that be July / August period? If so some parts of Europe can be VERY hot at that time of the year, and walking around in say Rome is hard work in August.

There are now many countries in Europe (now the USSR collapsed) and there is no way you can see them all so you need to narrow your list down a bit.

For a month and a half (6 weeks) I would settle on say 6 countries and do about a week in each.

It also depends what you are interested in. There is a lot of culture in Europe and many museums and old buildings, but that may bore the pants off you.

Give us an idea of what you are interested in.

[vehelpfulguy]

I believe you can get some sort of rail card that takes you over most of Europe.

People who use these say they can sleep on the train over night and so save on hotel bills.

There are quite a few books for the backbacker in Europe so maybe get a couple of these.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Shoestring-Budg ets-Lonely-Planet/dp/1741045916/ref=sr_1_3?ie= UTF8&s=books&qid=1197662831&sr=1-3

Guide to doing Europe by train.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Ultimate-Experi ences-Rough-Guide/dp/1843538199/ref=sr_1_4?ie= UTF8&s=books&qid=1197662831&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Europe-Rail-Independen t-Travellers-Guides/dp/1841577367/ref=sr_1_7?i e=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197662831&sr=1-7

[vehelpfulguy]

There are also expensive countries in Europe and cheaper countries in Europe.

In some countries it is VERY expensive to travel around, eat and stay in hotels. Most of the Nordic countries are expensive (Sweden, Demark etc) plus Switzerland, and Austria.

Some capital cities like London, Brussels and Paris can also be very expensive.

Other countries can be fairly inexpensive, like Spain and Portugal, and Eastern Europe, so you get more for your money in those countries.

Depending on how much money you have you need to think very carefully about which countries you visit and what sort of hotels you stay in.

Even a basic room in a hotel in London can cost you �100.

But there are cheaper places to stay if you look around, like Youth Hostels or even some colleges rent out rooms in the summer.

A bit of research could save you a lot of money.

[vehelpfulguy]

After all my pre-amble some suggestions. These are obviously personal, and another person may well have a different list.

Most of my list is capital cities, but of course each country has much to see and do outside its capitals.

I live in England so my first suggestion is London. Great city, loads to see and do. Lots of history, royalty, shopping, clubs and bars. Always something going on.

Next Paris, France. Probably my favorite city. Unlike many modern cities the centre has not been destroyed with skyscrapers so it is still a very personal city. Again lots of history and great buildings, but also many shops, clubs, bars etc. Great city to walk around.

The south coast of france is interedsting with St Tropez, Cannes, Nice, Monaco etc. Can be expensive though.

Amsterdam, Holland. Good for young people for its relaxed atitude to drugs (not that I am suggesting you take drugs). Whole city built on canals, lots of art galleries and museums.

Italy. Full of great cities like Rome, Florence, Venice plus smaller ones like Pisa, Sienna etc. Lots of history, painters and sculptures.

Switzerland & Austria. Surrounded by mountains with great views in every direction. Lots of train journeys through the valleys with great views.

Madrid and Barcelona, Spain. Two more great cities, plus you can visit the Spanish coast for a "rest" during your travels.

Lisbon, Portugal. Fairly small city, in a fairly small country but quite cheap so your money goes further. Lots of great coast as well.

Dublin, Ireland. The people or Ireland are very friendly and some of the scenery is great.

Edinburgh, Scotland is another great city with loads to do.

You ask what to avoid, well I would say Brussles, Belgium is no great shakes as a capital city.

I also have not included any German cities. I

[vehelpfulguy]

It chopped off the end of my last append. It said:

I also have not included any German cities. I have not been to many so cannot comment one way or the other. Some may suggest Berlin.

[vehelpfulguy]

As I said, Eastern Europe is now open to the public after the collapse of the USSR.

I have not visited any of these countries but many people from western Europe now visit them due to cheap flights plus low costs when you get there.

Countries include Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia. Bulgaria etc.

Many of these countries are interesting because nobody from the west could visit them for many years.

Depending on your schedule you may want to add one or two of them to your list.

Some of them have great costlines on the Adriatic Sea or the Black Sea.

I cannot suggest any because I have not been to any (except briefly to Slovenia).

[Seafarer1966]

Budapest, Hungary is wonderful. Beautiful city (well technically it's two cities...Buda and Pest either side of the River Danube). The city is a world heritage site. Cheap accommodation (youth hostel is about �4 a night). Cheap to eat out (if you eat where the Hungarians go rather than the tourists). Great beer.

Riga, Latvia is nice to look at but pretty much run by the Russian mafia. The taxi drivers rob you blind and beggars will hassle you all the time. Cheap cigarettes at �3 for a carton of 200 for a local brand. Cheap beer at 15 pence a pint. If you go check out the Hotel Riga. There's a glass elevator to a rooftop bar called the Skylight Bar. Impressive views over this historic city.

Prague is beautiful but incredibly seedy. Too many hookers. After 6 pm I wouldn't go down St. Wenceslas Square. The beer is out of this world though...and so cheap.

'Europe' is a big place and you need to narrow your options down a bit. Definitely do Rome, Paris, London (although London is about as English as Mars!). Berlin is boring. Don't agree with the above comment about Brussels. It's a wonderful city. Try the local speciality....horse steak with mayonnaise...best steak I've ever had. Just wish I could buy a nice big piece of dead horse here in England!

[Shazzle73]

You must do Florence!!! and whilst in the area, Pisa is in that region. Have fun!