I will be traveling in July 09 with my girlfriend. We will be in Europe for most of the month and I can not wait! It has been difficult to narrow our trip down. Perhaps some trip advisor members can help. We need to elminate 2 of the following destinations, which would you get rid of? Which are definetly %26quot;keepers%26quot;?
Florence, Italy
Stockholm, Sweden
Bergen, Norway
Brussels%26amp;Bruges, Belgium
Santorini/Rhodes, Greece
Athens, Greece
Vienna%26amp;Salzburg, Austria
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Munich, Germany
We are not big partiers, and are into history, scenery, and great food! I suppose this is not such a bad dilemma to be in! ( : Thanks in advance for your input. Chris.
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Is it your first trip to Europe?
Wouldn%26#39;t it be better to focus on a region instead of flying across Europe?
As Austrian I cannot recommend to cut off Vienna and Salzburg. Furthermore, you should be conscious that July can be hot and uncomfortable in a city.
I personally disliked Brussels and would not go to Athens in summer. No idea whether it makes sense to solely visit Bergen. What is your intention there? Stockholm is one of my favourite cities in Europe.
I highly recommend to focus on a region instead the entire continent. It would be more efficient to limit your activities to Germany (Munich), Italy, Austria and Greece. You could start in Munich, proceed to Salzburg (+ Salzkammergut Lake Region), Vienna, Venice, Florence and finally head for Greece. Or start in Vienna and proceed to Salzburg, Munich, Innsbruck (capital of the Alps with mighty mountains in the background), Italy (Florence, Tuscany) and at the end the Greek islands.
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Where will you start, i.e. where will you be landing coming from the US?
If you can do an %26quot;open Jaw%26quot;, landing in, say, Stockholm and leaving from, say, Greece you would have much more freedom of movement.
For example, you could fly into Stockholm (or Bergen, then skip Stockholm). Then head (by plane) to Amsterdam, train to Brussels/Bruges, by plane Vienna, train to Salzburg (or Salzburg only), Munich, Florence, then travel by train to the boot of Italy (perhaps stopping in Naples). From Bari take a Ferry to Athens, with a stop on Corfu. Fly or take another boat to Santorini. Leave from Athens.
It%26#39;s doable, if fly intra-Europe on some of the discount airlines Just keep the luggage down. The discounters charge you for every piece of luggage.
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I read your posting and responses to the same question in the Greece forum.
I can fully understand if this is your first trip to Europe you want to taste as much as you can. I did that myself when I first went but spent 3 monthes doing the %26quot;Eurail trail%26quot; in all directions. If this is what you want and are happy only spending a few nights in each of the cities go for it. It is your holiday afterall. Just make sure you know what you really want to see in each destination to make the most of your stops- include time to just wander and sit at cafes, restaurants and bars too.
Myself I would probably cut off the northern most ones- maybe even down into Belgium and Netherlands and save them for a northern based trip in a few years time.
Spend your almost a month in Italy, Greecs, Austriaand Germany. Try to find the time to include some nights in some smaller places- Europe is far more than big cities although I must admit they were my destinations the first time I went.
Using the trains you are able to do both- good advice to keep the luggage light as it is far easier jumping on and off trains if you aregoing to be doing this every few days.
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I have only been to the following out of your list:
Florence, Italy
Brussels %26amp; Bruges, Belgium
Vienna, Austria
My advice is this if you have never been to Europe before, looking at the list of things you enjoy in a city. I would say: Paris, Prague, Rome, Venice, Florence and area surrounding (Siena, Cinque Terre, etc).
Days I would suggest:
Paris: 6
Rome: 3-4
Venice 3
Florence and small surrounding towns: 4-6
If just going to Florence only: 3 days
Prague: 3
If you have extra time, I would add Vienna way before Belgium. Greece looks amazing and not far from Italy, so with the extra days maybe add that on?
Hope that helps. Best thing to do is go to Barnes and Nobles. Grab a bunch of travel books. Drink coffee/tea and flip through them and see what grabs your attention. You may also want to look into Croatia (not too far from Venice if you take my advice on where to go).
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