Travelling to Europe
 

Hi there!
I was wondering if any of you have traveled to Europe? I went my junior year of high school to Germany and Switzerland. But I am planning a trip to Europe for next summer and I would some ideas of good websites for hostels and eurail. And if anyone can reccommend some countries to visit... I am planning on going to Italy, Ireland, and Greece, but I am open to much more! Thanks!
Nat

if you are still a student then try www.sta.com, great rates and every thing, you will have to buy a student card, but its only $22 and will save some much!

I have been to England, Ireland, and France. I recommend visiting these countries and their landmarks.

Definatly if you're going to be in Italy you need to hop the border to Cannes, France, on the French Riveria. And you MUST get pizza there!

Paris was ok, but it was kinda dirty. If you're going to go you have to be there at night to see the Eiffel Tower lit up.

Monte Carlo was AWESOME!

I like Geneva, Switerland too.

All the places AlphaFrog mentioned are great, and I want to add a few more to the list. Some of my favorite spots are Munich, Germany (German people have always been nice to me, and there are lots of places to go in and around the city); Lucern, Switzerland (check out the bridge over the river in the middle of the city); Amsterdam, the Netherlands (wow, what a beautiful place! You've got to take a ride down some of the canals); and Ireland, which is just nice in general.

Paris is great because there's so much to do, it would keep you occupied for years...but, as someone mentioned, it's also pretty dirty, and the people there can be not-so-nice. You'd better speak French if you want them to act civilly. :p

Italy is great, too, but it may be hard to get around if you don't speak Italian or Spanish, since most of the people I ran into didn't speak English. That's not necessarily bad; it just made things a little difficult sometimes. But it's a really gorgeous country.

I hope you have an awesome time! :)

i went to europe for 3 months from sept. to dec.
my favourite countries were spain, switzerland, italy and france.
EVERYWHERE in spain is awesome, and relatively inexpensive.
Amsterdam, Holland was pretty cool too.
feel free to pm me with any q's. i went to the following 12 countries: belgium, holland, germany, austria, spain, portugal, morocco, italy, sicily, greece, switzerland, france.
I would definitely buy the Let's Go- Western Europe (or just europe depending on where you're going) the Lonely Planet was garbage and we never used it.
i found that italy, portugal and germany were the hardest countries to communicate in.
good luck and have fun!!
:)

I lived in Firenze, Italia, August-December 2001. AchtungBaby80 is right, many Italians don't speak English unless they work in the tourism industry-- then they know about enough to get their job done and that's it. They also like to play with you and pretend that they don't speak English. I lived with a host family who didn't speak a word of English, but I knew this going in, so I took a few intensive courses before I went and am now fluent. It's great! I also travelled to Greece while I was in Europe. Kappas, you'll appreciate this: I got my picture taken with the Korai at the Temple of Athena on the Acropolis.

I lived in Rome from January-June 2002. I took Italian all throughout my undergraduate years, which is probably why I survived the way I did--I'm probably fluent now. Where I lived, which was Rome's equivalent of the Upper East Side, most people knew English, because they were involved with American Universities or multinational corporations--and most wanted to speak English with me all the time! I didn't want to--I just wanted to improve my Italian. I traveled throughout Italy--the Piedmonte, Sicily, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, the Veneto (Padova, Venice, and Verona) and Tuscany.

I absolutely loved Paris! My plans to spend that time with friends fell through, so I was able to spend most of the 5 days I was there doing what I wanted to do. I'm a hardcore traveler, so I had no problem doing 14 hour days walking, and the Paris Metro is awesome! I don't speak French, but I made sure I knew basic phrases which wouldn't make me look like an Ugly American. :p I managed pretty well, and I wouldn't say that not knowing French would make you helpless in Paris--most things are in English, Spanish, French, and Italian. Paris has fairly decent hostels in its city center. I stayed in one very close to Pere-Lachaise, the place I wanted to visit the most.

Guides...Let's Go was great! I bought one for Rome before I moved and didn't get to half of the stuff in the book, although I tried hard. Let's Go, for those who don't know, has sections for trips of varying lengths, along with sites which aren't major attractions, but are pretty damned cool. Lonely Planet wasn't that great--I don't think they update as much as they *claim* to.

As for Eurail passes, I would wait to buy them once you're in Europe. They are flexible, but you can get cheaper tickets with somewhat better flexibility in each country. That was the experience of various friends who studied abroad--it may be different if you are spending a summer.

went to france this past september for a week to see my sister....had the BEST time....did the paris thing (which, WHOA, is great), but also saw chartres and versailles....versailles is a personal fave b/c i SO had some pretty heavy deja vu there, so yeah. :) it was AWESOME!

she's now in germany, and she loves it there as well.....such the lil voyager.....so jealous! she lives in regensburg, about an hour from munich, and always talks about great lil clubs and stuff. will get names from her to help ya out there when you get tired of seeing the "old stuff" ;) she's also been to italy...never been there, myself, but i can relay the message of how beautiful is it....although, avoid piza (or however it's spelled)...she said the only thing there is the leaning tower, and that's it....then you wait around for 4 hrs for the train to come back to pick your sorry butt up. just buy a postcard.

the best advice i can give ya, though, is how to snag a european man. ;) ya know how us americans, we see a guy, we kinda stare, but then as soon as he looks our way, we kinda look away...don't wanna get busted (well, most of the time, anyway)....DO NOT do that there. you see a hottie, you keep your eyes on him, get that eye contact, and i GUARANTEE he will walk yo'way. my sis kept tellin me i would just have men on me left and right walkin down the street....2 days into it, and i got nuthin. i got pouty, no lie. then she informed me i was playin the american games, and needed to realize i wasn't in america anymore. she showed me how it was done--sho'nuf got herself a nice policeman to turn around and talk to her. it was hilarious and encouraging all at the same time. so i learned from then on how to play, and had no issues after that. :D work the french men....it is easy and WORTH IT! ;) don't call it "french kissin" for nothin! :o

**edited to add:i never experienced any rudeness from young french guys....i speak some french, but not fluent...can carry on a decent convo.....the only ppl you should worry about if you can't speak any french whatsoever: ANY french female, and OLD french guys. period.

I liked Versailles and Chartes too, but it got to the point where I think we saw every Catherdral and Chateau in France so they got to be not as exciting anymore...

Thanks so much!
 

You guys are helping so much! Thanks a million! Keep it coming! I am writing on notecards so I know what I need and places to go, thanks again!
Nat

Re: Thanks so much!
 

Also try Luxembourg... small enough country that you can traverse most of it in a day and a very picturesque capital city. Likewise, also check out the old Roman city of Trier, Germany. The Porta Nigra (Black Gate) is what remains of the old city wall.

Nobody's mentioned London yet??? Awesome city, lots of history, no language problems (well, almost none :p )

Well... as long as you don't wander off into the East End, where Cockney rhyming slang is prevalent! ;) :) :D

Ahhh, London - I love London! It's got such an incredible pulse to it and the mix of old and new can really blow your mind. If you're going there, definitely check out Westminster Abbey and TALK to the people that work there - they are very, very knowledgeable and can fill you in on all sorts of cool stuff you'd otherwise miss. For more London info, check out this thread:

If you were going to London, England

I'll throw in another vote for Paris - it's absolutely spectacular. I've been there twice and never had any problems getting around or encountering rude Parisians, and I only speak "travel French". Go with an open mind, realize you're not in America, and if someone is rude to you, remember that not every single American you've ever met has been super-friendly. As for Paris being dirty, I really didn't think it was any dirtier than most American cities. Chicago isn't always a pristine place, either. :)

As for guidebooks, my absolute hands-down favorite is Rick Steves. I've checked out Let's Go, Lonely Planet, and Frommers and while they're all not bad, none of them have the spot-on recommendations (and humor!) of Rick Steves.

HAVE FUN no matter where you go! Europe is awesome, and now is a great time to travel!

Spain is amazing! Personally, I think it's a must see. There are so many beautiful cities and so much to do!

And in case you're hopelessly lost in Paris and homesick for a little slice of America the only street French you should know is how to pronounce the following phrase:

"sank roo doe noo'

That's #5 (cinq) rue Daunon, the address for Harry's Bar! :D

Harry’s Bar 5 rue Daunon, 2e, M° Opéra, tel: 01 42 61 71 14, 11am to 4am, closed Sun. With its time-polished wood, American College sporting pennants and clubby feel, it’s difficult not to fall in love with this intimate little bar as soon as you enter the saloon-like doors. Opened in 1911, Harry’s is the oldest American-style bar in the city and, thanks to its famous advertising slogan — “sank roo doe noo” — created for servicemen during the First World War, boasts one of the best-known addresses in the capital. Its presidential straw poll is world-famous and surprisingly accurate, having been wrong only once: predicting George Bush’s re-election in 1992. Not only is it the original “Harry’s Bar,” pre-dating by decades other pretenders such as the one in Venice, but it also claims to be the birthplace of the Bloody Mary (9.60E). Its superb team of bartenders also whips up a damn fine vodka martini (10.10E).

I lived in France for a while too and loved it!

My recommendations:
France (especially southern France, Paris, and any of the wine regions)
Spain (cheap!) - Barcelona has a beautiful beach
Italy - Go to Florence if you're into art
Those are my recommendations based on places I've been to.

I found the French to be polite if you were polite to them. I saw so many "ugly tourists" (of many nationalities - not just American) yelling at French waitresses/hostesses/other service workers in English that I couldn't blame them for being rude back.

Be sure to combine "fun" with "educational". I visited all the monuments and museums wherever I went and while it was very interesting, it got to a point after a few months where I couldn't tell one ancient monument or cathedral from another. At that point I went to Cannes for a few days during the film festival in May for some mindless celebrity watching.

Change your money to the Euro at a reputable bank in America or Europe, the touristy change booths will give you a bad rate or charge a large fee. Travellers checks are a safe bet but be sure to have some back up currency because not every place will accept the checks.

Lets Go is a good series to find cheap lodging but it has a tendancy to exclude certain restaurants and attractions that you may find interesting because they are a little expensive.

Have fun!

I've been going to England for most of my life (grandparents live there) an I highly recomend checking out some of the sights. If you can get up to Scotland and the Lakes district as well, it is just beautiful. When I was in high school, I went on a European tour, and from that I also recomend Monaco. It is the cleanest, most beautiful place I have ever been to. Also, the Vatican and most of Rome were just spectacular, and something to remember!

Thanks
 

I was wondering about the guide books, so the consesus is do not get Lonely Planet... but Rick Steves and Lets Go are the best! Thannks for your help! What are the best months to travel? I am available next summer from May 15-Aug 30th. Cool!
Nat

When I went to school in London the Let's Go Europe book was what we used/read most. We always had at least two copies with us everywhere we went. We found a lot of the hotels and hostels that we stayed at in those as well as restuarants, bars, museums that we went to. I would definitely suggest getting it before you go. I got mine a few weeks before and went through it to start to get an idea of where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do.

I would definitely suggest spending time in London. It's an amazing city with tons of stuff to do.

Barcelona was great. We spent a few days there and had so much fun, plus it is relatively inexpensive.

I agree with AlphaSig's recommendation of Luxembourg. My school has a campus there, which my sister and tons of friends spent time at. When I went to visit people there, I just fell in love with the country. Everyone is very friendly there as well.

In regards of when to go...I'm assuming this is for next year May 15-Aug 30th... I don't know about the rest of the places, but it's awesome to visit Normandy on D-Day (June 4th, I believe). They have all kinds of cool ceremonies.

Just be aware that alot of places may be closed for at least part of August. That is traditionally a time when a lot of Europeans close down business and go on vacation.

I've been to Russia, England, France, Spain, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Belgium, and Uzbekistan. I'm hopefully going to Italy in the Spring for study abroad. If you go to any of those countries I can give you reccommendations. Pm me if you want for ideas.

My by-far favorite place to visit is Vienna. I spent a week there and could have been there for much longer. It's an absolutely amazing city -- beautiful, great museums, palaces, architecture, history...loved it!!! If you go there, definitely use the Rick Steves guide to Austria b/c it was extremely helpful.
As for other travel guides, I like Eyewitness guides, but they can be a bit pricey.
Something else to think about is packing for the weather -- it usually doesn't get that hot in the summer in countries like Germany, France, England, etc -- you will want to wear pants and definitely bring a light jacket. I lived in Germany for 4 years and it got hot enough to wear shorts maybe 5 times.
Feel free to PM me with any specific questions -- I love traveling and I did a LOT in my four years in Germany!